RICHARD FREEMAN: Snakes and Freaky Fauna - Part Two: Serpents

I recently brought a copy of Charles Owens’s 1742 book An Essay Towards A Natural History Of Serpents: In Two Parts. The book makes fascinating reading as it was written at a time when science and learning were replacing legend and folklore. The book is full of oddities of cryptozoological interest. This is my second collection of bits and bobs that I have found within its pages.

Charles Owen lists a number of snakes in his book. Some are identifiable with modern species.

“The Cerastes is a serpent of the viperine kind; it belongs to the Libyan and Nubian family. Its teeth are like those of a viper, and it brings its successors into the world after the same manner.

Its constitution is very dry which refines and exalts its poison and make it more dangerous; the wound is generally attended with distraction and a continual pricking as with needles. Some say tis of a whitish colour, others arenaceous; it loves sandy habitations were it surprises the unwary traveler: And all agree tis of a most cruel nature; and therefore in some places twas made the executioner of malefactors.

Some say tis of the aspick kind, as the Arabians; in length a cubit of more with two little horns on the head, resembling snail shells.”

It seems that Owen is describing the horned viper here. But others seem to defy modern description,

“The Acontia is called by the Latins Sepens jacularis and by some the flying serpent, because of the celerity of its motion. A certain person in Cato’s army call’d Paulus was slain not by the poison, but by the violence of its blow: probably on the lateral part of the skull.

Authors are not agreed about its dimensions. Ambrosinus, speaking of one he had seen in the Bononian Museum says tis about the thickness of a staff, and about three feet long: it is found in Egypt, its wounds are dreadful, being attended by putrefaction and defluxion of the flesh.

That which Bellonius saw was three palms long or sixteen inches and one finger’s breath.

It lies in wait under bushes from whence it rushes out unawares at passengers: Before it leaps at the prey, it lies on the ground and turns itself around, to give greater spring to the motion, by which they do execution at twenty cubits distance.”

“The Dipsas or Dipsacus is a little venomous reptile of the aspick kind, less than a viper but kills sooner, and is most remarkable in this, that when it bites, the poison brings an unquenchable thirst on the person effected, who finding no relief, runs to water and drinks till he bursts asunder.

The poetic historian observes how Aulus, an ensign bearer in the Roman army in Africa was slain by this serpent, at first he felt little or no pain from the bite, but as soon as it began to operate he was scorched to death. Galen calls this serpent Diabetes, and Aegineta dipsacus from the incurable thirst that accompanies the bite: By others it is called Situla, because of the burning heat caused by the wound.

It is about a cubit in length and lives in marshes and shallow waters; it dwells in Arabia, Rhodes, Africa and especially Libya, were from branches of the venomous family live of camel’s fleas and locusts dried in the sun.”