In
this respect he presents a marked contrast to the hoop-snake, which has
no more back-bone than a timid politician, and can put its tail in its
mouth, and roll in any direction with the utmost facility. The viper was
at one time supposed to have an envenomed tongue, and although this
error has been exploded, it is as well to avoid his jaw if possible, as,
when irritated, he is very snappish.
This snake, according to some naturalists, is oviparous, and according
to others viviparous; but all authorities agree that it is viperous in
the extreme. Serpents are generated in various ways; the horse-runner,
for instance, being derived from the fibres of horses' manes and tails,
which probably receive the breath of life in a mare's nest. That such is
the origin of the horse-runner the reader can verify for himself, by
putting a few horse hairs in a basin of water and watching them till
they begin to squirm. Possibly the shorter fibres from the _caput_ of an
African might in like manner produce vipers. The experiment is worth
trying. There are several varieties of the species in this country; the
most malignant and treacherous being the Political Vipers--snakes in
the grass--bred from the spawn of the Original Cockatrices, and a curse
to the land we live in.
* * * * *
WOMAN IN THE CENSUS.
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