CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
191 
but that anyone thoroughly versed in their ways could have 
taken a noose on the end of an ordinary walking cane and 
taken alive the giant reptile which drove the horseman from 
the woodland. 
The secretiveness of the reptile, which has been discussed 
herein, is but one of the elements that have exerted a powerful 
influence over the mind of man since the earliest times. His 
swift and gliding motion without wings or feet; its power of 
disappearing suddenly; the brilliance and power of fascination 
of its eye; its beauty and strength; the sudden fatal conse¬ 
quences of its bite, and the practice of casting its skin, which 
would suggest longevity or even immortality—all these con¬ 
tribute to arouse feelings of wonder, respect, fear and worship, 
and also to make the serpent the subject of innumerable myths. 
There is often found a belief in the serpent’s beneficence, prob¬ 
ably because myth easily attributed to its wisdom, secret knowl¬ 
edge, magical power, healing properties and inspiration. 
There can be no question but that the power of fascination 
of the serpent had much to do with the development of hypno¬ 
tism. The effect of the concentrated gaze of the eye of the 
serpent was observed and imitated by man, just as he has 
learned from the honey-cell of the bee that a six-sided container 
is the one best calculated to withstand pressure, and just as his 
observation of the spider’s web has been the inspiration of the 
suspension bridge. 
