The Snake-stone

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reprinted from the Journal of the United Service Institution of India. Simla, 1930
474
THE SNAKE-STONE.
A DAY WITH COBRA-HUNTERS.
By
Colonel W. F. Blaker, D.S.O. O.B.E., (Late R.A.)
In the winter of 1903-4 I was marching with my battery ("D"
R.H.A.) near Panipat in the Punjab. My Commanding Officer at
the time was a keen sportsman as well as a kind and indulgent person,
who frequently gave me a day's leave so that I might go off into the
jungle instead of slogging along the hard high-road by the side of my
section. My modus operandi on these "jungling days" was simple.
I used to ride out of camp at dawn or thereabouts and, taking a couple
of natives with me, I would make a wide detour and rejoin the battery
at its next camping-ground when night fell. The country through
which we passed was often quite unknown to me. As a rule little or
no information of any value could be extracted from the inhabitants,
and game was in many districts chiefly remarkable for its scarcity.
It was therefore not surprising that my "bag" was frequently small
and that at times I returned altogether empty-handed. Still, I used
to enjoy hugging my rifle and waiting, after the manner of Mr.
Micawber, for something to turn up. And if nothing turned up, well,
it did not matter. I knew I had had a day in the country and that
was quite good enough for me. Besides, even if I never saw so much
as a single head of game to fire at, there was always the possibility
of my seeing something of jungle life that was new to me. So I took
my chances whenever they came, no matter how hopeless the pros
pects; and once, at any rate, I was amply rewarded for my pains
On the day in question things seemed hardly more promising
than usual. The evening before, a minor magnate from a village
close by had come to my tent and offered me his services if I wanted
to shoot. Of course he swore that game abounded and equally, of
course, I did not believe one-tenth of what he said. This inevitable
preliminary over, we got to business, made our terms, hatched our
plot and agreed to start before daybreak next morning.
It was bitterly cold when my bearer, Sher Khan, came to call
me; and for a moment or two, I felt I greatly preferred the company
10




475
The Snake-stone.
of my little camp bed to that of the genteel poacher who, for a considera-
tion, had condescended to place his invaluable services at my disposal.
However, Sher Khan was inexorable, and after a few minutes my
numbed fingers were struggling desperately with breeches buttons
and leggings; a cup of hot tea was gradually warming my interior
economy; whilst the dull thud of my pony's hoofs fell on my ear urging
me to be quick and get a move on my patient, shivering mount whose
coat was staring like a hedgehog's.
We were off well before the sun was up and for some miles travelled
at a fast walk through fields and scattered villages. Near one of the
latter we passed the camp of the "Collector Sahib," all wrapped in
peaceful slumber. I feared we might disturb the great man's dreams
if the pie-dogs gave tongue; but so intense was the cold that even
the noisiest of the village curs thought it better to remain quietly in
their miserable shelters than to come out for their usual yap at the
passing stranger. So we moved on in silence and, but for the patter of
my pony's feet and the shuffling of those of the natives behind me, not
a sound broke the stillness of the morning air. We emerged from the
last village just as the sun's rays topped the horizon and showed up
clearly the fantastic forms of the dense smoke-clouds which hung in
heavy belts above the native hovels. They were weird and strange to
look upon these smoke-belts, as they swayed gently to and fro; but
we quickly turned our backs on them and their nauseous, stifling
smell and were glad to breathe the purer atmosphere of the jungle that
lay before us. The country certainly looked promising and my hopes
rose steadily, only to fall bit by bit as we scanned one likely spot after
another without finding any game at all. Suddenly a magnificent
black buck sprang up out of some high grass not eighty yards in front of
me and went off with characteristic bounds. As bad luck would
have it I was carrying my shot-gun at the moment and the coolie who
held my rifle had, of course, dropped behind in spite of all my injunc-
tions that he must stick to me like a leech. So I lost the buck as well
as my temper, but resolved to shoulder the rifle myself for the rest of
the day.
The sun was high in the heavens before we spied another good
black buck. He was one of a herd that was lying down in the shade
of some low trees on a piece of ground difficult to approach. My
stalk failed and I was about to sit down and seek consolation in sand-
wiches when it occurred to me that it would be wise to withdraw the




The Snake stone. 476
cartridge I had left in the chamber of my rifle when resting it against
a fallen tree. I pulled the bolt and out flew the case, but to my
disgust the bullet remained firmly stuck in the barrel whence nothing
that I could do would move it. This was most annoying Here was
I miles from the battery with at least six hours of daylight before
me, with black buck in the neighbourhood and a useless rifle in my
hands! However, things were not so bad as they seemed. My
genteel poacher, who styled himself my "shikari" for the day, came
to the rescue and put forward the one and only sound suggestion he
had made since we started. He told me there was a village a mile
or two out of our way where dwelt a lohar (native ironworker)
who would doubtless be able to force out the bullet with an iron rod.
The lohar was found in due course, a few vigorous blows applied to the
end of a stiff wire removed the obstructing bullet, and I had nothing
leftto complain of but the loss of time occasioned by our detour through
the lohar s village. About this I, of course, did the usual "grouse,"
little dreaming that the circuitous route we had been compelled to
follow would lead me to a spot where I was to witness a sight rarely
beheld by any white man even though his years in India were
many.
We had put the village not more than a mile or so behind us when
I noticed some grass huts of unusual design. I asked what they were
and was told that they belonged to Kanjars, or gipsies, who spent
their days catching snakes and lived on the flesh of wild animals,
including jackal. I knew that the Kanjars, like the Sansis, were one
of India's criminal tribes. The information given to me was there-
fore of interest, so I ordered a quarter-right-wheel and made towards
the dwellings. As we approached the Kanjar women ran away; but
the males came forward a few yards to meet us and then stood staring
in sullen silence, evidently none too pleased about our intrusion.
Tor some moments we stood facing each other without saying a word
and I had time to take stock of the men before me. Physically they
were magnificent specimens of humanity. None of them appeared
to carry a pound of spare flesh anywhere, and amongst the adults
there was not one under six feet in height. Their long lithe figures
were but scantily covered with clothing, and under their shaggy black
hair peered eyes that had the unmistakable look of the wild man in
them.
At last I broke the ice by addressing a few words of Urdu to one
of their number, but so hopelessly "jungly" was the abrupt reply I




477
The Snake-stone.
received, that I could not understand a syllable. Turning to my
"shikari" for assistance, I told him to say that I did not wish to
trouble my friends in any way, but merely desired to see their snakes
if they had any they could show me. Judging by the tone, the
answers given to my interpreter were as surly as the one vouchsafed
to me, and it became evident that the sooner we made ourselves scarce
the better would the Kanjars be pleased. Before we turned to go,
however, I pulled out a handful of small coins and gave a few annas to
one of the men who appeared rather less stand-offish than the rest;
and in doing so I took good care to let the others see what my hand
contained. Their attitude changed instantly. They smiled, became
talkative and showed every sign of wishing to establish better relations.
They consulted together for a few seconds and then offered to show
me some snakes on condition that I remained where I was and did not
approach any closer to their dwellings. To this I readily agreed, and
a few moments later, half-a-dozen brown figures were bounding away
towards another group of huts at a pace that would have done credit
to a Zulu. After a few minutes they reappeared bearing a number of
firmly closed spherical baskets which they arranged in a circle around
the spot where I stood. At a given signal from one of the men the
lids were thrown open whereupon out of each basket there appeared
the ugly heads of three or four cobras. For a moment the reptiles
appeared dazzled by the sun, then they slowly uncoiled their supple
bodies and glided smoothly out of their prisons on to the ground.
There they lay, or perhaps I should say sat, at least a score of them,
writhing and hissing with expanded hoods, and heads swaying from
side to side. They were, of course, perfectly harmless, as all had been
fanged; but there is something peculiarly vindictive looking about a
cobra roused to anger, and rarely have I seen any picture more perfectly
illustrative of concentrated spite and hatred than was presented by
the living ring now formed around me.
After watching the creatures for a while, I told the men to put them
back into their baskets and offered a reward of eight annas for every
cobra they could catch in my presence. My offer was accepted with
alacrity, and I was soon striding rapidly across country with my
strange acquaintances. We walked for a mile or so and then stopped
in front of a low akh bush, under which was a hole which I could not,
for the life of me, have recognised as the entrance of a snake's earth.
I said it looked like an ordinary rat-hole, but the Kanjars assured me




478 The Snake-stone.

that a couple of cobras lived there, and they forthwith proceeded to
prove the correctness of their assertion.
While the rest withdrew a short distance, one of the men, who had
provided himself with a toomrie (wooden wind-instrument) and had
tucked under his left arm a steel rod with a crook at one end, took
post in front of the hole and began the jadu, or magic, that was to
entice the snakes from their retreat. The sound of the toomrie was
not unlike that of the pipes used by certain Indian regiments, and it
alternated, after every few bars, with a weird chant delivered in a
clear high-pitched voice. As the man played and sang in turn, he kept
up a quaint dance accompanied by gestures which became more or less
ferocious as the strains of the music rose and fell. How long this
performance lasted I cannot say. I was too deeply engrossed in what
I saw to take much note of time; and I hardly knew whether to rivet
my attention more closely on the hole in the ground or on the antics
of the strange figure before me. My gaze was still travelling swiftly
from one to the other, when suddenly the man darted forward and,
with incredible rapidity, made a lunge at the hole. The bright steel
rod shot straight to the ground like a flash of lightning and then
swished to one side, carrying with it, in the crook, a huge male cobra
hooked just behind the head.
The whole thing had happened so quickly that I simply could not
believe my eyes. There was the cobra without a doubt, but it seemed
that the man must have deceived me in some manner. I felt sure I
must have been mesmerised and made to see that which could never
have occurred in actual fact. So I feigned anger, told the man it was
all bandish aur sazish (humbug and trickery) and swore he had had
the snake concealed in his clothes. This he firmly and solemnly
denied and to prove his honesty, he offered to take off all his clothes
and to catch another cobra in the same way. He declared the female
was there too and that, if I would but have patience, he would capture
her as well.
Then he divested himself of his garments till not a rag remained
but the smallest of loin-cloths and the pagri wound about his head;
but, before he resumed his incantations, the male cobra had first to be
secured. The brute, apparently realising its helplessness, had made
no effort to escape. It simply sat there, enraged and baffled, hissing
and writhing after the manner of its kind. As its captor approached,
it raised itself higher and turned to face the crouching figure and the





479 The Snake-stone.
long, lean hand and forearm extended towards it. Strange indeed
was the similarity of shape between the body of the reptile and the limb
of the man; but stranger still was the similarity of movement when
the two began their struggle for supremacy. As the snake advanced
so did the hand withdraw, keeping always just out of reach. When
the snake retired, the hand followed instantly, ready to seize the ini-
tiative the moment the enemy gave way. Like two armies in the
field they sought to take each other in flank; the snake apparently
aiming at the wrist of the man, the man bent on seizing the neck of
the snake just behind the head. The smoothness with which the
two combatants moved was wonderful to behold. There was something
uncanny about them too; and so equally were they matched, that,
to my unpractised eye it appeared as though neither would ever gain
a decisive advantage. Yet the chances seemed to lie in favour of the
cobra. It seemed incredible that any human hand, however skilled,
could close upon that circling, swaying head and yet avoid the poison
fangs. But the limb of the man was itself so snake-like in its poise
and outline that there might have been two cobras, each striving to
deliver the lightning stroke that would give the one the mastery over
the other. The swell of the half-closed hand looked strangely like the
inflated hood, while the wrist and forearm strongly resembled the
portion of the cobra's body raised above the ground.
The other Kanjars and I had formed a ring close round the pair,
and all had squatted low so that we might observe the better. No
one spoke or stirred hand or foot, for they were as keenly interested as
I was. Again I kept no count of time, and I was still gazing intently
when the crisis came with a suddenness which defies description.
Before I could realize what was happening the hand shot forward and
with unerring aim, gripped the head and held it as though in a vice.
Violently indeed did the body of the cobra curl, twist and wriggle,
but all in vain. The venomous jaws were pressed tightly together
between thumb and forefinger, whilst the palm of the hand closed
firmly round the neck. The deed was done and a few minutes later
the snake was safely stowed away in one of the spherical baskets held
ready for its reception. I hoped I should see the animal fanged,
but though the Kanjars briefly explained to me how they would set
about it, they were evidently anxious to tackle the female before they
did anything else. So I unfortunately gave way to them, with the
result that I never saw a cobra fanged at all.




The Snake-stone. 480

The details connected with the unearthing of the female were
exactly the same as those I have already described, but on this occasion
I checked the time. It was, unless my memory plays me false, just
forty-five seconds from the first sounds of the toomrie. The actual
capture was also to be effected as before, but the man was nearly
destined to "eat defeat" in this second encounter. The female
cobra, though rather smaller and weaker than the male, was equally
full of fight and certainly quicker. Her sparring was wonderful.
She kept her adversary at bay with consummate skill and resorted to.
the offensive more frequently than her spouse had done. Yet the
Kanjar was not to be outwitted easily and for a while the game was.
well contested. At last the man believed his chance had come. He
seized it; but ere his hand closed round the cobra's neck, she struck
and plunged her fangs into a finger. It was well and smartly done,
but just too late, for she could not withdraw: the hand came on despite
its wound and held her tightly in an iron grip.
A low exclamation of surprise, half gasp, half murmur, broke
from the other Kanjars when they saw the blow go home; and whilst
the snake was being disposed of the murmur grew to a continuous
chatter. It was quite evident that the victim's fellow-tribesmen were
considerably perturbed, though it seemed hard to believe that the
occurrence was a very unusual one. The injured man was immediately
attended to, or rather, he at once began to attend to his wound him-
self. After squatting on his hunkers, he first took from a red cloth,
bag a piece of dried wood, or coarse root, with which he drew rings
around his forearm. The wood was light in colour, though whether
it had been prepared in any special manner I cannot say. It certain-
ly left clearly visible grey lines, but these may have been no more than
light scratches which would naturally show up on the dry, dark skin
of a native. At all events, when I afterwards tried a bit of the root on
my own wrist, no marks of any kind appeared. In answer to a question
as to the object of the rings, I was told that the poison would not travel
beyond them. And when I suggested that this must surely be a case
of mere superstition, I was solemnly contradicted and presented with
a piece of the root for my own use in case of need. I kept it for years,
but I could never find anyone who could tell me anything more about
its properties.
The next step in the Kanjar's cure consisted in his squeezing out
of the wounded finger (the second of his right hand) as much blood as



-




481
The Snake-stone.
he could. He twisted it, bent it, and massaged it until two drops
appeared where the fangs had entered, one at each side of the first
joint. Then he moistened with saliva the top of the finger between
the punctures and placed on it a small, flat, circular object, black in
colour and about the size and thickness of a half-penny. This was
undoubtedly the so-called "absorbent stone," or "snake-stone," about
which a certain amount has, from time to time, been written. I know
little or nothing of its nature or properties and cannot even be certain
that it was actually a "stone" in the proper sense of that word. In
appearance it most strongly resembled a card-counter made of a small
piece of black slate. But, whatever it was, I can testify that the "stone"
I saw used stuck firmly to the flesh directly it was placed in position.
The man moved his wounded hand about freely and repeatedly
turned it over, back downwards, as he sat on the ground moaning and
rocking himself to and fro in evident pain. All the while the stone
remained where it was till some twenty minutes had elapsed, when it
dropped off of its own accord.
The falling of the stone was the signal for the immediate break-up
of the group of spectators. All the Kanjars now appeared quite
happy. They gathered up their traps, and snake baskets, and strolled
cheerfully back to camp. I went back with them and remained in
their company for an hour or more; but no further thought was given
to the principal incident of the day, nor did the cobra's victim appear
to be any the worse for his injury. My chief desire, naturally enough,
was to secure the stone; but the Kanjars flatly refused to part with
it in any circumstances. I offered them every anna I had on me, some
fifteen rupees all told, a small fortune for a wandering gipsy tribe. I
would have given them ten times as much if I could have persuaded
hem to send a man back to camp with me for the money, but my
efforts were of no avail. The Kanjars remained adamant, and I was
told afterwards that religious superstition most likely had a good deal
to do with their obduracy. They probably feared that evil would
befall them if they parted with their stone, or that they would get
into trouble with the rest of their kind if it were found that they had
sold their secret to a sahib for money.
Thus ended one of the strangest and most interesting experiences
I have ever met with in the jungle. It is not my purpose to enter into
the merits of the case, or to discuss the many theories that might be
put forward. I have merely set down the facts as I saw them with my




482 The Snake-stone.

own eyes and as I recorded them in writing shortly after the event.
There can be no doubt that the man was bitten by the cobra, that both
he and his friends were considerably perturbed in consequence, that
he cured himself in the manner described and that, beyond forcing
as much blood as possible out of the punctures made by the two fangs,
neither he nor his friends resorted to any orthodox method of treat-
ment not even a ligature of any sort was applied. The idea of any
kind of fraud may, in my opinion, also be excluded. It might of course
be argued that, whilst my companions and I were walking the mile or
more from the grass huts to the snake-hole, there was nothing to pre-
vent the Kanjars sending one of their number on ahead with instruc-
tions to put a couple of tame, fanged cobras into the hole in question.
But in the first place the particular bit of country we walked over was
what is known as "dahk jungle" and so open that it would have been
difficult even for a good runner to reach the hole before us without
being seen. In the second place it would have been quite impossible
to get the snakes into the hole without disturbing the surface of the
ground around it. This consisted of smooth dust and equally smooth
fine white sand which showed no trace whatever of having been
touched by any human hand or foot. I am therefore convinced that
the two cobras caught were wild and unfanged, and that no fraud of
any kind was perpetrated.
The shadows were lengthening when I said farewell to my strange
companions, and I greatly regretted my inability to accept their pres-
sing invitation to join them in a jackal-hunt which was to take place
after dark. I had a good many miles to ride back to camp, and I did
not quite know what my Major would say if, in the heart of the jungle
and without permission, I spent a night out. The Kanjars' method of
jackal hunting, by the way, is simple. It appears that they
merely go off into the bush and there squat down in hiding with their
dogs beside them. Next they begin to caterwaul and to imitate the
jackal's eerie, mournful cry until they entice him to close quarters.
The dogs are then suddenly loosed, "jack" is collared and served
up for dinner in due course.
Their method of stealing dogs is equally effective, though how it is
worked I cannot say. I can only repeat a story told me by a friend of
mine, who, for a time, commanded the Government Remount Depot
at Karnal and to whom I had related my experience of the snake stone.
He told me that on one occasion a British infantry regiment was in camp




483
The Snake-stone.
at Karnal for the night, and so, as was his custom when troops passed
through, he asked a number of the officers to dine with him. In the
course of the evening the conversation somehow drifted on to the
subject of dogs in general and watch-dogs in particular. The guests,
were full of praise for the animals they owned. One had a bulldog
that would not let a native come within a hundred yards of his tent;
another possessed an Irish terrier, the best watch-dog ever born; a
third owned some other breed equally ferocious, and so on. So the
talk went on whilst my friend sat and listened in silence, knowing
full well that a Kanjar camp was pitched within a short mile of the dinner
table. When all had had their say, he had his, and he bet them a case
of champagne that, if they would allow him to put their guardians to
a practical test, he would guarantee that there would not be a single
officer's dog left in camp next morning. At first my friend's offer
was looked upon as a joke; but when he declared he was serious and
added that the dogs might be secured in any way their owners pleased,
the bet was taken. The guests, on their return to camp, fastened
up their canine companions in every sort and kind of manner. One
was chained to a tent pole, another to his owner's bed, a third to a metal
wash-hand stand which he would bring down with a clatter if inter-
fered with in any way; and so on and so forth.
Meanwhile my friend had sent for the Kanjar headman and put
him up to the game. He told him of the bet, assured him that he would
square the police in case of trouble, and persuaded the old man that it
was up to his own honour as well as to that of his tribe to see to it that
the bet was won. The old man departed and the night passed without
a sound; but when the officers were roused at dawn there was not a
single one of their dogs to be seen. None of the dogs belonging to
N. C. O.'s and men were missing, but every officer's dog had vanished.
It was not till the second mile-stone on the Delhi road was reached
that a diminutive Kanjar urchin checked the onward march of the
battalion by blocking the way with a dozen dogs ignominiously attach-
ed to bits of string looped round his fingers.

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file:///T|/DIGITAL/Blaker/AA00000355/AA00000355_00001/00001.txt [14/02/2017 07:46:06] reprinted from the Journal of the United Service Institution of India. Simla, 1930 474 THE SNAKE-STONE. A DAY WITH COBRA-HUNTERS. By Colonel W. F. Blaker, D.S.O. O.B.E., (Late R.A.) In the winter of 1903-4 I was marching with my battery ("D" R.H.A.) near Panipat in the Punjab. My Commanding Officer at the time was a keen sportsman as well as a kind and indulgent person, who frequently gave me a day's leave so that I might go off into the jungle instead of slogging along the hard high-road by the side of my section. My modus operandi on these "jungling days" was simple. I used to ride out of camp at dawn or thereabouts and, taking a couple of natives with me, I would make a wide detour and rejoin the battery at its next camping-ground when night fell. The country through which we passed was often quite unknown to me. As a rule little or no information of any value could be extracted from the inhabitants, and game was in many districts chiefly remarkable for its scarcity. It was therefore not surprising that my "bag" was frequently small and that at times I returned altogether empty-handed. Still, I used to enjoy hugging my rifle and waiting, after the manner of Mr. Micawber, for something to turn up. And if nothing turned up, well, it did not matter. I knew I had had a day in the country and that was quite good enough for me. Besides, even if I never saw so much as a single head of game to fire at, there was always the possibility of my seeing something of jungle life that was new to me. So I took my chances whenever they came, no matter how hopeless the pros pects; and once, at any rate, I was amply rewarded for my pains On the day in question things seemed hardly more promising than usual. The evening before, a minor magnate from a village close by had come to my tent and offered me his services if I wanted to shoot. Of course he swore that game abounded and equally, of course, I did not believe one-tenth of what he said. This inevitable preliminary over, we got to business, made our terms, hatched our plot and agreed to start before daybreak next morning. It was bitterly cold when my bearer, Sher Khan, came to call me; and for a moment or two, I felt I greatly preferred the company 10

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file:///T|/DIGITAL/Blaker/AA00000355/AA00000355_00001/00003.txt [14/02/2017 07:46:07] 475 The Snake-stone. of my little camp bed to that of the genteel poacher who, for a consideration, had condescended to place his invaluable services at my disposal. However, Sher Khan was inexorable, and after a few minutes my numbed fingers were struggling desperately with breeches buttons and leggings; a cup of hot tea was gradually warming my interior economy; whilst the dull thud of my pony's hoofs fell on my ear urging me to be quick and get a move on my patient, shivering mount whose coat was staring like a hedgehog's. We were off well before the sun was up and for some miles travelled at a fast walk through fields and scattered villages. Near one of the latter we passed the camp of the "Collector Sahib," all wrapped in peaceful slumber. I feared we might disturb the great man's dreams if the pie-dogs gave tongue; but so intense was the cold that even the noisiest of the village curs thought it better to remain quietly in their miserable shelters than to come out for their usual yap at the passing stranger. So we moved on in silence and, but for the patter of my pony's feet and the shuffling of those of the natives behind me, not a sound broke the stillness of the morning air. We emerged from the last village just as the sun's rays topped the horizon and showed up clearly the fantastic forms of the dense smoke-clouds which hung in heavy belts above the native hovels. They were weird and strange to look upon these smoke-belts, as they swayed gently to and fro; but we quickly turned our backs on them and their nauseous, stifling smell and were glad to breathe the purer atmosphere of the jungle that lay before us. The country certainly looked promising and my hopes rose steadily, only to fall bit by bit as we scanned one likely spot after another without finding any game at all. Suddenly a magnificent black buck sprang up out of some high grass not eighty yards in front of me and went off with characteristic bounds. As bad luck would have it I was carrying my shot-gun at th e moment and the coolie who held my rifle had, of course, dropped behind in spite of all my injunctions that he must stick to me like a leech. So I lost the buck as well as my temper, but resolved to shoulder the rifle myself for the rest of the day. The sun was high in the heavens before we spied another good black buck. He was one of a herd that was lying down in the shade of some low trees on a piece of ground difficult to approach. My stalk failed and I was about to sit down and seek consolation in sandwiches when it occurred to me that it would be wise to withdraw the

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file:///T|/DIGITAL/Blaker/AA00000355/AA00000355_00001/00005.txt [14/02/2017 07:46:07] The Snake stone. 476 cartridge I had left in the chamber of my rifle when resting it against a fallen tree. I pulled the bolt and out flew the case, but to my disgust the bullet remained firmly stuck in the barrel whence nothing that I could do would move it. This was most annoying Here was I miles from the battery with at least six hours of daylight before me, with black buck in the neighbourhood and a useless rifle in my hands! However, things were not so bad as they seemed. My genteel poacher, who styled himself my "shikari" for the day, came to the rescue and put forward the one and only sound suggestion he had made since we started. He told me there was a village a mile or two out of our way where dwelt a lohar (native ironworker) who would doubtless be able to force out the bullet with an iron rod. The lohar was found in due course, a few vigorous blows applied to the end of a stiff wire removed the obstructing bullet, and I had nothing leftto complain of but the loss of time occasioned by our detour through the lohar s village. About this I, of course, did the usual "grouse," little dreaming that the circuitous route we had been compelled to follow would lead me to a spot where I was to witness a sight rarely beheld by any white man even though his years in India were many. We had put the village not more than a mile or so behind us when I noticed some grass huts of unusual design. I asked what they were and was told that they belonged to Kanjars, or gipsies, who spent their days catching snakes and lived on the flesh of wild animals, including jackal. I knew that the Kanjars, like the Sansis, were one of India's criminal tribes. The information given to me was therefore of interest, so I ordered a quarter-right-wheel and made towards the dwellings. As we approached the Kanjar women ran away; but the males came forward a few yards to meet us and then stood staring in sullen silence, evidently none too pleased about our intrusion. Tor some moments we stood facing each other without saying a word and I had time to take stock of the men before me. Physically they were magnificent specimens of humanity. None of them appeared to carry a pound of spare flesh anywhere, and amongst the adults there was not one under six feet in height. Their long lithe figures were but scantily covered with clothing, and under their shaggy black hair peered eyes that had the unmistakable look of the wild man in them. At last I broke the ice by addressing a few words of Urdu to one of their number, but so hopelessly "jungly" was the abrupt reply I

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file:///T|/DIGITAL/Blaker/AA00000355/AA00000355_00001/00007.txt [14/02/2017 07:46:07] 477 The Snake-stone. received, that I could not understand a syllable. Turning to my "shikari" for assistance, I told him to say that I did not wish to trouble my friends in any way, but merely desired to see their snakes if they had any they could show me. Judging by the tone, the answers given to my interpreter were as surly as the one vouchsafed to me, and it became evident that the sooner we made ourselves scarce the better would the Kanjars be pleased. Before we turned to go, however, I pulled out a handful of small coins and gave a few annas to one of the men who appeared rather less stand-offish than the rest; and in doing so I took good care to let the others see what my hand contained. Their attitude changed instantly. They smiled, became talkative and showed every sign of wishing to establish better relations. They consulted together for a few seconds and then offered to show me some snakes on condition that I remained where I was and did not approach any closer to their dwellings. To this I readily agreed, and a few moments later, half-a-dozen brown figures were bounding away towards another group of huts at a pace that would have done credit to a Zulu. After a few minutes they reappeared bearing a number of firmly closed spherical baskets which they arranged in a circle around the spot where I stood. At a given signal from one of the men the lids were thrown open whereupon out of each basket there appeared the ugly heads of three or four cobras. For a moment the reptiles appeared dazzled by the sun, then they slowly uncoiled their supple bodies and glided smoothly out of their prisons on to the ground. There they lay, or perhaps I should say sat, at least a score of them, writhing and hissing with expanded hoods, and heads swaying from side to side. They were, of course, perfectly harmless, as all had been fanged; but there is something peculiarly vindictive looking about a cobra roused to anger, and rarely have I seen any picture more perfectly illustrative of concen trated spite and hatred than was presented by the living ring now formed around me. After watching the creatures for a while, I told the men to put them back into their baskets and offered a reward of eight annas for every cobra they could catch in my presence. My offer was accepted with alacrity, and I was soon striding rapidly across country with my strange acquaintances. We walked for a mile or so and then stopped in front of a low akh bush, under which was a hole which I could not, for the life of me, have recognised as the entrance of a snake's earth. I said it looked like an ordinary rat-hole, but the Kanjars assured me

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file:///T|/DIGITAL/Blaker/AA00000355/AA00000355_00001/00009.txt [14/02/2017 07:46:07] 478 The Snake-stone. that a couple of cobras lived there, and they forthwith proceeded to prove the correctness of their assertion. While the rest withdrew a short distance, one of the men, who had provided himself with a toomrie (wooden wind-instrument) and had tucked under his left arm a steel rod with a crook at one end, took post in front of the hole and began the jadu, or magic, that was to entice the snakes from their retreat. The sound of the toomrie was not unlike that of the pipes used by certain Indian regiments, and it alternated, after every few bars, with a weird chant delivered in a clear high-pitched voice. As the man played and sang in turn, he kept up a quaint dance accompanied by gestures which became more or less ferocious as the strains of the music rose and fell. How long this performance lasted I cannot say. I was too deeply engrossed in what I saw to take much note of time; and I hardly knew whether to rivet my attention more closely on the hole in the ground or on the antics of the strange figure before me. My gaze was still travelling swiftly from one to the other, when suddenly the man darted forward and, with incredible rapidity, made a lunge at the hole. The bright steel rod shot straight to the ground like a flash of lightning and then swished to one side, carrying with it, in the crook, a huge male cobra hooked just behind the head. The whole thing had happened so quickly that I simply could not believe my eyes. There was the cobra without a doubt, but it seemed that the man must have deceived me in some manner. I felt sure I must have been mesmerised and made to see that which could never have occurred in actual fact. So I feigned anger, told the man it was all bandish aur sazish (humbug and trickery) and swore he had had the snake concealed in his clothes. This he firmly and solemnly denied and to prove his honesty, he offered to take off all his clothes and to catch another cobra in the same way. He declared the female was there too and that, if I would but have patience, he would capture her as well. Then he divested himself of his garments till not a rag remained but the smallest of loin-cloths and the pagri wound about his head; but, before he resumed his incantations, the male cobra had first to be secured. The brute, apparently realising its helplessness, had made no effort to escape. It simply sat there, enraged and baffled, hissing and writhing after the manner of its kind. As its captor approached, it raised itself higher and turned to face the crouching figure and the

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file:///T|/DIGITAL/Blaker/AA00000355/AA00000355_00001/00011.txt [14/02/2017 07:46:07] 479 The Snake-stone. long, lean hand and forearm extended towards it. Strange indeed was the similarity of shape between the body of the reptile and the limb of the man; but stranger still was the similarity of movement when the two began their struggle for supremacy. As the snake advanced so did the hand withdraw, keeping always just out of reach. When the snake retired, the hand followed instantly, ready to seize the initiative the moment the enemy gave way. Like two armies in the field they sought to take each other in flank; the snake apparently aiming at the wrist of the man, the man bent on seizing the neck of the snake just behind the head. The smoothness with which the two combatants moved was wonderful to behold. There was something uncanny about them too; and so equally were they matched, that, to my unpractised eye it appeared as though neither would ever gain a decisive advantage. Yet the chances seemed to lie in favour of the cobra. It seemed incredible that any human hand, however skilled, could close upon that circling, swaying head and yet avoid the poison fangs. But the limb of the man was itself so snake-like in its poise and outline that there might have been two cobras, each striving to deliver the lightning stroke that would give the one the mastery over the other. The swell of the half-closed hand looked strangely like the inflated hood, while the wrist and forearm strongly resembled the portion of the cobra's body raised above the ground. The other Kanjars and I had formed a ring close round the pair, and all had squatted low so that we might observe the better. No one spoke or stirred hand or foot, for they were as keenly interested as I was. Again I kept no count of time, and I was still gazing intently when the crisis came with a suddenness which defies description. Before I could realize what was happening the hand shot forward and with unerring aim, gripped the head and held it as though in a vice. Violently indeed did the body of the cobra curl, twist and wriggle, but all in vain. The venomous jaws were pressed tightly together between thumb and forefinger, whilst the palm of the hand closed firmly round the neck. The deed was done and a few minutes later the snake was safely stowed away in one of the spherical baskets held ready for its reception. I hoped I should see the animal fanged, but though the Kanjars briefly explained to me how they would set about it, they were evidently anxious to tackle the female before they did anything else. So I unfortunately gave way to them, with the result that I never saw a cobra fanged at all.

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file:///T|/DIGITAL/Blaker/AA00000355/AA00000355_00001/00013.txt [14/02/2017 07:46:08] The Snake-stone. 480 The details connected with the unearthing of the female were exactly the same as those I have already described, but on this occasion I checked the time. It was, unless my memory plays me false, just forty-five seconds from the first sounds of the toomrie. The actual capture was also to be effected as before, but the man was nearly destined to "eat defeat" in this second encounter. The female cobra, though rather smaller and weaker than the male, was equally full of fight and certainly quicker. Her sparring was wonderful. She kept her adversary at bay with consummate skill and resorted to. the offensive more frequently than her spouse had done. Yet the Kanjar was not to be outwitted easily and for a while the game was. well contested. At last the man believed his chance had come. He seized it; but ere his hand closed round the cobra's neck, she struck and plunged her fangs into a finger. It was well and smartly done, but just too late, for she could not withdraw: the hand came on despite its wound and held her tightly in an iron grip. A low exclamation of surprise, half gasp, half murmur, broke from the other Kanjars when they saw the blow go home; and whilst the snake was being disposed of the murmur grew to a continuous chatter. It was quite evident that the victim's fellow-tribesmen were considerably perturbed, though it seemed hard to believe that the occurrence was a very unusual one. The injured man was immediately attended to, or rather, he at once began to attend to his wound himself. After squatting on his hunkers, he first took from a red cloth, bag a piece of dried wood, or coarse root, with which he drew rings around his forearm. The wood was light in colour, though whether it had been prepared in any special manner I cannot say. It certainly left clearly visible grey lines, but these may have been no more than light scratches which would naturally show up on the dry, dark skin of a native. At all events, when I afterwards tried a bit of the root on my own wrist, no marks of any kind appeared. In answer to a question as to the object of the rings, I was told that the poison would not travel beyond them. And when I suggested that this must surely be a case of mere superstition, I was solemnly contradicted and presented with a piece of the root for my own use in case of need. I kept it for years, but I could never find anyone who could tell me anything more about its properties. The next step in the Kanjar's cure consisted in his squeezing out of the wounded finger (the second of his right hand) as much blood as

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file:///T|/DIGITAL/Blaker/AA00000355/AA00000355_00001/00015.txt [14/02/2017 07:46:08] 481 The Snake-stone. he could. He twisted it, bent it, and massaged it until two drops appeared where the fangs had entered, one at each side of the first joint. Then he moistened with saliva the top of the finger between the punctures and placed on it a small, flat, circular object, black in colour and about the size and thickness of a half-penny. This was undoubtedly the so-called "absorbent stone," or "snake-stone," about which a certain amount has, from time to time, been written. I know little or nothing of its nature or properties and cannot even be certain that it was actually a "stone" in the proper sense of that word. In appearance it most strongly resembled a card-counter made of a small piece of black slate. But, whatever it was, I can testify that the "stone" I saw used stuck firmly to the flesh directly it was placed in position. The man moved his wounded hand about freely and repeatedly turned it over, back downwards, as he sat on the ground moaning and rocking himself to and fro in evident pain. All the while the stone remained where it was till some twenty minutes had elapsed, when it dropped off of its own accord. The falling of the stone was the signal for the immediate break-up of the group of spectators. All the Kanjars now appeared quite happy. They gathered up their traps, and snake baskets, and strolled cheerfully back to camp. I went back with them and remained in their company for an hour or more; but no further thought was given to the principal incident of the day, nor did the cobra's victim appear to be any the worse for his injury. My chief desire, naturally enough, was to secure the stone; but the Kanjars flatly refused to part with it in any circumstances. I offered them every anna I had on me, some fifteen rupees all told, a small fortune for a wandering gipsy tribe. I would have given them ten times as much if I could have persuaded hem to send a man back to camp with me for the money, but my efforts were of no avail. The Kanjars remained adamant, and I was told afterwards that religious superstition most likely had a good deal to do with their obduracy. They probably feared that evil would befall them if they parted with their stone, or that they would get into trouble with the rest of their kind if it were found that they had sold their secret to a sahib for money. Thus ended one of the strangest and most interesting experiences I have ever met with in the jungle. It is not my purpose to enter into the merits of the case, or to discuss the many theories that might be put forward. I have merely set down the facts as I saw them with my

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file:///T|/DIGITAL/Blaker/AA00000355/AA00000355_00001/00017.txt [14/02/2017 07:46:09] 482 The Snake-stone. own eyes and as I recorded them in writing shortly after the event. There can be no doubt that the man was bitten by the cobra, that both he and his friends were considerably perturbed in consequence, that he cured himself in the manner described and that, beyond forcing as much blood as possible out of the punctures made by the two fangs, neither he nor his friends resorted to any orthodox method of treatment not even a ligature of any sort was applied. The idea of any kind of fraud may, in my opinion, also be excluded. It might of course be argued that, whilst my companions and I were walking the mile or more from the grass huts to the snake-hole, there was nothing to prevent the Kanjars sending one of their number on ahead with instructions to put a couple of tame, fanged cobras into the hole in question. But in the first place the particular bit of country we walked over was what is known as "dahk jungle" and so open that it would have been difficult even for a good runner to reach the hole before us without being seen. In the second place it would have been quite impossible to get the snakes into the hole without disturbing the surface of the ground around it. This consisted of smooth dust and equally smooth fine white sand which showed no trace whatever of having been touched by any human hand or foot. I am therefore convinced that the two cobras caught were wild and unfanged, and that no fraud of any kind was perpetrated. The shadows were lengthening when I said farewell to my strange companions, and I greatly regretted my inability to accept their pressing invitation to join them in a jackal-hunt which was to take place after dark. I had a good many miles to ride back to camp, and I did not quite know what my Major would say if, in the heart of the jungle and without permission, I spent a night out. The Kanjars' method of jackal hunting, by the way, is simple. It appears that they merely go off into the bush and there squat down in hiding with their dogs beside them. Next they begin to caterwaul and to imitate the jackal's eerie, mournful cry until they entice him to close quarters. The dogs are then suddenly loosed, "jack" is collared and served up for dinner in due course. Their method of stealing dogs is equally effective, though how it is worked I cannot say. I can only repeat a story told me by a friend of mine, who, for a time, commanded the Government Remount Depot at Karnal and to whom I had related my experience of the snake stone. He told me that on one occasion a British infantry regiment was in camp

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file:///T|/DIGITAL/Blaker/AA00000355/AA00000355_00001/00019.txt [14/02/2017 07:46:10] 483 The Snake-stone. at Karnal for the night, and so, as was his custom when troops passed through, he asked a number of the officers to dine with him. In the course of the evening the conversation somehow drifted on to the subject of dogs in general and watch-dogs in particular. The guests, were full of praise for the animals they owned. One had a bulldog that would not let a native come within a hundred yards of his tent; another possessed an Irish terrier, the best watch-dog ever born; a third owned some other breed equally ferocious, and so on. So the talk went on whilst my friend sat and listened in silence, knowing full well that a Kanjar camp was pitched within a short mile of the dinner table. When all had had their say, he had his, and he bet them a case of champagne that, if they would allow him to put their guardians to a practical test, he would guarantee that there would not be a single officer's dog left in camp next morning. At first my friend's offer was looked upon as a joke; but when he declared he was serious and added that the dogs might be secured in any way their owners pleased, the bet was taken. The guests, on their return to camp, fastened up their canine companions in every sort and kind of manner. One was chained to a tent pole, another to his owner's bed, a third to a metal wash-hand stand which he would bring down with a clatter if interfered with in any way; and so on and so forth. Meanwhile my friend had sent for the Kanjar headman and put him up to the game. He told him of the bet, assured him that he would square the police in case of trouble, and persuaded the old man that it was up to his own honour as well as to that of his tribe to see to it that the bet was won. The old man departed and the night passed without a sound; but when the officers were roused at dawn there was not a single one of their dogs to be seen. None of the dogs belonging to N. C. O.'s and men were missing, but every officer's dog had vanished. It was not till the second m ile-stone on the Delhi road was reached that a diminutive Kanjar urchin checked the onward march of the battalion by blocking the way with a dozen dogs ignominiously attached to bits of string looped round his fingers.