The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-09-03
BITTEN BY i COBRA.
One Who Thinks He Knows Tells How
 the Hapless Victim Feels.


 the Hapless Victim Feels.
 tFrom the Detroit Free Press.l
 T wonder what sort of sensation it is to be bitten by cobra and know that one must die in half hour or so," drawled Captain Gordon as he puffed lazily at his cheroot on the veranda of the l09th Hussars' mess at Fyzabad.
 It was after the mess dinner, and the regimental band had bagged their in- struments and gone silently away into the hot, stifiing night. Half a dozen officers were reclining in long -sleeved chairs" their feet upon the arms and pegs" with plenty of ice, standing in long glasses like grim sentrles, to keep the demon thirst away.
 Well. l know exactly how it feels" clipped in Bings-Bings, "the stoic," as he was called-with an earnestness that fairly took away Gordon's breath.
 "Yes,' added the new speaker. T have been there, as they say, but Ian guage cannot convey the full horror of the feeling. It was years ago, when I first came out to join, and we were sta toned at Burmah I was on special duty out in the jungle, and where we were located Was the snakes para disc, Hardly a day passed that we did not kill one or more either in or about the bungalow. It was a continual cry of 'Samp hai, sahib!' Ca snake, sirl, with a regular clearing out of all the servants. Q
 "It really seemed that all the poison ous snakes in India had agents doing business in that part. Immense hoas sleepy devilish karaites, vicious asps and adders, and now and then a cobra, chock full of fight. No man thought of putting on his boots without giving them a good shake first, and even clothes were inspected at arms length.
 One hot, sweltering night was lying in state half sleep and half heat stu DOT, when I suddenly became aware that a dark, flat object, in which gleamed two spots of malignant light, was moving up along my right leg just between it and the moujerie (mo- squito curtain. I could just see it oyer my limb and the blood in my veins simply froze with horror as I realized | that it must be either cobra or 8 kar- aite. The body of the serpent was ev- | idently in the bed and the head eleva- ted just enough to watch my face. A queer constructive sort of feeling shot up and down my scalp, and the hair stood out straight, am sure. There are no words in which I can convey the slightest idea of the full | measure of loathsome horror which took possession of me and turned me sick with the intensity of it's dreadful ness when I recognized that was shut up in that curtain with and completely at the mercy of one of those death-dsal- l ing fiends. I dared not move muscle to call out meant death, for were he aroused, either by fear or anger, he would deal out death to the nearest iiv- ing object with the rapidity of light ning. My hand was lying down beside my thigh, and already could feel his cold, slimy body moving over it.. Ii my blood was frozen before, this chilled the very marrow in my bones, I could see very little by the light of the flick. ering lamp which hung in the verands opposite my room door. beyond that flat, swaying head set like a fiend's toy with those devilish cleaning eyes.
 1T felt that could not stand it mucl longer. I should become 8 ravins ma niac if something did nat happen soon almost wished that he would stFikt and end the dreadful suspense, knew that he would not voluntaril! leave the bed at night, and would mos probably coil himself up on my ches and remain there. One year, twt years, ten years, lay thus, with tn, brute drawing his interminabie lengtl over nay hand-yes ten years for mex day was ten years alder, and my hair which was black when I went to bed was as.gray as it is now.
 Then l must have meyed my hand for the tiend struck-vithout warninl and with such dspilish fapidity that, saw nothing, only felt the sharp, lance like thrust in my thigh. With rus my blood, which had been standing stf i'll my veins, I think went tearin through my body again, and before m mortified cry had ceased to ring throug the bungalow I was standing on tn floor clear of the wrecked mopjeri' As I sprang from the bed when h struck, felt his body go hurling ove my head up against the pillow as threw up the arm he he'd been lyin } on.
 ' "Brown-'Bangle Brown as he wa called then, because he used to wear
 silver bangle on his left wrist tha sj some girl had given him-Was callin from the next room, Who is there ? who is there?' and the whole bupgs , low was soon in turmoil. Cold drol
 of precipitation rolled down my fort
 head, and my face was like the face , 8 dead man, Brown said, when I wer T into his room. where fe had g iisht. F"'Have you scent ghostg' he aske' "'Worse than that replied, T ,has
 been bitten by g cahras = . ' ol Nonsense, man, ne iate' tEa aalf "