Chap. II. of the E a s 1 
Indians , at prefent, confine the Value of thefe Animals 
i to the Stone in their Heads ; which, however, no Euro- 
pean could ever find, and to the Quality that their Bones 
are fuppofed to have of refilling Poifon. It is for this 
Reafon that they are as afliduous as ever in hunting Dra- 
: gons i concerning which, old Writers tell us, this was their 
conflant Method. They hung before the Mouth of the 
Dragon’s Den a Piece of Stuff flowered with Gold, which 
attracted the Eyes of the Beafl, till, by the Sound of foft Mu- 
; jfkk they lulled hthi to Sleep, and then cut off his Head d> 
As for the Dragons on the Mountains, they coft them 
: much more Pains ; for they were forced to purfue them 
; with Lances and Arrows, with great Danger to themfelves. 
; The Dragon, in his Turn, hunted the Elephant, and, if 
we may credit fome Authors of great Rank in the learned 
i World, was from Inflind his mortal Enemy. In order 
to deftroy him, he mounted a Tree in the Forefl where 
the Elephants fed, from whence, as foon as one of them 
came by, he threw himfelf on his Back, and t willing 
himfelf round him, thrufl his Head into his Noflril, and 
thereby firangled him. The Hate of this Animal towards 
the Elephant, was thought an apt Symbol of human Ma- 
lice, for in his Fall, the Elephant crufhed him to Death ; 
i !b that the Combat was equally fatal to both e . 
The Ancients tell us further, that if it was not for thean- 
: nual- Inundations, this Country would be infefled with a vafl 
Variety of other Serpents and deflrildive Infects of different 
Kinds, which, as in all hot Climates, breed here in pro- 
digious Numbers. Amongfl others they mention a kind 
of Viper of a moil dangerous Nature, and fome other 
Reptiles, the Bite of which is infallibly mortal, when the 
Simples, which have a fpecifick Quality of curing thefe 
Wounds, are not immediately taken, with which Simples 
the Country through the efpecial Care of Providence plen- 
tifully abounds. There are fome of thefe Vipers, they 
fay, twelve or fifteen Foot long, others not above half a 
Foot; and thefe, together with the Scorpions, are the 
moil dangerous, becaufe they are fo fmall, that it is very 
difficult to guard againfl them f . But the annual Inunda- 
tions in a great Meafure purge the Country of thofe dan- 
gerous and deflrudive Creatures, without which it would 
ifcarce be habitable. The Macedonians buffered exceedingly 
from thefe venomous Animals before the Indians acquainted 
them with the proper Remedies, and the only way before 
: that by which they could defend themfelves, was by hang- 
ing their Beds between Trees, and Beeping, as it were, in 
the open Air *. 
Several modern Travellers report almofl as flrange 
1 Things of thefe Indian Serpents as the Ancients; for 
inftance, Peter Van Caerden , who was Admiral of a 
Dutch Fleet in the Indies , affures us, that at Calicut they 
' are as big about as Hogs, their Bodies fix Foot long, and 
their Heads larger and longer than that of a wild Boar, yet 
the Natives affured him that thefe Animals were not veno- 
mous. It is very remarkable that he tells us thefe mon- 
ftrous Creatures haunted - chiefly their Marfhes, fo that, 
3 according to the foregoing Diflindion, they mull have 
been the leafl of that Species in that Country, and proba- 
bly they were fo ; for the fame Author tells us, that there 
, were others,' which if they but drew Blood of a Man, their 
I Bite was mortal upon the Spot. He adds, that befides 
thefe he faw many of the Size of Water-Snakes. While 
r he was at Anchor on the Coafl of Mozambic , a Boy that 
was wafhing himfelf by the Ship-fide was feized by the 
' Middle by a Serpent of enormous Size, that dragged him 
under Water at once in the Sight of the whole Fleet \ 
Mr. Rechteren tells us, that while he lived in the Hand 
; of Banda , his Fowls were continually ftolen, and on his com- 
j plaining to his Neighbours, they told him they were car- 
ried away by the Serpents, which he was not very forward 
to believe However, having fet fome People to watch, 
they in the Night alarmed him with the Cry of the Ser- 
pfnt, which had got in amongft the Fowls. They pur- 
fued it, cut off its Head and Tail with Hatchets, which 
they had in their Hands, and then opened its Belly, in 
which they found a Pig, a Duck, and five Fowls, and 
d Milan, de Animal lib. vi. c. 21. e PUn. Nat. Hi ft-., lib. viii. c. 
a pd Strabonem , lib. xv- Arrian, de Indicis. % Diodor. Sicul. lib. 
t° ! 5 2 ? I 53 - k V°y a ge de P- van d.en Broek .. 1 Voyage dg l' A 
tales 9 Vol. V. p. 318. * Ibid. p. 97. 0 Frye/ § Travels, p. 
r Indies. 475 
what is not a little extraordinary, they fkinned thefe Crea- 
tures, and together with the Body of the Serpent, boiled, 
and made Broth of them k . 
An Author, whom we have cited more than once, 
affures us k , that he has feen of thefe Animals twenty- 
five Foot long, and five round, their Throats fo large, 
that they were able to fwallow a Stag whole, Thefe 
monflrous Serpents live both on Land and in the 
Water, where, when they have gorged themfelves 
with their Prey, they deep, which Opportunity the Na- 
tives take to kill and eat them, efteeming the Flefh excel- 
lent, and not at all venomous. The fame Writer fays, 
that at Golc'onda there are Serpents of a prodigious Size 9 
the Bite of which is inflantly mortal ; and obferves farther* 
that whenever thefe Creatures are feen at Sea, it is a certain 
Sign of their being near the Indian Coaft. 
Admiral Verhoven tells us a Angular Story of a Sea-Serpent 
in the Streights of Sincapoua. A Seaman washing himfelf by 
the Ship-fide was feized by one of thefe Creatures, upon which 
he roared fo loud, that one of his Companions threw him 
a Rope and pulled him into the Ship ; but the Serpent had 
tore fuch a Piece out of his Side, that he died immediately. 
The Serpent continued about the Ship, till at laft it was 
taken, and was the largeft they had ever feen. Upon opening 
its Belly, they found therein the Piece of Flefh which he 
,had torn from the Sailor, and which they buried with him h 
Mr. fhevenot , a mofl careful and candid Writer, informs 
us, that the Country about Golconda is terribly infefled 
by Serpents, the Bite of which is mortal, unlefs Care 
be taken to apply proper Remedies immediately : Of 
thefe he mentions two, which are both very extraordinary, 
the one is holding a light Coal very near the Wound, which 
draws out the Venom by Degrees, and which is very An- 
gular, the Patient does not feel any great Inconveniency 
from the Heat during the Time of the Operation m . The 
other Remedy is the Snakefflone, or, as they call it, Cobra , 
the Manner of making and applying of which he defcribes 
very particularly. 
The befl are made in the City of Dieu , and are com- 
pofed of the Roots of certain Plants burnt to Allies, which 
Afhes are mixed with a particular kind of Earth, and then 
burnt a fecond Time. Of this Compofition reduced into 
a Pafle, they form the Stone made of the Size of a Pige- 
on’s Egg ; this is applied in cafe a Perfon is bit by any kind 
of Serpent or Viper, or wounded by a poifoned Arrow in 
the following manner : They firfl prick the Wound with 
a Needle till the Blood comes, and then dap the Scone to 
it, which flicks faff, and remains there till it falls off of itfelf. 
It is afterwards put into Breafl, or, if that cannot be had, 
into Cows Milk, where it purges itfelf of the Poifon; and 
if this be not done immediately the Stone burfls n . 
Dr. Fryer , who was ten Years in the Indies , and who, 
as a Phyfician, was certainly a proper Judge of fuch Matters, 
fpeaks alfo of thefe Snakes-ftones, he fays, they are made 
by the Gioghis , and that they are counter-poifon to all 
deadly Bites. If the Stone flicks, fays he, it attrads the 
Poifon, and put into Milk, it recovers itfelf again, leaving 
its Virulency therein, which is difcovered by its Green- 
nefs °. I have mentioned this Circumflance of the Cobia, 
the rather becaufe the common Notion in the Indies is, that 
it is a Stone taken out of a Serpent’s Head, which, as we 
have feen, is altogether fabulous. 
22 . In refped to the Dragon, the Ancients have only 
exceeded as far as we can judge from modern Relations 
in certain Circumftances the Truth ; but as to the Gryphon, 
all they fay appears the pure Effed of Imagination, and 
fo flrange an Animal they make it, that I was in fome 
doubt whether it belonged to this or to the fubfequent Sec- 
tion ; but perceiving that it would be liable to the fame 
Objedions there, I thought it might be as well to difpatch 
it here. According therefore to the Accounts we have of 
it, it is hard to fay whether it be Beafl or Bird Inhabitant 
of the Earth, or of the Air. They fay it has four Feet, 
and is of the Size of a Lion ; thus far then it is plainly a 
Beafl ; but then they fay farther, that it is entirely covered 
with Feathers, and has the Head and Beak of an Eagle. 
( 
11, 12. Pomp. Mela , lib. Hi. de Indicis. f Near elms & Arijiobulus 
xvii. h V oyage aux hides, p. 403 . 327. i Voyage aux bides., 
imiral Verhoven aux Indes Orientates, p. 92. m Voyages des Indes Or ten - 
Si- 
lt 
