, 1888-07-18

Win IT'S legs tied, near the snakes head.
me snake revived u little, and made q
dart at the fowl, but the bird eyadpd #
ana struggling to It's feet it gave the GO.
ora Il flerce peek on the head. which onitn
decloed the battle. The fact was that
tle snake was too much Injured bv tha
oiOW on the spine that had diSa blrd il.
ana, moreover, it had probably spent itSS
freshest and most deadly venom in XIII.
lng The small bird which it had seized hn.
lore we Sa" 1t. Many Years afterwards r
saw a cobra bite a fowl, and turned to
look at my watch to See how Ions if wouId
oe before the poison took effect. As T
looked back again towards the fowl If
Iell down quite dead, within thirty So.
cohdS from the time it, was bitten. This
occurred III the house of Il friend who had
9MGdGed an ltlnerant snake charmcr to ok.
"IoI' SNAKES TO a party OF guests. Several
IoU'"S' deprived OF their poisonous fangS.
hao oeen exhibited in the usual manner
""en Tue SIlake-charmeT stated that
ne had with him Il snake of which
lno PolSohouS-IangS were intact. and
nc onereu 10 snow It.. He dealt with it
very carefully with u torked stick in nro.
"ucIlS II from the baSker, and he was
equally cautious when he placed tha fovl
~ NiN NtldNt 10 ne Dlftnn Inv
H. W NAT the result OF the bite was tn fila
fowl has been already told TLnro -
oe Ittle doubt that if this cobr, hoJ NO
mayed to bite its keeper or any If fhn snas
.atorS, With It's faugS fully CHARGED with
fresh venom, it would have been almost ;f
not quite impossible to save tbrir lives
The python, or boa-c0nStrirtor !. com
paratlVely common in Bengal. and some
times grows to a great size. Tho 6rst
one mat saw was said to be twenty four
lGeV long, but 1t had been dead for sever
al Gays, ami the stencil from if was Ion.
ger IMAM the street in which it was being
eAuIoiied to II crowd of admiring natives
ana collId not venture to measure If
81" d%ilolIler, which was said to e TWENTY
one IeeC long. being carried dead tbrouGb
Uhe SjTeeIS OF Dacca, but was unable to
stop 10 measure it for myself An ofinar
whose Veracity | did not mistrust told
me ne had found one in Chacar twenty.
nFe feet long, which had committed sni.
clue by swallowing Il buck boo.denr of
WhlcIl the horns injured and cut tbronoh
the InteStineS Of the snake before thn g9s-
trIc Juices could soften the horns There
was " plentiful supply of pythons at the
geological Gardens in Galcutta Ono
large one, which measured pirhtpnn foot
sat most patiently for more than a month
over a batch OF eggs, and it was honed
tn"J her perseverance and motherIy affac.
lIoh would be rewarded bv a rood brood
but Tor some unknown reason the epos
were all added. During her lono men.
oatlon the mother snake was never speI,
10 qu'C ner eggs and she would take no
klhd OF TODD, although rats and chickens
were olefed TO her from day to day.
~ Is not every one who has seen q
python take meal. 1t is usually av,.rsn
to dead food but it is very partial TO y
I'VE RABBIT, or a chicken, or a guineapio.
or 10y preference a rat. The python seems
10 KNOW that the rat will try to escane
una ne @IYes 1t no time or quarter. With
a rapidly that can hardly be conceived
ne SEXES the rat with his mouth. and the
l@tal COIL passes round the creature
squeezing all life out of it, and reducing
Ule body to the form of an ELONGATED san,
sage, which the snake lubricateS with ifs
own slime and swallows entire. If q fowl
Is put into a python's cage, the snake
seems to take no notice and
the frightened bird, fiuding that no harm
ZONES to 1t, begins to rufHe it's feathers
and to peck about, occasionally trvino IFS
oeak on the snakes skin. But after a
while the end of the python's tail NAV he
seen to culver with a strange emotion.
whilst the smal black beady eve is fixed
upon the fowl. Suddenly there is a con.
VulSlOn. The snake has movod - a.