cage, he cast
his _red fiery eyes_ on his intended victim, thrust out his
forked tongue, _threw himself into a coil, erected his head,
which was in the centre of the coil_, three feet from the
floor, and flattening out the skin above his head and eyes, in
the form, and nearly of the size of a human heart, and
springing like lightning on the Arab, struck its fangs into his
neck near the jugular vein, while his tail and body flew round
his neck and arms in two or three folds. The Arab set up the
most hideous and piteous yelling, foamed and frothed at the
mouth, grasping the folds of the serpent, which were round his
arms with his right hand, and seemed to be in the greatest
agony, striving to tear the reptile from around his neck, while
with his left he seized hold of it near its head, but could not
break its hold: by this time the other had turned itself around
his legs, and kept biting all around the other parts of his
body, making apparently deep incisions: the blood, issuing from
every wound (both in his neck and body,) streamed all over his
haik and skin. My blood was chilled in my veins with horror at
this sight, and it was with difficulty my legs would support my
frame.

"Notwithstanding the Arab's greatest exertions to tear away the
serpents with his hands, they turned themselves still tighter,
stopped his breath, and he fell to the floor, where he
continued for a moment, as if in the most inconceivable agony,
rolling over, and covering every part of his body with his own
blood and froth, until he ceased to move, and appeared to have
expired. In his last struggle, he had wounded the black serpent
with his teeth, as it was striving, as it were, to force its
head into his mouth, which wound Footnote: seemed to increase
its rage. At this instant I heard the shrill sound of a
whistle, and looking towards the door saw the other Arab
applying a call to his mouth: the serpents listened to the
music, their fury seemed to forsake them by degrees, they
disengaged themselves leisurely from the apparently lifeless
carcase, and creeping towards the cage, they soon entered it,
and were immediately fastened in.