The St. Johns herald., 1894-11-15
SERPENTINE LORE.
Interesting Scientific Facts About
 Poisonous Snakes.
Different Effects Of the Venom of Va rIous Repti!es-The Deadly Ma rine Snakes of the In-
 dian Ocean.


 snake scientist, a man, in fact, who knows what he is talking about. Such a one is Dr. Leonard Stejneger, in charge of the reptilian department of the national museum at Washington. He said to correspondent of the Bos- ton Transcript:
 You do not admire snakes, I SUD- pose? Well, 1t is all matter of taste. There was Prof. Baird, former secrc- tary of the Smithsonian institution. He swallowed the poison glands of the rattlesnalze one day, just to make sure that the venom was harmless when taken internally. The experiment was a risky one; I would have advi..d him against it. At all events, it is well that he did not try the poison glands of cobra.
 s'You see," continued the doctor, gently stroking with his finger the head of a harmless living snake to give the creature pleasure, ''the poisons are different. Each of them contains two distinct active principles, one of which produces local symptoms in case of bite, while the other has ten dency to paralyze the nervous centers of the victim. The latter prcponder- ates in the cobra venom. 4 wound made by the tooth of that species Of serpent is a mere puncture and causes little swelling. The person bitten is killed by paralysis of the nerve centers. The danger of the rattlesnalze bite, on the other hand, is from modification of the injured part, which may pro ceed so far that the flesh actually petri- fies. Cobra poison in its natural state is one of those fluids which are able to pass through membranes. If swallowed it would be apt to go through the walls of the alimentary tract and get into the circulation in that way.
 'That is a python" he said, ''but it is not a very large one. The species attains length of thirty feet and a diameter of foot. If I met such a serpent would my scentifc knowledge give me better chance in an encoun- ter with it? Well, perhaps. Notwith standing my enthusiasm as collector, would certainly run away if could. Supposing that the animal seized me, it is probable that I would keep my wits better than the average citizen would under such circumstances. The only thing to-do would be to grasp the creature by the throat and try to strangle it. The other day read a statement to the effect that the proper course to pursue in an emergency of the kind was to take hold of the tail of the snake and unwind the constrict- ing coils from that end. In my opinion that would be poor plan to adopt with python, inasmuch as its tail is the strongest part of it, being made powerful for holding on.
 "The tooth of rattlestake or cobra is so sharp an instrument Shat beneath . powerful microscope the point looks perfectly smooth, whereas under the same magnifer the point of needle appears rough. 1t often happens that an ignorant person will remove the poison fangs of Q venonous serpent, imagining that the operation renders the animal permanently harmless. This mistake is apt to give rise to fatal accidents. Within few days the next two teeth behind the extracted fangs move forward and establish conDec- ton with the poison glands. Then the snake is as dangerous as ever. Fakirs in India understand more effective process. They cut out the poison glands and apply hot irons, destroying the parts entirely. Even the deadly cobra may be rendered in that way as innocuous as a kitten.
 
 duced me to try the effects of snake bites on my own person. But several of the people attached to the staff of the National Museum have been bit ten. Mir. Schindler permitted coral snake to bite him in order that he might study the results Cur taXider mist, Joseph Palmer, narrowly escaped nip from rattlesnake, which was torpid and came to life while he was handling it. Dr. Schufeldt was bitten by Gila monster and suffered consid- erably in consequence. A man ought always to be willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of getting knowledge. 4 certain person in the employ of the Smithsonian institution, whose name I will discreetly withheld, found a pea nut in the stomach of Peruvian mum my and ate it. He wanted to see if any thing would happen.
 Among the most venomous serpents in the world are the marine snakes of the Indian ocean. They are the dread of fishermen, and it sometimes happens that vessels arc obliged to thread their cables through barrels in order to pre- vent the reptiles from swarning on board. Great numbers of them may often be seen floating on the surface of the water as if asleep. They arc ex- ceedingly fierce, and will commonly at tack human beings without provoca- ton. The so-called 'hoopsnalle' is ia vorite snake of the newspapers. It is said to take it's tail i'll it's mouth and roll like hoop. This belief may be accounted for by the fact that the snake has way of accomplishing locomotion by extending itself at full length bringing its hinder part into loop and springing forward, repeating the Opcr-