The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-07-11
Gossin Ahnnt Snakes.

Poisonous snakes may be readily dis
tinguished from the harmless kinds by
their broadly flattened heads and pro-
iecting Jaws, which impart to them q
triangular aspect. The majority of the
nom poisonous reptiles have heads with
morrow eliptical contour, which indi-
cate at the first glance their character.
The bites of the former are not near as
fatal as they are generally supposed to
be, and quickly ly-administered doses of
ammonia injected into the flesh wound
by means of syringe, or great quanti-
ties of whisky and other alcoholic drinks
taken instantly after the accident prove
generally sure preventatives against fa-
tai results. These remedies, though
efficacious against the bite of the moe.
casin, rattlesnake and copperhead, of
North America, are unavailing in some
tropical countries like India, where the
violent action of the poison is intensified
by great heat, thus causing annually the
death of great number of people. 1t
must be borne in mind, however, that
the natives of these countries are in a
more or less nude state, and that their
attack of any snake which they may
to notice that no tropical travellers, who
frequently visit districts infested with
snakes have fallen victims to them, al
though they have made in many in.
stances the collection of poisonous spe-
cies specially of their avocation. It is
erroneous to suppose that snakes will
attack man without provocation, and
that they are capable of making spring g
of several feet or even yards. The ar
rangement of their intercostcal mus
cles does not admit of an extended for
ward movement of their body beyond
that of rapidly uncoiling themselves to
their full length, as anybody may salts
| fly himself by irritating any of our harm
less species when encountered in hol-
lows of trees, under bark or similar hid
ing places where retreat is not feasi-
| BILE. Under these particular circum-
stances they evince ready disposition
| to attack the intruder who ventures to
disturb their repose. There is in South
! Florida very large species OF the rat
| tlesnake known to naturalists as the
crOtoius addn,o,,tens, which has suffi-
cient capacity to feed upon animals up
to the size of the wild rabbit. 1t would
naturally be supposed that this snake,
in order to capture such wild creature,
woull possess compensating qualities by
being capable of making quick spring
OF at least several feet. This does not,
however, seem to be the case, as exper.
fenced by an accidental encounter with
one of these formidable reptiles, which
we found some years ago during an ex
pedition to Florida, quietly coiled up il
a cluster of dense palmetto underbrush
not far from the settlement, near the
site of old Fort Capron. We dispensed
on this occasion, contrary to advice
with the gun, which would have Offered
temptations to forego the experiment o.
a close encounter, and advanced armed
with only short, stout stick within {
few PAGES of our intended prey to OBJ
serve it's behavior. The reptile proved
wide awake to the danger of her situa
ton by raising slightly her head above
the huge coil of her body, which covered
place nearly two feet in diameter
Another forward step decided the criti
cal turning g-point of the adventure, whicl
ended, not in quick uncoiling of he
six-foot-long body, but quiet and igno
minious gliding away without any sigl
of Offering resistance. A timely ant
well-aimed blow then arrested her fur
ther progress by breaking the backbone
after which she was dragged helplessly
to the open, near the beach, where Gu
of an AK severed her head, which, vel
preserved in alcohol, still testifes by it
great size the corresponding volume o
her frame.