SERPENTS DANCING TO MUSIC.
"Snake-charmers are numerous, and we have looked at them till we are tired of their performances. They carry small baskets about the size and shape of a Cheshire cheese, and with loose covers over the top, as we have previously described. The basket is placed on the ground and the cover removed, while the performer squats by its side and begins playing on a sort of flute. In a few moments the cloths in the basket begin to move, and the head of a cobra rises slowly from among them; the music continues, and in a little while the snake has come quite out of the basket, and is standing as erect as a snake can stand before its master. He makes a sort of dancing motion, and is evidently fond of the flute, as he lowers his head and goes back to the basket when the man ceases playing.
"While the snake is dancing the man suddenly drops the flute, and, at the same instant, grasps the snake around the neck. The snake becomes enraged, and at the first opportunity bites its master on the hand; the latter appears greatly excited, and rubs the wound with a stone, which is said to be an antidote against snake-bites, and he offers to sell it to you for a high price. The fact is, the snake is perfectly harmless, as his fangs have been removed, and he might bite the performer a hundred times over without the least injury. The snake-charmers wind the strange pets around their necks and bodies, and play with them in many ways; and when all their tricks are concluded the serpents are returned to the baskets, and a collection is taken for the benefit of the showman.
"These cobras, like their kindred in Ceylon, have a great fondness for houses, and it makes little difference to them whether the places they inhabit belong to Europeans or natives. It makes you feel uncomfortable to think a deadly cobra may be under your feet as you walk on the grass, or may enter your room while you are sleeping. The other day we were breakfasting with a gentleman whose bungalow is on Malabar Hill, and after breakfast the conversation turned on snakes; he told us of the habit of the cobra, and while we were talking on the subject a snake-charmer came along and wished to give a performance. The gentleman told him we had already witnessed the tricks of the business, but if he could find a snake about his premises he would pay him. We went to the veranda at the rear of the bungalow, and the charmer squatted on the ground and began playing on his flute; in a few minutes the head of a cobra appeared from beneath the bungalow, and as the music went on he crawled slowly out and stood erect in front of the charmer. Quick as a flash the man dropped his flute, and grasped the snake firmly by the neck; it was all the work of an instant, and before we knew what he was about the snake was his prisoner. Holding him firmly by the neck, he brought him near us, and forced his mouth open, so as to exhibit the terrible fangs, with the bags of poison at their base. Our host accepted this as a proof that the snake was not, as is frequently the case, the property of the performer, and had been secretly let loose in order that he might be caught.
"As soon as he had shown us the fangs, the man took a pair of pincers from the folds of his dress and removed the poisonous teeth; then he placed the prize in his basket, as our host had no use for it, and with a couple of rupees as a reward for his services, departed.
"If the snake had succeeded in biting the man his life would have been in great danger, as the poison is much more violent than that of the rattlesnake, and is generally fatal. Prompt application of antidotes will sometimes counteract its effects, but is by no means sure to do so; the snake-charmers have a few antidotes known only to themselves, while the English physicians make use of arsenic, in pills of one grain each, or apply Fowler's solution, and they also give large doses of alcoholic and other stimulants, in the same way that rattlesnake bites are treated in America. Our host said that from fifteen to twenty thousand lives are lost in India every year by the bites of venomous serpents. It is very rarely the case that Europeans are bitten, for the reason that they walk about very little, and besides, they are always clothed, and have their feet covered with shoes, while the natives are barefooted.
"It is getting late, and we must stop writing. We could tell more about snakes if we had time and space; more about Bombay, and a great deal more about India. It is a vast country; and though we have seen many things since we entered it, we feel there is much more that we have not seen. How could it be otherwise, when the population of India includes not far from a fifth of the whole human race, and comprises so many kinds and tribes of men that we are lost in the attempt to enumerate and describe them? We have told all we could in the short time at our disposal for observation and writing out the result, and if you want more knowledge about this wonderful land we must refer you elsewhere.