The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-12-11
KILLED BY SNAKES.
FEARFUL MORTALITY FROM THEIR
BITES AMONG NATIVES.


Every half hour in India. on the
average. death occurs from snake
poisoning. The totalnumberof deaths
from this cause in day IS about %
and in a year about 10000. Forum
ately for the maintenance Of the Brit
ish power in India, these casualties
are confined almost entirely to the
poorer and more ignorant natives.
These natives are themselves largly
to blame for the frequency with which
they are stricken down by the poison
Gus reptiles: They habitually 60
about with bare feet, making so little
noise that the snake is surprised and
bites. whereas if it had been warned
of the natives approach it would have
skunk harmlessly out Of the way:
India may fairly be called the home
of snakes, but all OF these are by no
means poisonous. 1t is easy to dis
tineuish between those that are harm
full and those which are not: Genera! /
w.. the shape Of poisonous snake S
head is oval, and in the case OF the
venomous colubridae there is scale
in front of the (which extends down
10 the scale in which the nostril IS stu
ated. This indicates. almostcertalnl
that the species is poisonous. If the
snake is marked with white rings
throughout its length, which is usual
Fly about feet you may feel sure that
yeu are in possession of a KARAT.
Karaits are very inconvenient ami
mails to have about the house. They
are sociable creatures and are fond OF
taking up residence in humau hab!ta-
tions. They have an uncomfortable
habit of dropping upon the bed out<ot
thatch with which the bungalows or
or houses are rooted They also lurk
in. the, tops of window sashes, col
themselves up. behind the basin on the
washstand, and :Yhen the chance Of
fers will ensconce themselves snugly
in the privacy of bureau drawer.
They are too stupid or too letharglc
to get out of the way, and the resalt
is am appalling number of deaths from
their bites. Throughout northern In,
dia the karaits are SD abundant that
one has to be very cautious in walking
across his room at night for fear OF
treading on one of these unoldden
guests in the dark.
Two other snakes in India are more
I deadly than the karat. These are the
cobra, which is almost as common.
and the hamadryas. which is quite
rare. These creatures arc, Goth related
to the karat, and can be distinguished
from harmless snakes by the same
signs. You need never fear injury
from the cobra if you treat him with
even a small degree of consideration.
He will retire at the approach OF
human being if he has time enough
1.But his temper is irritable, and whsr
/ he does bite he places you Immediate
" beyond the reach OF medical AID
The only thing that will save you IS tt
quickly cut out the wounded flesh spo
with knife.
Once in India man who was cut
tine wood was bitten on the finger b,
cobra. At once he raised his axe II
his other hand and chopped the hnge
Neansoff: He began to regret his act
so, thinking he might as well make al
effort to save his finger, he recovered
the severed piece and placed it in posi-
ton. The poison penetrated into nj
system throug ghthe rejoined blood yes
sells, with the result that he died.
A woman was bitten IN the hand oI
a cobra while she was nursing ne
child. Both child and aother died
This story has been recorded officiall..
by a qualified physician.
The poison of the cobra has beel
found to be almost as deadly whel
dried and ground into powder as whel
injected by the reptile itself: Nativ
Indian physicians use the poison Il
minute does in various maladles, bu
the results are not encouraging. In
method of extracting the poison. !
very interesting. A cobra is placed il
an earthen pot and banana. droppe'
after it. The lid is then tied dow
and the pot heated over a fire. Th
uncomfortable rise in temberatur
;. causes the prisoner to become lrrita
I bh-and it vents its wrath on the ba
mana, biting it again and again IN 1t
paroxysms. The fruit is afterward
carefully dried; and is then ready 10
use. -Iti is said to be a powerful stun
ulant. ...;..::- ~. ,:r.
The hamadryas is the largest an
most formidable of the yenomou
snakes. Members of this species oftel
attain a length of II feet, and they ar
so fierce. that they will sometimes al
tack and even persue any one wh
ventures too near their nests. The.
E.have been known to impede travel b.
blocking the road throgn ajungle am
refusingto move.
The hamadrTas feed largely upol
other snakes, and from; this clrcum
stance. his presence in India is not a
unfhitisated evil They are frequent
" mistaken for harmless rock snake
and natives o. India have been kne~H
to receive a harnadrvas into their fam
! ily, mnder the impression that the rep
tile was not poisonous.
The karat, the cobra and the ham
adryas are all colubrine snakes, o
asps, and. are supposed to be closely re
lated to-. the creature by means 0
which Cleopatra committed suicide.
India also has plentiful supply o
viperine snakes. These creatures cal
always be recognized without dItficul
ty by theirsbroad, swollen heads ant
their necks covered with tiny scales
Vipers are divided into pit ~iper.s
| characterized by the possession OF
little hole or pit easily visible on tn
side of the head between the eye ant
the nostril, and the true vlpers, whlcl
are without this organ. The pit viper
of India are related to the rattlesnake
though they do not have rattles; no
are they nearly so deadly as the rattle
snake. though their bite is very pain
full. They are viviparous, bringing