Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1861-10-19

is seized, it safely. passes the soft mouth or
gullet is received upon the teeth, aud moves
backward and forward upun ihem until il is
sawed open.
We now come TO poisonous serpents. In
these, tue body, directly bebiud The head,
dlminishes somewhat, forming sort Of neck,
| which is not the case with ou.venomous
ones. here Is less stretching power in the
jaw, and there are no extra teeth in the upper
root OF the mouth for the veuomous serpent
does not need to hold it's victim one blow
OF its fangs, and the prey is secured. The
possession Of these iungs is the grand point
OF dihereLce between these two varieties Of
serpents. These ATE in the upper jaw, one
on each side, 10 front Of the ordinary teeth,
to which they are similar in shape, though
much longer, being in some cases al inch in
leugth. They nle broad at the roots, sharp
ut the points. Through them runs u hollow
! passage, opening at the point Ike ppu.slu,
| by Which the poison squeezed into them by
the poison.sacks or glands, lying near the
root Of The Iangs is conducted INTO any wound
made by them. In the most dangerous kinds
the fangs, when not needed, lie down in u
fold Of the gum, like the closed blade of Il
pen knife; but on the approach OF on enVmy,
or of prey, the creature but opens its mouth,
aud they rise instantly from their conceal
ment, to defend its life or secure its food, the
latter being the principal purpose which
these natural weapons seive. The taugs are
easily taken out, but Just behind them there
is a natural bag Of growing ones, in every
stage Of development, from pair nearly large
enough TO take the place of those lost, down
to those so minute as hardly to be seen
without q microscope. Thus, If a rattlesnake
be disarmed by baviug its teeth pulled few
days makes ii us dangerous as ever. In the
less venomOus serpents, those in which the
| poison is sufficient TO kill mice and other
small creatures upon which they feed, the
fangs do not lie down, but are permanently
/ fixed iu the jaw, and, instead of u passage
through them, haye Only groove at the side,
for conducting the venom.
The most poisonous serpents known are
/ the rattlesnake, the water moccasin, the dart
serpent, which, gathering into coil, throws
itself upon its prey distance OF several
yards the cobra, cspella, or hooded serpent,
the horned adder, or cerastes; the pulled
adder, and some Of the sea serpents Of the
East Indian waters. The horned adder is
supposed to be OF the same species as the asp,
which Cleopatra, in accordance with Egyptian
customs in such cases, selected as a means of
suicide, the effect of its bite being quick, but
not sharply painful The cobra caprlla, or
enraged it initiates its neck so as to give that
portion the appearance of q monks bood.-
The puff adder has somewhat similar habit
OF expanding its head and neck, from which it
gets lis name.
/ The speed with which snake poison octs
depends upon the place struck by the fangs.
1t u vein receives tue blow, the action is very
rapid, Tor the venom operates only on the
blood, decomposlDg it, and making it "clot"
in the veins and arteries. Ii u muscle be
struck the action is slower, and if fatty
matter. the bite is almost harmless, Eat being
nearly destitute Of vein. The pigs which
roam the woods of the South and West Of
America have an instructive knowledge Of
the parts of their anatomy which they may
suffer to be bitten with impunity.
! They ore very fond Of snakes as food, and
enter upon conflict with the 6ercest serpent
with u GOODNESS ard courage for which VIZ are
not accustomed TO give a pig credit. When
one OF these pigs perceives a rattlesDake, he
gives notification Of battle by rattliDg his
tusks His bristles rise, aud bis actions be-.
come altogether more lively than is usual
under other circumstances. The snake
gathers itself into coil, for it is only 10 this
position that il can strike, and prepares for
the onset. The pig gets upon his knees, and
by an awkward sidelorg movement works
himself near his enemy. When the latter
strikes, the pig receives the blow ir the fatty
Gaps on the side of the jaw, and, if need be,
he turns the other cheek also, receiving
urother blow Artiul porker he knows
that two such blows exhaust the poison of the
snake, and give him the victory. He rises
before it can escape, puts a fore-toot upon its
tail, and with bis teeth strips its flesh from
its bones, and devours it with many grunts OF
satisfaction The usefulness of pigs us snake
eXtermlnators is so we'll known, that in the
West and South of America, when field or
farm brcomes infested with dangerous rep
tiles, SOW and her litter are turned into il.
They soon abute the nuisance. 10 Martin.
ique, when the Inhabitants have to pass
through a wood, they drive q pair of pigs
before them to clear the way of snakes, the
valiant porkers having their suout guarded
with coverings OF tin aud brass. This pre-.
caution is adopted, we presume against the
dart serpent, which prevails in the West
Indies, the manner of its attack being differ.
ent from that Of the ratilesnake. It must be
remembered, however, that if the pig be thin
10 hesb and the cushions Of fat are waiting
its attacks upon poisonous reptiles are apt
to be attended with fatal Consequences TO
itself. If the body Of the animal bitten be
warm, the poisun is swlfIer in its action than
il the reverse be the case, md bite in a
warm climate is more dangerous than in o
cool one.
If the reptile have not attacked anything
recently, its bite is more apt to be fatal. tol
the poison is disl.rled but slowly, two or three
bites exhaust it, and sometime must elapse
before enough can gather TO enable the crea-
ture to do any mischief. The snake chariners
of the East, being well aware OF this, always
rritate the wild cobras which they catch aud
intend for exhibition, making them bite a
piece Of cloth several times, after which they
may be handled with mpunliy. They then
extract the fspgs, the bag of growing ones
behind, and the poison glands, soaring the
place with u hot iron, thus preventing their
future growth.
Snake charming is of very great antiquity
1t is mentioned in the ffly-eghh Psalm, aud
viii chapter OF Jeremiah. 1t is also curious
fact that the Egyptian jugglers still pretend
to change snakes into rods. and these rods
into snakes again, as the magicians did before
Pharoah. This pretended miracle is per
formed by grasping the animal tightly between
. thumb and finger behind its head. This
checks the circulation, aud causes it TO sitter
out. Being thrown upon the ground. altel