The Argosy — page 239: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

222 ABOUT SNAKES. ‘INCE the day when Adam and Eve were tempted by the devil ; in the form of a serpent, a malignant enmity has existed between mankind and the whole serpent brood. ‘The low, cunning, erovelling nature of the serpent has ever rendered it an object of horror and hatred, and it has been regarded as an emblem of the evil principle ; of the spirit of disobedience and contumacy. But there are exceptions to the rule among the nations of the world. The Phcenicians adored it as a beneficent genius; the Ne Chinese consider it as a symbol of wisdom and power, and the i Egyptians regarded it as the author of all good, and worshipped it as ' the emblem of eternity. t In India, also, the snake, and especially the cobra, the most if venomous of the whole tribe, is looked upon as an object of Ik veneration, and it is by no means uncommon at the annual Snake Festival to witness crowds of devotees carrying food and bowls of |? milk to propitiate, as they would fain believe, the Snake-god. A I vain hope; for the census annually taken by Government of the i destruction of life by wild beasts, proves that the ratio of death by snake-bites is more than double that caused by all other wild animals. \ Deadliest of the whole race is the far-famed Cobra di Capello, or i" t Hooded Cobra. s Averaging about four feet in length, it has been known to attain even six or seven feet, but it possesses two characteristics peculiar to itself. One, that when enraged, or prepared to fight, it is able to erect , itself about two feet from the ground ; and the other is the expansion i of the neck and hood. ‘This hood, which is ornamented with two ; large eye-like spots united by a curved black stripe, gives the snake a very fierce and sinister aspect. ls The cobra, however, is famous not only for the deadly power of fi its venom, but for the singular performances in which it plays a part. li There can be no question of the remarkable power which is exercised Ii in India by snake-charmers over these venomous reptiles, which they if musical sounds. This power is chiefly owing, I believe, to the i perfect confidence and courage of the snake-charmer, and partly also | to the peculiarly indolent character of the snake, and the soothing effect of music. Having witnessed a performance in which I was ; handle with skilful impunity and cause to sway in time to certain | | very closely concerned, I can vouch for the fact that it is not only the harmless snakes—those whose poison fangs have been destroyed —which are the playthings of the snake-charmer ; but those which are CONNIE OO Sa eer nn