The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-01-21
SNAKES OF INDIA.
Their Looks and Their POiSOns.
BIT T. C corEs ov 1HE 1sDuS MUSEUM. cIt-

opps,4 1899. By 4 S. Rrc7v. rrd

a snake says voice Mt my elbow on IN,
veranda where | am sitting In DOhra Doom
under the shadow OF the HlUalayas. In north
ern India. IL is Wahid Khan, tho usually
silent cook. who has come IN from the Jazaal
for his days work. and now stands hold
ing up proudly for inspection his long iron
shod bamboo walking etnn upon the end o
which balances uncasiiy the still wriggling
body Of heavy snake. about three feet In
| length. Take care" | cry hastily, for
| the ihickset dusky body tho color
| broken by evii.lookinR white rings at in
| tervals throughout the length. reminds me oil
| the deadly KARAT with which tho valley OF
| the Doom abounds. though the slauRh-
| ter OF many an innocent species has
taught me that there Is nothing more
deceptive about a snake than Its color.
Amoment later have the creatures head
inside pair OF iotceps. for the art which en-
enables the native snake charmer fearlessly
to catch even the most poisonous and lively
snake with his bare hand. 10 ons that have
never attempted TO acquire. Sure enough.
find the oval head which characterizes the
Colubride. and glance at the side makes IL
plain that the scale In front Of the eye extends
right down to the scale In which the nostril IL
situated. This indicates almost certainly that
the species lie poisonous To satisfy myself
completely. force open the wide m outh which
still snaps at my fingers, and on either side
above am able to make out almost com letely
sunk In folds OF the skin. the single vicious
little fang. which in poisonous snakes replaces
one OF the long rows OF small. sharp teeth
found in harmless species.
This clenches the matter and shows beyond
doubt that the reptile Is ono OF the poisonous
ColubridB or asps, the markings Indicating
that 1t 10 karait. karaits are an especial
nuisance whore they occur. for they love to
live about human hsbitations. and have an
uncomfortable habit OF dropping upon ONES
bed out Of the thatch with which bungalows
are rooted. They lurk on the tops OF window
sasbes. coil themselves up behind the basin
on the washstsnd. and like the privacy OF
an empty drawer. They are too stupid or too
lethargic to got out OF the way. unless actually
Inconvenience and the result is an appalling
number ofdeaths from their bites. For alth ugh
strong man may recover. provided the wound
Is promptly cut out and cauterized there Ia
little chance for the less robust native Of India.
The story OF the man who drove tho forty
two miles which separate tho Valley OF the
Doom from the nearest railway station. in q
sleeping carriage with KARAT cUiled UP under
his pillow. and only discovered his fellow
traveller on arriving at his destination is prob
ably quito true. Indeed. throughout the whole
OF northern India one has to be very cautious
about even walking across a room at n light. for
fear Of treading upon one Of these unwelcome
visitors in the dark.
More deadly even than the KARAT is the al.
most equally common cobra and the com para
lively rare hamadryas. These creatures are
both related to the knrait and can be distin-
guished from harmless snakes by the same
signs. Tho cobra, IL II true. will usually get
out OF the way when It hears footsteps but
upon tho other hand. its temper 10 exceedingly
short and when II does bite medical science ia
seldom Of much avail PROMPT action is the
only chance. and numerous cases are upon
record where lives have been saved by Instant
Is cutting out the bitten place. Once the poi
son has passed into the circulation and this
happens in an incredibly short space OF time. 1t
Is usually too late. An instance which is gen
orally believed out here 10 described where
man who was cutting wood was bitten
By cobra upon the finger. With the cour-
age OF despair and without waiting an instant to
reflect. he raised his axe In the other hand and
chopped the finger clean OF upon the spot
For the time being he felt no effect OF the
poison. Presently he began to call himself a
fool for having cut off his finger. and to think
that he might as well make an effort to save it
He replaced 1t in position. The poison pene-
trated into his system through the reioined
blood vessels. and the result was one more
was bitten in tho hand by cobra while she |
was nursing her child. with the result that
both mother and infant died. has been re- |
corded officially by a qualified physician, and |
ia: Only the other day a case Was
reported which occurred close TO Calcutta |
Sen Esa S0S TO s,S Snd hut on It's
to a friend. In doing SO no accidentally
scratched his his hand agalnst one Of the ianGs,
poisoning which ensued.
Dried and pulveIized the poison Is almost
As deadly as when injected by the live cobra.
Native doctors use 1t incidentally in micro
scoplc doses, and have barbarous method Of
1,ssn 70, Th SSO, put cobra int an
They then tie down the lid, and heat the pot
oyer ire. The ,wretched snake is soon
bites tho banana IN its .paroxysms. The fruit
IS afterward carefully dried. and is then really
stances to be a wonderfully powerful stimu-
ant. but is only used in extreme eases. and
han good The same preparation is also said
. be empi3yed by leather workers for
, ,ia,S ta other pe9nIes cattle with
,heap This is form OF crime very prevalent
n India and one that the authorities lind
ant native cultivator to prove that his plough
,ullocks have not died OF cattle dissase7 lie
he m glstrate may order the beasts to he On
mined. but snake poison leaves no external
chemically Its not surprising. under these
that he often decides 10 accept
he loss. and not incur the enmity Of the cattle |
prisoners 10y seeking redress
monarch among poisonous snakes Is the
normous hamadryas. which grows 10 be as
much as fourteen feet in length, and is so
ierce that IL Will sometimes attack aud even |
base any one who ventures near TO its nest.
native snake charmsrs who will handle the |
lercest cObrAs feaTlessly are usually loAth To
ouch a hamadryas, though have OCCASION
lily seen large specimen OF this yenomOus !
eptils 10 their bags. IL laws it's eggs in a heap
u deesTing leaves. which il collects Tor the |
purpose, and sits upon the top TO keep OF in
rudoIs, A road through the Jungle viii
ometimes be closed against all eomers by a
air Of these snakes. and woe bslids !
he unfortunate traveller who, stumblcs
nRWATes upon the nest The hanna |
ryas feeds largely upon other snakes
ut Is fortunately somewhat rare, Curious
enough. Il Is not always aggressive
indeed. 1t somstimes happens that i is quite
nWilllng to strike, superHCially IL i not un- !
Ike a harmless rock snake and not very long |
20 In buTmRh q man brought one in from the |
lngle and kept IL loose IN his house for some /
avs. under the Impression that u vas one u
hese creatures During the whole Of its cap |
witty Il never Attempted to lite any one. aud ,
. eaptOT who had been familiArly pulling il |
~ nv he af ,lutt .IFl a. .