oing this, he
handled it so inexpertly that it seized him by the finger, and retained
its hold for a few seconds, as if unable to retract its fangs. The blood
flowed, and intense pain appeared to follow almost immediately; but,
with all expedition, the friend of the sufferer undid his waistcloth,
and took from it two snake-stones, each of the size of a small almond,
intensely black and highly polished, though of an extremely light
substance. These he applied, one to each wound inflicted by the teeth of
the serpent, to which they attached themselves closely; the blood that
oozed from the bites being rapidly imbibed by the porous texture of the
article applied. The stones adhered tenaciously for three or four
minutes, the wounded man's companion in the meanwhile rubbing his arm
downwards from the shoulder towards the fingers. At length the
snake-stones dropped off of their own accord; the suffering of the man
appeared to subside; he twisted his fingers till the joints cracked, and
went on his way without concern. Whilst this had been going on, another
Indian of the party who had come up took from his bag a small piece of
white wood, which resembled a root, and passed it gently near the head
of the cobra, which the latter immediately inclined close to the ground;
he then lifted the snake without hesitation, and coiled it into a circle
at the bottom of his basket. The root by which he professed to be
enabled to perform this operation with safety he called the _Naya-thalic
Kalanga_ (the root of the snake-plant), protected by which he professed
his ability to approach any reptile with impunity.

In another instance, in 1853, Mr. Lavalliere, then District Judge of
Kandy, informed me that he saw a snake-charmer in the jungle, close by
the town, search for a cobra de capello, and, after disturbing one in
its retreat, the man tried to secure it, but, in the attempt, he was
bitten in the thigh till blood trickled from the wound. He instantly
applied the _Pamboo-Kaloo_, which adhered closely for about ten minutes,
during which time he passed the root which he held in his hand backwards
and forwards above the stone, till the latter dropped to the ground. He
assured Mr. Lavalliere that all danger was then past. That gentleman
obtained from him the snake-stone he had relied on, and saw him
repeatedly afterwards in perfect health.

The substances used on both these occasions are now in my possession.
The roots employed by the several