"The door of the apartment was now opened, and he without ran
to assist his companion: he had a phial of blackish liquor in
one hand, and an iron chissel in the other: finding the teeth
of his companion set, he thrust in the chissel, forced them
open, and then poured a little of the liquor into his mouth;
and holding the lips together, applied his mouth to the dead
man's nose, and filled his lungs with air: he next anointed his
numerous wounds with a little of the same liquid, and yet no
sign of life, appeared. I thought he was dead in earnest; his
neck and veins were exceedingly swollen; when his comrade
taking up the lifeless trunk in his arms, brought it out into
the open air, and continued the operation of blowing for
several minutes before a sign of life appeared; at length he
gasped, and after a time recovered so far as to be able to
speak. The swellings in his neck, body, and legs gradually
subsided, as they continued washing the wounds with clear cold
water and a sponge, and applying the black liquor occasionally;
a clean haik was wrapped about him, but his strength seemed so
far exhausted that he could not support himself standing, so
his comrade laid him on the ground by a wall, where he sunk
into a sleep. This exhibition lasted for about a quarter of an
hour from the time the serpents were let loose until they were
called off, and it was more than an hour from that time before
he could speak. I thought I could discover that the poisonous
fangs had been pulled out of these formidable serpents' jaws,
and mentioned that circumstance to the showman, who said, that
they had indeed been extracted; and when I wished to know how
swellings on his neck and other parts could be assumed, he
assured me, that though their deadly fangs were out, yet that
the poisonous quality of their breath and spittle would cause
the death of those they attack; that after a bite from either
of these serpents, no man could exist longer than fifteen
minutes: and that there was no remedy for any but those _who
were endowed by the Almighty with power to charm, and to manage
them_; and that he and his associates were of that favoured