THE PORT ELIZABETH SNAKE CATCHER. 249 



serpents for music is a myth. The only effect music has is to 

 frighten, irritate, or excite the curiosity of snakes. A snake will 

 frequently protrude its head from its place of concealment in a 

 hole, crevice, or amongst the herbage when shrill music is played, 

 or even the clinking of a chain, or beating a steel triangle. Sounds 

 of high pitch excite it. Low muffled sounds or the beating of a 

 drum it pays little or no heed to. 



The Port Elizabeth Snake Catcher. 



The snake charmers of India would pale into insignificance 

 when compared with Mr. James Williams, the Port Elizabeth 

 Snake Catcher, who for some years past has captured venomous 

 snakes for my experiments, and for exhibition in the Port Eliza- 

 beth Museum. He makes no pretence of exercising any hypnotic 

 power over these reptiles. From the very beginning he evinced 

 a keen interest in snakes. Nothing pleased him so much as to be 

 helping with my experiments. He gloried in holding venomous 

 snakes between his finger and thumb while I extracted their 

 venom for experimental purposes. He is an Irishman, and like 

 the majority of that nationality, always willing to take big risks. 



He knows all about the ways and habits of the local snakes, 

 and therefore can find and capture snakes almost at any time. 

 I must admit, however, that the doings of Mr. Williams, and 

 his absolute fearlessness, in fact I may say recklessness, 

 startle even me. As will have been read elsewhere, he was 

 once bitten by a Boomslang and lay apparently dying for a 

 couple of weeks, with huge dark purple patches caused by 

 haemorrhage, all over his body. He lay there suffering agonies 

 of pain, due to acute inflammation of the mucous surfaces of his 

 bowels and other parts, and for a considerable time after rising 

 from his sick-bed he felt the after-effects. 



Yet James Williams will come sauntering along to me, and 

 with a tired and indifferent voice observes : " Sir, I managed to 

 catch two fine Boomslangs to-day." Diving his hand into a 

 satchel or linen bag, he forthwith drags out the writhing, struggling 

 reptiles, and allows them to twist and coil about his arms and 

 neck. He just smiles and remarks that Boomslangs seldom bite 

 if they are handled gently when they have once been captured 

 and kept for a time in a dark bag. 



