The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1880-07-30
THE MOST VENEMOUS OF SNAKES.
The Disposition and Habits of Fear
less and Deadly TSeptile.
IouIOn Telegraph.

-
less and Deadly Septile.
London Telegraph
4 recent arrival at the Geological So
ciety's gardens, in Regents Park, deser-
yes special notice apart from the fact that
ii is the first of its species known To have
been brought to England. 1t is Il snake
called the echis carinata, about afOot and
Il half long aud of n dingy gray. Yet,
although in appearance neither interest
ing nor formidable, it is one Of the dead
licst of created things. This dctestable
little worm, which, looking at ii, the
spectator might make bold To say he
could initiate very passably in cork and
putty, IS one of the miracles and master
pieces OF nature, for 1t Is death itself and
carries in Is tiny head the secret of de
stroying life with the sudden rapidly of
lightning and the concentrated agony of
all poisions. The cchis comes to us from
India, where it is tolerably common, be
ing found in nearly every part of the
peninsula, and feared wherever found as
the incarnation OF instant and terrible
destruction. Fortunately, however, for
man, it is not, like the cobra and korait,
! a house frcquenting snake; for its tiny
| size would give it Il terrible advantage
over human beings who live crowded
1 together, as the natives do, in small dark
cned rooms, while its aggressive habits
would make il infinitely more fatal 10
life than its dreaded relatives. For this
king of the asps, this modern blsilisk,
| is not only vcnomous beyond conception
but it is actively offensive. 1t
does not turn 10 escape from man,
as the cobra will, or flash into
conccalmcnt like the kori'tt, but, con
scious perhaps of its deadliBess, deliber-
ately keeps the path against its human
|
inches of length against his bulk, chal-
| lenges and provokcs the conflict. 4
stroke with u whip will cut il IN two, or
Il ciod of earth disable it; but such is its
malgnity that il will invite attack by
every device at its command, stalking its
own life on the mere chances of its adj
versary coming within the little circle
of its power. At most, the radius of this
circle is twelve inches, but within it, ri
any point, lies certain death, and on the
bare hope of hand or foot passing with
in It's reach, the echis throws its body
into figurc-ofeight coil, and, attract
tracing attention by rubbing its loops
together, which, from the roughncss oil
the scales-hcnce the epithet carinata-
makes IA rustling, kissing sound, erect:
its head in the centre, and awaits attack
No one having once encountered THU
terrible worm can ever forget It's trucu
lent aspect when thus aroused, its eager
f ~ aggressive air, its restless coils, which
in constant motion one over the other
| and rustling ominousIy all the while
t stealthily but surely bring it nearer an'
= nearer TO the object of its fury; the eye
= malignant even beyond those of Othe
[ vipers, and then the incOnceivable IA
e pidity of its stroke. For the echis doe
I not wait to strike until it is within
5 striking distance, but vents its malice il
: repeatedly darting at nothing, hoping
e perhaps, to aggravate its antagonist int
: coming to closer quarters, or, NOR
G probably, as mere expression of its ow
; uncomfortable viciousness.