treasure in the Golden Rock, but the searchers have been driven away by the appalling number of cobras they have encountered. The sun heats the rock, and the snakes are drawn to the crevices, where they can feel the warmth, and yet escape the sharp talons of the kites. It is unlikely that anyone, having treasure to conceal, would place it where he would not dare to claim it again. The Hindus believe, however, that no snake can bite the holder of a rod made from the pao da cobra, the serpent-wood. If treasure were ever placed in the keeping of the Golden Rock, it is possible that its owner relied on the power of his snake-wood rod to recover it. There are two kinds of wood from which the magic wand may be made. One is the marsh-date palm ; the other is the Strychnos colubrina, a highly poisonous plant, which yields the nux vomica of medicine. The natives say that the snake will flee at the sight or smell of either.
In spite of the offer of rewards made by Government for killing snakes, the great ophidian race is in no danger of extermination. The rocky hills are safe asylums for all kinds of reptiles. It is not every Hindu who will turn his hand against the serpent. In many parts of the Coromandel Coast cobras are regarded with veneration, and are worshipped, but not to the same extent as on the Malabar Coast. Women usually perform the pujah, which consists chiefly of feeding them. Milk, butter, and fruit are placed near their holes. They come out readily, and grow tame with the familiar sight of their superstitious benefactors. There is a Tamil proverb that says, 'Give as much milk as you like to a snake, you will only get poison in return.' If by an unlucky chance a foot presses one of them it turns and buries its fangs in the ankle. Or if the careless wanderer approaches too near the hole where the eggs are lying, the cobra will strike at the intruder without further provocation.
