336 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



otherwise pay los. for, with the additional advantage of getting 

 the stuff in concentrated form and the exact dose. 



The Snake Blood and Gall Cure. 



There is a widespread behef in South Africa that if the snake 

 which inflicted the bite can be killed, and its blood or gall obtained, 

 that either of these will prove antidotes to the venom. The 

 natives are strong believers in the snake gall cure. The contents 

 of the gall are swallowed. Usually the gall bladder, with its 

 contents is swallowed entire. It is regarded as a certain cure. 

 If a little of the blood of the snake which inflicted the bite, or 

 even of the same species, be swallowed, it is also reckoned to 

 be a sure cure. I have given animals the blood and gall, both 

 internally and rubbed it into the scarified sites of the fang 

 punctures, but in no case did it have any curative effect. 



I have mixed the contents of a snake's gall bladder with 

 three drops of its own venom, and injected it into a fowl. I 

 repeated this. In each case the fowl died. I did the same with 

 the blood. Drawing the venom from a Puff Aiider I then killed 

 the reptile and collected an ounce of its blood in a wineglass. 

 To this I added six drops * of the venom, taken from the same 

 snake, and mixed it thoroughly with the blood. The mixture 

 was allowed to stand for several minutes. It was equally divided, 

 strained, and injected under the skin of the thighs of two fowls. 

 The fowls died as rapidly as if the pure venom had been injected. 



Snake Stones. 



Snake stones for the cure of snake bite have, for centuries, 

 been in great demand. They are regarded by millions of Indians 

 with awe and reverence. To them it is blasphemy to doubt the 

 efficacy of a Snake stone. Of all snake bite " cures " the Snake 

 stone is regarded as the most effective. Its power of drawing 

 the poison out of the wound does not admit of a doubt. The 

 man who expresses disbelief in its wonderful powers is regarded 

 with contempt. Such is the belief which has fastened itself 

 upon milhons of minds. 



Professor Faraday examined a famous Indian Snake stone 

 and said : " It is a piece of charred bone which has been filled 



* Wherever " drops " are mentioned in this book they mean chemists' 

 " minims." 



