250 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



He brings along Puff Adders, Cobras, Ringhals, Night Adders, 

 and in fact every kind of snake obtainable in Port Elizabeth 

 district. As often as not he has his pockets stuffed full of live 

 snakes, which are prevented from escaping by the lapels being 

 pinned down. If pins are not available, he utilizes the sharp 

 thorns of the Mimosa tree. 



Long ago I carefully instructed him what to do in case of 

 being bitten. He instantly sucks the wound if there be no abra- 

 sions of skin in his mouth. Meanwhile, he is feeling for his pen- 

 knife, with which he scarifies the flesh over the punctures, rubs 

 them full of permanganate crystals and immediately applies a 

 ligature at a convenient place between the wound and the heart. 

 He then encourages the wound to bleed by manipulating the 

 surrounding flesh with his fingers, and if the snake be a very 

 venomous one, such for instance as a Ringhals, Cape Cobra, or 

 Puff Adder, he severs two or three of the veins in the ligatured 

 leg or arm as the case may be and thus lets out some of the 

 poisoned blood before taking off the ligature. Then the ligature 

 is momentarily loosened at intervals, until, after an hour or so, it 

 is discarded. 



When assisting with experiments and artificially feeding our 

 captive snakes, he has been bitten three or four times ; but, owing 

 to prompt treatment, he got off with only slight constitutional 

 disturbance in each case. There is a saying " A pitcher which 

 often goes to the well gets smashed." Williams, in handling a Puff 

 Adder in my laboratory, once was badly bitten, but fortunately 

 I had a sufficiency of anti-venomous serum at hand to cure him. 



Bent on Collecting. 



Williams sets out, armed with a forked stick about five feet 

 in length, and a rather large linen bag similar to an ordinary 

 pillow case, and tramps the country for a score of miles, visiting 

 all the favourite haunts of snakes. A serpent once sighted has 

 little chance of ultimate escape. Even the swift Boomslang is no 

 match for him. Knowing its habit of darting into the thick 

 foliage and vanishing in an instant, he cautiously stalks it as it 

 Ues basking in the sunshine out in the open upon the ground. 

 With a swift rush he is upon it. Before the bewildered snake can 



