As it often chooses its breeding-places in similar spots, far from

the water, it has to carry the food with which it nourishes its

young for many miles. For this purpose it is furnished, not only

with the pouch which has been just mentioned, but with long, wide,

and very powerful wings, often measuring from twelve to thirteen

feet from tip to tip. No one, on looking at a Pelican as it waddles

about or sits at rest, would imagine the gigantic dimensions of

the wings, which seem, as the bird spreads them, to have almost as

unlimited a power of expansion as the pouch.

In these two points the true Pelicans present a strong contrast to

the cormorants, though birds closely allied. The cormorant has its

home close by the sea, and therefore needs not to carry its food

for any distance. Consequently, it needs no pouch, and has none.

Neither does it require the great expanse of wing which is needful

for the Pelican, that has to carry such a weight of fish through

the air. Accordingly, the wings, though strong enough to enable the

bird to carry for a short distance a single fish of somewhat large

size, are comparatively short and closely feathered, and the flight

of the cormorant possesses neither the grace nor the power which

distinguishes that of the Pelican.

When the Pelican feeds its young, it does so by pressing its beak

against its breast, so as to force out of it the enclosed fish.

Now the tip of the beak is armed, like that of the cormorant, with

a sharply-curved hook, only, in the case of the Pelican, the hook

is of a bright scarlet colour, looking, when the bird presses the

beak against the white feathers of the breast, like a large drop of

blood. Hence arose the curious legend respecting the Pelican, which

represented it as feeding its young with its own blood, and tearing

open its breast with its hooked bill. We find that this legend is

exemplified by the oft-recurring symbol of the "Pelican feeding its

young" in ecclesiastical art, as an emblem of Divine love.

This is one of the many instances in which the inventive, poetical,

inaccurate Oriental mind has seized some peculiarity of form, and

based upon it a whole series of fabulous legends. As long as they

restricted themselves to the appearance and habits of the animals

with which they were familiarly acquainted, the old writers were

curiously full, exact, and precise in their details. But as soon as

they came to any creature of whose mode of life they were entirely

or partially ignorant, they allowed their inventive faculties full

scope, and put forward as zoological facts statements which were

the mere creation of their own fancy. We have already seen several

examples of this propensity, and shall find more as we proceed with

the zoology of the Scriptures.

The fabulous legends of the Pelican are too numerous to be even

mentioned, but there is one which deserves notice, because it is

made the basis of an old Persian fable.

The writer of the legend evidently had some partial knowledge of the

bird. He knew that it had a large pouch which could hold fish and

water; that it had large and powerful wings; and that it was in the

habit of flying far inland, either for the purpose of digesting its

food or nourishing its young. Knowing that the Pelican is in the

habit of choosing solitary spots in which it may bring up its young

in safety, but not knowing the precise mode of its nesting, the

writer in question has trusted to his imagination, and put forward

his theories as facts.

Knowing that the bird dwells in "the wilderness," he has assumed

that the wilderness in question is a sandy, arid desert, far from

water, and consequently from vegetation. Such being the case, the

nurture of the Pelican's young is evidently a difficult question.

Being aquatic birds, the young must needs require water for drink

and bathing, as well as fish for food; and, though a supply of

both these necessaries could be brought in the ample pouches of

the parents, they would be wasted unless some mode of storing were

employed.

Accordingly, the parent birds were said to make their nest in a

hollow tree, and to line it with clay, or to build it altogether of

clay, so as to leave a deep basin. This basin the parent birds were

said to use as a sort of store-pond, bringing home supplies of fish

and water in their pouches, and pouring them into the pond. The wild

beasts who lived in the desert were said to be acquainted with these

nests, and to resort to them daily in order to quench their thirst,

repaying their entertainers by protecting their homes.

In real fact, the Pelican mostly breeds near water, and is fond of

selecting little rocky islands where it cannot be approached without

danger. The nest is made on the ground, and is formed in a most

inartificial manner of reeds and grass, the general mass of the

nest being made of the reeds, and the lining being formed of grass.

The eggs are white, of nearly the same shape at both ends, and are

from two to five in number. On an average, however, each nest will

contain about two eggs.

The parent birds are very energetic in defence of their eggs or

young, and, according to Le Vaillant, when approached they are "like

furious harpies let loose against us, and their cries rendered us

almost deaf. They often flew so near us that they flapped their

wings in our faces, and, though we fired our pieces repeatedly, we

were not able to frighten them." When the well-known naturalist

Sonnerat tried to drive a female Pelican from her nest, she appeared

not to be frightened, but angry. She would not move from her nest,

and when he tried to push her off, she struck at him with her long

bill and uttered cries of rage.

In order to aid the bird in carrying the heavy weights with which

it loads itself, the whole skeleton is permeated with air, and is

exceedingly light. Beside this, the whole cellular system of the

bird is honeycombed with air-cells, so that the bulk of the bird

can be greatly increased, while its weight remains practically

unaltered, and the Pelican becomes a sort of living balloon.

The habit of conveying its food inland before eating it is so

characteristic of the Pelican that other birds take advantage of

it. In some countries there is a large hawk which robs the Pelican,

just as the bald-headed eagle of America robs the osprey. Knowing

instinctively that when a Pelican is flying inland slowly and

heavily and with a distended pouch it is carrying a supply of food

to its home, the hawk dashes at it, and frightens it so that the

poor bird opens its beak, and gives up to the assailant the fish

which it was bearing homewards.

It is evident that the wings which are needed for supporting such

weights, and which, as we have seen, exceed twelve feet in length

from tip to tip, would be useless in the water, and would hinder

rather than aid the bird if it attempted to dive as the close-winged

cormorant does. Accordingly, we find that the Pelican is not a

diver, and, instead of chasing its finny prey under water, after

the manner of the cormorant, it contents itself with scooping up

in its beak the fishes which come to the surface of the water. The

very buoyancy of its body would prevent it from diving as does the

cormorant, and, although it often plunges into the water so fairly

as to be for a moment submerged, it almost immediately rises, and

pursues its course on the surface of the water, and not beneath it.

Like the cormorant, the Pelican can perch on trees, though it does

not select such spots for its roosting-places, and prefers rocks to

branches. In one case, however, when some young Pelicans had been

captured and tied to a stake, their mother used to bring them food

during the day, and at night was accustomed to roost in the branches

of a tree above them.

Though under some circumstances a thoroughly social bird, it is yet

fond of retiring to the most solitary spots in order to consume at

peace the prey that it has captured; and, as it sits motionless and

alone for hours, more like a white stone than a bird, it may well be

accepted as a type of solitude and desolation.

The colour of the common Pelican is white, with a very slight

pinky tinge, which is most conspicuous in the breeding season. The

feathers of the crest are yellow, and the quill feathers of the

wings are jetty black, contrasting well with the white plumage of

the body. The pouch is yellow, and the upper part of the beak bluish

grey, with a red line running across the middle, and a bright red

hook at the tip. This plumage belongs only to the adult bird, that

of the young being ashen grey, and four or five years are required

before the bird puts on its full beauty. There is no difference in

the appearance of the sexes. The illustration represents a fine old

male Crested Pelican. The general colour is a greyish white, with a

slight yellowish tint on the breast. The pouch is bright orange, and

the crest is formed of curling feathers.

[Illustration: scene]

[Illustration: reptile]

REPTILES.

[Illustration: scene]

[Illustration: tortoise]

THE TORTOISE.

The Tzab of the Scriptures, translated as Tortoise--Flesh

and eggs of the Tortoise--Its slow movements--Hibernation

dependent on temperature--The Water-Tortoises--Their food and

voracity--Their eggs--Their odour terrifying the horses--The

Dhubb lizard and its legends--Its food, and localities which it

prefers.

We now come to a different class of animated beings. In Levit. xi.

29, there occurs among the list of unclean beasts a word which is

translated in the Authorized Version as "tortoise." The word is

_Tzab_, and is rendered in the Hebrew Bible as "lizard," but with

the mark of doubt affixed to it. As the correct translation of the

word is very dubious, we shall examine it in both these senses.

The common Tortoise is very common in Palestine, and is so plentiful

that it would certainly have been used by the Israelites as food,

had it not been prohibited by law. At the present day it is cooked

and eaten by the inhabitants of the country who are not Jews, and

its eggs are in as great request as those of the fowl.

These eggs are hard, nearly spherical, thick-shelled, and covered

with minute punctures, giving them a roughness like that of a file.

In captivity the Tortoise is very careless about the mode in which

they are deposited, and I have seen a large yard almost covered

with eggs laid by Tortoises and abandoned. The white or albumen of

the egg is so stiff and gelatinous that to empty one of them without

breaking the shell is a difficult task, and the yolk is very dark,

and covered with minute spots of black. When fresh the eggs are as

good as those of the fowl, and many persons even think them better;

the only drawback being that their small size and thick shell cause

considerable trouble in eating them.

[Illustration: THE DHUBB OR LIZARD AND THE TORTOISE].

The flesh of the Tortoise is eaten, not only by human beings, but by

birds, such as the lämmergeier. In order to get at the flesh of the

Tortoise, they carry it high in the air and drop it on the ground so

as to break the shell to pieces, should the reptile fall on a stone

or rock. If, as is not often the case in such a rocky land as that

of Palestine, it should fall on a soft spot, the bird picks it up,

soars aloft, and drops it again.

The Tortoises have no teeth, but yet are able to crop the herbage

with perfect ease. In lieu of teeth the edges of the jaws are

sharp-edged and very hard, so that they cut anything that comes

between them like a pair of shears. Leaves that are pulpy and

crisp are bitten through at once, but those that are thin, tough,

and fibrous are rather torn than bitten, the Tortoise placing its

feet upon them, and dragging them to pieces with its jaws. The

carnivorous Tortoises have a similar habit, as we shall presently

see.

[Illustration: WATER TORTOISE.]

This is the species from whose deliberate and slow movements the

familiar metaphor of "slow as a Tortoise" was derived, and it is

this species which is the hero of the popular fable of the "Hare and

the Tortoise." Many of the reptiles are very slow in some things and

astonishingly quick in others. Some of the lizards, for example,

will at one time remain motionless for many hours together, or creep

about with a slow and snail-like progress, while at others they

dart from spot to spot with such rapidity that the eye can scarcely

follow their movements. This however is not the case with the

Tortoise, which is always slow, and, but for the defensive armour in

which it is encased, would long ago have been extirpated.

During the whole of the summer months it may be seen crawling

deliberately among the herbage, eating in the same deliberate style

which characterises all its movements, and occasionally resting in

the same spot for many hours together, apparently enjoying the warm

beams of the sunshine.

As winter approaches, it slowly scrapes a deep hole in the ground,

and buries itself until the following spring awakes it once more to

active life. The depth of its burrow depends on the severity of the

winter, for, as the cold increases, the Tortoise sinks itself more

deeply into the earth.

* * * * *

Mention has been made of a species of Tortoise that inhabits the

water. This is the CASPIAN EMYS (_Emys caspica_), a small species,

measuring about six inches in length. It belongs to the large family

of the Terrapins, several of which are so well known in America, and

has a long, retractile neck, very sharp jaws, and webbed feet, and a

well-developed tail.

The body is flattish, and the colour is olive, with lines of yellow

edged with black, and the head is marked with longitudinal streaks

of bright yellow. After the death of the creature these yellow

streaks fade away gradually, and at last become nearly black. The

skin of the head is thin, but very hard. In general appearance it

is not unlike the chicken Tortoise of America, a species which is

often brought to England and kept in captivity, on account of its

hardy nature and the little trouble which is needed for keeping it

in health.

I have kept specimens of the Caspian Emys for some time, and found

them to be more interesting animals than they at first promised

to be. They were active, swimming with considerable speed, and

snatching quickly at anything which they fancied might be food.

They were exceedingly voracious, consuming daily a quantity of meat

apparently disproportioned to their size, and eating it in a manner

that strongly reminded me of the mole when engaged on a piece of

meat or the body of a bird or mouse. The Tortoise would plant its

fore-paws firmly at each side of the meat, seize a mouthful in its

jaws, and, by retracting its head violently, would tear away the

piece which it had grasped.

They are most destructive among fish, and are apt to rise quietly

underneath a fish as it basks near the surface of the water,

grasp it beneath with its sharp-edged jaws, and tear away the

piece, leaving the fish to die. It is rather remarkable that the

Lepidosiren, or mud-fish of the Gambia, destroys fish in a precisely

similar manner, though, as its jaws are much sharper than those of

the Emys, it does not need the aid of fore-paws in biting out its

mouthful of flesh.

Like the land Tortoise, it is one of the hibernators, and during the

winter months buries itself deeply in the earth, choosing for this

purpose the soft, muddy bed or bank of the pond in which it lives.

Its eggs are white, and hard-shelled, but are more oval than those

of the land Tortoise, and both ends are nearly alike. In fact, its

egg might well be mistaken for that of a small pigeon. The shell

has a porcelain-like look, and is very liable to crack, so that the

resemblance is increased.

There is one drawback to these reptiles when kept as pets. They

give out a very unpleasant odour, which is disagreeable to human

nostrils, but is absolutely terrifying to many animals. The monkey

tribe have the strongest objection to these aquatic Tortoises. I

once held one of them towards a very tame chimpanzee, much to his

discomfiture. He muttered and remonstrated, and retreated as far as

he could, pushing out his lips in a funnel-like form, and showing

his repugnance to the reptile in a manner that could not be mistaken.

Horses seem to be driven almost frantic with terror, not only by the

sight, but by the odour of these Tortoises. In Southern Africa there

are Tortoises closely allied to the Caspian Emys, and having the

same power of frightening horses.

I have read an account of an adventure there with one of those

Tortoises, which I will give. This variety is described as being of

an olive colour. When adult, there is a slight depression on either

side of the vertebral line.

"Some very awkward accidents have occurred to parties from the

terror caused by the fresh-water turtle (_Pelamedusa subrufa_).

Carts have been smashed to fragments, riders thrown, and the utmost

confusion caused by them. It is their smell, and it is certainly

very disagreeable.

"My first acquaintance with the fact was in this wise. I was out

shooting with two young ladies who had volunteered as markers; and,

as you know, all our shooting is done from horseback. I had jumped

off for a shot at some francolins near a knill, or water-hole, and,

after picking up my birds, was coming round the knoll to windward

of the horses. In my path scrambled a turtle. I called out to my

young friends, and told them of my find, on which one of them, in

a hasty voice, said, 'Oh, please, Mr. L., don't touch it; you will

frighten the horses!'

"Of course I laughed at the idea, and picked up the reptile, which

instantly emitted its pungent odour--its means of defence. Though

a long way off, the moment the horses caught the scent, away they

flew, showing terror in every action. The girls, luckily splendid

riders, tugged in vain at the reins; away they went over the Veldt,

leaving me in mortal fear that the yawning 'aard-vark' holes

(_Orycteropus capensis_) would break their necks. My own horse,

which I had hitched to a bush, tore away his bridle, and with the

ends streaming in the wind and the stirrups clashing about him,

sped off home at full gallop, and was only recovered after a severe

chase by my gallant young Amazons, who, after a race of some miles,

succeeded in checking their affrighted steeds and in securing my

runaway. But for some hours after, if I ventured to windward, there

were wild-looking eyes and cocked ears--the smell of the reptile

clung to me."

Should any of my readers keep any of those water Tortoises, they

will do well to supply them plentifully with food, to give them an

elevated rocky perch on which they can scramble, and on which they

will sit for hours so motionless that at a little distance they can

scarcely be distinguished from the stone on which they rest. They

should also be weighed at regular intervals, as decrease of weight

is a sure sign that something is wrong, and, as a general rule, is

an almost certain precursor of death.

This little reptile is not without its legends. According to the old

writers on natural history, it is of exceeding use to vine-growers

in the season when there is excess of rain or hail. Whenever the

owner of a vineyard sees a black cloud approaching, all he has to do

is, to take one of these Tortoises, lay it on its back, and carry it

round the vineyard. He must then go into the middle of the ground

and lay the reptile on the earth, still on its back; and the effect

of this proceeding would be that the cloud would pass aside from a

place so well protected.

"But," proceeds the narrator, not wishing to be responsible for

the statement, "such diabolical and foolish observations were not

so muche to be remembered in this place, were it not for their

sillinesse, that by knowing them men might learn the weaknesse

of human wisdom when it erreth from the fountain of all science

and true knowledge (which is Divinity), and the most approved

assertions of nature. And so I will say no more in this place of the

sweet-water tortoise."

THE DHUBB.

We now come to the second animal, which may probably be the Tzab of

the Old Testament.

This creature is one of the lizards, and is a very odd-looking

creature. It is certainly not so attractive in appearance that the

Jews might be supposed to desire it as food; but it often happens

that, as is the case with the turtle and iguana, from the most

ungainly, in the latter animal even repulsive, forms are produced

the most delicate meats.

The DHUBB, or EGYPTIAN MASTIGURE, as the lizard is indifferently

called, grows to a considerable size, measuring when adult three

feet in length. Its colour is green, variegated with brown, and is

slightly changeable, though not to the extent that distinguishes

the chameleon. The chief peculiarity of this lizard consists in its

tail, which is covered with a series of whorls or circles of long,

sharply-pointed, hard-edged scales. The very appearance of this tail

suggests its use as a weapon of defence, and it is said that even

the dreaded cerastes is conquered by it, when the lizard and the

snake happen to find themselves occupants of the same hole.

The ancients had a very amusing notion respecting the use of the

spiny tail possessed by the Dhubb and its kin. They had an idea

that, comparatively small though it was, it fed upon cattle, and

that it was able to take them from the herd and drive them to its

home. For this purpose, when it had selected an ox, it jumped on

its back, and by the pricking of its sharp claws drove the animal

to gallop in hope of ridding himself of his tormentor. In order to

guide him in the direction of its home, it made use of its tail,

lashing the ox "to make him go with his rider to the place of his

most fit execution, free from all rescue of his herdsman, or

pastor, or the annoyance of passengers, where, in most cruel and

savage manner, he teareth the limbs and parts one from another till

he be devoured."

This very absurd account is headed by an illustration, which, though

bad in drawing and rude in execution, is yet so bold and truthful

that there is no doubt that it was sketched from the living animal.

As it haunts sandy downs, rocky spots, and similar localities, it

is well adapted for the Holy Land, which is the home of a vast

number of reptiles, especially of those belonging to the lizards. In

the summer time they have the full enjoyment of the hot sunbeams,

in which they delight, and which seem to rouse these cold-blooded

creatures to action, while they deprive the higher animals of all

spirit and energy. In the winter time these very spots afford

localities wherein the lizards can hibernate until the following

spring, and in such a case they furnish the reptiles with secure

hiding-places.

Although the Dhubb does not destroy and tear to pieces oxen and

other cattle, it is yet a rather bloodthirsty reptile, and will kill

and devour birds as large as the domestic fowl. Usually, however,

its food consists of beetles and other insects, which it takes

deliberately.

[Illustration: rocks and water]

THE LEVIATHAN OR CROCODILE.

Signification of the word _Leviathan_--Description in the Book

of Job--Structure and general habits of the Crocodile--The

throat-valve and its use--Position of the nostrils--Worship of

the Crocodile--The reptile known in the Holy Land--Two legends

respecting its presence there--Mode of taking prey--Cunning

of the Crocodile--The baboons and the Crocodile--Speed of

the reptile--Eggs and young of the Crocodile, and their

enemies--Curious story of the ichneumon and ibis--Modes of

capturing the Crocodile--Analysis of Job's description--The

Crocodile also signified by the word _Tannin_. Aaron's rod

changed into a Tannin--Various passages in which the word

occurs--Use of the word by the prophet Jeremiah.

The word _Leviathan_ is used in a rather loose manner in the Old

Testament, in some places representing a mammalian of the sea, and

in others signifying a reptile inhabiting the rivers. As in the most

important of these passages the Crocodile is evidently signified, we

will accept that rendering, and consider the Crocodile as being the

Leviathan of Scripture. The Jewish Bible accepts the word Crocodile,

and does not add the mark of doubt.

The fullest account of the Leviathan occurs in Job xli., the whole

of which chapter is given to the description of the terrible

reptile. As the translation of the Jewish Bible differs in some

points from that of the Authorized Version, I shall here give the

former, so that the reader may be able to compare them with each

other.

"Canst thou draw out a crocodile with a hook, or his tongue with a

cord which thou lettest down?

"Canst thou put a reed into his nose, or bore his jaw through with

a thorn?

"Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words

unto thee?

"Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him as a servant

for ever?

"Wilt thou play with him as with a bird, or wilt thou bind him for

thy maidens?

"Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him

among the merchants?

"Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons, or his head with

fish-spears?

"Lay thine hand upon him, thou wilt no more remember the battle.

"Behold, the hope of him is in vain; shall not one be cast down at

the sight of him?

"None is so fierce that dare stir him up; who then is able to stand

before Me?

"Who hath forestalled Me that I should repay him? whatsoever is

under the whole heaven is Mine.

"I will not be silent of his parts, nor of the matter of his power,

nor of his comely proportion.

"Who can uncover the face of his garment? who would enter the double

row in his jaw?

"Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round

about.

"The strength of his shields are his pride, shut up together as

with a close seal.

"One is so near to another that no air can come between them.

"They are joined one to another, they stick together that they

cannot be sundered.

"His snortings make light to shine, and his eyes are like the

eyelids of the morning dawn.

"Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or

caldron.

"His breath kindleth live coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.

"In his neck abideth strength, and before him danceth terror.

"The flakes of his flesh are joined together, they are firm in

themselves; yea, as hard as nether millstone.

"When he raiseth himself up, the mighty are afraid; by reason of

breakings they lose themselves.

"The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the

dart, nor the habergeon.

"He esteemeth iron as straw, and copper as rotten wood.

"The arrow cannot make him flee: sling-stones are turned with him

into stubble.

"Clubs are counted as stubble; he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.

[Illustration: CROCODILE ATTACKING HORSES.]

"His under parts are like sharp points of potsherd; he speaketh

sharp points upon the mire.

"He maketh the deep to boil like a pot; he maketh the sea like a pot

of ointment.

"He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be

hoary.

"Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.

"He beholdeth all high things; he is a king over all the children

of pride."

This splendid description points as clearly to the Crocodile as the

description of the Behemoth which immediately precedes it does to

the hippopotamus, and it is tolerably evident that the sacred poet

who wrote these passages must have been personally acquainted with

both the Crocodile and the hippopotamus. In both descriptions there

are a few exaggerations, or rather, poetical licences. For example,

the bones of the hippopotamus are said to be iron and copper, and

the Crocodile is said to kindle live coals with his breath. These,

however, are but the natural imagery of an Oriental poet, and,

considering the subject, we may rather wonder that the writer has

not introduced even more fanciful metaphors.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CROCODILE.

There are several species of Crocodile in different parts of the

world, ten species at least being known to science.

Some inhabit India, some tropical America, some Asia, and some

Africa, so that the genus is represented in nearly all the warmer

parts of the world.

They are all known by the formation of the teeth, the lower canines

fitting each into a notch on the side of the upper jaw. The feet are

webbed to the tips, and though the reptile mostly propels itself

through the water by means of its tail, it can also paddle itself

gently along by means of its feet.

The teeth are all made for snatching and tearing, but not for

masticating, the Crocodile swallowing its prey entire when possible;

and when the animal is too large to be eaten entire, the reptile

tears it to pieces, and swallows the fragments without attempting to

masticate them.

In order to enable it to open its mouth under water, the back

of its throat is furnished with a very simple but beautiful

contrivance, whereby the water is received on a membranous valve

and, in proportion to its pressure, closes the orifice of the

throat. As the Crocodiles mostly seize their prey in their open jaws

and hold it under water until drowned, it is evident that without

such a structure as has been described the Crocodile would be as

likely to drown itself as its prey. But the throat-valve enables

it to keep its mouth open while the water is effectually prevented

from running down its throat, and the nostrils, placed at the end of

the snout, enable it to breathe at its ease, while the unfortunate

animal which it has captured is being drowned beneath the surface of

the water.

This position of the nostrils serves another purpose, and enables

the Crocodile to breathe while the whole of its body is under the

water, and only an inch or two of the very end of the snout is

above the surface. As, moreover, the Crocodile, as is the case with

most reptiles, is able to exist for a considerable time without

breathing, it only needs to protrude its nostrils for a few moments,

and can then sink entirely beneath the water. In this way the

reptile is able to conceal itself in case it should suspect danger;

and as, in such instances, it dives under the herbage of the river,

and merely thrusts its nose into the air among the reeds and rushes,

it is evident that, in spite of its enormous size, it baffles the

observation of almost every foe.

Among reptiles, the mailed Crocodiles may be mentioned as most

formidable foes to man. Vast in bulk, yet grovelling with the belly

on the earth; clad in bony plates with sharp ridges; green eyes with

a peculiar fiery stare, gleaming out from below projecting orbits;

lips altogether wanting, displaying the long rows of interlocking

teeth even when the mouth is closed, so that, even when quiet, the

monster seems to be grinning with rage,--it is no wonder that the

Crocodile should be, in all the countries which it inhabits, viewed

with dread.

Nor is this terror groundless. The Crocodiles, both of the Nile

and of the Indian rivers, are well known to make man their victim,

and scarcely can a more terrible fate be imagined than that of

falling into the jaws of this gigantic reptile. Strange as it may

appear, the Crocodile is one of the many animals to which divine

honours were paid by the ancient Egyptians. This we learn from

several sources. Herodotus, for example, in "Euterpe," chapter

69, writes as follows: "Those who dwell about Thebes and Lake

Mœris, consider them to be very sacred; and they each of them

train up a Crocodile, which is taught to be quite tame; and they put

crystal and gold ear-rings into their ears, and bracelets on their

fore-paws; and they give them appointed and sacred food, and treat

them as well as possible while alive and when dead, they embalm

them, and bury them in sacred vaults."

[Illustration: A CROCODILE POOL OF ANCIENT EGYPT.]

The reasons for this worship are several. At the root of them all

lies the tendency of man to respect that which he fears rather

than that which he loves; and the nearer the man approaches the

savage state, the more is this feeling developed. By this tendency

his worship is regulated, and it will be found that when man is

sufficiently advanced to be capable of worship at all, his reverence

is invariably paid to the object which has the greatest terrors

for him. The Crocodile, therefore, being the animal that was most

dreaded by the ancient Egyptians, was accepted as the natural type

of divinity.

[Illustration: CROCODILES OF THE UPPER NILE.]

Owing to the accuracy of the description in the Book of Job, which

is evidently written by one who was personally acquainted with

the Crocodile, it is thought by many commentators that the writer

must have been acquainted with the Nile, in which river both the

Crocodile and hippopotamus are found at the present day.

It is possible, however, that the hippopotamus and the Crocodile

have had at one time a much wider range than they at present enjoy.

Even within the memory of man the hippopotamus has been driven

further and further up the Nile by the encroachments of man. It has

long been said that even at the present day the Crocodile exists in

Palestine in the river which is called "Nhar Zurka," which flows

from Samaria through the plains of Sharon. Several of the older

writers have mentioned its existence in this river, and, since this

work was commenced, the long-vexed question has been set at rest; a

Crocodile, eight feet in length, having been captured in the Nhar

Zurka.

No description of the Crocodile would be complete without allusion

to the mode in which it seizes its prey. It does not attack it

openly, neither, as some have said, does it go on shore for that

purpose. It watches to see whether any animal comes to drink, and

then, sinking beneath the surface of the water, dives rapidly,

rises unexpectedly beneath the unsuspecting victim, seizes it with

a sudden snap of its huge jaws, and drags it beneath the water.

Should the intended prey be too far from the water to be reached by

the mouth, or so large that it may offer a successful resistance,

the Crocodile strikes it a tremendous blow with its tail, and knocks

it into the water. The dwellers on the Nile bank say that a large

Crocodile will with a single blow of its tail break all the four

legs of an ox or a horse.

These cunning reptiles even contrive to catch birds as they come for

water. On the banks of the Nile the smaller birds drink in a very

peculiar manner. They settle in numbers on the flexible branches

that overhang the stream, and when, by their weight, the branch

bends downwards, they dip their beaks in the water. The Crocodile

sees afar off a branch thus loaded, swims as near as possible, and

then dives until it can see the birds immediately above it, when it

rises suddenly, and with a snap of its jaws secures a whole mouthful

of the unsuspecting birds.

Sir S. Baker, in his travels on the Nile, gave much attention to

the Crocodile, and has collected a great amount of interesting

information about the reptile, much of which is peculiarly valuable,

inasmuch as it illustrates the Scriptural notices of the creature.

He states that it is a very crafty animal, and that its usual mode

of attack is by first showing itself, then swimming slowly away to a

considerable distance, so as to make its intended victim think that

danger is over, and then returning under water. It is by means of

this manœuvre that it captures the little birds. It first makes

a dash at them, open-mouthed, causing them to take to flight in

terror. It then sails slowly away as if it were so baffled that it

did not intend to renew the attack. When it is at a considerable

distance, the birds think that their enemy has departed, and return

to the branch, which they crowd more than ever, and in a minute

or two several dozen of them are engulfed in the mouth of the

Crocodile, which has swiftly dived under them.

On one occasion, Sir S. Baker was walking near the edge of the

river, when he heard a great shrieking of women on the opposite

bank. It turned out that a number of women had been filling their

"gerbas" (water-skins), when one of them was suddenly attacked by

a large Crocodile. She sprang back, and the reptile, mistaking the

filled gerba for a woman, seized it, and gave the owner time to

escape. It then dashed at the rest of the women, but only succeeded

in seizing another gerba.

A short time previously a Crocodile, thought by the natives to be

the same individual, had seized a woman and carried her off; and

another had made an attack on a man in a very curious manner. A

number of men were swimming across the river, supported, after

their custom, on gerbas inflated with air, when one of them felt

himself seized by the leg by a Crocodile, which tried to drag him

under water. He, however, retained his hold on the skin, and his

companions also grasped his arms and hair with one hand, while

with the other they struck with their spears at the Crocodile. At

last they succeeded in driving the reptile away, and got their

unfortunate companion to land, where they found that the whole of

the flesh was stripped from the leg from the knee downwards. The

poor man died shortly afterwards.

Another traveller relates that three young men who were obliged to

cross a branch of a river in their route, being unable to procure

a boat, endeavoured to swim their horses to the opposite shore.

Two of them had reached the bank in safety, but the third loitered

so long on the brink as only to have just entered the water at the

moment his comrades had reached the opposite side. When he was

nearly half-way across, they saw a large Crocodile, which was known

to infest this pass, issuing from under the reeds. They instantly

warned their companion of his danger; but it was too late for him

to turn back. When the Crocodile was so close as to be on the point

of seizing him, he threw his saddle-bag to it. The ravenous animal

immediately caught the whole bundle in its jaws, and disappeared for

a few moments, but soon discovered its mistake, and rose in front

of the horse, which, then seeing it for the first time, reared and

threw its rider. He was an excellent swimmer, and had nearly escaped

by diving towards the bank; but, on rising for breath, his pursuer

also rose, and seized him by the middle. This dreadful scene,

which passed before the eyes of his companions, without the least

possibility of their rendering any assistance, was terminated by the

Crocodile, having previously drowned the unfortunate man, appearing

on an opposite sand-bank with the body, and there devouring it.

The crafty Crocodile tries to catch the baboons by lying in wait for

them at their drinking places; but the baboons are generally more

than a match for the Crocodile in point of cunning and quickness of

sight. Sir S. Baker witnessed an amusing example of such an attempt

and its failure.

"The large tamarind-trees on the opposite bank are generally full

of the dog-faced baboons (_Cynocephalus_) at their drinking hour.

I watched a large Crocodile creep slily out of the water and lie

in waiting among the rocks at the usual drinking place before they

arrived, but the baboons were too wide awake to be taken in so

easily.

"A young fellow was the first to discover the enemy. He had

accompanied several wise and experienced old hands to the extremity

of a bough that at a considerable height overhung the river; from

this post they had a bird's eye view, and reconnoitred before one of

the numerous party descended to drink. The sharp eyes of the young

one at once detected the Crocodile, who matched in colour so well

with the rocks that most probably a man would not have noticed it

until too late.

"At once the young one commenced shaking the bough and screaming

with all his might, to attract the attention of the Crocodile and to

induce it to move. In this he was immediately joined by the whole

party, who yelled in chorus, while the large old males bellowed

defiance, and descended to the lowest branches within eight or

ten feet of the Crocodile. It was of no use--the pretender never

stirred, and I watched it until dark. It remained still in the

same place, waiting for some unfortunate baboon whose thirst might

provoke his fate, but not one was sufficiently foolish, although

the perpendicular bank prevented them from drinking except at that

particular spot."

It may be imagined that if the Crocodile were to depend entirely

for its food upon the animals that it catches on the bank or in

the river, it would run a risk of starving. The fact is, that its

principal food consists of fish, which it can chase in the water.

The great speed at which the Crocodile darts through the water is

not owing to its webbed feet, but to its powerful tail, which is

swept from side to side, and thus propels the reptile after the

manner of a man "sculling" a boat with a single oar in the stern.

The whales and the fishes have a similar mode of propulsion.

On land, the tail is the Crocodile's most formidable weapon. It is

one mass of muscle and sinew, and the force of its lateral stroke

is terrible, sweeping away every living thing that it may meet.

Fortunately for its antagonists, the Crocodile can turn but very

slowly, so that, although it can scramble along at a much faster

pace than its appearance indicates, there is no great difficulty

in escaping, provided that the sweep of its tail be avoided. As

the Crocodile of the Nile attains when adult a length of thirty

feet, one moiety of which is taken up by the tail, it may easily be

imagined that the power of this weapon can scarcely be exaggerated.

As if to add to the terrors of the animal, its head, back, and tail

are shielded by a series of horny scales, which are set so closely

together that the sharpest spear can seldom find its way through

them, and even the rifle ball glances off, if it strikes them

obliquely. Like many other reptiles, the Crocodile is hatched from

eggs which are laid on shore and vivified by the warmth of the sun.

These eggs are exceedingly small when compared with the gigantic

lizard which deposited them, scarcely equalling in dimensions those

of the goose. There is now before me an egg of the cayman of South

America, a fresh-water lizard but little smaller than the Crocodile

of the Nile, and this is barely equal in size to an ordinary hen's

egg. It is longer in proportion to its width, but the contents of

the two eggs would be as nearly as possible of the same bulk. On

the exterior it is very rough, having a granulated appearance, not

unlike that of dried sharkskin, and the shell is exceedingly thin

and brittle. The lining membrane, however, is singularly thick and

tough, so that the egg is tolerably well defended against fracture.

When first hatched, the young Crocodile is scarcely larger than a

common newt, but it attains most formidable dimensions in a very

short time. Twenty or thirty eggs are laid in one spot, and, were

they not destroyed by sundry enemies, the Crocodiles would destroy

every living creature in the rivers. Fortunately, the eggs and young

have many enemies, chiefly among which is the well-known ichneumon,

which discovers the place where the eggs are laid and destroys them,

and eats any young Crocodiles that it can catch before they succeed

in making their way to the water.

The old writers were aware of the services rendered by the

ichneumon, but, after their wont, exaggerated them by additions of

their own, saying that the ichneumon enters into the mouth of the

Crocodile as it lies asleep, and eats its way through the body,

"putting the Crocodile to exquisite and intolerable torment, while

the Crocodile tumbleth to and fro, sighing and weeping, now in

the depth of water, now on the land, never resting till strength

of nature faileth. For the incessant gnawing of the ichneumon so

provoketh her to seek her rest in the unrest of every part, herb,

element, throws, throbs, rollings, but all in vain, for the enemy

within her breatheth through her breath, and sporteth herself in

the consumption of those vital parts which waste and wear away by

yielding to unpacificable teeth, one after another, till she that

crept in by stealth at the mouth, like a puny thief, comes out at

the belly like a conqueror, through a passage opened by her own

labour and industry."

The author has in the long passage, a part of which is here quoted,

mentioned that the ichneumon takes its opportunity of entering the

jaws of the Crocodile as it lies with its mouth open against the

beams of the sun. It is very true that the Crocodile does sleep

with its mouth open; and, in all probability, the older observers,

knowing that the ichneumon did really destroy the eggs and young

of the Crocodile, only added a little amplification, and made up

their minds that it also destroyed the parents. The same writer

who has lately been quoted ranks the ibis among the enemies of the

Crocodile, and says that the bird affects the reptile with such

terror that, if but an ibis's feather be laid on its back, the

Crocodile becomes rigid and unable to move. The Arabs of the

present time say that the water-tortoises are enemies to the eggs,

scratching them out of the sand and eating them.

[Illustration: ICHNEUMON DEVOURING THE EGGS OF THE CROCODILE.]

As this reptile is so dangerous a neighbour to the inhabitants of

the river-banks, many means have been adopted for its destruction.

One such method, where a kind of harpoon is employed, is described

by a traveller in the East as follows:--

"The most favourable season for thus hunting the Crocodile is

either the winter, when the animal usually sleeps on sand-banks,

luxuriating in the rays of the sun, or the spring, after the pairing

time, when the female regularly watches the sand islands where she

has buried her eggs.

"The native hunter finds out the place and conceals himself by

digging a hole in the sand near the spot where the animal usually

lies. On its arrival at the accustomed spot the hunter darts his

harpoon or spear with all his force, for, in order that its stroke

may be successful, the iron should penetrate to a depth of at least

four inches, in order that the barb may be fixed firmly in the flesh.

"The Crocodile, on being wounded, rushes into the water, and the

huntsman retreats into a canoe, with which a companion has hastened

to his assistance.

"A piece of wood attached to the harpoon by a long cord swims on the

water and shows the direction in which the Crocodile is moving. The

hunters pull on this rope and drag the beast to the surface of the

water, where it is again pierced by a second harpoon.

"When the animal is struck it by no means remains inactive; on the

contrary, it lashes instantly with its tail, and endeavours to bite

the rope asunder. To prevent this, the rope is made of about thirty

separate slender lines, not twisted together, but merely placed in

juxtaposition, and bound around at intervals of every two feet. The

thin strands get between the Crocodile's teeth, and it is unable to

sever them.

"In spite of the great strength of the reptile, two men can drag a

tolerably large one out of the water, tie up his mouth, twist his

legs over his back, and kill him by driving a sharp steel spike into

the spinal cord just at the back of the skull.

"There are many other modes of capturing the Crocodile, one of which

is the snare portrayed in the illustration.

[Illustration: A CROCODILE TRAP]

"Two elastic saplings are bent down and kept in position by stout

cords, one of which, bears a baited hook, while the other is

fashioned into a noose. These cords are so arranged as to release

the bent saplings as soon as the Crocodile pulls upon the baited

hook. If all works properly, the animal suddenly finds himself

suspended in the air, where he remains helpless and at the mercy of

the hunter, who soon arrives and despatches him.

"The extreme tenacity of life possessed by the Crocodile is well

exemplified by an incident which occurred in Ceylon. A fine specimen

had been caught, and to all appearance killed, its interior parts

removed, and the aperture kept open by a stick placed across it.

A few hours afterwards the captors returned to their victim with

the intention of cutting off the head, but were surprised to find

the spot vacant. On examining the locality it was evident that the

creature had retained sufficient life to crawl back into the water.

From this it may be imagined that it is no easy matter to drive the

breath out of a Crocodile. Its life seems to take a separate hold

of every fibre in the creature's body, and though pierced through

and through with bullets, crushed by heavy blows, and its body

converted into a very pincushion for spears, it writhes and twists

and struggles with wondrous strength, snapping savagely with its

huge jaws, and lashing its muscular tail from side to side with such

vigour that it requires a bold man to venture within range of that

terrible weapon."

Sometimes combats occur between this creature and the tiger, one of

the fiercest and most terrible of all quadrupeds. Tigers frequently

go down to the rivers to drink, and, upon these occasions, the

Crocodile, if near, may attempt to seize them. The ferocious beast,

however, seldom falls unrevenged; for the instant he finds himself

seized, he turns with great agility and fierceness on his enemy, and

endeavours to strike his claws into the Crocodile's eyes, while the

latter drags him into the water, where they continue to struggle

until the tiger be drowned, and his triumphant antagonist feasts

upon his carcass. Such a combat is depicted in the illustration

which appears on an accompanying page.

[Illustration: A FIGHT FOR LIFE.]

[Illustration: THE CYPRIUS, OR LIZARD OF SCRIPTURE.]

THE LETÂÂH OR LIZARD.

Difficulty of identifying the Letââh--Probability that

it is a collective and not a specific term--Various

Lizards of Palestine--The Green or Jersey Lizard--The

Cyprius, its appearance and habits--The Glass Snake or

Scheltopusic--Translation of the word _chomet_--Probability that

it signifies the Skink--Medicinal uses of the Lizard--The Seps

tribe--The common Cicigna, and the popular belief concerning its

habits--The Sphænops and its shallow tunnel.

In Leviticus xi. 30, the word LIZARD is used as the rendering of the

Hebrew word _letââh_ (pronounced as L'tâh-âh). There are one or two

difficulties about the word, but, without going into the question

of etymology, which is beside the object of this work, it will be

sufficient to state that the best authorities accept the rendering,

and that in the Jewish Bible the word Lizard is retained, but with

the mark of doubt appended to it.

A very common species of Lizard, and therefore likely to be one

of those which are grouped under the common name of Letââh,

is the CYPRIUS (_Plestiodon auratum_). This handsome Lizard is

golden-yellow in colour, beautifully spotted with orange and

scarlet, and may be distinguished, even when the colours have fled

after death, by the curiously formed ears, which are strongly

toothed in front. It is very plentiful in Palestine, and, like

others of its kin, avoids cultivated tracts, and is generally found

on rocky and sandy soil which cannot be tilled. It is active, and,

if alarmed, hides itself quickly in the sand or under stones.

It belongs to the great family of the Skinks, many of which, like

the familiar blind-worm of our own country, are without external

legs, and, though true Lizards, progress in a snake-like manner, and

are generally mistaken for snakes. One of these is the GLASS SNAKE

or SCHELTOPUSIC (_Pseudopus pallasii_), which has two very tiny hind

legs, but which is altogether so snake-like that it is considered

by the natives to be really a serpent. They may well be excused for

their error, as the only external indications of limbs are a pair of

slightly-projecting scales at the place where the hind legs would be

in a fully-developed Lizard.

Though tolerably plentiful, the Scheltopusic is not very often seen,

as it is timid and wary, and, when it suspects danger, glides away

silently into some place of safety. When adult, the colour of this

Lizard is usually chestnut, profusely mottled with black or deep

brown, the edge of each scale being of the darker colour. It feeds

upon insects and small reptiles, and has been known to devour a nest

full of young birds.

* * * * *

In Levit. xi. 30 is a Hebrew word, _chomet_, which is given in the

Authorized Version as SNAIL. There is, however, no doubt that the

word is wrongly translated, and that by it some species of Lizard

is signified. The Jewish Bible follows the Authorized Version,

but affixes the mark of doubt to the word. There is another word,

_shablul_, which undoubtedly does signify the snail, and will be

mentioned in its proper place.

It is most probable that the word _chomet_ includes, among other

Lizards, many of the smaller Skinks which inhabit Palestine.

Among them we may take as an example the COMMON SKINK (_Scincus

officinalis_), a reptile which derives its specific name from the

fact that it was formerly used in medicine, together with mummy, and

the other disgusting ingredients which formed the greater part of

the old Pharmacopœia.

Even at the present day, it is used for similar purposes in the

East, and is in consequence captured for the use of physicians,

the body being simply dried in the sun, and then sent to market

for sale. It is principally employed for the cure of sunstroke,

nettle-rash, sand-blindness, or fever, and both patient and

physician have the greatest confidence in its powers. It is said by

some European physicians that the flesh of the Skink really does

possess medicinal powers, and that it has fallen into disrepute

chiefly because those powers have been exaggerated. In former days,

the head and feet were thought to possess the greatest efficacy, and

were valued accordingly.

Like all its tribe, the Skink loves sandy localities, the soil

exactly suiting its peculiar habits. Although tolerably active,

it does not run so fast or so far as many other Lizards, and,

when alarmed, it has a peculiar faculty for sinking itself almost

instantaneously under the sand, much after the fashion of the

shore-crabs of our own country. Indeed, it is even more expeditious

than the crab, which occupies some little time in burrowing under

the wet and yielding sand, whereas the Skink slips beneath the dry

and comparatively hard sand with such rapidity that it seems rather

to be diving into a nearly excavated burrow than to be scooping a

hollow for itself.

The sand is therefore a place of safety to the Skink, which does

not, like the crab, content itself with merely burying its body just

below the surface, but continues to burrow, sinking itself in a few

seconds to the depth of nearly a yard.

The length of the Skink is about eight inches, and its very variable

colour is generally yellowish brown, crossed with several dark

bands. Several specimens, however, are spotted instead of banded

with brown, while some are banded with white, and others are spotted

with white. In all, however, the under-surface is silver grey.

[Illustration: THE CHAMELEON.]

THE CHAMELEON, MONITOR, AND GECKO.

Demeanour of the Chameleon on the ground--The independent

eyes--Its frequent change of colour--The Nilotic Monitor.

In Levit. xi. 30 there occurs a word which has caused great trouble

to commentators. The word is _koach_.

There are two lizards to which the term may possibly be

applied--namely, the Chameleon and the Monitor; and, as the

Authorized Version of the Scriptures accepts the former

interpretation, we will first describe the Chameleon.

* * * * *

This reptile is very plentiful in the Holy Land, as well as in

Egypt, so that the Israelites would be perfectly familiar with

it, both during their captivity and after their escape. It is but

a small reptile, and the reader may well ask why a name denoting

strength should be given to it. I think that we may find the reason

for its name in the extraordinary power of its grasp, as it is able,

by means of its peculiarly-formed feet and prehensile tail, to grasp

the branches so tightly that it can scarcely be removed without

damage.

I once saw six or seven Chameleons huddled up together, all having

clasped each other's legs and tails so firmly that they formed a

bundle that might be rolled along the ground without being broken

up. In order to show the extraordinary power of the Chameleon's

grasp, I have had a figure drawn from a sketch taken by myself from

a specimen which I kept for several months.

[Illustration: GECKO AND CHAMELEON.]

When the Chameleon wished to pass from one branch to another, it

used to hold firmly to the branch by the tail and one hind-foot, and

stretch out its body nearly horizontally, feeling about with the

other three feet, as if in search of a convenient resting-place.

In this curious attitude it would remain for a considerable time,

apparently suffering no inconvenience, though even the spider-monkey

would have been unable to maintain such an attitude for half the

length of time.

The strength of the grasp is really astonishing when contrasted

with the size of the reptile, as any one will find who allows the

Chameleon to grasp his finger, or who tries to detach it from the

branch to which it is clinging. The feet are most curiously made.

They are furnished with five toes, which are arranged like those of

parrots and other climbing birds, so as to close upon each other

like the thumb and finger of a human hand. They are armed with

little yellow claws, slightly curved and very sharp, and when they

grasp the skin of the hand they give it an unpleasantly sharp pinch.

The tail is as prehensile as that of the spider-monkey, to which

the Chameleon bears a curious resemblance in some of its attitudes,

though nothing can be more different than the volatile, inquisitive,

restless disposition of the spider-monkey and the staid, sober

demeanour of the Chameleon. The reptile has the power of guiding the

tail to any object as correctly as if there were an eye at the end

of the tail. When it has been travelling over the branches of trees,

I have often seen it direct its tail to a projecting bud, and grasp

it as firmly as if the bud had been before and not behind it.

Sometimes, when it rests on a branch, it allows the tail to

hang down as a sort of balance, the tip coiling and uncoiling

unceasingly. But, as soon as the reptile wishes to move, the tail is

tightened to the branch, and at once coiled round it. There really

seems to be almost a separate vitality and consciousness on the part

of the tail, which glides round an object as if it were acting with

entire independence of its owner.

On the ground the Chameleon fares but poorly. Its walk is absolutely

ludicrous, and an experienced person might easily fail to identify

a Chameleon when walking with the same animal on a branch. It

certainly scrambles along at a tolerable rate, but it is absurdly

awkward, its legs sprawling widely on either side, and its feet

grasping futilely at every step. The tail, which is usually so lithe

and nimble, is then held stiffly from the body, with a slight curve

upwards.

The eyes are strange objects, projecting far from the head, and each

acting quite independently of the other, so that one eye may often

be directed forwards, and the other backwards. The eyeballs are

covered with a thick wrinkled skin, except a small aperture at the

tip, which can be opened and closed like our own eyelids.

The changing colour of the Chameleon has been long known, though

there are many mistaken ideas concerning it.

The reptile does not necessarily assume the colour of any object on

which it is placed, but sometimes takes a totally different colour.

Thus, if my Chameleon happened to come upon any scarlet substance,

the colour immediately became black, covered with innumerable

circular spots of light yellow. The change was so instantaneous

that, as it crawled on the scarlet cloth, the colour would alter,

and the fore-part of the body would be covered with yellow spots,

while the hinder parts retained their dull black. Scarlet always

annoyed the Chameleon, and it tried to escape whenever it found

itself near any substance of the obnoxious hue.

The normal colour was undoubtedly black, with a slight tinge of

grey. But in a short time the whole creature would become a vivid

verdigris green, and, while the spectator was watching it, the legs

would become banded with rings of bright yellow, and spats and

streaks of the same colour would appear on the head and body.

When it was excited either by anger or by expectation--as, for

example, when it heard a large fly buzzing near it--the colours

were singularly beautiful, almost exactly resembling in hue and

arrangement those of the jaguar. Of all the colours, green seemed

generally to predominate, but the creature would pass so rapidly

from one colour to another that it was scarcely possible to follow

the various gradations of hue.

Some persons have imagined that the variation of colour depends on

the wants and passions of the animal. This is not the case. The

change is often caused by mental emotion, but is not dependent on

it; and I believe that the animal has no control whatever over its

colour. The best proof of this assertion may be found in the fact

that my own Chameleon changed colour several times after its death;

and, indeed, as long as I had the dead body before me, changes of

hue were taking place.

The food of the Chameleon consists of insects, mostly flies, which

it catches by means of its tongue, which can be protruded to an

astonishing distance. The tongue is nearly cylindrical, and is

furnished at the tip with a slight cavity, which is filled with

a very glutinous secretion. When the Chameleon sees a fly or

other insect, it gently protrudes the tongue once or twice, as if

taking aim, like a billiard-player with his cue, and then, with a

moderately smart stroke, carries off the insect on the glutinous tip

of the tongue. The force with which the Chameleon strikes is really

wonderful. My own specimen used to look for flies from my hand, and

at first I was as much surprised with the force of the blow struck

by the tongue as I was with the grasping power of the feet.

[Illustration: THE GECKO.

FOOT OF THE GECKO--UNDER SIDE.]

So much for the Chameleon. We will now take the NILOTIC MONITOR and

the LAND MONITOR, the other reptiles which have been conjectured to

be the real representatives of the Koach.

These lizards attain to some size, the former sometimes measuring

six feet in length, and the latter but a foot or so less. Of the

two, the Land Monitor, being the more common, both in Palestine and

Egypt, has perhaps the best claim to be considered as the Koach

of Scripture. It is sometimes called the Land Crocodile. It is a

carnivorous animal, feeding upon other reptiles and the smaller

mammalia, and is very fond of the eggs of the crocodile, which it

destroys in great numbers, and is in consequence much venerated by

the inhabitants of the country about the Nile.

The theory that this reptile may be the Koach of Leviticus is

strengthened by the fact that even at the present day it is cooked

and eaten by the natives, whereas the chameleon is so small and bony

that scarcely any one would take the trouble of cooking it.

The Gecko takes its name from the sound which it utters, resembling

the word "geck-o." It is exceedingly plentiful, and inhabits the

interior of houses, where it can find the flies and other insects

on which it lives. On account of the structure of the toes, each

of which is flattened into a disk-like form, and furnished on the

under surface with a series of plates like those on the back of

the sucking-fish, it can walk up a smooth, perpendicular wall with

perfect ease, and can even cling to the ceiling like the flies on

which it feeds.

In the illustration the reader will observe the flat, fan-like

expansions at the ends of the toes, by which the Gecko is able to

adhere to flat surfaces, and to dart with silent rapidity from place

to place.

[Illustration: serpent]

[Illustration: serpents]

SERPENTS.

Serpents in general--The fiery Serpents of the

wilderness--Explanation of the words "flying" and "fiery" as

applied to Serpents--Haunts of the Serpent--The Cobra, or Asp

of Scripture--The Cerastes, or Horned Serpent--Appearance and

habits of the reptile--The "Adder in the path."

As we have seen that so much looseness of nomenclature prevailed

among the Hebrews even with regard to the mammalia, birds, and

lizards, we can but expect that the names of the Serpents will be

equally difficult to identify.

No less than seven names are employed in the Old Testament to

denote some species of Serpent; but there are only two which can

be identified with any certainty, four others being left to mere

conjecture, and one being clearly a word which, like our snake or

serpent, is a word not restricted to any particular species, but

signifying Serpents in general. This word is _nâchâsh_ (pronounced

nah-kahsh). It is unfortunate that the word is so variously

translated in different passages of Scripture, and we cannot do

better than to follow it through the Ola Testament, so as to bring

all the passages under our glance.

The first mention of the Nâchâsh occurs in Gen. iii., in the

well-known passage where the Serpent is said to be more subtle than

all the beasts of the field, the wisdom or subtlety of the Serpent

having evidently an allegorical and not a categorical signification.

We find the same symbolism employed in the New Testament, the

disciples of our Lord being told to be "wise as serpents, and

harmless as doves."

Allusion is made to the gliding movement of the Serpent tribe in

Prov. xxx. 19. On this part of the subject little need be said,

except that the movements of the Serpent are owing to the mobility

of the ribs, which are pushed forward in succession and drawn back

again, so as to catch against any inequality of the ground. This

power is increased by the structure of the scales. Those of the

upper part of the body, which are not used for locomotion, are

shaped something like the scales of a fish; but those of the lower

part of the body, which come in contact with the ground, are broad

belts, each overlapping the other, and each connected with one pair

of ribs.

When, therefore, the Serpent pushes forward the ribs, the edges of

the scaly belts will catch against the slightest projection, and are

able to give a very powerful impetus to the body. It is scarcely

possible to drag a snake backwards over rough ground; while on a

smooth surface, such as glass, the Serpent would be totally unable

to proceed. This, however, was not likely to have been studied by

the ancient Hebrews, who were among the most unobservant of mankind

with regard to details of natural history: it is, therefore, no

wonder that the gliding of the Serpent should strike the writer of

the proverb in question as a mystery which he could not explain.

The poisonous nature of some of the Serpents is mentioned in several

passages of Scripture; and it will be seen that the ancient Hebrews,

like many modern Europeans, believed that the poison lay in the

forked tongue. See, for example, Ps. lviii. 4: "Their poison is

like the poison of a serpent" (_nâchâsh_). Also Prov. xxiii. 32, in

which the sacred writer says of wine that it brings woe, sorrow,

contentions, wounds without cause, redness of eyes, and that "at the

last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder."

[Illustration: COBRA AND CERASTES, THE ASP AND ADDER OF SCRIPTURE.]

The idea that the poison of the Serpent lies in the tongue is seen

in several passages of Scripture. "They have sharpened their tongues

like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips" (Ps. cxl. 3).

Also in Job xx. 16, the sacred writer says of the hypocrite, that

"he shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay

him."

As to the fiery Serpents of the wilderness, it is scarcely needful

to mention that the epithet of "fiery" does not signify that the

Serpents in question produced real fire from their mouths, but that

allusion is made to the power and virulence of their poison, and

to the pain caused by their bite. We ourselves naturally employ a

similar metaphor, and speak of a "burning pain," of a "fiery trial,"

of "hot anger," and the like.

[Illustration: THE ISRAELITES ARE BITTEN BY SERPENTS IN THE

WILDERNESS, AND MOSES LIFTS UP THE SERPENT OF BRASS.]

The epithet of "flying" which is applied to these Serpents is

explained by the earlier commentators as having reference to a

Serpent which they called the Dart Snake, and which they believed

to lie in wait for men and to spring at them from a distance. They

thought that this snake hid itself either in hollows of the ground

or in trees, and sprang through the air for thirty feet upon any man

or beast that happened to pass by.

* * * * *

We will now take the various species of Serpents mentioned in the

Bible, as nearly as they can be identified.

Of one species there is no doubt whatever. This is the Cobra di

Capello, a serpent which is evidently signified by the Hebrew word

_pethen_.

This celebrated Serpent has long been famous, not only for the

deadly power of its venom, but for the singular performances in

which it takes part. The Cobra inhabits many parts of Asia, and

in almost every place where it is found, certain daring men take

upon themselves the profession of serpent-charmers, and handle

these fearful reptiles with impunity, cause them to move in time to

certain musical sounds, and assert that they bear a life charmed

against the bite of these deadly playmates.

One of these men will take a Cobra in his bare hands, toss it about

with perfect indifference, allow it to twine about his naked breast,

tie it around his neck, and treat it with as little ceremony as

if it were an earth-worm. He will then take the same Serpent--or

apparently the same--make it bite a fowl, which soon dies from the

poison, and will then renew his performance.

Some persons say that the whole affair is but an exhibition of that

jugglery in which the natives of the East Indies are such wondrous

adepts; that the Serpents with which the man plays are harmless,

having been deprived of their fangs, and that a really venomous

specimen is adroitly substituted for the purpose of killing the

fowl. It is, moreover, said, and truly, that a snake thought to have

been rendered harmless by the deprivation of its fangs, has bitten

one of its masters and killed him, thus proving the imposture.

Still, neither of these explanations will entirely disprove the

mastery of man over a venomous Serpent.

In the first instance, it is surely as perilous an action to

substitute a venomous Serpent as to play with it. Where was it

hidden, why did it not bite the man instead of the fowl, and how did

the juggler prevent it from using its teeth while he was conveying

it away?

And, in the second instance, the detection of one impostor is by no

means a proof that all who pretend to the same powers are likewise

impostors.

The following narrative by a traveller in the East seems to prove

that the serpent-charmer possessed sufficient power to induce a

truly poisonous Serpent to leave its hole, and to perform certain

antics at his command:

"A snake-charmer came to my bungalow, requesting me to allow him

to show his snakes. As I had frequently seen his performance, I

declined to witness a repetition of it, but told him that if he

would accompany me to the jungle and catch a Cobra, that I knew

frequented the place, I would give him a present of money. He was

quite willing, and as I was anxious to test the truth of the charm

he claimed to possess, I carefully counted his tame snakes, and put

a guard over them until we should return.

"Before starting I also examined his clothing, and satisfied myself

that he had no snake about his person. When we arrived at the spot,

he commenced playing upon a small pipe, and, after persevering for

some time, out crawled a large Cobra from an ant-hill which I knew

it occupied.

"On seeing the man it tried to escape, but he quickly caught it by

the tail and kept swinging it round until we reached the bungalow.

He then laid it upon the ground and made it raise and lower its head

to the sound of his pipe.

"Before long, however, it bit him above the knee. He immediately

bandaged the leg tightly above the wound, and applied a piece of

porous stone, called a snake-stone, to extract the poison. He was in

great pain for a few minutes, but afterwards it gradually subsided,

the stone falling from the wound just before he was relieved.

"When he recovered he held up a cloth, at which the snake flew and

hung by its fangs. While in this position the man passed his hand up

its back, and having seized it tightly by the throat, he pulled out

the fangs and gave them to me. He then squeezed out the poison, from

the glands in the Serpent's mouth, upon a leaf. It was a clear, oily

substance, which when rubbed with the hand produced a fine lather.

"The whole operation was carefully watched by me, and was also

witnessed by several other persons."

How the serpent-charmers perform their feats is not very

intelligible. That they handle the most venomous Serpents with

perfect impunity is evident enough, and it is also clear that they

are able to produce certain effects upon the Serpents by means of

musical (or unmusical) sounds. But these two items are entirely

distinct, and one does not depend upon the other.

In the first place, the handling of venomous snakes has been

performed by ordinary men without the least recourse to any arts

except that of acquaintance with the habits of Serpents. The late

Mr. Waterton, for example, would take up a rattlesnake in his bare

hand without feeling the least uneasy as to the behaviour of his

prisoner. He once took twenty-seven rattlesnakes out of a box,

carried them into another room, put them into a large glass case,

and afterwards replaced them in the box. He described to me the

manner in which he did it, using my wrist as the representative of

the Serpent.

[Illustration: THE SERPENT-CHARMER.]

The nature of all Serpents is rather peculiar, and is probably

owing to the mode in which the blood circulates. They are extremely

unwilling to move, except when urged by the wants of nature, and

will lie coiled up for many hours together when not pressed by

hunger. Consequently, when touched, their feeling is evidently like

that of a drowsy man, who only tries to shake off the object which

may rouse him, and composes himself afresh to sleep.

A quick and sudden movement would, however, alarm the reptile, which

would strike in self-defence, and, sluggish as are its general

movements, its stroke is delivered with such lightning rapidity that

it would be sure to inflict its fatal wound before it was seized.

If, therefore, Mr. Waterton saw a Serpent which he desired to

catch, he would creep very quietly up to it, and with a gentle,

slow movement place his fingers round its neck just behind the

head. If it happened to be coiled up in such a manner that he could

not get at its neck, he had only to touch it gently until it moved

sufficiently for his purpose.

When he had once placed his hand on the Serpent, it was in his

power. He would then grasp it very lightly indeed, and raise it

gently from the ground, trusting that the reptile would be more

inclined to be carried quietly than to summon up sufficient energy

to bite. Even if it had tried to use its fangs, it could not have

done so as long as its captor's fingers were round its neck.

As a rule, a great amount of provocation is needed before a venomous

Serpent will use its teeth. One of my friends, when a boy, caught a

viper, mistaking it for a common snake. He tied it round his neck,

coiled it on his wrist by way of a bracelet, and so took it home,

playing many similar tricks with it as he went. After arrival in the

house, he produced the viper for the amusement of his brothers and

sisters, and, after repeating his performances, tried to tie the

snake in a double knot. This, however, was enough to provoke the

most pacific of creatures, and in consequence he received a bite on

his finger.

The poison was not slow to take effect; first, the wound looked

and felt like a nettle sting, then like a wasp sting, and in the

course of a few minutes the whole finger was swollen. At this

juncture his father, a medical man, fortunately arrived, and set the

approved antidotes, ammonia, oil, and lunar caustic, to the wound,

having previously made incisions about the punctured spot, and with

paternal affection attempted to suck out the poison. In spite of

these remedies a serious illness was the result of the bite, from

which the boy did not recover for several weeks.

[Illustration: snake]

There is no doubt that the snake-charmers trust chiefly to this

sluggish nature of the reptile, but they certainly go through

some ceremonies by which they believe themselves to be rendered

impervious to snake-bites. They will coil the cobra round their

naked bodies, they will irritate the reptile until it is in a state

of fury; they will even allow it to bite them, and yet be none the

worse for the wound. Then, as if to show that the venomous teeth

have not been abstracted, as is possibly supposed to be the case,

they will make the cobra bite a fowl, which speedily dies from the

effects of the poison.

Even if the fangs were extracted, the Serpents would lose little

of their venomous power. These reptiles are furnished with a whole

series of fangs in different stages of development, so that when the

one in use is broken or shed in the course of nature, another comes

forward and fills its place. There is now before me a row of four

fangs, which I took from the right upper jawbone of a viper which I

recently caught.

In her interesting "Letters from Egypt," Lady Duff-Gordon gives an

amusing account of the manner in which she was formally initiated

into the mysteries of snake-charming, and made ever afterwards

impervious to the bite of venomous Serpents:--

"At Kóm Omboo, we met with a Rifáee darweesh with his basket of tame

snakes. After a little talk, he proposed to initiate me: and so we

sat down and held hands like people marrying. Omar [her attendant]

sat behind me, and repeated the words as my 'wakeel.' Then the

Rifáee twisted a cobra round our joined hands, and requested me to

spit on it; he did the same, and I was pronounced safe and enveloped

in snakes. My sailors groaned, and Omar shuddered as the snakes put

out their tongues; the darweesh and I smiled at each other like

Roman augurs."

She believed that the snakes were toothless; and perhaps on this

occasion they may have been so. Extracting the teeth of the Serpent

is an easy business in experienced hands, and is conducted in two

ways. Those snake-charmers who are confident of their own powers

merely grasp the reptile by the neck, force open its jaws with a

piece of stick, and break off the fangs, which are but loosely

attached to the jaw. Those who are not so sure of themselves

irritate the snake, and offer it a piece of cloth, generally the

corner of their mantle, to bite. The snake darts at it, and, as it

seizes the garment, the man gives the cloth a sudden jerk, and so

tears away the fangs.

Still, although some of the performers employ mutilated snakes,

there is no doubt that others do not trouble themselves to remove

the fangs of the Serpents, but handle with impunity the cobra or the

cerastes with all its venomous apparatus in good order.

We now come to the second branch of the subject, namely, the

influence of sound upon the cobra and other Serpents. The charmers

are always provided with musical instruments, of which a sort of

flute with a loud shrill sound is the one which is mostly used in

the performances. Having ascertained, from slight marks which their

practised eyes easily discover, that a Serpent is hidden in some

crevice, the charmer plays upon his flute, and in a short time the

snake is sure to make its appearance.

As soon as it is fairly out, the man seizes it by the end of the

tail, and holds it up in the air at arm's length. In this position

it is helpless, having no leverage, and merely wriggles about in

fruitless struggles to escape. Having allowed it to exhaust its

strength by its efforts, the man lowers it into a basket, where

it is only too glad to find a refuge, and closes the lid. After a

while, he raises the lid and begins to play the flute.

[Illustration: TEACHING COBRAS TO DANCE.]

The Serpent tries to glide out of the basket, but, as soon as it

does so, the lid is shut down again, and in a very short time the

reptile finds that escape is impossible, and, as long as it hears

the sound of the flute, only raises its head in the air, supporting

itself on the lower portion of its tail, and continues to wave its

head from side to side as long as it hears the sound of the music.

The rapidity with which a cobra learns this lesson is extraordinary,

the charmers being as willing to show their mastery over

newly-caught Serpents as over those which have been long in their

possession.

The colour of the Cobra is in most cases a brownish olive. The most

noted peculiarity is the expansion of the neck, popularly called

the hood. This phenomenon is attributable not only to the skin and

muscles, but to the skeleton. About twenty pairs of the ribs of

the neck and fore part of the back are flat instead of curved, and

increase gradually from the head to the eleventh or twelfth pair,

from which they decrease until they are merged into the ordinary

curved ribs of the body. When the snake is excited, it brings these

ribs forward so as to spread the skin, and then displays the oval

hood to best advantage.

In the Cobra di Capello the back of the hood is ornamented by two

large eye-like spots, united by a curved black stripe, so formed

that the whole mark bears a singular resemblance to a pair of

spectacles.

THE CERASTES, OR SHEPHIPHON OF SCRIPTURE.

The word _shephiphon_, which evidently signifies some species of

snake, only occurs once in the Scriptures, but fortunately that

single passage contains an allusion to the habits of the serpent

which makes identification nearly certain. The passage in question

occurs in Gen. xlix. 17, and forms part of the prophecy of Jacob

respecting his children: "Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an

adder in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider

shall fall backward."

Putting aside the deeper meaning of this prophecy, there is here an

evident allusion to the habits of the CERASTES, or HORNED VIPER, a

species of venomous serpent, which is plentiful in Northern Africa,

and is found also in Palestine and Syria. It is a very conspicuous

reptile, and is easily recognised by the two horn-like projections

over the eyes. The name Cerastes, or horned, has been given to it

on account of these projections.

This snake has a custom of lying half buried in the sand, awaiting

the approach of some animal on which it can feed. Its usual diet

consists of the jerboas and other small mammalia, and as they are

exceedingly active, while the Cerastes is slow and sluggish, its

only chance of obtaining food is to lie in wait. It will always take

advantage of any small depression, such as the print of a camel's

foot, and, as it finds many of these depressions in the line of the

caravans, it is literally "a serpent by the way, an adder in the

path."

[Illustration: HORNED VIPER.]

According to the accounts of travellers, the Cerastes is much more

irritable than the cobra, and is very apt to strike at any object

which may disturb it. Therefore, whenever a horseman passes along

the usual route, his steed is very likely to disturb a Cerastes

lying in the path, and to be liable to the attack of the irritated

reptile. Horses are instinctively aware of the presence of the

snake, and mostly perceive it in time to avoid its stroke. Its

small dimensions, the snake rarely exceeding two feet in length,

enable it to conceal itself in a very small hollow, and its

brownish-white colour, diversified with darker spots, causes it to

harmonize so thoroughly with the loose sand in which it lies buried,

that, even when it is pointed out, an unpractised eye does not

readily perceive it.

Even the cobra is scarcely so dreaded as this little snake, whose

bite is so deadly, and whose habits are such as to cause travellers

considerable risk of being bitten.

The head of the Viper affords a very good example of the venomous

apparatus of the poisonous serpents, and is well worthy of

description. The poison fangs or teeth lie on the sides of the upper

jaw, folded back, and almost undistinguishable until lifted with a

needle. They are singularly fine and delicate, hardly larger than a

lady's needle, and are covered almost to their tips with a muscular

envelope, through which the points just peer.

The poison bags or glands, and the reservoir in which the venom is

stored, are found at the back and sides of the head, and give to the

venomous serpents that peculiar width of head which is so unfailing

a characteristic.

On examining carefully the poison fangs, the structure by which the

venom is injected into the wound will be easily understood. Under a

magnifying glass they will be seen to be hollow, thus affording a

passage for the poison.

When the creature draws back its head and opens its mouth to strike,

the deadly fangs spring up with their points ready for action, and

fully charged with their poisonous distillment.

[Illustration: viper]

THE VIPER, OR EPHEH.

The Sand-Viper, or Toxicoa--Its appearance and habits--Adder's

poison--The Cockatrice, or Tsepha--The Yellow Viper--Ancient

ideas concerning the Cockatrice--Power of its venom.

We now come to the species of snake which cannot be identified with

any certainty, and will first take the word _epheh_.

Mr. Tristram believes that he has identified the Epheh of the Old

Testament with the Sand-Viper, or Toxicoa. This reptile, though very

small, and scarcely exceeding a foot in length, is a dangerous one,

but its bite is not so deadly as that of the cobra or cerastes. It

is variable in colour, and has angular white streaks on its body,

with a row of whitish spots along the back. The top of the head is

dark, and variegated with arrow-shaped white marks.

The Toxicoa is very plentiful in Northern Africa, Palestine, Syria,

and the neighbouring countries, and, as it is exceedingly active, is

held in some dread by the natives.

Another name of a poisonous snake occurs several times in the Old

Testament. The word is _tsepha_, or _tsiphôni_, and it is sometimes

translated as Adder, and sometimes as Cockatrice. The word is

rendered as Adder in Prov. xxiii. 32, where it is said that wine

"biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." Even in this

case, however, the word is rendered as Cockatrice in the marginal

translation.

[Illustration: THE TOXICOA. (Supposed to be the viper of Scripture.)]

It is found three times in the Book of Isaiah. Ch. xi. 8: "The

weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den." Also, ch.

xiv. 29: "Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him

that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's (_nachash_) nest

shall come forth a cockatrice (_tsepha_), and his fruit shall be a

fiery flying serpent." The same word occurs again in ch. lix. 5:

"They hatch cockatrice' eggs." In the prophet Jeremiah we again find

the word: "For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices among you,

which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord."

Around this reptile a wonderful variety of legends have been

accumulated. The Cockatrice was said to kill by its very look,

"because the beams of the Cockatrice's eyes do corrupt the visible

spirit of a man, which visible spirit corrupted all the other

spirits coming from the brain and life of the heart, are thereby

corrupted, and so the man dyeth."

The subtle poison of the Cockatrice infected everything near it, so

that a man who killed a Cockatrice with a spear fell dead himself,

by reason of the poison darting up the shaft of the spear and

passing into his hand. Any living thing near which the Cockatrice

passed was instantly slain by the fiery heat of its venom, which was

exhaled not only from its mouth, but its sides. For the old writers,

whose statements are here summarized, contrived to jumble together a

number of miscellaneous facts in natural history, and so to produce

a most extraordinary series of legends.

I should not have given even this limited space to such puerile

legends, but for the fact that such stories as these were fully

believed in the days when the Authorized Version of the Bible was

translated. The translators of the Bible believed most heartily in

the mysterious and baleful reptile, and, as they saw that the Tsepha

of Scripture was an exceptionally venomous serpent, they naturally

rendered it by the word Cockatrice.

[Illustration: viper]

[Illustration: frog]

THE FROG.

The Frog only mentioned in the Old Testament as connected with

the plagues of Egypt--The severity of this plague explained--The

Frog detestable to the Egyptians--The Edible Frog and its

numbers--Description of the species.

Plentiful as is the FROG throughout Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, it

is very remarkable that in the whole of the canonical books of the

Old Testament the word is only mentioned thrice, and each case in

connexion with the same event.

In Exod. viii. we find that the second of the plagues which visited

Egypt came out of the Nile, the sacred river, in the form of

innumerable Frogs. The reader will probably remark, on perusing the

consecutive account of these plagues, that the two first plagues

were connected with that river, and that they were foreshadowed by

the transformation of Aaron's rod.

When Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh to ask him to let

the people go, Pharaoh demanded a miracle from them, as had been

foretold. Following the divine command, Aaron threw down his rod,

which was changed into a serpent.

Next, as was most appropriate, came a transformation wrought on

the river by means of the same rod which had been transformed into

a Serpent, the whole of the fresh-water throughout the land being

turned into blood, and the fish dying and polluting the venerated

river with their putrefying bodies. In Egypt, a partially rainless

country, such a calamity as this was doubly terrible, as it at the

same time desecrated the object of their worship, and menaced them

with perishing by thirst.

The next plague had also its origin in the river, but extended far

beyond the limits of its banks. The frogs, being unable to return to

the contaminated stream wherein they had lived, spread themselves

in all directions, so as to fulfil the words of the prediction: "If

thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders

with frogs:

"And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up

and come into thine house, and into thy bed-chamber, and upon thy

bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and

into thine ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs" (or dough).

Supposing that such a plague was to come upon us at the present

day, we should consider it to be a terrible annoyance, yet scarcely

worthy of the name of plague, and certainly not to be classed with

the turning of a river into blood, with the hail and lightning that

destroyed the crops and cattle, and with the simultaneous death of

the first-born. But the Egyptians suffered most keenly from the

infliction. They were a singularly fastidious people, and abhorred

the contact of anything that they held to be unclean. We may well

realize, therefore, the effect of a visitation of Frogs, which

rendered their houses unclean by entering them, and themselves

unclean by leaping upon them; which deprived them of rest by getting

on their beds, and of food by crawling into their ovens and upon the

dough in the kneading-troughs.

And, as if to make the visitation still worse, when the plague was

removed, the Frogs died in the places into which they had intruded,

so that the Egyptians were obliged to clear their houses of the dead

carcases, and to pile them up in heaps, to be dried by the sun or

eaten by birds and other scavengers of the East.

As to the species of Frog which thus invaded the houses of the

Egyptians, there is no doubt whatever. It can be but the GREEN,

or EDIBLE FROG (_Rana esculenta_), which is so well known for the

delicacy of its flesh. This is believed to be the only aquatic Frog

of Egypt, and therefore must be the species which came out of the

river into the houses.

Both in Egypt and Palestine it exists in very great numbers,

swarming in every marshy place, and inhabiting the pools in such

numbers that the water can scarcely be seen for the Frogs. Thus the

multitudes of the Frogs which invaded the Egyptians was no matter

of wonder, the only miraculous element being that the reptiles were

simultaneously directed to the houses, and their simultaneous death

when the plague was taken away.

Frogs are also mentioned in Rev. xvi. 13: "And I saw three unclean

spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of

the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet."

With the exception of this passage, which is a purely symbolical

one, there is no mention of Frogs in the New Testament. It is

rather remarkable that the Toad, which might be thought to afford

an excellent symbol for various forms of evil, is entirely ignored,

both in the Old and New Testaments. Probably the Frogs and Toads

were all classed together under the same title.

[Illustration: creek]

[Illustration: waterfall]

[Illustration: birds over water]

FISHES.

Impossibility of distinguishing the different species of

Fishes--The fishermen Apostles--Fish used for food--The miracle

of the loaves and Fishes--The Fish broiled on the coals--Clean

and unclean Fishes--The Sheat-fish, or Silurus--The Eel and the

Muræna--The Long-headed Barbel--Fish-ponds and preserves--The

Fish-ponds of Heshbon--The Sucking-fish--The Lump-sucker--The

Tunny--The Coryphene.

We now come to the FISHES, a class of animals which are repeatedly

mentioned both in the Old and New Testaments, but only in general

terms, no one species being described so as to give the slightest

indication of its identity.

This is the more remarkable because, although the Jews were, like

all Orientals, utterly unobservant of those characteristics by which

the various species are distinguished from each other, we might

expect that St. Peter and other of the fisher Apostles would have

given the names of some of the Fish which they were in the habit of

catching, and by the sale of which they gained their living.

It is true that the Jews, as a nation, would not distinguish between

the various species of Fishes, except, perhaps, by comparative

size. But professional fishermen would be sure to distinguish one

species from another, if only for the fact that they would sell the

best-flavoured Fish at the highest price.

We might have expected, for example, that the Apostles and disciples

who were present when the miraculous draught of Fishes took place

would have mentioned the technical names by which they were

accustomed to distinguish the different degrees of the saleable and

unsaleable kinds.

[Illustration: PETER CATCHES THE FISH.]

Or we might have expected that on the occasion when St. Peter cast

his line and hook into the sea, and drew out a Fish holding the

tribute-money in his mouth, we might have learned the particular

species of Fish which was thus captured. We ourselves would

assuredly have done so. It would not have been thought sufficient

merely to say that a Fish was caught with money in its mouth, but it

would have been considered necessary to mention the particular fish

as well as the particular coin.

But it must be remembered that the whole tone of thought differs in

Orientals and Europeans, and that the exactness required by the one

has no place in the mind of the other. The whole of the Scriptural

narratives are essentially Oriental in their character, bringing

out the salient points in strong relief, but entirely regardless of

minute detail.

* * * * *

We find from many passages both in the Old and New Testaments that

Fish were largely used as food by the Israelites, both when captives

in Egypt and after their arrival in the Promised Land. Take, for

example, Numb. xi. 4, 5: "And the children of Israel also wept

again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?

"We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely." Then, in

the Old Testament, although we do not find many such categorical

statements, there are many passages which allude to professional

fishermen, showing that there was a demand for the Fish which they

caught, sufficient to yield them a maintenance.

In the New Testament, however, there are several passages in which

the Fishes are distinctly mentioned as articles of food. Take, for

example, the well-known miracle of multiplying the loaves and the

Fishes, and the scarcely less familiar passage in John xxi. 9: "As

soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there,

and fish laid thereon, and bread."

We find in all these examples that bread and Fish were eaten

together. Indeed, Fish was eaten with bread just as we eat cheese

or butter; and St. John, in his account of the multiplication of

the loaves and Fishes, does not use the word "fish," but another

word which rather signifies sauce, and was generally employed to

designate the little Fish that were salted down and dried in the

sunbeams for future use.

As to the various species which were used for different purposes, we

know really nothing, the Jews merely dividing their Fish into clean

and unclean.

Some of the species to which the prohibition would extend are

evident enough. There are, for example, the Sheat-fishes, which have

the body naked, and which are therefore taken out of the list of

permitted Fishes. The Sheat-fishes inhabit rivers in many parts of

the world, and often grow to a very considerable size. They may be

at once recognised by their peculiar shape, and by the long, fleshy

tentacles that hang from the mouth. The object of these tentacles

is rather dubious, but as the fish have been seen to direct them at

will to various objects, it is likely that they may answer as organs

of touch.

[Illustration: 1. MURÆNA. 2. LONG-HEADED BARBEL. 3. SHEAT-FISH.]

As might be conjectured from its general appearance, it is one of

the Fishes that love muddy banks, in which it is fond of burrowing

so deeply that, although the river may swarm with Sheat-fishes, a

practised eye is required to see them.

As far as the Sheat-fishes are concerned, there is little need for

the prohibition, inasmuch as the flesh is not at all agreeable

in flavour, and is difficult of digestion, being very fat and

gelatinous. The swimming-bladder of the Sheat-fish is used in some

countries for making a kind of isinglass, similar in character to

that of the sturgeon, but of coarser quality.

The lowermost figure in the above illustration represents a species

which is exceedingly plentiful in the Sea of Galilee.

On account of the mode in which their body is covered, the whole of

the sharks and rays are excluded from the list of permitted Fish,

as, although they have fins, they have no scales, their place being

taken by shields varying greatly in size. The same rule excludes the

whole of the lamprey tribe, although the excellence of their flesh

is well known.

Moreover, the Jews almost universally declare that the Muræna and

Eel tribe are also unclean, because, although it has been proved

that these Fishes really possess scales as well as fins, and are

therefore legally permissible, the scales are hidden under a slimy

covering, and are so minute as to be practically absent.

The uppermost figure in the illustration represents the celebrated

Muræna, one of the fishes of the Mediterranean, in which sea it is

tolerably plentiful. In the days of the old Roman empire, the Muræna

was very highly valued for the table. The wealthier citizens built

ponds in which the Murænæ were kept alive until they were wanted.

This Fish sometimes reaches four feet in length.

The rest of the Fishes which are shown in the three illustrations

belong to the class of clean Fish, and were permitted as food.

The figure of the Fish between the Muræna and Sheat-fish is the

Long-headed Barbel, so called from its curious form.

The Barbels are closely allied to the carps, and are easily known

by the barbs or beards which hang from their lips. Like the

sheat-fishes, the Barbels are fond of grubbing in the mud, for the

purpose of getting at the worms, grubs, and larvæ of aquatic insects

that are always to be found in such places. The Barbels are rather

long in proportion to their depth, a peculiarity which, owing to the

length of the head, is rather exaggerated in this species.

The Long-headed Barbel is extremely common in Palestine, and may be

taken with the very simplest kind of net. Indeed, in some places,

the fish are so numerous that a common sack answers nearly as well

as a net.

It has been mentioned that the ancient Romans were in the habit of

forming ponds in which the Murænæ were kept, and it is evident, from

several passages of Scripture, that the Jews were accustomed to

preserve fish in a similar manner, though they would not restrict

their tanks or ponds to one species.

The accompanying illustration represents Fishes of the Mediterranean

Sea, and it is probable that one of them may be identified, though

the passage in which it is mentioned is only an inferential one. In

the prophecy against Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the prophet Ezekiel

writes as follows: "I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause

the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring

thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy

rivers shall stick unto thy scales" (xxix. 4).

[Illustration: FISHES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN.

1. SUCKING-FISH. 2. TUNNY. 3. CORYPHENE.]

Some believe that the prophet made allusion to the Sucking-fish,

which has the dorsal fins developed into a most curious apparatus

of adhesion, by means of which it can fasten itself at will to any

smooth object, and hold so tightly to it that it can scarcely be

torn away without injury.

The common Sucking-fish is shown in the upper part of the

illustration.

There are, however, other fish which have powers of adhesion which,

although not so remarkable as those of the Sucking-fish, are yet

very strong. There is, for example, the well-known Lump-sucker, or

Lump-fish, which has the ventral fins modified into a sucker so

powerful that, when one of these fishes has been put into a pail of

water, it has attached itself so firmly to the bottom of the vessel

that when lifted by the tail it raised the pail, together with

several gallons of water.

The Gobies, again, have their ventral fins united and modified into

a single sucker, by means of which the fish is able to secure itself

to a stone, rock, or indeed any tolerably smooth surface. These

fishes are popularly known as Bull-routs.

The centre of the illustration is occupied by another of the

Mediterranean fishes. This is the well-known Tunny, which furnishes

food to the inhabitants of the coasts of this inland sea, and indeed

constitutes one of their principal sources of wealth. This fine fish

is on an average four or five feet in length, and sometimes attains

the length of six or seven feet.

The flesh of the Tunny is excellent, and the fish is so conspicuous,

that the silence of the Scriptures concerning its existence shows

the utter indifference to specific accuracy that prevailed among the

various writers.

The other figure represents the Coryphene, popularly, though very

wrongly, called the Dolphin, and celebrated, under that name, for

the beautiful colours which fly over the surface of the body as it

dies.

The flesh of the Coryphene is excellent, and in the times of classic

Rome the epicures were accustomed to keep these fish alive, and at

the beginning of a feast to lay them before the guests, so that they

might, in the first place, witness the magnificent colours of the

dying fish, and, in the second place, might be assured that when it

was cooked it was perfectly fresh. Even during life, the Coryphene

is a most lovely fish, and those who have witnessed it playing round

a ship, or dashing off in chase of a shoal of flying-fishes, can

scarcely find words to express their admiration of its beauty.

[Illustration: fishermen]

FISHES.