THE SOUND OF MULL. 479 



have ; and it would be quite as wonderful, though less 

 astounding, to see an adder seize and bolt a large field-mouse, 

 as to witness the gigantic boa's performance with an antelope. 



If proper remedies be used at once, the bite of an adder, 

 however severe, is not generally fatal. In July 1860 the 

 child of a shepherd in Mull was bitten by one basking in the 

 sun on the cottage doorstep. No doubt the creature struck in 

 self-defence at the little hand attempting to catch it ; for when 

 the distracted mother flew to her child, the adder was luxuri- 

 ously coiled up, enjoying the sunshine, and never tried to escape 

 till she threw a stone, when it wriggled under the flags. In 

 her terror, the poor woman magnified the adder into a horri- 

 ble monster, covered with bright-coloured hair. The shepherd 

 instantly killed a fowl, splitting open the body, and applying 

 the warm halves to the wound. The poison was thus sucked 

 out, and, on the application of sweet-oil well rubbed in, the 

 black and swollen arm began to look more natural, and the 

 pain subsided. In a few days it was quite well. 



Unless forced to defend themselves, adders are quite as 

 timid as mice or rats. If seized adroitly by the tail, and 

 lifted off the ground, they have no power to turn on the hand 

 that holds them. When they attempt to screw up the head, 

 a gentle shake sets them straight again. I brought home 

 three very fine ones for preservation in this way ; and when 

 I laid them down on the lawn, they were so cowed that, far 

 from showing signs of fight, they had just spirit enough to 

 attempt escape. The most defiant hisser I detected in early 

 summer ; the other two, taken in autumn, seemed a male and 

 a female. One of them had devoured a frog, mouse, or bird, 

 and was corked up in whisky with the signs of its gluttony 

 very apparent. The pair were discovered under the same fir- 

 tree among the heather. Two days after securing the first, 

 the same person warned me of its neighbour. 



The winter-shootings of the " Sound " amply compensate for 

 the dearth of summer and autumn sport. The late Sir Powell 



