CERASTES. 
101 
it from him, wound it round his arm,, and at my 
desire ordered the servant to carry it home with 
me. I took a chicken by the neck, and made it 
flutter before him; his seeming indifference left 
him, and he bit it with great signs of anger: the 
chicken died almost immediately. I say his seem- 
ing indifference, for I constantly observed that, 
however lively the viper was before, yet, upon 
being seized by any of these barbarians, he seemed 
as if taken with sickness and feebleness, frequently 
shut his eyes, and never turned his mouth towards 
the arm of the person that held him. I asked Kitton 
how they came to be exempted from this mischief. 
He said they were born so ; and so said the grave 
and respectable men among them. Many of the 
lighter and lower sort talked of enchantments by 
words and by writing ; but they all knew how to 
prepare any person by medicines, which were de- 
coctions of herbs and roots. I have seen many thus 
armed for a season do pretty much the same feats 
as those who possessed the exemption : the drugs 
were given me, and I several times armed myself, 
as I thought, resolved to try the experiment ; but 
my heart always failed me when I came to the trial; 
because among these wretched people it was a pre- 
tence they might very probably have sheltered 
themselves under, that I was a Christian, and that 
therefore it had no effect upon me. I have still re- 
maining by me a small quantity of this root, but 
never had an opportunity of trying the experi- 
ment.” 
