in astronomy, a constellation in the northern hemisphere, called more particularly Serpens Ophiuchi. The stars in the constellation Serpens, in Ptolemy's catalogue, are 18; in Tycho's, 13; in Hevelius's, 22; and in the Britannic catalogue, 64.
Serpent Biceps, or Double-headed Snake: a monster of the serpent kind, there being no permanent species of this conformation. That represented on Plate CCCCXLIX. and copied from Edwards, came from the island of Barbadoes; and was said to have been taken out of an egg of the size of a small pullet's egg by a man who found it underground as he was digging. The heads were not in a horizontal position when the snake lay on its belly, but inclined to each other on their under-sides, leaving an opening for the throat to come in between the two heads underneath, as is expressed at A. The upper-side, for the whole length, was covered with small scales, falling one over another; the belly was covered with single scales running across it, in the form of half rings. It was all over of a yellowish colour, without any spots or variation. Mr Edwards also informs us, that a person brought to him a common English snake, which had two heads quite separate from each other, the necks parting about an inch from the head.
Serpens, Serpent, in the Linnaean system of zoology, an order of animals belonging to the class of amphibia, and comprehending six genera, viz. the crotalus, or rattle-snake; the boa, including ten species; the coluber, or viper; the anguis, or snake; the amphisbaena, or annulated snake, the body and tail of which are composed of annular segments; and the caecilia, or tentaculated snake, the body and tail of which are wrinkled, without scales, and the upper part furnished with two feelers; and including two species. See an account of these genera under their respective names.
The characters of serpents, according to Linnæus, differ in these: They are amphibious animals, breathing gulping through the mouth by means of lungs only; having a tapering body, no distinct neck; the jaws not articulated, but dilatable, and destitute of feet, fins, and ears.
The serpent has from the beginning been the enemy of man; and it has hitherto continued to terrify and annoy him, notwithstanding all the arts which have been practised to destroy it. Formidable in itself, it deters the invader from the pursuit; and from its figure, capable of finding shelter in a little space, it is not easily discovered by those who would venture to encounter it. Thus possessed at once of potent arms, and inaccessible or secure retreats, it baffles all the arts arts of man, though ever so earnestly bent upon its destruction. For this reason, there is scarce a country in the world that does not still give birth to this poisonous brood, that seems formed to quell human pride, and repel the boasts of security. Mankind have driven the lion, the tiger, and the wolf, from their vicinity; but the snake and the viper still defy their power.
Their numbers, however, are thinned by human fidelity; and it is possible some of the kinds are wholly destroyed. In none of the countries of Europe are they sufficiently numerous to be truly terrible. The various malignity that has been ascribed to European serpents of old is now utterly unknown; there are not above three or four kinds that are dangerous, and their poison operates in all in the same manner. The drowsy death, the starting of the blood from every pore, the inflamed and burning thirst, the melting down the solid mass of the whole form into one heap of putrefaction, said to be occasioned by the bites of African serpents, are horrors with which we are entirely unacquainted.
But though we have thus reduced these dangers, having been incapable of wholly removing them, in other parts of the world they still rage with all their ancient malignity. In the warm countries that lie within the tropics, as well as in the cold regions of the north, where the inhabitants are few, the serpents propagate in equal proportion. But of all countries those regions have them in the greatest abundance where the fields are unpeopled and fertile, and where the climate supplies warmth and humidity. All along the swampy banks of the river Niger or Oroonoko, where the sun is hot, the forests thick, and the men but few, the serpents cling among the branches of the trees in infinite numbers, and carry on an unceasing war against all other animals in their vicinity. Travellers have assured us, that they have often seen large snakes twining round the trunk of a tall tree, encompassing it like a wreath, and thus rising and descending at pleasure.
We are not, therefore, to reject as wholly fabulous the accounts left us by the ancients of the terrible devastations committed by a single serpent. It is probable, in early times, when the arts were little known, and mankind were but thinly scattered over the earth, that serpents, continuing undisturbed possessors of the forest, grew to an amazing magnitude; and every other tribe of animals fell before them. It then might have happened, that serpents reigned the tyrants of a district for centuries together. To animals of this kind, grown by time and capacity to 100 or 150 feet in length, the lion, the tiger, and even the elephant itself, were but feeble opponents. That horrible factor, which even the commonest and the most harmless snakes are still found to diffuse, might, in these larger ones, become too powerful for any living being to withstand; and while they preyed without distinction, they might thus also have poisoned the atmosphere around them. In this manner, having for ages lived in the hidden and unpeopled forest, and feeding, as their appetites were more powerful, the quantity of their prey decreasing, it is possible they might venture boldly from their retreats into the more cultivated parts of the country, and carry consternation among mankind, as they had before desolation among the lower ranks of nature. We have many histories of antiquity, presenting us such a picture, and exhibiting a whole nation sinking under the ravages of a single serpent. At that time man had not learned the art of uniting the efforts of many to effect one great purpose. Opposing multitudes only added new victims to the general calamity, and increased mutual embarrassment and terror. The animal was therefore to be singly opposed by him who had the greatest strength, the best armour, and the most undaunted courage. In such an encounter, hundreds must have fallen; till one, more lucky than the rest, by a fortunate blow; or by taking the monster in its torpid interval, and furbished with spoil, might kill, and thus rid his country of the destroyer. Such was the original occupation of heroes; and those who first obtained that name, from their destroying the ravagers of the earth, gained it much more deservedly than their successors, who acquired their reputation only for their skill in destroying each other. But as we descend into more enlightened antiquity, we find these animals less formidable, as being attacked in a more successful manner.
We are told, that while Regulus led his army along the banks of the river Bagrada in Africa, an enormous serpent disputed his passage over. We are assured by Pliny, that it was 120 feet long, and that it had destroyed many of the army. At last, however, the battering engines were brought out against it; and these afflicting it at a distance, it was soon destroyed. Its spoils were carried to Rome, and the general was decreed an ovation for his success. There are, perhaps, few facts better ascertained in history than this: an ovation was a remarkable honour; and was given only for some signal exploit that did not deserve a triumph; no historian would offer to invent that part of the story at least, without being subject to the most shameful detection. The skin was kept for several years after in the Capitol; and Pliny says he saw it there. At present, indeed, such ravages from serpents are scarce seen in any part of the world; not but that, in Africa and America, some of them are powerful enough to brave the assaults of men to this day.
Nequent expleri corda tuendo Terribiles oculos villosaque fetis pectori.
If we take a survey of serpents in general, they have marks by which they are distinguished from all the rest of animated nature. They have the length and the suppleness of the eel, but want fins to swim with; they have the scaly covering and pointed tail of the lizard, but they want legs to walk with; they have the crawling motion of the worm, but, unlike that animal, they have lungs to breathe with: like all the reptile kind, they are resentful when offended; and nature has supplied them with terrible arms to revenge every injury.
Though they are possessed of very different degrees of malignity, yet they are all formidable to man, and of have a strong similitude of form to each other. With their respect to their conformation, all serpents have a very mouth, wide mouth in proportion to the size of the head; and, what is very extraordinary, they can gape and swallow the head of another animal which is three times as big as their own. However, it is now surprising that the skin of the snake should stretch to receive so huge a morsel; the wonder seems how the jaws could take it. To explain this, it must be observed, that the jaws of this animal do not open as ours, in the manner of a pair of hinges, where bones are applied to bones, and play upon one another; on the contrary, the serpent's jaws are held together at the roots by a stretching muscular skin; by which means they open as widely as the animal chooses to stretch them, and admit of a prey much thicker than the snake's own body. The throat, like stretching leather, dilates to admit the morsel; the stomach receives it in part, and the rest remains in the gullet, till putrefaction and the juices of the serpent's body unite to dissolve it.
Some serpents have fangs or canine teeth, and others are without them. The teeth in all are crooked and hollow; and, by a peculiar contrivance, are capable of being erected or depressed at pleasure.
The eyes of all serpents are small, if compared to the length of the body; and though differently coloured in different kinds, yet the appearance of all is malign and heavy; and, from their known qualities, they strike the imagination with the idea of a creature meditating mischief. In some, the upper eyelid is wanting, and the serpent winks only with that below; in others, the animal has a nictitating membrane or skin, resembling that which is found in birds, which keeps the eye clean and preserves the sight. The substance of the eye in all is hard and horny; the crystalline humour occupying a great part of the globe.
The holes for hearing are very visible in all; but there are no conduits for smelling; though it is probable that some of them enjoy that sense in tolerable perfection.
The tongue in all these animals is long and forked. It is composed of two long fleshy fibulae, which terminate in sharp points, and are very pliable. At the root it is connected very strongly to the neck by two tendons, that give it a variety of play. Some of the viper kind have tongues a fifth part of the length of their bodies; they are continually darting them out; but they are entirely harmless, and only terrify those who are ignorant of the real situation of their poison.
If from the jaws we go on to the gullet, we shall find it very wide for the animal's size, and capable of being distended to a great degree; at the bottom of this lies the stomach, which is not so capacious, and receives only a part of the prey, while the rest continues in the gullet for digestion. When the substance in the stomach is dissolved into chyle, it passes into the intestines, and from thence goes to nourishment, or to be excluded by the vent.
Like most other animals, serpents are furnished with lungs, which we suppose are serviceable in breathing, though we cannot perceive the manner in which this operation is performed; for though serpents are often seen apparently to draw in their breath, yet we cannot find the smallest signs of their ever respiring it again. Their lungs, however, are long and large, and doubtless are necessary to promote their languid circulation.
The heart is formed as in the tortoise, the frog, and the lizard kinds, so as to work without the assistance of the lungs. It is single; the greatest part of the blood flowing from the great vein to the great artery by the shortest course. By this contrivance of nature we easily gather two consequences; that snakes are amphibious, being equally capable of living on land and in the water; and that also they are torpid in winter, like the bat, the lizard, and other animals formed in the same manner.
The vent in these animals serves for the emission of urine and the feces, and for the purposes of generation. The instrument of generation in the male is double, being forked like the tongue: the ovaries in the female are double also; and the aperture is very large, in order to receive the double intrument of the male. They copulate in their retreats; and it is said by the ancients, that in this situation they appear like one serpent with two heads.
As the body of this animal is long, slender, and capable of bending in every direction, the number of joints in the back-bone are numerous beyond what one would imagine. In the generality of quadrupeds, they amount to not above 30 or 40; in the serpent kind they amount to 145 from the head to the vent, and 25 more from that to the tail. The number of these joints must give the back-bone a surprising degree of pliancy; but this is still increased by the manner in which each of these joints are locked into the other. In man and quadrupeds, the flat surfaces of the bones are laid one against the other, and bound tight by finesse; but in serpents, the bones play one within the other like ball and socket, so that they have full motion upon each other in every direction.
Though the number of joints in the back-bone is great, yet that of the ribs is still greater; for, from the head to the vent, there are two ribs to every joint, which makes their number 295 in all. These ribs are furnished with muscles, four in number; which being inserted into the head, run along to the end of the tail, and give the animal great strength and agility in all its motions.
The skin also contributes to its motions, being composed of a number of scales, united to each other by a transparent membrane, which grows harder as it grows older, until the animal changes, which is generally done twice a-year. This cover then bursts near the head, and the serpent creeps from it by an undulatory motion, in a new skin, much more vivid than the former. If the old slough be then viewed, every scale will be distinctly seen like a piece of net-work, and will be found greatest where the part of the body they covered was largest.
There is much geometrical neatness in the disposal of the serpent's scales, for afflicting the animal's sinuous motion. As the edges of the foremost scales lie over the ends of their following scales, so those edges, when the scales are erected, which the animal has a power of doing in a small degree, catch in the ground, like the nails in the wheel of a chariot, and so promote and facilitate the animal's progressive motion. The erecting these scales is by means of a multitude of distinct muscles with which each is supplied, and one end of which is tacked each to the middle of the foregoing.
In some of the serpent kind there is the exactest symmetry in these scales; in others they are disposed more irregularly. In some there are larger scales on the belly, and often answering to the number of ribs; in others, however, the animal is without them. Upon this slight difference, Linnaeus has founded his distinctions of the various classes of the serpent tribe.
When we come to compare serpents with each other, their size, the first great distinction appears in their size; no other tribe of animals differing so widely in this particular. This tribe of animals, like that of fishes, seems to have no bounds put to their growth: their bones are in a great measure cartilaginous, and they are consequently capable of great extension: the older, therefore, a serpent becomes, the larger it grows; and as they seem to live to a great age, they arrive at an enormous size.
Leguat assures us, that he saw one in Java that was 50 feet long. Carli mentions their growing to above 40 feet; and we have now the skin of one in the British Museum that measures 32. Mr Wentworth, who had large concerns in the Berbices in America, assures us, that in that country they grow to an enormous length. He one day sent out a folder, with an Indian, to kill wild-fowl for the table; and they accordingly went some miles from the fort: in pursuing their game, the Indian, who generally marched before, beginning to tire, went to rest himself upon the fallen trunk of a tree, as he supposed it to be; but when he was just going to sit down, the enormous monster began to move; and the poor savage perceiving that he had approached a boa, the greatest of all the serpent kind, dropped down in an agony. The folder, who perceived at some distance what had happened, levelled at the serpent's head, and by a lucky aim shot it dead: however, he continued his fire until he was assured that the animal was killed; and then going up to rescue his companion, who was fallen motionless by its side, he, to his astonishment, found him dead likewise, being killed by the fright. Upon his return to the fort, and telling what had happened, Mr Wentworth ordered the animal to be brought up, when it was measured, and found to be 36 feet long. He had the skin stuffed, and then sent to Europe as a present to the prince of Orange, in whose cabinet it was lately to be seen at the Hague; but the skin is shrunk, by drying, two or three feet. In the East indies they grow also to an enormous size, particularly in the island of Java, where, we are assured, that one of them will destroy and devour a buffalo. See Boa.
But it is happy for mankind that the rapacity of these frightful creatures is often their punishment; for whenever any of the serpent kind have gorged themselves in this manner, whenever their body is seen particularly distended with food, they then become torpid, and may be approached and destroyed with safety. Patient of hunger to a surprising degree, whenever they cease and swallow their prey, they seem like furciferous gluttons, unwieldy, stupid, helpless, and sleepy: they at that time seek some retreat, where they may lurk for several days together, and digest their meal in safety: the smallest effort at that time is capable of destroying them; they can scarce make any resistance; and they are equally unqualified for flight or opposition: that is the happy opportunity of attacking them with success; at that time the naked Indian himself does not fear to assail them. But it is otherwise when this sleepy interval of digestion is over; they then issue, with famished appetites, from their retreats, and with accumulated terrors, while every animal of the forest flies before them.
But though these animals are of all others the most voracious, and though the morsel which they swallow without chewing, is greater than what any other creature, either by land or water, can devour; yet no animals upon earth bear abstinence so long as they. A single meal, with many of the snake kind, seems to be the adventure of a season; it is an occurrence, of which they have been for weeks, nay sometimes for months, in patient expectation. When they have feasted their prey, their industry for several weeks is entirely discontinued; the fortunate capture of an hour often satisfies them for the remaining period of their annual activity. As their blood is colder than that of most other terrestrial animals, and as it circulates but slowly through their bodies, so their powers of digestion are but feeble. Their prey continues, for a long time, partly in the stomach, partly in the gullet, and is often seen in part hanging out of the mouth. In this manner it digests by degrees; and in proportion as the part below is digested, the part above is taken in. It is not therefore till this tedious operation is entirely performed, that the serpent renews its appetite and its activity. But should any accident prevent it from issuing once more from its cell, it still can continue to bear famine for weeks, months, nay for years together. Vipers * are often kept in boxes for six or eight months, without any food whatever; and there are little serpents sometimes sent over to Europe from Grand Cairo, that live for several years in glasses, and never eat at all, nor even slain the glass with their excrements.
Other creatures have a choice in their provision: but the serpent indiscriminately preys upon all; the buffalo, the tiger, and the gazelle. One would think that the porcupine's quills might be sufficient to protect it; but whatever has life serves to appease the hunger of these devouring creatures: porcupines, with all their quills, have frequently been found in their stomachs when killed and opened; nay, they most frequently are seen to devour each other.
A life of savage hostility in the forest offers the imagination one of the most tremendous pictures in nature; which they frequent in those burning countries, where the sun dries up every brook for hundreds of miles round; when what had the appearance of a great river in the rainy season, becomes, in summer, one dreary bed of sand; in those countries, a lake that is never dry, or a brook that is perennial—is considered by every animal as the greatest convenience of nature. When they have discovered this, no dangers can deter them from attempting to slake their thirst. Thus the neighbourhood of a rivulet, in the heart of the tropical continents, is generally the place where all the hostile tribes of nature draw up for the engagement. On the banks of this little envied spot, thousands of animals of various kinds are seen venturing to quench their thirst, or preparing to seize their prey. The elephants are perceived in a long line, marching from the darker parts of the forest; the buffaloes, are there, depending upon numbers for security; the gazelles relying solely upon their swiftness; the lion and tiger waiting a proper opportunity to seize; but chiefly the larger serpents are upon guard there, and defend the approaches of the lake. Not an hour passes without some dreadful combat; but the serpent, defended by its scales, and naturally capable of sustaining a multitude of wounds, is, of all others, the most formidable. It is the most wakeful also; for the whole tribe sleep with their eyes open, and are consequently forever upon the watch; so that, till their rapacity is satisfied, few few other animals will venture to approach their station.
In comparing serpents as to their voices, some are found silent, some have a peculiar cry; but hissing is the sound which they most commonly send forth, either as a call to their kind, or as a threat to their enemies. In the countries where they abound, they are generally silent in the middle of the day, when they are obliged to retire from the heat of the climate; but as the cool of the evening approaches, they are then heard issuing from their cells with continued hissings; and such is the variety of their notes, that some have assured us they very much resemble the music of an English grove. This some will hardly credit; at any rate, such notes, however melodious, can give but very little delight, when we call to mind the malignity of the minstrel. If considered, indeed, as they answer the animal's own occasions, they will be found well adapted to its nature, and fully answering the purposes of terrifying such as would venture to offend it.
With respect to motion, some serpents, particularly those of the viper kind, move slowly; while others dart with amazing swiftness. The motion in all is similar; but the strength of body in some gives a very different appearance. The viper, that is but a slow feeble-bodied animal, makes way in a heavy undulating manner; advancing its head, then drawing up its tail behind, and bending the body into a bow; then from the spot where the head and tail were united, advancing the head forward as before. This, which is the motion of all serpents, is very different from that of the earth-worm or the naked snail. The serpent, as was said above, has a back-bone, with numerous joints; and this bone the animal has a power of bending in every direction, but without being able to shorten or lengthen it at pleasure. The earth-worm, on the other hand, has no back-bone; but its body is composed of rings, which, like a barber's puff, it can lengthen or shorten as it finds necessary. The earth-worm, therefore, in order to move forward, lengthens the body; then by the fore part clings to the ground where it has reached, and then contracts and brings up its rear; then, when the body is thus shortened, the fore-part is lengthened again for another progression, and so on. The serpent, instead of shortening the body, bends it into an arch; and this is the principal difference between serpentine and vermicular progression.
We have intimated this motion in the viper, as most easily discerned; but there are many serpents that dart with such amazing swiftness, that they appear rather to leap than crawl. It is most probable, however, that no serpent can dart upon even ground farther than its own length at one effort. Our fears indeed may increase the force of their speed, which is sometimes found so fatal. We are told by some, that they will dart to a very great distance; but this we have never been able to ascertain. The manner of progression in the swiftest serpent we know, which is the jaculus, is by instantly coiling itself upon its tail, and darting from thence to its full extent; then carrying the tail, as quick as lightning, to the head; coiling and darting again; and by this means proceeding with extreme rapidity, without ever quitting the ground. Indeed, if we consider the length and the weakness of the back-bone in all these animals; if we regard the make of the vertebrae, in which we shall find the junctures all formed to give play, and none to give power; we cannot be of opinion that they have a faculty of springing from the ground, as they entirely want a fulcrum, if we may so express it, from whence to take their spring; the whole body being composed of unsupported muscles and joints that are yielding.
Though all serpents are amphibious, some are much fonder of the water than others; and though destitute of fins or gills, remain at the bottom, or swim along the surface, with great ease. From their internal structure, we see how well adapted they are for either element; and how capable their blood is of circulating at the bottom as freely as in the frog or the tortoise. They can, however, endure to live in fresh water only; for salt is an effectual bane to the whole tribe. The greatest serpents are most usually found in fresh water, either choosing it as their favourite element, or finding their prey in such places in the greatest abundance. But that all will live and swim in liquids, appears from an experiment of Redi; who put a serpent into a large glass vessel of wine, where it lived swimming about six hours; though, when it was by force immersed and put under that liquid, it lived only one hour and a half. He put another in common water, where it lived three days; but when it was kept under water, it lived only about 12 hours. Their motion there, however, is perfectly the reverse of what it is upon land; for, in order to support themselves upon an element lighter than their bodies, they are obliged to increase their surface in a very artificial manner. On earth their windings are perpendicular to the surface; in water they are parallel to it: in other words, if a person should wave his hand up and down, it will give an idea of the animal's progress on land; if to the right and left, it will give some idea of its progress on the water.
Some serpents have a most horrible foster attending them, which is alone capable of intimidating the brave. This proceeds from two glands near the vent, like those in the weasel or polecat; and, like those animals, in proportion as they are excited by rage or by fear the scent grows stronger. It would seem, however, that such serpents as are most venomous are least offensive in this particular; since the rattlesnake and the viper have no smell whatever; nay, we are told, that at Calecut and Cranganon, in the East Indies, there are some very noxious serpents, who are so far from being disagreeable, that their excrements are sought after, and kept as the most pleasing perfume. The Eculapian serpent is also of this number.
Some serpents bring forth their young alive, as the viper; some bring forth eggs, which are hatched by the heat of their situation, as the common black snake, and the majority of the serpent tribe. When a reader, ignorant of anatomy, is told, that some of those animals produce their young alive, and that some produce eggs only, he is apt to suppose a very great difference in the internal conformation, which makes such a variety in the manner of bringing forth. But this is not the case: these animals are internally alike, in whatever manner they produce their young; and the variety in their bringing forth is rather a flight than a real discrimination. The only difference is, that the viper hatches her eggs, and brings them to maturity, within her body; the snake is more premature in her productions. tions, and sends her eggs into the light some time before the young ones are capable of leaving the shell. Thus, if either are opened, the eggs will be found in the womb, covered with their membranous shell, and adhering to each other like large beads on a string. In the eggs of both, the young ones will be found, though at different stages of maturity: those of the viper will crawl and bite in the moment the shell that incloses them is broke open; those of the snake are not yet arrived at their perfect form.
Father Labat took a serpent of the viper kind that was nine feet long, and ordered it to be opened in his presence. He then saw the manner in which the eggs of these animals lie in the womb. In this creature there were six eggs, each of the size of a goose egg, but longer, more pointed, and covered with a membranous skin, by which also they were united to each other. Each of these eggs contained from 13 to 15 young ones, about six inches long, and as thick as a goose quill. Though the female from whence they were taken was spotted, the young seemed to have a variety of colours very different from the parent; and this led the traveller to suppose that the colour was no characteristic mark among serpents. These little mischievous animals were no sooner let loose from the shell than they crept about, and put themselves into a threatening posture, coiling themselves up and biting the stick with which he was destroying them. In this manner he killed 74 young ones; those that were contained in one of the eggs escaped at the place where the female was killed, by the bursting of the egg and their getting among the bushes.
The fascinating power ascribed to serpents, especially to rattlesnakes, by which they are said to draw animals to them, is very curious. It has been described by so many different persons, who affirmed that they had seen instances of it, and has been believed by so many men of penetration and discernment, that it deserves at least to be mentioned. The rattlesnake fixes its eyes upon any animal, such as a bird or squirrel. When the animal spies the snake, it skips from spray to spray, hovering and approaching nearer the enemy; descending, with dilated gestures and cries, from the top of the loftiest trees to the mouth of the snake, who opens his jaws, and in an instant swallows the unfortunate animal.
The following instances of fascination have so much the appearance of fiction, that it would require a very uncommon degree of evidence to render them credible. They are extracted from a paper in the Gentleman's Magazine for the year 1765, p. 511, which was communicated by Mr Peter Collinson from a correspondent in Philadelphia.
"A person of good credit was travelling by the side of a creek or small river, where he saw a ground squirrel running to and fro between the creek and a great tree a few yards distant; the squirrel's hair looking very rough, which showed he was scared, and his returns being shorter and shorter, the man stood to observe the cause, and soon spied the head and neck of a rattlesnake pointing at the squirrel through a hole of the great tree, it being hollow; the squirrel at length gave over running, and laid himself quietly down with his head close to the snake's; the snake then opened his mouth wide, and took in the squirrel's head; upon which the man gave
Vol. XVII. Part I. of the evidence must be in proportion to the extraordinary nature of the fact. To apply this to the present case: We have the testimony of many persons that some serpents have a power of fascination; but the generality of men have never observed this; it is therefore an extraordinary fact, and requires extraordinary evidence. But the evidence is not satisfactory; therefore we do not receive it as a fact: on the other hand, it is unphilosophical to reject it *a priori*.
No subject has excited more philosophical controversy than the poison of serpents, with regard to its nature and mode of operating. Antiquity has not been sparing in conjecture and fiction upon this subject, and its errors have been retained with the most reverential obstinacy by the vulgar; among these we are to reckon the fictitious ring fixed in the tail of the serpent, as the painters sometimes have groundlessly enough represented it; some have invented a similar fiction of a black forked tongue, which the serpent vibrates on both sides, and have ascribed its power of producing such noxious effect to this; while others, affecting an air of superior discernment, have, upon equally good reasons, ascribed it to the teeth in general: these are all errors of a magnitude that the most delusive attention to the subject would have been sufficient to have removed. There is a very small bone closely fixed to the upper jaw, in the inside of the lip of a poisonous serpent, which has a power of moving backward or forward; to this two or three fangs are annexed larger than the teeth, which the serpent, by its affluence, when enraged, darts forward, or withdraws and conceals at his pleasure, in a similar manner to the claws of a cat; these fangs, which the common people name the large teeth of the serpent, are excellently described by Tyron in the anatomy of the rattlesnake, which he has given in the Philosophical Transactions. "In these (the fangs) we observed a considerable cavity near the base; and near the point a very discernible fissure of some length like the slit of a pen: the part of the tooth from the fissure to the root was manifestly channelled, which we first discovered by lightly pressing the gums; we then saw the poison ascend through the cavity of the fang and flow out of the fissure; and as these fangs are so very acute, so firm and solid toward the point (the fissure being on the external and convex, not the internal side), nothing could be conceived more convenient either for inflicting a wound, or to infuse the infusion of the poison."
Each of the fangs is surrounded with a vehicle furnished with glands secreting a certain fluid; which, upon the vehicle being pressed, seems to flow out of the point of the fang. The serpent when incensed, raising his head, extends the small bone armed with the fangs mentioned above; and attacking his enemy with a force combined of the weight of his body and the action of the muscles, he wounds him with the expanded fangs, and the vehicle being compressed the poison immediately flows into the wound: this is clear from the experience of those who, having broken off their fangs with a pair of forceps, handled the serpent, thus disarmed without any hurt. The North Americans, after carefully extracting these venomous fangs, suffer the rattlesnake to bite and gnaw them with his teeth till the blood flows freely, with total impunity.
Antiquity amused itself with a fable destitute of all appearance of truth, that anger was excited by black bile: they applied this fiction without hesitation to the present subject, and founded an hypothesis upon it, to account for the effects of the bite of an incensed serpent; pretending to have discovered an ideal canal which conducted the bile from its vehicle to the mouth of the serpent, whence it flowed into the part bitten, and produced the most fatal symptoms. But toward the end of the last century, this subject was greatly illustrated under the auspices of Ferdinand II. Great Duke of Tuscany: This prince, desirous of inquiring into that mysterious question, the nature of serpents, invited Steno, Rhedi, and some other philosophers of the first eminence, to his court; and a multitude of the most poisonous serpents being collected, Rhedi made several experiments upon them, which discovered to him a number of particulars before unknown; of which the following seem to have the best claim to our attention. When he either cauled a living viper to bite a dog, or wounded him with the teeth of one newly dead (the poisonous vehicle remaining unbroken), the event was the same. If the bite was repeated, its effect became weaker, and at last was lost, the poison contained in the vehicle being totally exhausted. That the teeth of serpents, when extended to bite, were moistened over with a certain liquor; and when the vehicle at the base was pressed, a drop of poison flowed to the point of the fang. When the poison thus flowing from the vehicle was received in soft bread or a sponge, an animal bitten by the serpent received no more harm from the wound than from being pricked by a needle, till after a few days, when the venom was restored afresh; but when an animal was wounded with the point of a needle dipped in the poison, it was tormented with the same pains as if it had been bitten by the viper itself. Preserving some of this poison in a glass, and totally evaporating the moisture in the sun, when the residuum was diluted again with water, and the point of a needle dipped in the solution, Rhedi found to his great surprise that it had the same effect as when recent. But the boldness of Tozzi, one who charmed vipers, flung all these men who were deeply versed in natural philosophy into the utmost astonishment. They happening to fall into difficulty (while the prince was present) upon the certain death which would attend any person's swallowing this potion of the viper by mistake, instead of spirit of wine or water; Tozzi, confiding in his art, drank a considerable portion of it without hesitation: they were all astonished at his apparent rashness, and predicted instant death to the man; however, he escaped as safely as if he had drunk only so much water. This event, which struck the prince and his illustrious associates in these philosophical inquiries by its novelty, was well known to the ancients. Lucan, in the 9th book of the Pharsalia, speaking of the serpent, says,
> Noxia serpentum est admitto sanguine pellis > Morbi virus habent et futum dentis minuntur, > Pocula morte carent.
Phar. l. 9. v. 614.
Mix'd with the blood that venom slays alone, His bite is poison; death is in his fang; Yet is the draught innocuous.
Nor must we omit observing, that barbarous nations are perfectly acquainted with the property of the poison of serpents by which it retains its deadly power af- ter it has been long kept: they have been possessed of this fatal secret for ages past; it being their custom to tinge the points of their arrows with the juice of spurge, putrid flesh, or oil of tobacco, but more particularly with the poison of vipers. Some modern Indians continue the practice to this day; and we have the testimony of Pliny, in his Natural History, that the Scythians had long ago the same custom: "The Scythians (says that author) dip their arrows in the poison of vipers and human blood; a horrid practice, as the flightless wound inflicted by one of them defies all the art of medicine."
The poison of serpents produces fatal effects only by mixing with the blood. To confirm this principle, the Florentine philosophers collected a quantity of poison, and gave it to different animals without producing the least inconvenience; but when applied to an external wound, every one of those horrid symptoms which accompany the real bite followed, viz., inflammatory and malignant fevers, ending in death, unless nature, by a spontaneous hemorrhage, or some other evacuation, discharged this poison. With respect to the experiments of Rhedi, every one of his observations prove, that the liquid pressed out of the vehicle which moistens the fangs of the serpents is only noxious by being conveyed into the blood, by means of a puncture or wound; and the case of Tozzi, who drank a considerable quantity of this poison without suffering injury, proves that it hurts the blood only when externally mixed with it.
The symptoms of the bite of the viper have already been described under Medicine, p. 408, with the cures recommended by Dr Mead for the bite of serpents in general. Under the article Poison, p. 269, we have mentioned the Abbé Fontana's method of cure, viz., ligatures, and the beneficial effects of the volatile alkali. We shall now therefore supply what has been omitted in these articles, by describing the symptoms which accompany the bite of other serpents.
The symptoms attending the bite of the coluber preferr, a native of Sweden, are, pain in the wound, tumor, thirst, asthma, anxieties, convulsions, and death.
There is a serpent still more dreadful than any of the former, found in Sweden, called coluber curcia. The bite of this is followed by immediate change of colour, coldness, stupor, palpitation of the heart, acute pain all over the body, and death. Linnaeus tried oil in this case, but it proved ineffectual.
The crotalus horridus, of Linnaeus, the rattlesnake, kills in a very sudden manner; his bite usually producing death within twelve hours.
The following account of the poison serpent of the East Indies is given by M. d'Obonville. "Among the serpents of India, that which I believe to be most formidable is but about two feet long, and very small. Its skin is freckled with little spots of brown or pale red, and contrasted with a ground of dirty yellow; it is mostly found in dry and rocky places, and its bite mortal in less than one or two minutes. In the year 1759, and in the province of Cadapet, I saw several instances of it; and among others, one very singular, in the midst of a corps of troops commanded by M. de Buffy. An Indian Gentoo merchant perceived a Mahometan soldier, of his acquaintance going to kill one of these reptiles, which he had found sleeping under his packet, the Gentoo flew to beg its life, protesting it would do no hurt if it was not first provoked; puffing at the same time his hand under its belly to carry it out of the camp, when suddenly it twisted round, and bit his little finger; upon which this unfortunate martyr of a fanatic charity gave a shriek, took a few steps, and fell down insensible. They flew to his assistance, applied the serpent-stone, fire, and scarifications, but they were all ineffectual, his blood was already coagulated. About an hour after, I saw the body as they were going to burn it, and I thought I perceived some indications of a complete dissolution of the blood.
The serpens bulans, or burning serpent, is nearly of the same form with the last mentioned; its skin is not quite so deep a brown, and is speckled with dark green spots; its poison is almost as dangerous, but it is less active, and its effects are very different: in some persons it is a devouring fire, which, as it circulates through the veins, presently occasions death; the blood dissolves into a lymphatic liquor, resembling thin broth, without apparently having passed through the intermediate state of coagulation, and runs from eyes, nose, and ears, and even through the pores. In other subjects, the poison seems to have changed the very nature of the humours in dissolving them; the skin is chapped and becomes scaly, the hair falls off, the members are tumefied, the patient feels all over his body the most racking pains, numbness, and is not long in perishing. It is said, however, that people have been cured by remedies well and soon applied. Be that as it may, it seems to me that the poison of these different reptiles is in general more powerful the more they live in hot and dry places, where they feed upon insects that are full of saline, volatile, and acrimonious particles."
We are ignorant of what species the hemorrhois was, which is described by Lucan as causing by its bite a flux of blood from every part of the body. But the bite of an American serpent named de la crux kills in the same manner.
The dipsas is at present likewise unknown. Lucan informs us, that the person wounded by it was attacked by an unquenchable thirst. This is finely painted by him; where A. Tufcus, standard-bearer of Cato, is described as bitten by that serpent:
Non decus imperii, non magli jura Catonis Ardentem tenere virum, quin spargere signa Audaret, totisque furues exquireret agri Quas poecibat aquas sitiens in corde venenum.
Pharsal. l. 9.
His will impatience, not his honour'd state, Nor sorrowing Cato's high command, restrain; Furious, dishonour'd in the dust, he flings His sacred eagle, and o'er all the fields Rapid he bursts to seek the cooling stream, To quench the thirsty poison in his breast.
And a few verses after:
Scrutatur venas penitus squalentis arenae Nunc redit ad Syrtes, et flatus accipit ore, Aquosaque placet, sed non sibi sufficit humor, Nec sentit satiique genui, mortemque veneni, Sed putat effe stilum; ferroque apiere tumentes Syltinuit venas, atque os implere cruore. Now tearing up the sands, some latent vein Frustrate he feeks; now to the Syrtes shore Return'd, he swallows down the briny flood Mix'd with its rolling sands; nor knows his fate And the sad poison's death, but calls it thirst; Then with his sword opens his spouting veins, And drinks the bursting blood.
The phytas, or amodytes of Linnæus, or, according to others, the coluber aspis, seems to have been the ser- pent made use of by Cleopatra to destroy herself. This woman, to terminate a dissipated life with an easy death, ordered her physicians to prepare a poison for her which might best effect this purpose. Having tried a num- ber of different experiments upon condemned criminals, they at last discovered this species of asp, which brings on death without any previous appearance of distemper or hiccup: the face seems in a flight perspiration, an easy insensibility and lethargy creeps upon the whole frame, and the person bitten seems almost totally igno- rant of his approaching dissolution. Having acquaint- ed the queen with their discovery, she applied the asp either to her bosom or her arms; or, according to some authors, dipping the point of a needle in the poison, and pricking herself with it, she expired in an easy sleep.
The bite of the ninja is so fatal, that a man dies by it in the space of an hour, his flesh entirely falling off his bones in a semifluid state: this makes it probable that it is the same serpent which the ancients named the saps.
The experiments of Rhedi have not, in the opinion of some celebrated philosophers, so far cleared the the- ory of the operation of the poison of the viper, as to leave nothing further to be desired upon that subject. Fontana and Carminati have endeavoured to investigate its operations more clearly. Carminati, from 11 expe- riments, deduces the following conclusions: 1. That if poison be inflicted into a nerve, the animal wounded dies almost instantly; and the whole nervous system, to which it is rapidly conveyed, is deprived of its quality called sensibility. 2. If a muscle be wounded, it is de- prived of its irritability. This is confirmed by the ex- periments of Fontana. 3. The poison injected into a wounded muscle or tendon is considerably longer in kill- ing an animal than that introduced into a nerve. 4. The symptoms which precede the death of the animal bitten are, a stupor, lethargy, tremors, convulsions, pa- ralysis of the legs (part wounded), entire diffusion of the limbs. The blood is not always coagulated, nor its crusts dissolved. Marks of inflammation are sometimes discovered in certain parts of the animal after death, sometimes not: these are the effects of spasms and con- vulsions, not of the poison. 5. Not the least sign of the jaundice was discoverable in the eyes of any of the animals upon which Carminati made his experiments. 6. The stomach in every one of them was very much inflated; a symptom remarked only by Fallopius and Albertini. 7. A ligature applied instantly above the part bitten, if it be so placed as to admit one, was found by some experiments a good preventative against the diffusion of the poison: its compression should be considerable, but not excessive.
As few serpents, comparatively speaking, are poison- ous, it may be interesting to our readers to know what are the characteristics which distinguish poisonous from harmless serpents. The external characteristics of the poisonous tribe are these:
1. A broad head, covered with small scales, though it be not a certain criterion of venomous serpents, is, with some few exceptions, a general character of them.
2. A tail under one-fifth of the whole length is also a general character of venomous serpents; but, since many of those which are not venomous have tails as short, little dependence can be placed upon that cir- cumstance alone. On the other hand, a tail exceeding that proportion, is a pretty certain mark that the spe- cies to which it belongs is not venomous.
3. A thin and acute tail is by no means to be con- sidered as peculiar to venomous serpents; though a thick and obtuse one is only to be found among those which are not venomous.
4. Carinated scales are, in some measure, charac- teristic of venomous serpents, since in them they are more common than smooth ones, in the proportion of nearly four to one; whereas smooth scales are, in those ser- pents which are not venomous, more common, in the proportion of nearly three to one.
Upon the whole, therefore, it appears, that though a pretty certain conjecture may, in many instances, be made from the external characters, yet, in order to de- termine with certainty whether a serpent be venomous or not, it becomes necessary to have recourse to some certain diagnostic. This can only be sought for in the mouth; we must therefore next consider how the fangs, with which the mouths of venomous serpents are fur- nished, are to be distinguished from common teeth.
To those who form their ideas of the fangs of a venomous serpent, from those of the rattlesnake, or even from those of the English viper, it will appear strange that there should be any difficulty in distinguishing those weapons from common teeth; and indeed the di- stinction would really be very easy, were all venomous serpents furnished with fangs as large as those of the fore-mentioned species. But the fact is, that in many species the fangs are full as small as common teeth, and consequently cannot, by their size, be known from them; this is the case with the coluber latilaudatus, lacteus, and several others."
Linnæus thought that the fangs might be distin- guished by their mobility and situation; but other na- turalists have not found it a general fact that fangs are loose in their sockets, nor have they observed any dif- ference in situation between the fangs of venomous ser- pents and the teeth of others. The following distinc- tion is established by Dr Gray in a paper inserted in the Philosophical Transactions, Vol. Ixix. All venomous ser- pents have only two rows of teeth in the upper jaw, and all others have four.
In the preface to the Museum Regis, and in the in- troduction to the clas amphibia in the Systema Nature, Linnæus says, that the proportion of venomous serpents to others is one in ten; yet, in the Systema Nature, of which the sum total in species is 131, he has marked 23 as venomous, which is somewhat more than one in five. How he came to be so much at variance with himself, it is not easy to say; but the last mentioned proportion seems to be not far from the truth, as Dr Gray, after examining 154 species of serpents, found only 26 that seemed to be venomous. The coluber floslatus and myterizans, though marked by Linnaeus, we are assured by Dr Gray are not poisonous; he thinks the same may be said of the leberis and dyphas. On the other hand, he observes, that the boa contortrix, coluber ceraus, laticaudatus, and coluber fulvus, none of which are marked in the Systema Naturae, are all poisonous.
In addition to the method of cure mentioned in the articles referred to above, we shall subjoin the prescription of a new author, Dr Mofeley*, who spent 12 years in the West Indies, and whose abilities and extensive practice very justly entitle his opinion to a place in this work, to the attention of the public, and to all medical gentlemen going to the West Indies.
"The bites and stings of all venomous animals are cured by the same local means; which are very simple, if they were always at hand. The injured part must be instantly destroyed or be cut out. Destroying it is the most safe, and equally certain; and the best application for that purpose is the lapis internalis or the butter of antimony.—These are preferable to an hot iron, which the ancients used, because an hot iron forms a crust, which acts as a defense to the under parts, instead of destroying them. The lapis internalis is much better than any other caustic, as it melts and penetrates during its application. The bitten part must be destroyed to the bottom, and where there is any doubt that the bottom of the wound is not sufficiently exposed, butter of antimony should be introduced into it on the following day, as deep as possible; and incisions should be made to lay every part open to the action of these applications. Besides destroying, burning, or cutting out the part, incisions should be made round the wound, to prevent the communication of the virus. The wound is to be dressed for some time with poultices, to assuage the inflammation caused by the caustics; and afterwards with acid dressings and hot digestives to drain the injured parts.
Where the above-mentioned caustics cannot be procured, corrosive sublimate, oil of vitriol, aquafortis, spirit of salt, common caustic, or a plaster made of quicklime and soap, may be applied to the wound. Gunpowder laid on the part, and fired, has been used with success. When a person is bitten remote from any affluence, he should make a tight ligature above the part, until proper application can be made. The Spanish writers say, that the habilla de Carthagena, or Carthagena bean, is a specific for poisonous bites, taken inwardly.
Ulloa says, it is "one of the most effectual antidotes known in that country (Carthagena) against the bites of vipers and serpents: for a little of it being eaten immediately after the bite, it presently stops the effects of the poison; and accordingly all who frequent the woods, either for felling trees or hunting, never fail to eat a little of this habilla fasting, and repair to their work without any apprehension.
The natives tell you, that this habilla being hot in the highest degree, much of it cannot be eaten; that the common dose of it is less than the fourth part of a kernel; and that no hot liquor, as wine, brandy, &c., must be drunk immediately after taking it."
"The Carthagena bean, or habilla, is found in great abundance in the West Indian islands, where it is generally known by the name of Antidote or Cocoon, or Antidote Cocoon. In small doses it is stomachic and diaphoretic; and in large doses emetic and purgative. In several disorders it is a powerful remedy; but its virtues are not sufficiently known, except among the Indians and negroes, who chiefly use an infusion or tincture of it made in rum. This is externally as well as internally used for many complaints (A).
"I have been informed by some intelligent Indians, that any of the red peppers, such as bird pepper, or bell pepper, or what is called Cayenne pepper, powdered and taken in a glass of rum as much as the stomach can possibly bear, so as to cause, and keep up for some time, great heat and inflammation in the body and a vigorous circulation, will stop the progress of the poison of serpents, even after its effects are visible; and that the bitten part only afterwards mortifies and separates, and that the patient, with bark, wine, and cordials, soon recovers.
"This fiery practice is certainly agreeable to that of the ancients, and probably the only internal treatment that can have any good effect; as in these cases the powers of life, and the action of the heart, are suddenly enfeebled, and the pulse in strength and frequency observes almost a regular declension from the time of the bite until it entirely ceases in death."
Polygala senega, or rattlesnake-root, was formerly considered as a sovereign remedy for the bite of the rattlesnake; but this opinion is now exploded.
If it be asked for what purpose were serpents created with such destructive weapons? we answer, that they were given for self-defence. Without these, serpents, of all other animals, would be the most exposed and defenseless; without feet for escaping a pursuit, without teeth capable of inflicting a dangerous wound, or without strength for resistance; incapable, from their size, of finding security in very small retreats like the earthworm, and disguising all from their deformity, nothing was left for them but a speedy extirpation. But furnished as they are with powerful poison, every rank of animals approach them with dread, and never seize them but at an advantage. Nor is this all the benefit they derive from it. The malignity of a few serves for the protection of all. Though not above a tenth of their number are actually venomous, yet the similitude they all bear to each other excites a general terror of the whole tribe; and the uncertainty of their enemies about what serpents are poisonous, makes even the most harmless formidable. Thus Providence seems to have acted with double precaution: it has given some of them poison for the general defense of a tribe naturally feeble; but it has thinned the numbers of those which are venomous, lest they should become too powerful for the rest of animated nature.
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(A) "This bean is the seed of the Fevillea foliis cordatis of Plumier, Ed. Burmanni, p. 203. tab. 209; Fevillea foliis cordatis, angulatis, of Linnaeus, Spec. P. Fevillea foliis crassioribus, glabris, quandoque cordatis, quandoque trilobis, or Antidote Cocoon, of Brown, p. 374." From these noxious qualities in the serpent kind, it is no wonder that not only man, but beasts and birds carry on an unceasing war against them. The ichneumon of the Indians, and the peccary* of America, destroy them in great numbers. These animals have the art of seizing them near the head; and it is said that they can skin them with great dexterity. The vulture and the eagle also prey upon them in great abundance; and often, swooping down from the clouds, drop upon a long serpent, which they snatch up struggling and writhing in the air. Dogs also are bred up to oppose them. Father Feuillée tells us, that being in the woods of Martinico, he was attacked by a large serpent, which he could not easily avoid, when his dog immediately came to his relief, and seized the assailant with great courage. The serpent entwined him, and pressed him violently, that the blood came out of his mouth, and yet the dog never ceased till he had torn it to pieces. The dog was not sensible of his wounds during the fight; but soon after his head swelled prodigiously, and he lay on the ground as dead. But his master having found a banana tree hard by, he applied its juice mixed with treacle to the wounds, which recovered the dog, and quickly healed his sores.
The Pythii of old were famous for charming and destroying serpents. Some moderns pretend to the same art. Casanbon says that he knew a man who could at any time summon 100 serpents together, and draw them into the fire. Upon a certain occasion, when one of them, bigger than the rest, would not be brought in, he only repeated his charm, and it came forward, like the rest, to submit to the flames. Philostratus describes particularly how the Indians charm serpents, “They take a scarlet robe, embroidered with golden letters, and spread it before a serpent’s hole. — The golden letters have a fascinating power; and by looking steadfastly, the serpent’s eyes are overcome and laid asleep.” These and many other feats have been often practised upon these animals by artful men, who had first prepared the serpents for their exercise, and then exhibited them as adventitiously assembled at their call. In India there is nothing so common as dancing serpents, which are carried about in a broad flat vessel, somewhat resembling a sieve. These erect and put themselves in motion at the word of command. When their keeper sings a slow tune, they seem by their heads to keep time; when he sings a quicker measure, they appear to move more brisk and lively. All animals have a certain degree of docility; and we find that serpents themselves can be brought to move and approach at the voice of their master. From this trick, successfully practised before the ignorant, it is most probable has arisen most of the boasted pretensions which some have made to charming of serpents; an art to which the native Americans pretend at this very day, but the existence of which we are assured of by Mr Hasselquist amongst the native Egyptians.
Though the generality of mankind regard this formidable race with horror, yet there have been some nations, and there are some at this day, that consider them with veneration and regard. The adoration paid by the ancient Egyptians to a serpent is well known: many of the nations at present along the western coast of Africa retain the same unaccountable veneration. Up on the gold and slave coasts, a stranger, upon entering the cottages of the natives, is often surprized to see the roof swarming with serpents, that cling there without molesting and unmolested by the natives. But his surprise will increase upon going farther southward to the kingdom of Widah, when he finds that a serpent is the god of the country. This animal, which travellers describe as a huge overgrown creature, has its habitation, its temples, and its priests. These impress the vulgar with an opinion of its virtues; and numbers are daily seen to offer not only their goods, their provisions, and their prayers, at the shrine of their hideous deity, but also their wives and daughters. These the priests readily accept of, and after some days of penance return them to their suppliants, much benefited by the serpent’s supposed embraces.