The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-05-04
SOME QUEER SERPENTS.
JEPHSON, TIE AFRICAN Elk
PLORER, DEGREES THEM.

SAN Francisco, April 2J-Henry NJ.
Stanley in his lectures constantly whetted
his audiences appetite by vague illusions
to monstrous reptiles possessed of hideous
powers to kill. Since the days when the
peace of Paradise was destroyed by SER
pent, man has entertained a mysterious
losthing, mixed with terror, for the thing
that glides upon its belly. He is ready to
believe any tale however strange or hor-
rible, whether it transforms the serpent into
dragon or deadly worm. Curiosity is
never filed enough with news Of how the
venom kills or what it is.
A. Monterrey Jephson, The man who ac~
companied Stanley to equatorial Africa, is
living quietly at the Occidental hotel in
this city He is very busy over his maya
zine articles, for which he has received
orders far ahead. However, he found a
spare hour the other morning to tell some
thing about his adventures with venomous
serpents and pythons during his travels in
Africa, aud also while living as an English
army officer in the Island Of Ceylon.
Captain Jephson said: africa is not in
Tested with as many venomous serpents as
is India, for while in the latter country the
death rate is very large from poisonous
bites, the natives of the former continent
are seldom molested. OF course, there are
districts in Africa where the reptiles are ex-
ceedingly common, but that is not generally
the case, as in India.
1.-THE character sites of the venomous
serpent are the thick, stubby tail and the
diamond head and i'll Africa some Of these
varieties are capable of extraordinary ex
ploits, such as splitting poison into peoples
eyes from quite distance; of leaping back
ward into the air the length Of the body to
bite the person who is at the tail; Of throw
ing the body sidewise at a victim; of ex-
listing on air for years at a time-in fact, of
quantity of other extraordinary things.
Take the horned cerastes. for instance,
| which is known commonly as the horned
viper This hideouS creature grows to the
| length of two or three feet and is beautifully
marked, although possessed of a most demo
| niacal head. Two horns stand out above the
| eyes of this viper, which, together with the
wicked CLEAN Of the eyes themselves, give
it the look of devil.
| 1.-THE naturalists have come to the conclu
sion that it was the horned viper that bit
| Queen Cleopatra on a celebrated occasion.
| 1t lives, generally, half buried in the sand,
and can leap upon a person passing, side
| ways, to the extent OF three and four feet
! in fact, twice its own length. They are
possessed Of great vitality, and there is a
| case en- record of a horned viper existing
two years in large glass jar without food
! This was the experience of Bruce, the Afri-
! can traveller.
lone of the most repulsive of African
snakes is the hideous puff adder, which
never runs away from danger, but on the
| contrary, purSues its enemy. Tho name
has been bestO we'd because of the habit
this reptile has Of pulling out it's body when
| enraged.
1T grows to length of several feet, and
! is very large in girth, especially in the
middle So powerful is its BODY that when
| lying along t1e ground a puff adder can
throw itself backward into the air its full
length and savagely bite the hand or thigh
| Of a man or beast.
IAN animals die from its bite, even
| horses, but am told that the natives can
kill it simply by splitting tobacco juice
upon its head, 80 deadly to serpents is nico-
tine.
"The puff edder's venom is used in South
ern Africa as a poison in which to dip ar
rows, and the person hit with an arrow Of
this description il sure to die. have heard
that the natives endeavor tofortify them
selves against fatal results of that sort by
swallowing the serpent's poison beforehand,
in the idea that 1T is an antidote, bIt1 can
not voUch for the tale.
These puff adders were great annoy
ance during our journey through Equatorial,
for they would lie in odd places waiting for
US to pass. Sometimes, US the natives were
cutting the pathway through the dark for
est, there puff adders would be dangling
down like hanging creepers. Their stubby
tails would enclrcle q bough above, while
about two-thirds of the body swung down
like pendulum to and fro.
''rhen, as the uDwary native cut away
the creepers to make the tunnel through
which our line was to creep, the puff adder
! would bite his naked arm savagelY.
Again, these snakes were exceedingly
dangerous when we were travelling along
the rivers in canoes. Often, as we were
making our way down a river, we would
come to rapids overriding with trees. AS
we padded down the river a puff adder
on branch above would see us and drop
heavily into our canoe. Overheard Of
once with wild cries Of horror would e
the natives, leaving me to dispatch the
ferco creature.
: mo one can realize the enormou
strength of the boa family until he has seer
a python gracefully throwing his coil
! about tree or gliding swiftly from grouuC
TO tree. The weight of q snake thirty q
forty feet long is tremendous add you be
q come conscious of this weight when yol
have tried to lift its body after it is dead, o
= else if YOU have tried to handle younge
q member of the live species.
h Notwithstanding this enormous weigh
9 the great monster makes its way as lightl'
q as a foot-racer across the forest.
"A python in pursuing its prey hurts it
:, head like a whip against the victim, grasp
Ii lug it with the teeth and casting as swiftly
:. coil after coil about 1t, so that the mer
= weight of the serpent's body is crushing ii
= its effect
: During our progress through the fores
. we found that the most delicious morsel t.
. a dwarf was a slice of python. These littl
= men and women would discover a mon
~ strous serpent in tree and fill its head wit
~ little arrows from their tiny bows until i
- resembled a cushion filled with pins. Now
y they must be cautious lest in its dyin
- - struggles they be crushed by the thrashin
y of its coils and tail.
- when they have subdued the snak
=, - finally they build long fire under hi
- until the odor Of the sizzling snake fat a.
ceuds into their nostrals like delicious il
a cense After that there is a grand feast G
- which quantities of banana wine are col
~ sumed.
For my part, hsve never tasted snaL
meat because of its disgusting odor. A
snakes have the faculty-while alive
emitting an offensive odor, the poisonor
/ reptiles more than the non-venomous.
n "Persons with sensitive olfactories FIRE
I'd quently can detect the presence Of a venom
lt Gus snake by his odor.
4 However, l never hestated in Africa
y devour with satisfaction the great whit
| 4 h.,