The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1894-09-28
SEnrL., LURE.
Interesting Gc;onticc Facts About
Poisonous Snakes.
Different Effects of the Venom of Va
rious Reptiles The Deadly Ma
rine Snakes of the In
dian


The following facts are given bv a
snake scientist. Il man. in fact. who
knows what hc l. talking about. Such
Il one Is Dr. Leonard StcinCmcr in
.har4sc of the rcptiliau department of
the national museum mt Washington.
lie said to a correspondent of the Bos-
ton Transcript:
''You do not admire snakes, | sup
pose? Well. il iS all a matter of taste.
There was Prof. Baird, former sccrc-
tary of the Smithsonian institution.
lie swallowed the poison glands of the
rattIcsnalle one day, just to make sure
that the venom was harmless when
taken internally. The experiment "-as
a risky one; | would have advi-,I
him against it. At all events, it is
well that he did not try the poison
Glands of II cobra.
''Gou soc" continued the doctor,
Gently stroking with his finger the
head of a harmless, living snake to give
he creature pleasure. the pOiSonS
are different. Each Of them contains
Two distinct active principles, one of
which produces local symptoms III ease
of a bite, while the other has ten
i"ncy to Paralyzc the nervous ccntcrs
# the victim. The latter prcpoRdcr-
atcS in the cobra venom. \ wound
made by the tooth of that species of
.crpcnt i Il mere puncturc and cluSc.
little swelling. The person bitten il
killed 10y paralysis OF the nerve ccntcrs.
The danger Of the rlttlcsnal,r bite. ON
the other hand, il from mortiIicatiou
IF the injured part. which may pro
cced So far that the flesh actually pctri-
lies. Cobra poison in its natural state
i one IF those fluids which are ahl,. To
pass through membranes. If Swallowed
il would bc 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
il not Il very large one. The species
GttainS a length of thirty feet and
character of a foot. If | met such a
serpent would my scientific knowledge
rive me better chance in an cncoun-
Ter with it? Well. perhaps. Notwith-
standing my enthusiasm as a collector.
! would certainly run away if | could.
Surprising that the animal seized me.
ii II probable that | would keep my
wits better than the average citizen
would under such circumstances. The
only thing To do would Toe 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 construct
ing coils from that end. In my opinion
that would be a poor plan to adopt
with python, inaSmuch as its tail il
the strongest part of it, being made
powerful for holding on.
The tooth of a rlttlcStakc or cobra
il 50 sharp an instrument that beneath
powerful microscope the point looks
perfectly smooth. whereas under the
same magnifier the point of a needle
appears rough. 1t often happens that
AN ignorant person will remove the
poison fangs of a venomous 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 fau;rS
move forward and establish conncc-
ton with the poison glands Then the
snake is as dangerous as ever Fa!lirS
in India understand a 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 = kitten.
My scientific ardor has never in
duced me to try the effects of snake
bites ON my own person. But several
IF the people attached to the staff of
the National Museum have been bit
ten. Mr. SCHNEIDER permitted coral
snake to bite him in order that he
might study the results. Our taNidcr-
mist. Joseph Palmer. narrowly escaped
i nip from a rlttlcsualle which was
torpid and came to life while he was
handling it Dr. Schufcldt was bitten
hy ella monster and suffered consid-
crabIv i'm consequence. \ man ought
| always to be willing To sacrifice himself
for. the sake of getting knowledge. \
certain person in the employ of the
| smithsonian institution, whose name |
| will discrectIy withhold. 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 vcnOmOuS Serpcnts
| in the world are the marine snakes OF
! the Indian ocean. They are the dread
| Of fishermen. and ii sometimes happens
| that vessels are obliged To thread their
| cables through barrels in order to pre-
! vent the reptiles from swarming on
! board Great numbers of them may
/ often bc seen floating on the surface of
/ the water as if asleep They are eX-
| cccdingly fierce. and viii commonly at
tack human beings without provoca-
ton. The so-callcd -hoopsnalle' Is a fa-
! vurito snake of the newspapers 1t Is
said to take its tail in its mouth and
| roll like hoop. This belief may he
accounted for by the fact that the snake
has way of accomplishing loc"motian
10y extending itself at full length.
bringing its hinder part into q loop and
springing forward. repeating the opcr-
alton with such rapidity that To the
! eye it might produce the effect of roll
ing hoop-fashiun."