THE VIPER AND THE SCORPION 137 



exception, have one; but in our countries the viper 

 alone possesses the terrible venomous apparatus. 



"This apparatus is composed, first, of two hooks, 

 or teeth, long and pointed, placed in the upper jaw. 

 At the will of the creature they stand up erect for 

 the attack or lie down in a groove of the gum, and 

 hold themselves there as inoffensive as a stiletto in 

 its sheath. In that way the reptile runs no danger 

 of wounding itself. These fangs are hollow and 

 pierced toward the point by a small opening through 

 which the venom is injected into the wound. 

 Finally, at the base of each fang is a little pocket 

 full of venomous liquid. It is an innocent-looking 

 humor, odorless, tasteless; one would almost think 

 it was water. When the viper strikes with its fangs, 

 the venomous pocket drives a drop of its contents 

 into the canal of the tooth, and the terrible liquid 

 is instilled into the wound. 



"By preference the viper inhabits warm and 

 rocky hills; it keeps under stones and thickets of 

 brush. It is brown or reddish in color. On the 

 back it has a somber zigzag band, and on each side 

 a row of spots. Its stomach is slate-gray. Its 

 head is a little triangular, larger than the neck, ob- 

 tuse and as if cut off in front. The viper is timid 

 ami fearful; it attacks man only in self-defense. 

 Its movements are brusk, irregular, and sluggish. 



"The other serpents of our countries, serpents 

 designated by the general name of snakes, have not 

 the venomous fangs of the viper. Their bite there- 

 fore is not of importance, and the repugnance they 

 in>i'in> in us is really groundless. 



