192 



THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



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Fig. 81. — (qa) If you want 

 to capture a venomous 

 snake alive, and if it be 

 too active to be noosed, 

 then pin it down by press- 

 ing a forked stick on the 

 back of its neck. Ad- 

 vance carefully, sliding 

 your hand down the stick 

 until you reach the rep- 

 tile. Seize it firmly by 

 the throat between your 

 finger and thumb, as seen 

 here. With the other 

 hand grasp its tail, to 

 prevent its coiling round 

 the arm. It is dangerous 

 toallowa venomous'snake 

 to do this, for if it should 

 manage to jerk its head 

 free, it will bite the hand 

 or arm, perhaps many 

 times, before it can be 

 cast away. The second 

 picture (93) shows more 

 clearly how to grasp a 

 snake. When held in this 

 manner, it is quite power- 

 less. In this instance the 

 snake is a Black variety 

 of Ringhals, 5 feet in 

 length, which had just 

 been captured. A bite 

 from this reptile would be 

 fatal within a very short 

 space of time. It is now 

 alive in the Port Eliza- 

 beth Museum. In no case 

 do we remove the fangs 

 of the snakes. When 

 we require fangs for any 

 special purpose, we ex- 

 tract them. The business 

 is a dangerous one, even 

 when great care is exer- 

 cised. Snipping fangs out 

 in a rough manner with 

 a pair of scissors usually 

 results in injury to the 

 mouth and jaw, which 

 induces abscesses, and the 

 snake languishes and 

 dies. 



