The Indianapolis journal., 1891-04-13

people being bitten by that deadly cobra.
Soon appearing with a revolver. which
kept for travelling through the jungles at
night. / went to hunting for the cobra's
hole.
Two large native flower-pots stood about
ak feet from the end of the veranda with
each . beautiful rose growing In it. of
which my wife was very fond. and beside
which she almost daily stood picking off
dead leaves or watering and tending the
roses. soon discovered hole in the
ground about as large as my wrist, partial
ly concealed by the grass that was growing
were far enough apart for person to stand
between them. The hole went down per-
pendicularly, growing larger as it went
deeper. 1t took but moment TO bring
hand d-mirror and throw the reflection of the
bright sun right down into the hole. IL re-
vealed a horizontal chamber only foot or
so deep, and the gllsteninR scales OF cobra
coiled up at rest.
Taking piece of broken wagon tire In
my left hand TO stop up the hole with: and
l fired down into it. Not motion was
seen. had missed. Turning the tire up
edgewise, fired again. What a squirming
there wasl The cobra had been wounded.
He struck mp viciously at the iron, which
was turned down fat as soon as had fired
to keep him from darting out at rs. 1
turned the iron edgewise and fired again
and again. When / had unloaded the sixth
barrel. let him strike his head out and
caught it against the side with the iron
tire. had brought with me pair of large
hedge shears. With these caught hold of
his protruding neck. and, with q stout pull
with both hands. pulled him out and gave
him fiirt out into the compound.
What scattering there was of men, wonl-
en- and children! My attention had been
so taken up by the snake that had not no.
ticed what big crowd had gathered
around. How they screamed and rani for
<hoxrA v,o< hat <bn of tha
shears had dislocated the fellows neck.
and. seeing q full-sized cobra flying out to-
ward them, they seemed to think he was
springlng at them.
with the shears had given the wagon-tire
to the teacher. asking him to insert the end
again instantly that drew the cobra out.
for where one cobra is you will usually
find second. came back and threw the
rays of the sun in again. Yes there were
bright cObra's scales and another cobra
wriggling. Loading my pistol again. / re-
peated the firing, hoping that he would
strike his head out so that could catch
his head also.
Squirm and strike as he did, his head did
not come out of the hole till | had fired
many times; but it finally came. and i Sc
cured him also. On drawing him out and
examining him closely, we found fourteen
there was fight in him. Any three of the
wounds would have proved fatal III time
but he died making a splendid fight. We
laid the cobras out on the veranda and
measured them. One of them measured five
feet eleven inches, and the ether six feet
and two inches, than which one rarely
finds cobra larger Their hide showed
that they had evidently been living there
right among the flower pots that were tend
ed daily. and within six feet of our veran-
da. and within twelve feet of my study
door for weeks OF months Though the
cobra is the deadliest serpent known, and
yearly in India, no one in our mission has
ever been harmed by one.