508 THE PUFF ADDER AND THE HOENED VIPER. 



eame hue are scattered along the sides and upon the nape of the neck 

 and back of the head. 



We now come to the second great fomily of poisonous serpents — 

 namely, the Vipers, or Viperidoe. All the members of this family may 

 be distinguished by the absence of the pit between the eyes and the nos- 

 trils. There are no teeth in the upper jaw, except the two poison-fangs. 



The terrible Puff Adder belongs to this family. 



This reptile is a native of Southern Africa, and is one of the com- 

 monest, as well as one of the most deadly, of poisonous snakes. It is 

 glow and apparently torpid in all its movements, except when it is 

 going to strike, and the colonists say that is able to leap backward so 

 as to bite a person who is standing by its tail. 



There is in nature no more fearful object than a full-grown Puff 

 Adder. It grovels on the sand, winding its body so as to bury itself 

 almost wholly in the tawny soil, and just leaving its flat, cruel-looking 

 head lying on the ground and free from sand. The steady, malignant, 

 stony glare of those eyes is absolutely freezing as the creature lies 

 motionless, confident in its deadly powers, and when roused by the 

 approach of a passenger merely exhibiting its annoyance by raising 

 its head an inch or two and uttering a sharp, angry hiss. Even hoi^ses 

 have been bitten by this reptile, and died within a few hours after the 

 injury was inflicted. 



The Bushmen are in the habit of procuring from the teeth of this 

 serpent the poison with which they arm their tiny but most fearful 

 arrows. In the capture of the Puflf Adder they display very great 

 courage and address. Taking advantage of the reptile's sluggish 

 habits, they plant their bare feet upon its neck before it has quite 

 made up its reptilian mind to action, and, holding it firmly down, cut 

 ofl* its head and extract the poison at their leisure. In order to make 

 it adhesive to the arrow-point, it is mixed with the glutinous juice of 

 the amaryllis. 



The color of the Puff Adder is brown, chequered with dark brown 

 and white, and with a reddish band between the eyes. The under parts 

 arc paler than the upper. 



The true Cerastes, or Horned Viper, is a native of Northern 

 Africa, and divides with the cobra of the same country the question- 

 able honor of being the « worm of Nile " to whose venomous tooth 

 Cleopatra's death was due. 



The bite of this most ungainly-looking serpent is extremely dangerous, 

 though perhaps not quite so deadly as that of the cobra, and the crea- 

 Uire IS therefore not quite so much dreaded as might be imagined. 

 The Cerastes has a most curious appearance, owing to a rather large 

 horn-hke scale which projects over each eye, and which, according to 

 the natives, is possessed of wonderful virtues. 



