s some time I throw him straight on the
ground, still holding him by the tail; I allow him to raise his head and
try to bite, for some time, in order that he may learn how to attack,
still keeping him off with the stick. When this has been done long enough,
I slide the stick up to his head and fix it firmly on the ground; then
taking the adze, and forcing open the mouth, I break off the fangs with
it, carefully removing every portion, and especially squeezing out all the
poison and blood, which I wipe away as long as it continues to flow; when
this is done the snake is harmless and ready for use.

_Q._ Do the ordinary jugglers, or only the hereditary snake charmers catch
the cobras?

_A._ We are the only persons who dare to catch them, and when the jugglers
want snakes they come to us for them; with that adze (pointing to the
hammer) I have caught and taken out the fangs of many thousands.

_Q._ Do you use any other snakes besides the cobras for your exhibitions?

_A._ No; because the cobra is the only one that will fight well. The cobra
is always ready to give battle, but the other snakes are sluggish, only
bite, and can't be taught for our exhibitions.

_Q._ What do the Arabs do if they happen to be bitten by a poisonous
snake?

_A._ They immediately tie a cord tight round the arm above the wound, and
cut out the bitten part as soon as possible--some burn it; they then
squeeze the arm downward, so as to press out the poison, but they don't
suck it, because it is bad for the mouth; however, in spite of all this,
they sometimes die.

_Q._ Do you think it possible that cobras could be exhibited without the
fangs being removed?

_A._ Certainly not, for the least scratch of their deadly teeth would
cause death, and there is not a day that we exhibit that we are not bitten
and no skill in the world would prevent it.

Such were the particulars given us by a most distinguished professor in
the art of snake-charming, and, therefore, they may be relied on as
correct; the matter-of-fact way in which he _acted_, as well as related
the snake-catching, bore the impress of truth, and there certainly would
appear to be far less mystery about the craft than has generally been
supposed. The way in which vipers are caught in this country is much less
artistic than the Arab mode. The viper-catcher provides himself with a
cleftstick, and stealing up to the reptile when basking, pins his head to
the ground with the cleft, and sei