172 
CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
first shouted and finally landed. They found Pereira in a state 
of collapse, and under the root upon which he sat, appeared 
the head of an enormous boa-constrictor, its eyes fastened 
upon the poor man. They fired at it, and the spell was broken. 
The serpent was found to be 52 feet long and 28 inches thick. 
Mr. Lange vouched for the truth of this tale, which is espe¬ 
cially interesting because the victim was actually unconscious 
of the presence of the serpent.” 
John Newman, M.D., refers to a paper by Major A. Gor¬ 
don, of South Carolina, in which he attributes the fascinating 
power supposed to be possessed by serpents to a vapor which 
they secrete, and can throw around them to a certain distance 
at pleasure. He advances various facts to support his opinion, 
and observes that the vapor produces sickening and stupefying 
effects; and alludes to a negro who, from a peculiar acuteness 
of smell, could discover a rattlesnake at a distance of two 
hundred feet, and who, on following such indications, always 
found some animal drawn within its vortex and struggling 
with its influence. 
This author cites the instance of a man walking in his garden 
who accidentally saw a snake in the bushes and, observing the 
eyes gleaming in a peculiar manner, watched it closely, but 
soon found himself unable to draw his own eyes off. The snake, 
it appeared to him, soon began to increase immensely in size, 
and assume in rapid succession a mixture of brilliant colors. 
He grew dizzy, and would have fallen in the direction of the 
snake to which he felt himself irresistibly impelled, had not 
his wife come up and, throwing her arms around him, dis¬ 
pelled the charm. 
Cases of a similar nature might be multiplied indefinitely, 
but practically everyone who has lived in a snake-infested 
country has either personally observed the fascinating power of 
serpents or learned of it through the reports of others. 
It is important to notice, however, that in the case of human 
beings, it is only exceptional cases that seem to be amenable to 
the power of fascination. Most persons not only are capable 
of resisting the influence, but many are able themselves to 
exert a power which disarms the fury of the most enraged or 
