The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1895-01-31
WORSE THAN "A RATHER

BVVAACO xllA4N a INA j AI1A
An African Snake That Shoots
Its Deadly Poison.
Other venOmous Reptilss which Ars
III Greatly Dreaded BY the Natives 81
Z Snake killing . Lucrative De-
F# .cupatisn.
az The rattlesnake Of America is looked
npon as one of the most venomous OF
reptiles, but on account of its rattle
its intended victim can often escape.
Not SO, however, with some of the
deadly poisonous snakes Of southern
Africa, says. the St. Louis Post-DiS
patch. In the thick bush and under.
growth of the lower countries on the
east coast, probably the most treach.
erous of African reptiles has it's haunts,
The ''renygaizslang, or ''poison-spit,
ter" is an ugly looking black snake.
with light green rings around its body.
and is about five feet long when full
grown. Its method of catching prey is
when Il hare or bush rabbit, or small
bncls. called ''dyjkcn." comes along,
it will f;.sten its eyes upon its victim,
and without moving from its coils will
suddenly spit forth it's poison. which,
striking the animal in the eyes, COM
pletcly blinds it and enables the snake
to dash forward and fasten its fangs in
its neck. While it's prey is, still warm
the poison-spittcr will pull the skin
and hair Off in huge pieces, and then,
branching the body in its folds, will
swallow it whole. This snake will
often lie in an old road or path, and
has been known to completely blind
almost at the same instant a pair of
mules that were being driven along
the road attached to a wagon. They
can eject this poison and hit their OBJ
ject at a distance of thirty feet.
Another terror to the natives and
travellers is the ''boomslang," or tree
snake 1t is about nine feet in length
and from three and Il half to four inch.
es thick in its middle. When in search
Of prey it coils it's tail end around the
bough Of short, thick bush or tree,
and when small "bleshok" or other
small antelope passes under the tree it
will drop on it, coiling itself around
and around it's body and. getting pow
erful leverage with its tail end around
the tree, will crush the animal into a
jelly. After the buck is dead the snake
will roll it over and over on the
ground. This has the effect of taking
the hair off, and after covering the an
imal all over with a thick slime the
snake dcvours it in mouthfuls. Unlike
most reptiles of it's kind it does not
swallow its food in one piece, but will
eat it all up in separate pieces. Then it
goes to sleep for three or four months.
The Kaffirs dread this reptile more
than all others, as j. looks SO much
like the bough of the tree upon which
1t hangs. Many a poor native has fallen
q victim to it while travelling through
the bush.
The well known puff also
found in India, abounds in southern
Africa. It likes to be near water. and
Is found chiefly near deep pools of mud
dy water, where it lies in wait for
nVSo uAAN wdCCA OEOA " AACA -
mostly feeds. Its average length is
four feet, and it has a yellow body with
black rings. It is the most venomous
of all African snakes, but not the most
dangerous. With its smaller fry it
darts out with lightning rapidity and
eats Immediately whatever it catches.
but with larger animals that come in
its way, or to attack a person, the rep
tile will stand on it's tail and throw it.
self backward, burying its fangs as
soon as it strikes. When disturbed it
will give chase. In such event it is
very difficult to get away from it, as
the snake throws itself backward on it's
tail. The natives of Natal and Pondo-
land catch the puff-adders and, after
cutting out their fangs, release them
around the kraals to kill the field
mice and other small troublesome an
imals.
Killing snakes in Africa has come to
be quite a lucrative occupation, as the
and Boer governments offer big
for all snake skins brought in.
One well-known Himpopo river ex-
plorer, John Burke, killed over seven
thousand snakes in one year for which
be received sum Of money equal to
fifteen thousand dollars.