The use of the Snake-stone, called "Pamboo-Kaloo," has probably been communicated to the Singhalese by the itinerant snake-charmers who resort to the island from the coast of Coromandel.
Although Sir E. Tennent describes several instances of the successful application of snake-stones as well authenticated, he has never himself been an eye-witness. Although two cases have been fully described, they do not at all exclude the possibility, nay the probability, that the Tamils imposed upon the Europeans in order to sell the snake-stones.
"No doubt the snake-stones, owing to their porous nature, adhered to the bleeding wound, became saturated with blood, and then fell off. Very likely, in case of a poisonous bite, some of the venom would be sucked up too, but we do not know if those snakes were still in the possession of their poison-fangs. Properly conducted experiments with snake-stones have proved as little efficacious as the application of dry cup.
"Theoretically snake-stones as quick absorbent agents of the blood with the poison are good; they will certainly prevent some of the poison from entering the system, but that would, at best, be a partial cure only.
"In March 1854 a friend of mine was riding, with some other civil officers of the Government, along a jungle path in the vicinity of Bintenne, when he saw one of two Tamils, who were approaching the party, suddenly dart into the forest and return, holding in both hands a Cobra de capello, which he had seized by the head and tail. He called to his companion for assistance to place it in their covered basket, but in doing 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 waist-cloth, 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 shoulders 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."
The following narrative, communicated to Sir E. Tennent by H. E. Reyne, of the Department of Public Works, Colombo, seems to exclude the possibility of deception:–
"A snake-charmer came to my bungalow in 1854, requesting me to allow him to show me his snakes dancing. As I had frequently seen them, I told him I would give him a rupee if he would accompany me to the jungle and catch a cobra that I knew frequented the place. He was willing, and as I was anxious to test the truth of the charm, I counted his tame snakes, and put a watch over them until I returned with him. Before going I examined the man, and satisfied myself he had no snake about his person. When we arrived at the spot, he played on a small pipe, and after persevering for some time, out came a large cobra from an ant-hill, which I knew it occupied. On seeing the man it tried to escape, but he caught it by the tail and kept swinging it round until we reached the bungalow. He then made it dance, but before long it bit him above the knee. He immediately bandaged the leg above the bite, and applied a snake-stone to the wound to extract the poison. He was in great pain for a few minutes, but after that it gradually went away, the stone falling off just before he was relieved. When he recovered he held a cloth up, which the snake flew at, and caught its fangs in it; while in that position, the man passed his hand up its back, and having seized it by the throat, he extracted the fangs in my presence and gave them to me. He then squeezed out the poison on to a leaf. It was a clear oily substance, and when rubbed on the hand produced a fine lather. I carefully watched the whole operation, which was also witnessed by my clerk and two or three other persons."
N. haje is the common hooded cobra of Africa, the "Aspis," so called on account of its shield or hood–the "Spy-Slange" of the Boers. As a rule the spectacle-marks on the neck are absent or indistinct, the general colour varies much, either brown above, yellowish beneath, with or without brown spots; or dark brown above with yellowish spots, dark brown beneath; or blackish above and beneath. The name Spy-Slange, meaning Spitting Snake, refers to the habit which this and other African Cobras have of letting the poison drop from the mouth like saliva when they are excited. This is not a particularly economical habit, nor is it of the slightest use to the snake.
N. (Ophiophagus s. Hamadryas) bungarus s. elaps is the "Hamadryad" or "Snake-eating Cobra" or "King Cobra." It has a well dilatable hood; the very variable coloration is yellowish to black, with or without an olive gloss. Many specimens have more or less distinct dark cross-bands or rings around the body, while others are olive above with black-edged scales, and others again are very dark above and beneath. The distinctive, specific character is the small number of scales, these forming only fifteen rows on the middle of the body, nineteen or twenty-one on the dilatable neck. There is a pair of large occipital shields behind the parietals.
This snake reaches the length, enormous for a poisonous snake, of 12 feet or more. Its size and very poisonous nature make it the curse of the jungle. It ranges from India to South China, and to the Philippines. The food seems to consist entirely of other snakes.