• ( 49 } 
lately had from an Intelligent and knowing Perfon ; who 
informed me . That being in the Indies^ there came to 
him, and his Company, an Indian with feveral forts of 
Serpents^ and offered tofliew tfiem fome Experiments a- 
bout the force of their Poyfon, and the difference of them^ 
and that this Pradlice is common with them: having 
therefore firftpuird out alafgeOne. thQ Indian told him 
that this would do no harm 5 therefore making a Ligature 
on his Arm^ as they do in letting bloods he expofed It na- 
ked to the Serpents having firft whipt and irritated him 
to make him bite it. The blood that came out of the 
wounds made by his Teeth he gathered with his Finger, 
and laid it on his naked Thigh till he had got near a 
Spoonful. After this he takes out another call'd Cobras de 
Cabeloy which waS leffer,and inlarges much upon the greats 
nefs of it*s Poyfon i and to ihew them inpartan Inftance 
of it 5 grafping it about the Neck > he expreffesoutfome 
of the Liquor in the ^ciggs of the Gums about the Quanti- 
ty^ as he thoughts oftagraine> and this he puts to the 
coagulated Blood on his Thigh ^ which as foon as mixt 
with it ftraight put it into a great Fermeniation, and 
working like Barme changed it into aYellowifli Liquon 
The fame has been likewife obferved by otherS)and does 
feem to give us fome light , how 'tis that this Poyfon ads 
and confirmes the known « obfervation , that the biting 
of a ^^^r will caufe the ytWo'N Jaundice. A preftnt Anti- 
^^^^ for this Poyfon is faid to be the Snake ftone , Pierre 
de Cobras de Cabelo 'tis called by the Tortuguefes , and is fa-^ 
mous all over thQ Indies v'tis defcribed by Garcins ab Hor^ 
to^ by IQrcher and others > particularly by ^ Senior ^edt^ 
who renders very much fufpe£ted the Relations that are 
commonly had of it's great force and Virtue * for in an 
abundance of Experiments which he made with it, he 
could never meet with any happy fuccefi ; and altho the 
Tryal happened otherwife to Father Kircher in a Dog i and 
0 De UBoeSyivijJ^rax, Me„L I, c.^j, p Fr^ Rcdi B.xHn-' 
menta sirca Res ^{at, p. 5. &e, 
G Caro^ 
