POISONOUS ANIMALS 213 



appear to have no fear of the snake, neither do they 

 hesitate to pick one up. Tennent states that their 

 power of resisting the effects of a bite is due to 

 ' the use of a plant with the juice of which they 

 anoint themselves before touching the reptile,' 

 while Bruce tells us that the people of Sennar chew 

 a certain root, and prepare an infusion of various 

 plants with which to wash themselves for the pur- 

 pose of rendering themselves immune against the 

 action of the venom. 



The rhinoceros or nose-horned viper, so called 

 because of the fleshy prominences which grow 

 upon its snout, is another poisonous snake found in 

 East and West Africa. It grows to a length of five 

 feet, and its sluggish nature may well be judged by 

 quoting from the writings of Mr. Cuthbert Christy, 

 who reports having observed a hundred men, who 

 were walking in single file, pass within twelve 

 inches of one of the reptiles without it taking the 

 slightest notice of their presence. He further 

 points out that these snakes are in the habit of con- 

 cealing themselves under the shelter of a small 

 plant which bears upon its branches a number of 

 burrs, and comes to the conclusion that this situa- 

 tion is specially chosen by the reptiles for the pur- 

 pose of catching any small birds which may alight 

 upon the twigs and become entangled and ham- 

 pered by the burrs sticking to their feathers, in 

 which case they fall an easy prey to the watchful 

 snake and save it the trouble of unduly exerting 

 itself for the capture of its prey. 



Russell's viper, a native of India, Ceylon, Siam 



