38 Serpents. REPTILES. Serpents. 
of serpents possess the property of secreting a poisonous 
liquid. Out of the twenty different sjiecies found hj^ 
Dr. Davy in Ceylon, only four were really poisonous. 
Multitudes are harmless, at least as far man is con- 
cerned, and many are as beautiful in their colouring as 
graceful in their forms ; still, few or none are favourites. 
It is well, however, to remember, that serpents very 
seldom attack man without provocation ; on the con- 
traiy, as all people who have been in hot climates 
know, they usually appear to dread his presence. 
Although cunning, they are timid and fearful. The 
common snake of England, for instance, may be domes- 
ticated, and the coral snake of Florida, which is very 
beautiful and gentle, is often kept tame, and allowed 
by the women to entwine itself round tlieir necks as a 
necklace. It is gratifying to find from travellers and 
others who have seen serpents in their native abodes, 
that their fear of these reptiles diminished as they 
became better acquainted with them, and found from 
experience how safe they were in countries which their 
fears had previously depicted as almost uninhabitable. 
But though we have thus attempted to do away 
with the exaggerated notions of the immense numbers 
of serpents, and tried to lessen the too great fear and 
horror entertained by peo[)le in general against them, 
we by no means wish to make light of the formidable 
nature of the weapons of defence and offence carried 
by the poisonous species, or the fatal and deadly effects 
produced by them. Instances of death in the human 
subject from the bite of snakes, even in this cold cli- 
mate, are too numerous and too well authenticated to 
be lightly treated. 
Many per.sons have attempted to express in a clear 
manner the characters by means of which we might be 
able to distinguish venomous serpents from those which 
are not so, but they have not succeeded. Mr. IMartin 
says “ that there is something more tlian usually repul- 
sive in the aspect of poisonous serpents. Their thick 
broad head, their wide jaws, armed with horrible poison 
fangs, together with their brilliant eyes, give them a 
ferocious expression ; and man and beast instinctively 
recoil from their presence.” The eyes of all serpents 
are brilliant, the mouth in all is wide when opened, 
and it is only when the jaws of poisonous snakes are 
extended that the fangs can be seen. There remains, 
therefore, of this definition, only the thick broad head 
which can be of use in distinguishing them; and though 
this is correct in the case of the Viperine serpents, it is 
a character which cannot he depended upon in all the 
poisonous species, as the Cobra de capello and many 
others in form and general characters belong to the 
Golubrine group, or tliose which are for the most part 
harmless. We will enlarge, however, a little more upon 
the characters which mark the eminently poisonous 
or Viperine serpents when we come to treat of them 
more particularly. Serpents are said to possess a 
peculiar power of fascinating their intended victims, 
so that their prey is literally drawn into their mouths. 
According to some authors and travellers, who assert 
they have witnessed the fact, we are assured that, 
being fixedly regarded by a serpent bissing, and dart- 
ing its forked tongue out of its mouth, squirrels and 
birds are constrained, as it were, to fall from the sum- 
mit of the trees into the mouth of the reptile, which 
immediately swallows them up. Hares, rats, frogs, 
and other animals, seem to be petrified by terror ; and 
far from attempting to fly, will precipitate themselves 
upon the fate that awaits them. Even when they are 
at a sufficient distance to escape, they are paralyzed 
by the sight of their dreaded foe, and deprived of all 
their faculties in a manner that appears wholly super- 
natural. Much has been written upon this subject, 
and many arguments have been used both for and 
against. Mr. Waterton, already quoted, does not 
believe in the fascinating power of serpents. “ I am 
not a believer,” he says, “ in the evil eye of snakes. 
Their eyes are very beautiful, and no doubt they would 
be much admired did the beholder lay aside his pre- 
judices, and consider that the snake before him has 
no intention to create alarm, nor to meditate a woik 
of mischief.” Sir Andrew Smith, on the contrary, 
speaking of this power in some of the snakes in South 
Africa, observes — “ 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 their enemies ; 
and, wdiat is still more extraordinary, unable to resist 
the propensity to advance from a situation of actual 
safety into one of the most imminent danger. This I 
have often seen exemplified in the case of birds and 
snakes.” The subject is still involved in a considerable 
degree of obscurity. The most probable explanation 
of the fact, however, is, that in the case of squirrels, 
rats, &c., fear of their known and dreaded enemy 
deprives them of all energy ; they are unable to escape, 
and thus fall easy victims. In the case of birds, in all 
probability, it is the instinctive desire, natural in them 
and strongly developed, of protecting their nests and 
young, that leads them into danger. The mother sees 
the reptile gliding up the tree, and along the branches, 
to where her nest is placed; she endeavours to ofipose 
the serpent’s progress, and thus exposes herself to the 
most imminent hazard ; she will often attack it with 
her wing, her beak, or her claws, and venturing thus 
too near the creature’s mouth, falls a ))rey to its vora- 
city. Kalm, the Swedish traveller and naturalist, says, 
in regard to the rattlesnakes of North America, that 
the assumed fact of squirrels and birds being fasci- 
nated by the gaze of the reptile, and dropping from the 
trees into its mouth, may be explained thus; — The 
animals have been wounded by the snake, and have 
made their escape to the tree, where they expressed 
by their cries and emotions the violent action of the 
poison left in their blood ’oy the fangs of the reptile. 
Becoming enfeebled by the continued action of the 
venom, they have hopped and fluttered from branch to 
branch, and at last have fallen close to where the ser- 
pent lay, who has been following, with inflamed eyes 
and eager looks, eveiy motion of the poor creatures, 
and then anew darted upon them when nearly deprived 
of life and motion. It is commoidy believed, and cer- 
tainly frequently asserted, that serpents emit from their 
bodies a disgusting odour, especially after gorging them- 
selves with food. When opened after death, some time 
after they have had a full meal, the feetor exhaled from 
their body is very great; but that in a living state 
