THE ICHNEUMON 



venomous serpent, and to hint that such a thing is open 

 to a doubt would be an attempt to dispel, in too summary 

 a manner, the long-cherished belief in such an accomplish- 

 ment on the part of the ichneumon. The writer, how- 

 ever, as a Practical Naturalist, accepts such, and all 

 similar, statements with caution. Having had the oppor- 

 tunity of submittiag. to frequent experiments several of 

 these animals, I have arrived at the opposite conclusion, 

 and am perfectly satisfied that the assertion that those 

 animals have a knowledge of certain plants, capable of 

 curing the bite, is entirely a fable, and is without the 

 slightest foundation. A perfectly harmless snake of 

 considerable size has been held in the hand, and the 

 ichneumon driven into a corner of the room ; upon 

 holding the snake with its head directed towards the 

 ichneumon, the latter animal exhibited all the signs of 

 the greatest fear and alarm, and rushed from the spot ; 

 but no sooner was the snake allowed to crawl or glide 

 away on the ground, than the ichneumon darted upon it 

 and killed it without difficulty. When an ichneumon 

 finds a snake, poisonous or otherwise, it endeavours to 

 steal suddenly upon it, and, by seizing the snake by the 

 back of the neck, to crush the first few vertebra with his 

 sharp and powerful teeth, its bite being most determined 

 and vicious. The spine of the serpent being thus injured, 

 the creature is rendered powerless ; should the ichneumon 

 in its first attempt fail, it will, with great caution, renew 

 the attack, and in order to avoid being bitten will invari- 

 ably try to rush upon the snake from behind. In such 

 encounters the ichneumon does not always escape un- 

 scathed, and, although wounded, is not necessarily 

 poisoned; however, should the beast be inoculated with 

 poison, it succumbs to its effects. The animal that is 

 unable to distinguish a perfectly harmless snake from a 



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