120 
FOREST AND STREAM 
March, 1921 
NOTES ON SNAKES AND SNAKE-LORE 
NEARLY ALL PEOPLES. EVEN NATIVES WHO LIVE IN THE WILDS, ARE REMARKABLY IGNOR- 
ANT ABOUT SNAKES AND SELDOM DISTINGUISH THE INNOCUOUS FROM THE DEADLY 
A MONGST most peoples, one meets 
with a reverence and awe for 
snakes which sometimes manifests 
itself in religious observances, or in 
superstitious beliefs and at other times 
in an ignorant fear, the result of an ex- 
aggerated idea of the power and danger 
of these reptiles. Many instances of re- 
ligious ceremonies connected with 
snakes are' known. In Africa they are 
fairly common ; the Carthaginians used 
to keep sacred pythons and the same 
cult is found today amongst some of the 
more primitive tribes. 
On the Shire river in Nyasaland, for 
instance, was, and probably still is, a 
hut built as a shrine for one of these 
reptiles. The Nilotic peoples, who have 
but a hazy idea of a God and do not be- 
lieve in an after life for the mass of 
their kind, held snakes, especially the 
Mamba or African brown Cobra, in rev- 
erence. They consider it good luck if 
a snake takes up its quarters in one of 
their houses and make it offerings of 
milk. Many of them think that the 
spirits of great chiefs pass into snakes at 
death. This belief is especially marked 
with the Masai. 
Amongst the Nuers — another Nilotic 
tribe — on a recent expedition, we found 
a tree, close to a lake, inhabited by a 
number of tree Cobras to whom they 
used to make sacrifices. At certain sea- 
sons the natives assembled to fish in the 
lake, but first they made the sacrifice 
of a bull and sprinkled the blood under 
the Cobras’ tree. When this had been 
done, according to the Nuer, all the 
snakes in the water came out and sat 
in their tree so as to allow them to fish 
the water in peace. 
The following story is given as an in- 
stance of a superstitious regard for 
snakes. After following elephant all 
day I came up with them and dropped 
one about 4 p. m. With me were several 
Baganda and I told them to hang up my 
accoutrements — water bottle, rifle, glass- 
es, etc.— in a neighboring tree whilst I 
took stock of the elephant. After meas- 
uring the tusks I came back to the tree 
where my followers were standing and 
said to one of them, “Come, let’s be go- 
ing,” meaning that he should pick up 
the accoutrements and we should start 
for camp. He did not stir. As we were 
many hours from camp I said again, 
somewhat irritably, “Come on, get my 
things and let’s go.” He turned to an- 
other and said, “Don’t you hear what 
the master says? Get his things,” but 
neither moved. I could not make out 
By MAJOR C. H. STIGAND 
Puff Adder (Bitis gabonica). 
what had struck them and went forward 
to get the things for myself. Then one 
of the guides caught hold of me, pulled 
me back and condescended to explain. 
Whilst I had been engaged with the ele- 
phant a small snake had climbed up and 
was now peacefully sleeping amongst 
my effects. One of the guides had a 
spear about seven feet long, so, taking 
this, I dislodged the intruder and we 
proceeded on our way. Now the Afri- 
can is generally no coward, he thinks 
nothing of whacking a puff adder over 
the head, or, as a rule, of walking up 
within close range of any dangerous ani- 
mal. In this instance he read some 
omen, or portent, in the snake’s strange 
behaviour and it was this that made him 
fear to disturb it. 
N EARLY all peoples, even natives 
who live in the wilds, are remark- 
aby ignorant about snakes and can 
seldom distinguish an innocuous from a 
deadly one. I was once bitten by a 
harmless water-snake in the presence of 
an Indian servant. Presently I noticed 
all the natives of the vicinity gathered 
to watch me, first in horror and later, 
when I showed no signs of any harmful 
effect, in astonishment much as the na- 
tives of the island must have regarded 
St. Paul. 
In India many deaths from snake-bite 
are reported annually but some of these 
are supposed to be really cases of murder 
and poisoning. Most of the genuine 
bites are the result of treading on snakes 
whilst walking bare-footed, generally at 
night. In Southern Burma the Russell’s 
viper propably accounts for more lives 
than any other kind of snake. The rice 
fields are divided one from the other by 
narrow banks called “bund.” When the 
fields are flooded the natives go to their 
work, often before it is light in the 
morning, walking along these bunds and 
then often tread on the vipers which 
have come out of the water on the banks. 
In Africa there are a number of poi- 
sonous snakes; the most dangerous are: 
the black and the brown Mambas, viz., 
“Cobras,” which have poison fangs and 
also possess the power of spitting an ir- 
ritant fluid into the eyes of an aggres- 
sor; the puff adder, with its local varia- 
tions such as the Gaboon viper; and 
lastly the tree cobra. 
The most deadly snake in Africa is 
the tree cobra but it is comparatively 
rare and so is seldom encountered. A 
couple will take up their quarters in a 
tree and will then often attack anybody 
approaching, or strike at whoever 
passes underneath. The hamadryad of 
Burma is also credited with making un- 
provoked attacks on mankind. Such at- 
tacks are probably nearly always made 
by one, or other, of a mating couple 
who resent anyone coming near them. 
The African is imaginative and very 
bad at describing anything with accu- 
racy. His descriptions of the tree co- 
bra have led to circumstantial accounts 
of preposterously large snakes, flying 
serpents and dragons, becoming cur- 
rent. These snakes are rare and when 
a couple take up their abode in a tree, 
or on the top of a rock, or hill, the place 
is given a wide berth by the local 
natives. The enquiring European 
hears that there is a bad thing on the 
top of a hill, which piques his curiosity. 
Further enquiries lead to the informa- 
tion that there is a malevolent devil, 
or evil spirit which inhabits the place, 
or he may hear that it is a kind of 
snake which drops on you from above 
and so imagines that it can fly. 
In Nyasaland the natives said that it 
had a cry like a fowl. The natural in- 
terpretation of this is that it crows like 
a cock but what was really meant was 
that it makes a noise like a little chick- 
en. I have never met with any proof 
that it is able to make such a noise but 
it is less startling to think that it can 
cluck gently than that it throws up its 
head and crows loudly. The native’s at- 
tempt to describe the loose and elastic 
skin about the neck has led to the idea 
that he is talking of a crest, or comb, 
which readily suggests to the mind 
some dragon-like animal. 
A PART from the rare occasions on 
which a tree cobra, or hamadryad, 
will attack a man, a snake is not 
an active danger to the human being — 
it nearly always tries to get out of his 
way. When it is full of food, or about 
to change its skin, however, it becomes 
