COLLECTION OF OPHIDIA FROII THE CHIN HILLS. 33o 



King Cobras are reported to be not uncommon. A King Cobra 

 has since been obtained by the writer from near Haka. 



As regards the collection itself Major F. Wall, I. M.S., has very 

 kindly examined the writer's notes and some of the specimens as the 

 writer did not feel qualified to offer his opinions without having 

 them corroborated or, if necessary, corrected by some competent 

 authority. Major Wall's remarks will be found incorporated in the 

 text and followed by his initials so as to be easily recognisable, and 

 the writer wishes to express his gratitude to him for his notes 

 which naturally form the more interesting portion of the account, 

 as well as for the instruction and encouragement given by him. 



Vernacular names have not been given as the Chins recoo-nise 

 very few snakes and regard them all with horror. The mere display 

 of some specimens in a bottle caused one Chin chief to leave the 

 writer's house precipitately and return to his village. " Rail " 

 (pronounced like the word "rule" but with a tendency not to 

 sound the final " 1 " ) is the Chin for a snake in the Haka or Lai 

 dialect. The most usually recognised snake of those collected was 

 the green Pit- viper which was called " rul harr " (harr meaning 

 difficult, sharp, rough). " Rul pi " (pi means big or female) was 

 the name applied to the rat-snake (Zamenis mucosus), while " Sar 

 vut saw," the meaning of which is not obvious, was applied 

 i indiscriminately to the snakes Gallophis macclellandi, Ahlabes 

 porjphyraceus, and Simotes albocinctus. "Ngan" is understood by 

 most Chins for the Python or possibly for the Hamadryad, and 

 I" Tina kan " for the Cobra. 



Of snake bite no records exist, but a few cases came to the writer's 

 (notice. Three military police sepoys were bitten at different times, 

 one in the thumb and two in the toe. In the case of the man bitten 

 in the thumb he immediately put on a ligature and on his return 

 ;to the lines had the wound cauterized and suffered no ill-effects. 

 Of the other two one put on a ligature of sorts and suffered little, 

 the other did nothing till his leg began to swell when he went to 

 hospital and was treated. He had some fever, twenty-four hours' 

 pain and a leg swollen up to the groin but nothing more. All these 

 | three men were bitten by Lachesis gramineus or perhaps jerdoni as 

 far as could be judged from their descriptions coupled with the 



