The supposition that this snake prefers a file to any other species of
nourishment is a vulgar error, and belongs to the same mendacious
category as the stories that ostriches are fond of ten-penny nails and
soldiers of hard tack. It is true that old files are sometimes bitten by
vipers in localities where these serpents abound, but in the lizard and
hop-toad they usually find metal more attractive. The viper, when in a
state of repose, is of an olive-brown color; but, if trodden upon, turns
rusty. He is about twenty-four inches in length, as you may see by
applying a two-foot rule to him, but it is a good rule to keep two feet
away from him. As a bosom friend he is not to be trusted--a fact in
natural history that was discovered many years ago by a green
countryman, who got into a bad box by placing a viper on his chest. It
is a peculiarity of this serpent, that when held suspended by his
posterior extremity he can not raise his head to a level with his tail.
In consequence of this provision in the economy of nature, he finds it
as impossible to make both ends meet as if he were a human prodigal. 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.
* * * * *