The weekly Butte record., 1866-05-19
Geological.

Not long ago, man too tipsy to be
cautious was poking up with > stick
the cobra di capello in one Of the cages
in the serpent rooms at the Geological
Gardens, London the serpent darted
and touched the man, who died in ex-
actly ten minutes. The wound was on
his nose, and was such as might have
been made by the touch of . needle.
The snake was killed-why l know
not-and Mr.. Frank Buckland, the
naturalist, who had charge of the Gar
dens, was dissecting itS Sbody.0 Whilst
dong SO he felt q strange sensation
coming over him, and he went out doors
and talked to workman near by, ask
ing him to drag him to q chemists shop,
and beat him to death rather than let
him fall asleep. They did pummel
him mercilessly, did drag him to an
apothecary shop, where he gasped out
'..Ammonia p They piled him with
ammonia and water, and he recovered.
He does not know how the poison was
communicated, but he thinks he might
have cleaned fnger-nail with knife
he had used in dissection. 1t is q Gu
rious problem for an optimist to con-
slider why such q magazine of destruc-
tion as the cobra exists. Is it sewer
to drain off the poison of whole tribe
of other animals who are thereby rem
dered harmless? 1t is the favorire
snake with the Eastern ake-charmers.
A specimen Of the "Tasmanian devil'
(Diabolus Ursinui), now almost extinct,
has just been obtained by Wamwell's
menagerie, also of London. Few ami
mails have deserved their title better
than this animal. The innate and ap-
parently ineradicable ferocity Of the
creature can hardly be conceived, ex-
cept by those who have seen it. In
captivity its sullen and purposeless an
ger is continually excited. An animal
soon learns to recognize its keeper, and
welcome the hand that supplies it with
food, but the Tasmanian devil seems to
be diabolically devoid of gratitude, and
attacks indiscriminately every one that
dares approach it. Without the least
cause it will fly at the bars of the cage,
and endeavor, by dint of teeth and
claws, to wreak its vengeance on the
keeper, while it gives vent to its pas
sionate feelings in short, hoarse screams
of rage. The coat of the Tasmanian
devil is very appropriately black, with
a white spot here and there. The fur
is deep, dead black, and utterly de-
void Of that rich, silky glossiness which
gives to the coats of many black ami
mails so pleasing an appearance. The
great power of the devils Jaws, backed
by its unreasonable ferocity, renders it
extremely formidable when attacked.
In two compartments, one above the
other, of caravan at Mander's Me-
nagerie, now exhibiting at Liverpool, q
leopard and hyena were recently con-
fined, the former in the lower and the
latter in the upper compartment. Dur
ing one night, says writer, the hyena
tore up the floor Of its cage so as to be
able to get his head throug gh. 1t would
then appear that the leopard beneath
seized it by the throat, and a terrific
struggle ensued. The noise alarmed
the watchman, and Manders and others
came to the spot. 1t was then found
that the leopard had pulled the hyena
through the floor, and so tenacious was
its hold that, although Manders freely
used heavily loaded riding whip on
his head and shoulders, the hyena was
quite dead when at last the leopard was
beaten off. s -...