from using that remedy which cred u lity or superstition has persuaded him w ill giv e strength to the impotent? T h e Arabs assert, that the camelion is the only animal which destroys the serpent,* and it is said to do it in the following m an n e r: it proceeds cautiously on the bough o f some tree, under w h ich the serpent sleeps, and placing itself perpendicula r ly o ve r its head, discharges a glutinous thread o f saliva, having a white drop at the end, which falling on the serpent’s head, soon kills him. This assertion being general and uncon- troverted, among the Arabs, I have mentioned it, as a hint to future travellers, who may be desirous o f investigating its truth. T h e camelion is, by some persons, said to be ven em ou s : but I n ev e r knew any harm done b y them, though the boys sometimes ca rry them in their bosoms. The Dub, or Saharawan L izard.— This animal always avoids water; it is about eighteen inches long, and three or four inches broad across the b a ck ; it is not poisonous, being an inhabitant o f Sahara, which, like Ireland, is said to contain no venomous an im a ls :+ it lays eggs like the to rtoise ; it is v e ry swift, and if hunted, will hide itself in the earth, which it p e r forates with its nose, and nothing can extricate it, but digging up the ground. T he similarity between the name o f this reptile, and the A rab ic name o f the bear (Dubb), has probably led some persons to assert, that there are bears in Africa. Locusts (Jeraad) .— This destructive creature, which the French ca ll sauterelle, confounding it with the common grass- # It is called (Add el hensh) the serpent’s enemy. f Even the Bo’ah, or desert serpent (described in a subsequent page), is not venomous.
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