Chap. LII. A Defcripion of CEY L O 
827 
CHAP. LII. 
Serpents of Ceylon. Remedies agawft their Stings. An odd Story of a. Serpent- 
Catcher. Precious Stones^ Products of the Sea. Amber -Greafe^ it s Goodnefs. 
Bnlda:us, 
S' 
'Erpents are very common all over the 
Ifle of Ceylon : The Sea-Serpents are 
Serpents, fometimes 8, 9, or 10 yards long. The 
Land-Serpents call'd Ratcatchers are alfo 
very large, live on the tops of the 
Houfes, but are harmlefs Creatures. The 
jnofl; dangerous are thofe call'd Cobres 
CapeUos by the Portuguefes^ which fre- 
quently ufed to kill People whilft I liv'd 
in Jafnapatnam. So foon as any body is 
flung or wounded by thefe Serpents, they 
Remedies apply the Adder-Jlone to the Wound, and 
Ssting. g*^''^ ^he Patient fome Milk. Our Chy- 
' rurgeon Albert van Lamhergen writ to 
me 1 655. that being ftung by a Serpent, 
he became blind, but after fome time 
recovered his fight. A Pariftiioner be- 
longing to the Church of Manipay^ as he 
was mending the top of the Church, 
happen'd to be wounded by a Serpent 
that lay hid among a heap of Leaves, and 
died foon after. I faw once two Serpents 
twifted round one another fporting und?r 
the Wall of the fame Church, which I 
order'd to be cut to pieces by a Soldier. 
Such of the Inhabitants as retain ftill fome 
Remnants of Paganifm, will not allow the 
Serpents to be kill'd. 
The Malabars call the Serpents Pambo 
and Naga., and give their Cattel and Chil- 
dren their Names nay they feed them 
becaufe they Ihould do them no harm. 
The Serpents come frequently into the 
Houfes, efpecially in the rainy feafon. 
During my Abode at Jafnapatnam two 
Dogs were flung to death in the Houfe, 
and I have feen them fometimes pafs up 
flairs over the Beds. Another time a 
Serpent pafs'd fo near my Wife in the 
Houfe, that he touch'd her Leg with the 
Tail, and was afterwards kill'd by the 
Servants. 
There is alfo here a kind of Adders call'd 
Vipers by the Portuguefes^ they are fpeckled 
and very venomous. Whilft I liv'd at 
Jafnapatnam, a certain High-German SoU 
Vol. IlL 
Ooooo 2 
