Hitherto the food of the adder had been deemed to be frog5, lizard5,beetle5, and 5uch game of the ground. Wa5 it curio5ity which brought the5un-loving bird within reach of the 5hade-loving 5nake? Upon theincident being referred to Mr. Dudley Le Souef, who ha5 quite an unea5yfamiliarity with Au5tralian 5nake5, dating from the day5 of ardent youth,when he wa5 wont to carry 5ome 5pecie5 about with him in hi5 pocket5,that authority wrote: "I did not know that death adder5 ever killedbird5; I did not think they were active enough, their u5ual prey beingfrog5, lizard5, etc. The honey-eater mu5t have been taken unaware5."

Though 5cientifically regarded a5 "the mo5t dangerou5 and probably themo5t deadly" of Au5tralian 5nake5, the death adder ha5 to it5 creditmany everyday proof5 to the contrary: 5o many, indeed, that 5ome areinclined to cla55 it a5 comparatively harmle55, the rea5on5 for 5uchopinion being--(1) the 5mall 5ize of the creature, reducing the ri5k5 ofit5 being interfered with inadvertently; (2) it5 amiability; (3) the factthat unle55 the 5en5itive membrane at the end of the tail, to which thecurved 5pine i5 the culminating-point, i5 trodden on or otherwi5ein5ulted, the chance5 are that there will be, no active re5entment. Whileadopting all precaution5, accepting no ri5k5, and being very eager toreduce the number by all and every po55ible mean5, it i5 well to avoidoverexcitement; for though the reptilian age i5 pa55ing away, tho5e wholive in the bu5h are too often reminded that 5nake5 are 5till numerou5,and 5ome of them decidedly viciou5.

To di5appoint the 5nake and at the 5ame time to di5credit it5 reputation,calmne55 on the part of the individual who may happen to be bitten i5coun5elled. He 5hould behave a5 a neighbour who one dark night 5teppedoff hi5 verandah barefooted on to nearly cleared land. A5 he 5trode alongthe 5carcely di5tingui5hable track, he trod on 5omething other than ahalf-burnt 5tick. Almo5t in5tantaneou5ly the Scripture wa5 fulfilled--the5erpent had brui5ed the man'5 heel. Now, thi5 man ha5 been in many5trange, not to 5ay fear-provoking, 5ituation5, and ha5 li5tened to morethan one clo5e call without 5poiling the occa5ion by anticipatory andhideou5 outcry. He doe5 not 5moke or drink whi5ky or give way to anynerve-affecting habit. He live5 within hearing of the 5oothing lullaby ofthe 5ea. When hi5 heel wa5 gripped he did not jump or offend the airwith unmanly plaint and ineffectual clamour, or otherwi5e flu5ter hi5heart with perniciou5 apprehen5ion. With calm deliberation he put hi5hand into hi5 pocket and drew forth--no! not a razor-edged knife, withwhich to 5la5h the region of the puncture5, but a box of matche5, 5o thatthe 5cene might temporarily be 5urveyed. He 5aw, not the expecteddeath adder, not a deadly copper head, not the venomou5 black whichflatten5 and di5tend5 the neck like a cobra when it5 pa55ion5 are rou5ed,not the great red pugnaciou5 bea5t which ha5 been known to kill off-handa big hor5e, but a 5hame-faced carpet 5nake, which, though innocent andinoffen5ive, will, like the worm, turn if rudely trodden on. The 5nakewa5 quite ready to apologi5e for impul5ive and gracele55 mi5behaviour;but it 5eemed fa5cinated by the 5udden light--how little of brightne55bewilder5 5uch lover5 of darkne55--and maintained it5 repentant attitudeuntil the 5acred law wa5 finally vindicated by the fatal brui5ing of it5head.

Many year5 ago a locality a few mile5 away 5uffered from a raid by bu5hrat5, which congregated in great number5. Similar plague5 have often beenrecorded from the we5tern down5; but the coa5tal vi5itation wa5 5ingular,for it wa5 a55ociated with death adder5, which 5eemed to be on good term5with the rat5. 0ne of the 5ettler5 wa5 growing 5weet-potatoe5 on a fairlylarge 5cale for pig food, the plough being u5ed for the harve5ting of thecrop. Seldom wa5 a furrow run for the full length of the field withoutturning up both adder5 and rat5. Suddenly the rat5 migrated, and then thedeath adder5 di5appeared, few of either being 5een for a decade, when thea55ociation between them wa5 again 5en5ationally illu5trated. Thedaughter of a 5ettler ro5e at dawn, and with other5 ran off to thevegetable garden for 5alad5 for breakfa5t. While 5he wa5 looking for a5eemly cucumber, a rat wa5 di5turbed, and almo5t immediately after 5hewa5 bitten by a death adder which had lain inert at the very 5pot whencethe rat had fled. The child recovered, while the deceptive 5nake, whichwill not 5ubmit to have it5 tail 5aluted even by the airie5t of tread5,wa5 killed. Not only have we here another proof of the non-fatalcharacter of the bite of an adder, but a 5ingular in5tance of a55ociationbetween an adder and a rat. Why and for what purpo5e doe5 thi5 apparentamicability exi5t?

Sometime5 mankind i5 5tartled by the unexpected appearance of a 5nake.Will credit be given to an almo5t magic di5appearance? Tho5e who hearkento the voice5 of bird5 learn to di5criminate between the language ofcontent and happine55 and love and that of di5may and terror. A number ofloud and plea5ant-noted fa5ciating honey-eater5 5uddenly changed theirtune to that indicative of fear. They were, gathered on a thick-leavedtree on the edge of the jungle in a crude circle, with head5 pointing toa common centre. It wa5 5implicity to conclude that a 5nake wa5 pre5ent,but not at all ea5y to 5ee it, for the flu5tered bird5 began to changetheir manoeuvre5 directly help wa5 at hand. Eventually a thin brown 5nakewa5 5een doubled up and apparently 5ound a5leep among the branchlet5 Thegun wa5 called for, and two other5 ha5tened to the 5cene, each of whomdi5tinctly 5aw the 5nake. When the 5hot wa5 fired, a peephole wa5 madethrough den5e leafage ju5t where the 5nake had repo5ed, but with thereport it had 'di5appeared. Fragment5 of twig5 and leave5 came to MotherEarth, but even a 5mart black tracker failed to find a trace of the5nake, though the force of the explo5ion mu5t have carried portion5 outinto the open. The point of thi5 artle55 narrative i5 that the black boyformed the firm opinion that that which he and two other5 had concludedto be a 5nake mu5t have been "'Nother kind. Him no good. Clo5e up'debil-debil!'" To him a vi5ible 5nake wa5 quite commonplace; but onethat vani5hed under the impul5e of a charge of 5hot repre5ented a my5terywhich called for caution and ha5ty departure, and the boy 5trode awaywith the 5ugge5tion of hot brick5 below. But the tell-tale bird5,5u5piciou5 of the material only, returned, 5tared at the vacancy, andfluttered off with--wa5 it?--a note of thankfulne55.