The Bûskah.
| Drawn by J. G. Jackson. | Engraved J. C. Stadler. |
London Published June 4. 1811. by G. & W. Nicholl Pall Mall.
El Effah is the name of the other serpent remarkable for its quick and penetrating poison; it is about two feet long, and as thick as a man’s arm, beautifully spotted with yellow and brown, and sprinkled over with blackish specks, similar to the horn-nosed snake. They have a wide mouth, by which they inhale a great quantity of air, and when inflated therewith, they eject it with such force as to be heard at a considerable distance. These mortal enemies to mankind are collected by the Aisawie before-mentioned, in a desert of Suse, where their holes are so numerous, that it is difficult for a horse to pass over it without stumbling.
Plate 5.
El Efah.
| Drawn by J. G. Jackson. | Engraved J. C. Stadler. |
London Published June 4. 1811. by G. & W. Nicholl Pall Mall.
The Boah, or desert snake, is an enormous monster, from twenty to eighty feet long, as thick as a man’s body, and of a dingy colour: this inhabitant of Sahara is not venomous, though it is not less destructive: the Arabs (speaking of it figuratively)[104] affirm, that as it passes along the desert it fires the ground with the velocity of its motion. It is impossible to escape it; it will twist itself round an ox, and after crushing its bones, will swallow it gradually, after which it lies supinely on the ground two or three days, unable to proceed till the animal be digested. Two of these monsters stationed themselves near the road from Marocco to Terodant, near to the latter city, a few years since; one of them was killed, the other remained there several days, and prevented travellers from passing the road: they were both young ones, being about twenty feet long. Various stories are related by the Arabs of Sahara respecting the Boahs; but they are mostly ingenious fables, originally intended to inculcate some moral lesson. Without speaking of all the various kinds of serpents which are either timid, harmless or not venomous, I must observe, that