CHAP. III.] 



SXAKE-STOXES. 



199 



in my possession. The roots employed by the several 

 parties are not identical. One appears to be a bit of 

 the stem of an Aristolochia ; the other is so dried as to 

 render it difficult to identify it, but it resembles the 

 quadrangular stem of a jungle vine. Some species 

 of Aristolochia, such as the A. serpentaria of North 

 America, are supposed to act as specifics in the fcure 

 of snake-bites ; and the A. indica is the plant to which 

 the ichneunioli is popularly believed to resort as an 

 antidote when bitten 1 ; but it is probable that the use 

 of any particular plant by the snake-charmers is a 

 pretence, or rather a delusion, the reptile being over- 

 powered by the resolute action of the operator 2 , and not 

 by the influence of any secondary appliance, the confi- 

 dence inspired by the supposed talisman enabling its pos- 

 sessor to address himself fearlessly to his task, and thus to 

 effect, by determination and will, what is popularly 

 believed to be the result of charms and stupefaction. 

 Still it is curious that, amongst the natives of Northern 



1 For an account of the encounter 

 between the ichneumon and the ve- 

 nomous snakes of Ceylon, see Pt. IT. 

 ch. i. p. 140. 



3 The following narrative of the 

 operations of a snake charmer in Cey- 

 lon is contained in a note from Mr. 

 Reyne, of the department of public 

 works: "A snake charmer came to 

 my bungalow in 1854, requesting me 

 to" allow him to show me his snakes 

 dancing. As I had frequently seen 

 them, I told him I would give him 

 a rupee if he would accompany me 

 to the jungle, and catch a cobra, 

 .that I knew frequented the place. 

 lie was willing, and as I was anxious 

 to test the truth of the charm, I 

 counted his tame snakes, and put a 

 watch over them until I returned 

 with him. Before going I examined 

 the man, and satisfied myself he had 

 no snake about his person. When 

 we arrived at the spot, he played on 

 a small pipe, and after persevering 

 for some time out came a large 

 cobra from an ant hill, which I knew 

 it occupied. On seeing the man it 

 o 



tried to escape, but he caught it by 

 the tail and kept swinging it round 

 until we reached the bungalow. He 

 then made it dance, but before long 

 it bit him above the knee. He im- 

 mediately bandaged the leg above 

 the bite, and applied a snake-stone to 

 the wound to extract the poison. He 

 was in great pain for a few minutes, 

 but after that it gradually went away, 

 the stone falling off just before he 

 was relieved. When he recovered 

 he held a cloth up, which the snake 

 flew at, and caught its fangs in it ; 

 while in that position, the man 

 passed his hand up its back, and 

 having seized it by the throat, he 

 extracted the fangs in my presence 

 and gave them to me. He then 

 squeezed out the poison on to a 

 leaf. It was a clear oily substance, 

 and when nibbed on the hand pro- 

 duced a fine lather. I carefully 

 watehed the whole operation, which 

 was also witnessed by my clerk and 

 two or three other persons. Colombo, 

 IMiJtuntary, I860. II. E. REYNE." 



