The Osceola times., 1878-07-13
Gossip About Snakes.

| Gossip About snakes.
Poisonous snakes msy be readily dis
tingui.hed from the harmless kinds BY
their broadly fsttsned heads and pro
jecting Jaws, which impart 10 them q
triangular aspect. The majority OF the
non. poisonous reptiles have heads with
narrow ellipticsl contour, which in
dicate at the frs. glance their character.
The bites Of the former are not near as
fatal as they are generally supposed TO
be, and the quickly administered doses
OF ammonia injected into the fesh wound
by means Of q syringe, or great quanti-
ties OF whisky and other alcoholic drinks
taken instantly after the accident, proves
generally sure prevebtives sgains; fatal
results. These remedies, though s.icz-
cious against the bite Of the moccasin,
rsttle.nake and coppsrhead, OF North
America, are unAvaliDg in some tropical
countries ike India, where the violent
action Of The poison i- intensified BY grea;
heat, thus causing annually the death Of
q great number OF people. 1t must be
borne in mind, however, that the native.
OF thsse countrie. are in q more or ie~
nude state and thz. their bodies are thu.
eIpssa ia full 70 the attack Of ary
snake which they may chance 70 sncJur-
fe-. IL il Instructive 70 notice that no
tropical travellers, Sho too frequently
vi.ig districts inf=<,ed With s1Ate-, have
fsllsa victims 70 them, xitbsaxh they
have uS1s IN many I1s.xnces tie col &c
lion o. p.0i-onous species q specially CT
their svocztru- u j. srru1eo1. 10 sup
t.1-e that snakes vii x:aek uG1 without
provocztion, and that they Are cAFabie
Of nskiax q spring Of several Zee. OF even
yArts The srrxaseIent Ct their inter
coztsl I.2seie. does Dot admit o. a.
extended f-rrArd movement Of their
BODY beyond that Of rapid uncoiliDz
themselves to their fall leDztA a. any
body nay satisfy hinlse.f by irritating
any Of our hzrnle~ species when encoun-
tered in hsllozs OF trees, under bark OF
similar hiding places where . retreat i.
DO, feasible. Under these particular
circumstances they eviDce ready dispo-
sition to atiaek the intruder who ven
ture- ~ disturb their reyose. There i.
10 South Florida a very large specie. Of
the rattle.nske known to nztursliste A.
Cso.slu. sdsmantsus, which hs. suf-
6cient capacity to iced upon animal. up
to the size Of the wild rabbit. 1t would
naturally be suppo-ed that thi. snake,
in order to capture such swift creature,
would possess compensating qualities by
being capable OF making quick spring
OF At least several feet. THIS does not,
however, seem to be the case, a. ex-
perienced by an accidental encounter
with one OF these formidable reptiles,
which we found some years ago during
an expedition to Florida, quietly coiled
up in cluster OF dense palmetto under.
bush, not far from the settlement, near
the site of old Fort Caprop. We dis.
pensed on this occasion, contrary 10
advice, with the gun, which would have
offered temptations to forego the expert
ment of ciose encounter, and advanced
armed with only a short, stou. stick,
within few PAGES OF our intended prey,
to observe its behavior. The reptile
proved wide awake TO the danger Of her
situation by rattliDg slightly her head
above the huge coil Of her body, which
covered a space nearly two ieet in
diameter. Another forward step decided
the critical turning point OF the adven-
ture which ended, not in quiet uncoil-
ing OF her six foot-long body, but quiet
ignominious gliding away without any
sign Of Offering resistance. A timely and
well aimed blow then arrested her further
progress by breaking the backbone, after
which she wss dragged helpless TO the
open road, near by the beach, where cut
OF an AZ served her head, which, well pre-.
served in alcohol, still testiies by its
great size the corresponding volume ol
her frame. New York Mercury.