376 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XV 1L 



tions, however, committed by civilised man are probably trifling in 

 comparison with those wrought by the uncivilised and savage, many 

 of whom display an even greater animosity towards these creatures and 

 are brought into more constant and closer association with them. 



Food. — As food, snakes are even at the present day consumed by 

 some European nations, and many other people habitually eat and 

 relish them. Speaking with Father John the Baptist recently in 

 Mussoorie he informed me that to his certain knowledge many of the 

 poor people in parts of Italy eat snakes, and consider them as attrac- 

 tive as eels, and vipers are said to be eaten by many people in the South 

 of France.* In an interesting article in Cassell's Natural Historyt 

 mention is made of a traveller in America who sat at table before a 

 dish called " Musical Jack" which had been prepared by some travellers 

 of another party under the same roof. It was prepared from rattle- 

 snake, and was evidently considered by them a great delicacy. It was 

 said to taste like chicken. Hartwigl too says that the American Indians 

 often regale on the rattlesnake. Sir T. Mitchell in his book on 

 Australia says he once tasted a boa constrictor himself, and describes it 

 as "very like veal, the flesh being exceedingly white and firm. " He 

 also states that the Australian natives eat snakes, and Buckland says § 

 " the flesh of snakes is not uncommonly eaten by the poor Bushmen, 

 and also by the Australian natives." 



The python especially seems to find favour as a tit- bit among many 

 people. The Burma ns relish it, as do also the Karens. Evans || 

 speaking of a python which had been killed on one of his expeditions, 

 says by the evening on his return he found it had been cooked by the 

 Burmans. Theobald^" remarks upon the Karens eating its flesh, and 

 says that it looks white and tempting. A writer to The Field ** 

 recording the capture of a python whilst incubating her eggs in 

 Travancore, says that the hillmen there (Aryans) are reputed to feed on 

 pythons and their eggs. The Chinese eat this snake in common with 

 many other species, and I was told by a resident in Hongkong how on 



* Museum of Natural History, Vol. II., p. 39. 

 t Vol. IV., p. 65. 

 % " The Tropical World," p. 316. 



§ " Curiosities of Nat. Hist. " First Series, p. 201. 

 i| Bomb. Nat. Hist , Jourl., Vol. XVI., p. 519. 

 H Cat., Snakes, Brit. Burma, p. 37. 



** Oct. 3rd. 1903, 



