The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1878-10-10
Snakes.

Poisonous snakes may be readily dis
tinguished from the harmless kinds by
their broadly flattened heads aud pro-
jecting jaws, which impart to them a
triangular aspect. The majority Of the
non.poisonous reptiles have heads with
q narrow elliptical 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 Observation-Disclosures doses Of
ammonia injected into the flesh wound
by means of a syringe, or great quanti-
ties of whisky and other alcoholic
drinks taken instantly after the accident
prove generally sure preventatives
against fatal results. These remedies,
though eficaclous against the bite of
the mOccasin, rattlesnake and copper
head, 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 a large number Of
people. 1t must be borne in mind,
however, that the natives Of these coun
tries are In a more or less nude state,
and that their bodies are thus exposed
In full to the attack of any snake which
they may chance TO encounter. 1t is
instructive to notice that no tropical
travellers, who frequently visit districts
infested with snakes have fallen victims
to them, although they have made in
many instances the collection of poison
Gus species a speciality of their avoca-
ton. 1t is erroneous to suppose that
snakes will attack man without provoca-
ton, and that they are capable of max
ing a spring OF several feet or even yards.
The arrangement of their intercostcal
muscles does not admit Of an extended
forward movement of their body beyond
that Of rapidly uncolling themselves to
their full length, as anybody may salts
fy himselfby irritating any Of our harm
less species when encountered in hol-
lows of trees, under bark or similar hid
ing places where a retreat is not FEAST
BILE. Under these particular circum-
stances they evlnce a ready disposition
to attack the intruder who ventures to
disturb their repose. There is In South
Florida a very large species of the rat
tlesnake known to naturallsts as the
crOtdluS ~adamdnteuS, which has sutfi-
cient capacity to feed upon animals up
10 the size of the wild rabbit. 1t would
naturally be supposed that this snake,
In order TO capture such a wild creature,
would possess compromising qualities by
being capable of making a 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.
petition to Florida. quietly coiled up in
a cluster of dense palmetto underbrush,
not far from the settlement, near the
site of old Fort Capron. We dispensed
vi bnlS OSSoolOb1 OhSt" ~N'NS~1
with the gun, which would have offered
temptations to foregO the experiment of
a close encounter, and advanced armed
with only a short, stout stick within a
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
a place nearly two feet in diameter.
Another forward step decided the critl.
cal turning-pOint of the adventure,
which ended, not in a quick uncoiling
of her six-foot long body, but a quiet
and ignominious gliding away without
any sign Of Offering resistance. A time
ly and well-aimed blow then arrested
her further progress by breaking the
la ,kbone, after which she was dragged
helplessly to the open land, near the
beach, where a cut of an axe severed her
head, which, well preserved in alcohol,
still t~estiies by its great size the cOrre-
spending volume of her frame.