182 SNAKE CATCHERS. 



The father of the boy was astonished, and pro- 

 tested it could not be from the bite ; that the 

 snake had no venomous teeth, and that he and the 

 boy had often been bitten by it before, without 

 any bad effect. On examining the snake, it was 

 found that the former fangs were replaced by 

 new ones, not then far out of the jaw, but suffi- 

 cient to kill the boy. The old man said that he 

 never saw or heard of such a circumstance be- 

 fore, and was quite inconsolable for the loss of 

 his son. 



The method these people adopt to catch snakes 

 is as follows : As snakes never make holes for 

 themselves, but inhabit those made by other 

 animals, such as lizards, rats, mice, &c., in order 

 to ascertain if they are occupied by snakes, they 

 examine the mouths of the holes, and if frequent- 

 ed by them, the under part is worn smooth by the 

 snake passing over it, with sometimes a little 

 sliminess ; whereas, if frequented by any animal 

 having feet, they cause a roughness in the earth. 

 When they discover a hole frequented by a snake, 

 they dig into it very cautiously, and if they can 

 lay hold of its tail, they do it with the left hand, 

 at the same instant grasping the snake with the 

 right hand, and drawing it through with the left, 



