The Louisiana Democrat., 1883-01-24
POISONOUS sERpENTs,
STATISTICS OF THE NUMBER OF FOLKS
THEY KILL.

STATISTICS OF THE NUMBER OF FOL
10. THEY KILL.
is
at Venomous snakes are those viii
10 have two hollow teeth in the upp
d, jaw through which they eject pois,
In into the wound made by their bit
y The great majority of snakes are n
W venomous, nevertheless they a
h more venomous snake in the wor]
if Ihan most men really require.
IF There are two classes of veuomou
# snakes-those who bite is certai
}. death, those who bite can be cured
j, The only venomous snake inbabitin
Europe is the viper, but it's bite i
j seldom fatal. In the United States
r with the possible exception of New
} Mexico and Arizona, there are onl,
three venomous snakes, the rattle
snake, the copperhead, and the moe
casln. All our other snakes ar,
harmless. In some place the copper
"e"o IS known as the fatheaded ad
oer' but the other species Of snakes.
70 which the name "adder" is given
ny country people, are as harmless
as the pretty little garter snake.
Central and South America have
many venomous snakes whose bite is
always fatal. Among these the best
known are the coral snake, the tubo.
oa, and the dana blanca. A British
naval vessel, on it's way up South
Amesican river few years ago, an.
chored for the night, and number
OF the officers thought they would 90
ashore and sleep in deserted sl,auty
that stood on the bank, where thew
fancied that the air would be cooler
'nan 1t was on board the vessel.
when they reached the shanty one
OF them said::he thought he would 90
oack to the ship, and all the Others
With one exception, said they would
follow him. The officer who deter.
mined to stay swung his hammock
from the beams of the roof, and was
soon asleep. He woke early in the
morning, and, TO his horror, found
tnat three snakes were sleeping on
bis body, and that others were hang |
Ing from three rafters or gliding
over the floor. He recognized among
them snakes whose bite meant death
within an hour or two, and he did
not dare to move finger. He lay
ID his hammock until the sun grew
warm and the snakes gilded back to
Ihelr holes. His companion had no.
Iced that the place looked as if II
vas infested with snakes, but had
,ruelly refrained from warning him.
The officer was one of the bravest
men that ever lived, yet he could
'ever speak Of his night among the !
makes without a shudder.
In one of the West India Islands--
aartinque-there is a snake called t
ne lance beaded viper. which is al. q
nost as deadly as the coral snake. .
.ne East Indies are full Of venomous
makes, and in British India nearly
o'ooo persons are killed every year a
y snakes bites. Of the East Indian v
makes whose bite is incurable. the Q
oora IS the most numerous, but the '
iamond snake, the tubora and the Il
phlophagns are also the cause Of y
reas many deaths. The British
overnment has offered large re- Il
ard for the discovery ofan antidote a
the poison Of the cobra, but no q
ne has yet been able to claim it. q
Africa, like all tropical countries. u
IS many ). species of venomous te
lakes. The horned cerastes is the al
'ake from whose bite Cleopatra is o.
Id to have died, and from it's small 81
le and its habit Of burying itself, SC
but its head in the sand, it is pc. 81
llarly dreaded by the natives. The 10
nest OF these snakes is the great ke
n'adder, which often grows to the te
I'VE or six feet, and whose poison We
used by the natives in making NJ
isoned arrows. sp
IL Is very curious fact that the di'
''o" VI VehOm0us snakes canDot| !.
distinguished BY the chemist B'
10 the white of an egg. And We, va
Kind of snake poison will pro. in
% an effect entirely unlike tba, me
'duced by another kind. The ms
OF Of an animal bitten by a cobra att
oecomposed and turned into a COZ
y Watery, straw colored fluid, ot
lie the blood of an animal bitten 10Y
a coral snake is solifed, and look LET
y much like currentjelly. Never Ne
less, the I'oison of the cobra and
OF the coral snake seem to be her
eisely alike when analysed by the dis
mist and are apparently composed :, ,
ame substance in the same pro ""
t'on as is the white of an egg. 1it