“This man instals himself on deck; we sit down on the seat provided for the officer of the watch, and the sailors form a circle. The basket is placed on the deck and uncovered; the Cobra is coiled up at the bottom of it. The juggler squats a few paces off and commences to play a slow, plaintive, and monotonous air, with a kind of small clarinet ([fig. 92]), the sounds of which recall those of the Breton biniou.
Fig. 92.—Musical Instrument used by Indian Snake-charmers to Charm Cobras.
(For this figure I am indebted to the kindness of Dr. Pineau.)
“By degrees the snake moves, extends itself, and then assumes an erect posture, but without quitting the basket. It begins to appear uneasy and endeavours to recognise its surroundings; it becomes agitated and irritated, expands and spreads out its hood, breathes hard rather than hisses, and frequently and quickly shoots out its slender forked tongue; several times it makes a violent dart as though to attack the juggler; it frequently trembles, or rather gives sudden starts. The juggler keeps his eyes always fastened upon the snake, and gazes at it with a singular fixed stare. After some time, about ten or twelve minutes, the Cobra becomes less animated, grows quiet, and then sways as though influenced by the slow and monotonous rhythm of the musician; it keeps incessantly darting out its tongue. Little by little it is brought to a sort of somnolent condition. Its eyes, which at first watched the juggler as though in order to take him by surprise, are, to a certain extent, fixed and fascinated by the latter’s gaze. The Hindu takes advantage of this moment of stupefaction on the part of the snake by approaching it slowly without ceasing to play, and touches the head of the Cobra, first with his nose and then with his tongue. Although this takes but an instant the reptile starts out of its sleep, and the juggler has barely time to throw himself backwards so as not to be struck by the snake, which makes a furious dart at him.
“We doubt whether the Cobra still has it fangs, and whether the Hindu incurs any real danger in approaching it. Accordingly we promise our man a Spanish piastre if he will make the snake bite a couple of fowls. A black hen, which struggles violently, is taken and offered to the Cobra, which half rises, looks at the bird, bites it, and lets it go. The fowl is released and runs off terrified. Six-minutes later, by the watch, it vomits, stretches out its legs, and dies. A second fowl is placed in front of the snake, which bites it twice, and the bird dies in eight minutes.”[87]
Certain jugglers exhibit snakes from which they have taken care to extract the fangs; they offer the animal a piece of cloth or soft stuff into which it drives its poison-teeth, and the fabric is then quickly snatched away in order by this means to break off the poison-fangs that have penetrated it. This operation is repeated at certain intervals with a view to preventing the reserve fangs from coming into use, and the reptiles can then be handled without any danger.
It is unquestionable, however, and I have personally satisfied myself of the fact, that many genuine snake-charmers go through their performances with Cobras whose poison-apparatus is absolutely intact. That they almost always avoid being bitten is due to a perfect knowledge of the habits and movements of these reptiles. Nevertheless, accidents sometimes happen to them, and every year a few of them succumb in pursuit of their calling (see p. 370). Still, it may be asserted that some of them really know how to vaccinate themselves against venom, by making young Cobras bite them from time to time.
It is stated by E. C. Cotes,[88] formerly of the Calcutta Museum, that the Indian snake-charmers do not extract the poison-fangs from their snakes. Even though deprived of its fangs, the snake would still be dangerous on account of its other teeth, the punctures of which would provide another channel for the penetration of the venom.
Snake-charmers pretend that they owe their immunity to graduated inoculations. This is not yet conclusively proved; what is better established is that they take the greatest care to avoid being bitten, and that in so doing they display the most remarkable skill.
Even in France we are acquainted with professional viper-catchers, who employ the method of graduated inoculations in order to render themselves immune to the bites of indigenous reptiles. One of these men, who lives near Arbois (Jura), takes good care to get himself bitten, at least once a year, by a young viper; when he forgets this precaution and happens to be bitten, he always feels the effects much more severely.