162 SERPENTS.— FASCINATION. 



could possibly have "been. It is supposed by the natives to lure 

 travelers to itself by this bleating. Several varieties, when 

 alarmed, emit a peculiar odor, by which the people become 

 aware of their presence in a house. We have also the cobra 

 (Naia haje, Smith) of several colors or varieties. When an- 

 noyed, they raise their heads up about a foot from the ground, 

 and flatten the neck in a threatening manner, darting out the 

 tongue and retracting it with great velocity, while their fixed 

 glassy eyes glare as if in anger. There are also various species 

 of the genus Dendrqphis, as the Bucephalus viridis, or green tree- 

 climber. They climb trees in search of birds and eggs, and are 

 soon discovered by all the birds in the neighborhood collecting 

 and sounding an alarm.* Their fangs are formed not so much for 



* " As this snake, Bucephalus Capensis, in our opinion, is not provided with a 

 poisonous fluid to instill into wounds which these fangs may inflict, they must con- 

 sequently be intended for a purpose different to those which exist in poisonous rep- 

 tiles. Their use seems to be to offer obstacles to the retrogression of animals, such 

 as birds, etc., while they are only partially within the mouth ; and from the circum- 

 stance of these fangs being directed backward, and not admitting of being raised 

 so as to form an angle with the edge of the jaw, they are well fitted to act as power- 

 ful holders when once they penetrate the skin and soft parts of the prey which their 

 possessors may be in the act of swallowing. Without such fangs escapes would be 

 common ; with such they are rare. 



"The natives of South Africa regard the Bucephalus Capensis as poisonous ; but 

 in their opinion we can not concur, as we have not been able to discover the exist- 

 ence of any glands manifestly organized for the secretion of poison. The fangs 

 are inclosed in a soft, pulpy sheath, the inner surface of which is commonly coated 

 with a thin glairy secretion. This secretion possibly may have something acrid 

 and irritating in its qualities, which may, when it enters a wound, cause pain and 

 even swelling, but nothing of greater importance. 



"The Bucephalus Capensis is generally found ok trees, to which it resorts for 

 the purpose of catching birds, upon which it delights to feed. The presence of a 

 specimen in a tree is generally soon discovered by the birds of the neighborhood, 

 who collect around it and fly to and fro, uttering the most piercing cries, until some 

 one, more terror-struck than the rest, actually scans its lips, and, almost without re- 

 sistance, becomes a meal for its enemy. During such a proceeding the snake is 

 generally observed with its head raised about ten or twelve inches above the branch 

 round which its body and tail are entwined, with its mouth open and its neck in- 

 flated, as if anxiously endeavoring to increase the terror which it would almost ap- 

 pear it was aware would sooner or later bring within its grasp some one of the feath- 

 ered group. 



" Whatever may be said in ridicule of fascination, it is nevertheless true that 

 birds, and even quadrupeds, are, under certain circumstances, unable to retire 

 from the presence of certain of their enemies ; and, what is even more extra- 



