The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1890-08-06
THE pEADLlEsT OF sgRPENTs.
Killing Two Cobras on Sunday Morning
in Far off India.


Killing Two Cobras on a Sunday Morning
in Far off India.
It was hot Sunday morning in
India, without a cloud in the brazen
skies. We had just come home from
early morning service, and had taken
our seats at the breakfast table. At
the open door of our dining-room our
Telugu school teacher appeared, say
ing: "Sir, a big cobra has just been
chasing frog through the whole
length of your front yeranda. He
struck at it again and again as it
sprang past the open doors of your sit
ting room, but the frog uttering pierre
ing shrieks Gas a frog can when pur-
sued by a serpent), sprang each time
quick enongh to elude its jaws, and to-
gether they rushed off the end of the
veranda, and the frog sprang under
box that is standing there, too near
down upon the hard floor for the big
cobra to get under, and so escaped" :"
"Well," said I, ''where is the
cobra now?n That is just what l
don't know" said he, ''for while was
looking to see what had become of the
frog, how he had got away, the cobra
disappeared among the flower pots,
and, cannot see where he has gone"
HE must have a hole there close by
the veranda somewhere" said I. ''Will
you please 90 and watch until come,
and see if you can get sight of him
again for he must be killed if possible
if he lives as near the house as that"
don't go a shooting on Sunday, but
1 went for my pistol then, for | con-
sidered it decidedly work of necessity
and mercy to put an end to the danger
of ourselves or our people being bitten
by that deadly cobra. Soon appear
ing with a revolver, which | keep for
travelling through the jungles by
night, went hunting for the cobra s
hole.
Two large native flower pots stood
about six feet from the end of the We.
randa, with each beautiful rose grow
ing in it, of which my wife was very
fond, and beside which she almost
daily stood picking off dead leaves, OF
watering and tending the roses. l soon
discovered hole in the ground about
as large as my wrist, partly concealed
by the grass that was growing right be.
tween the two flower pots, which were
| far enough apart for person to stand
between them. The hole went down
perpendicularly, growing larger as il
went deeper. 1t took but q moment
to bring hand mirror and throw the
reflection of the bright sun right dowr
into the hole. 1t revealed horizonta
chamber only a foot or so deep, anC
the glistening scales of a cobra coileC
up at rest.
Takinga piece of broken Wagon
tire in my hand to stop up the hole.
fired down into the hole. Not mo
ton was seen. l had missed. Turn
ing the tire up edgewise [ fired again
What a squirming there was! Tht
cobra had been wounded. He strucl
up viciously at the iron, which wa
turned down flat as soon as | fired, t.
| keep him from darting out at us.
turned the iron edgewise and fire.
again. When l had unloaded the sixth
barrel let him strike his head out, ant
caught it against the side with the irol
tire. l had brought out with me pal
of large hedge shears. With these
caught hold of his protruding neck
and with a stout pull with both hands
pulled him out and gave him a fiirt ou
into the compound. What scatter
ing there was of men, women, an,
children! My attention had been S
taken up by the snake that l had no
noticed what crowd had gathere,
around. How they screamed and ran
for they did not know that the grip c
the shears had dislocated the fellow
} neck, and, seeing a full-sized cobra fly
ing out toward them, they seemed t
think that he was springing at them.
AS l had grasped the head of tn
cobra with the shears, had given th
, wagon tire to the teacher, asking hir
TO insert the end again instantly that
drew the cobra out. for where on
cobra is you will usually find a seconC
l came back and threw the rays of th
sun in again. Yes, there were brigl
cobra's scales and another cobra wris
CLING. Loading my pistol again I re
peated the firing hoping that he woul
Strike his head up out, so that coul
catch his head also. Squirm an
strike as he did, his head did not com
out of the hole until 1 fired man
times; but it finally came, and l s,
cured him ALSO On drawing him OF
and examining him closely, we foun
fourteen pistol ball holes through h
| DOuy, anu SLlll Inefe WAS llSht III lll
ANY three of the wounds would hay
I proved fatal in time; but he died nal
! ing splendid fight. We laid II
: cobras out in the veranda and mea
ured them. One of them measure
five feet eleven inches, and the othC
six feet and two inches, than which OF
rarely finds q cobra larger. The
7 hole showed that they had evident
been living there, right among Il
flower pots that were tended daily al
within six feet of our veranda al
within twelve feet of my study doc
: for weeks or months. Though Il
cobra is the deadliest serpent know
and thousands of persons die of the
bite yearly in India, no one in our mi
sion has every been harmed by one.,
Christian EatelLigeaacer.