Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-15
TWENTY THOUSAND KILLED Fearful Record of Snake Bites in
 India. A DEATH EVERY HALF HOUR The Cobra, the Karait and the Dabola Are the Cause of Nest of the Deaths-0ther .hz Venomous Reptiles.

a Every half hour in India, on the aver age, a death occurs from snake poison ing. The total number of deaths from ,, this cause in a day is about fifty and in year about 20,0O0. Fortunately for the { maintenance of the British power in In- dia, these casualties are confined almost entirely to the poorer and more ignorant natives.
 F These natives are themselves largely to ] blame for the frequency with which they are stricken down by the poisonous rep ;. tile. They habitually go about with bare .,pfeet, making so little noise that the . snake is surprised and bites whereas if it had been warned of the natives ap- proach it would have slunk harmlessly p out of the way.
 India may be fairly called the home of snakes, but all of these are by no means poisonous It is easy to distinguish be- 7 tween those which are harmful and those r. which are not. Generally the shape or a F poisonous snakes head is oval, and In the case of the venomous colubridae there is scale in front of the eye which 7 extends down to the scale in which the nostril is situated. This indicates almost certainly that the species is poisonous. J If the snake is marked with white rings throughout its length, which Is usually about feet, you may feel sure that you < are-in possession of a karait.
 1.s. Karaits are very inconvenient animals to have about the house. They are~so- ciable creatures and are fond of taking up a residence in human habftations. They have an uncomfortable habit or dropping upon the bed out of the thatch with which the bungalows. or houses, are roofed They also turk in the tops of window sashes, coil themselves up De- hind the basin on the washstand, and, when the chance offers, will ensconce themselves snugly in the privacy Of a bureau drawer.
 They are too stupid or too lethargic to get out of the way, and the result is an appalling number of deaths from thelr bites Throughout northern India the karaits are so abundant that one has to be very cautious in walking across his room at night for fear of treading upon one of these unbidden guests in the dark
 Two other snakes in India are more deadly than the karait. These are the cobra which Is almost as common, and the hamadryas, which is quite rare. These creatures are both related to the karait 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 small degree of consideration. He will retire at the approach of a human being If he has time enough. But his temper is irritable, and when he does bite he places you I'm, mediately beyond the reach of medical aid. The only thing that will save you Is to quickly cut out the wounded hesh spot with a knife.
 once in India a man who was cutting rvood was bitten on the finger by a cobra. At once he raised the ax in his other hand and chopped the finger clean off. He began to regret his act, so, thinking ne might save his finger. he recovered the severed piece and placed It m position. The poison penetrated into his system through the rejoined blood vessels, with the result that he died.
 woman was bitten in the hand by a cobra while she was nursing her cnllo. Both child and mother died. This story has been recorded officially by a quahneo
 The poison of the cobra has been found fo be almost as deadly when dried ana ground into powder as when injected oy inc reptile itself Native Indian physi- clans use the poison in minute doses Tn various maladies. but the results are not encouraging. The method of extracting the poison isevery interesting. A cobra Is placed in an earthen pot and a banana dropped in after it. The lid Is then tied down and the pot heated over fire The uncomfortable rise in temperature causes the prisoner to become irritable, and 1t vents it's wrath on the banana, biting 1t again and again in its paroxysms. The fruit is afterwards carefully dried and is then ready for use. It Is said to be a powerful stimulant.
 The hamadryas is the largest and most formidable of the venomous snakes. Members of this species often attain a length of IA feet. and they are so fierce that they will sometimes attack, and even pursue anyone who ventures too near their nests. They have been known to impede travel by blocking the road through jungle and refusing to move.
 The hamadryas feed largely upon other snakes and from this circumstance his presence in India is not an unmitigated evil. They are frequently mistaken for harmless rock snake. and natives of India have. been known to receive a hamadryas into their family under the impression that the reptile was not pois- onous.
 The karait. the cobra and the hama dryas are all colubrine snakes, or asps, and are supposed to be closely related to the creature by means of which Cleo patra committed suicide.
 India also has a plentiful supply of vi- perihe snakes. These creatures can al- ways be recognized without difficulty by their broad, swollen heads and their necks covered with tiny scales. Vipers are divided into pit vipers, character dzed by the possession of a little hole or pit easily visible on the side of the head between the eye and the nostril, and the true vipers, which are without this or gan. The pit vipers of India are related to the rattlesnake, though they do not have rattles: nor are they nearly so deadly as the rattlesnake, though their bite is very painful. They are viviparous. bringing forth their young alive. instead of laying eggs.
 One of the most dangerous of the true vpers of India is the daboia. This is colored bright yellow, and Is very fierce in disposition, it's bite almost always causing fatal results. It is. however, very lazy, and, instead of advancing or retreating when it happens to hear some one coming, maintains it's position and misses loudly
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