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 waistcloth, 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 the stones 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 shoulder towards the fingers. At length the snake-stones dropped off
of their own accord; the suffering of the man appeared to have subsided;
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-thalee Kalinga_
(the root of the snake-plant), protected by which he professed his
ability to approach any reptile with impunity.

In another instance, in 1853, Mr. Lavalliere, the District Judge of
Kandy, informed me that he saw a snake-charmer in the jungle, close by
the town, search for a cobra de capello, and, after disturbing it in its
retreat, the man tried to secure it, but, in the attempt, he was bitten
in the thigh till blood trickled from the wound. He instantly applied
the _Pamboo-Kaloo_, which adhered closely for about ten minutes, during
which time he passed the root which he held in his hand backwards and
forwards above the stone, till the latter dropped to the ground. He
assured Mr. Lavalliere that all danger was then past. That gentleman
obtained from him the snake-stone he had relied on, and saw hi