ORDER OPHIDIA. • 353 



this reptile for talismans, either preservative or hurtful. 

 These are called, in the Carrib language, piailles, and they 

 are always among the materials of those magical conjurations 

 undertaken by the negroes who are addicted to sortilege. 



It is moreover an opinion among these ignorant and unfor- 

 tunate people, that the trigonocephali are commissioned, as 

 were formerly the subjects of the old Man of the Mountain, 

 to kill the person who is doomed to destruction. They also 

 attribute to the trigonocephalus the power of fascination, of 

 which we have already had occasion to speak, in reference to 

 other serpents. 



The severity of the accidents produced by the bite of the 

 trigonocephalus, varies, as in the case of other venomous ser- 

 pents, according to the state of health of the bitten subject, 

 the depth and number of the wounds, the time which has 

 elapsed since the animal made use of its fangs, and, conse- 

 quently, the quantity of poison which has penetrated into the 

 system. 



But in all possible cases, the help of art is indispensable. 

 Unfortunately, to the present moment, the mode of treatment 

 has been based on custom and empiricism of the blindest 

 kind ; and the prodigious number of remedies vaunted and 

 recommended in their turn, only proves the uncertainty and 

 insufficiency of the means resorted to. 



Formerly, in the origin of the colony, recourse was had to 

 scarifications, and the application of cupping-glasses, which 

 are still extolled by some practitioners as efficacious against 

 the bite of the viper. The wound was then covered with a 

 cataplasm of theriaca, and that electuary was administered 

 internally. In default of this, they used to pound the head 

 of the animal, and apply it topically upon the wound. A 

 powder made with the hearts and spleens of serpents dried, 

 was also long in use. Embrocations of hot oil have likewise 



VOL. IX. 2 A 



