THE SAVAGE WORLD 
207 
less dangerous tlran that of the puff adder. It is commonly of an olive hue, 
with decorations of dark oblong spots running along the sides in four rows. 
The Horned Adder (clotho cornuta ), often called cerastes , though improperly, 
is another of the formidable reptiles of South Africa which, though gracefully 
mottled on the back presents a horrid appearance by reason of its thick, short 
head, from which project two sharp horns, rising directly above the eyes. The 
fangs are very long and when erected and mouth opened to its fullest capacity 
the points almost impinge upon the lower jaw. This prevents the reptile from 
biting anything save that it be small, or sharp-edged. This species is known 
to science as Actractospis irregularis. The vipera cerastes (horned viper) is very 
similar in size and appearance to the actractospis , but its habitat is Northern 
Africa, Arabia and Syria, and its power for evil much greater. It is supposed 
by many that the cerastes was the asp spoken of in history as the reptile used 
b y Cleopatra 
to cure the hurt 
of her wound¬ 
ed ambition. 
It is natural 
that many su- 
perstitions 
should attach 
to this curious 
creature, es¬ 
pecially by the 
oriental and 
ignorant mind 
that perpetual¬ 
ly revels in the 
fanciful. The 
people of 
Egypt and 
other northern 
countries of 
Africa believe 
that within the 
two horns of 
this reptile re¬ 
side most potent virtues ; in one is the store of poison to which is ascribed 
a marvellous potency, while the other, when pounded into a powder and laid 
upon the eye-lids, enables one to see spread before him all the accumulated 
riches of earth, although the possession of this wealth is not vouchsafed the 
experimenter. 
The cerastes is found chiefly in the hottest deserts, where it has a habit 
of lying concealed in the sand with its wicked head protruding on the lookout 
for prey. But though it is vigilant and voracious it can endure an extended 
fast. Bruce kept two in a glass jar for two years, during which they partook 
of no food yet remained active throughout the whole time. 
The cerastes is of a pale dusky white on the back, with numerous small 
brown spots over the body. Its length is hardly more than two feet. 
horned viper (Vipera cerastes). 
