EXPERIMENTS WITH SNAKES 15 



the doctor has not been able to develop an anti-venom 

 serum which will neutralize the poison of these colubrine 

 snakes. Practically this is a matter of little consequence 

 in Brazil, for the Brazilian coral-snakes are dangerous 

 only when mishandled by someone whose bare skin is 

 exposed to the bite. The numerous accidents and 

 fatalities continually occurring in Brazil are almost 

 always to be laid to the account of the several species of 

 lachesis and the single species of rattlesnake. 



Finally, the doctor took us into his lecture-room to 

 show us how he conducted his experiments. The various 

 snakes were in boxes, on one side of the room, under the 

 care of a skilful and impassive assistant, who handled 

 them with the cool and fearless caution of the doctor 

 himself. The poisonous ones were taken out by means 

 of a long-handled steel hook. All that is necessary to 

 do is to insert this under the snake and Uft him off the 

 ground. He is not only unable to escape, but he is un- 

 able to strike, for he cannot strike unless coiled so as to 

 give himself support and leverage. The table on which 

 the snakes are laid is fairly large and smooth, differing 

 in no way from an ordinary table. 



There were a number of us in the room, including 

 two or three photographers. The doctor first put on 

 the table a non-poisonous but very vicious and truculent 

 colubrine snake. It struck right and left at us. Then 

 the doctor picked it up, opened its mouth, and showed 

 that it had no fangs, and handed it to me. I also opened 

 its mouth and examined its teeth, and then put it down, 

 whereupon, its temper having been much ruffled, it struck 

 violently at me two or three times. In its action and 

 temper this snake was quite as vicious as the most 

 irritable poisonous snakes. Yet it is entirely harmless. 

 One of the innumerable mysteries of nature which are at 



