The San Francisco call., 1896-09-13
He ENDED HIS OWN LIFE.
The Rev. E. Unaugsh's Story OF
an Ugly Battle With a
Cobra.
The Snake Committed Suicide From
Sheer Chagrin = Remarkable
Experiences in India.

The Rev. E. Unaugsh, who has been for
thirty-nine years missionary of the
American Evangelical Lutheran Church
in the Madras Presidency, India. is at the
New Western Hotel. He has had many
curious and extraordinary experiences in
that part of the country.
II have hunted good deal at different
times" said he yesterday, II never both
cred with the Bengal tiger nor the chez
tab, neither have l hunted for lions, for
there are none there. But have gone out
after and got good many antelope, elk
and various kinds of fowl, including the
pIover. There is a good assortment of
such game there, and you can kill more
than you want almost any day, but of
course it's a shame to kill more than you
can use.
There are enormous numbers of snakes
there, and many of them are very poison
Gus. Some are extremely large. 1 always
sought to keep clear o. them as much as
possible. Despite your best efforts, how
ever, you cannot do it.
81 was in the Kishna district IN Madras.
Through this district, which has 81 900 900
people, flows the Kishna River, one of the
greatest rivers in India. Along this river
are to be found some of the worst of the
reptiles.
Among these reptiles is the cobra, and
this leads me to tell you of peculiar ex-
perience l had there, which illustrated
fact which had never been made plain be-
fore. l had gone to one of our school
houses and was informed that cobra was
somewhere in the house. 1t had been
seen, but had in some manner gone from
view, yet it was explained that it did not
appear likely that it had got away
"Thereupon / instituted search. l ex-
amined right and left everywhere, turning
over the seats and looking about in all di-
rections. But l could not find the cobra.
Then | took another look, and finally over
in corner | saw a mat, one of the kind
YOU see here, that is brought from the
Orient to wrap things up in.
~ went over there, and with a long.
stick Instituted search, and there in the
mat was the cobra. He was good big
stiff fellow about four feet long, and when
he saw me he rose up straight from half
his body and showed fight His mood was
distended and he showed his fangs ready
for business.
II didn't want TO be bit and 1 backed
away. Then he got down and would
have got away if he could, but wouldn't
let him. got out at the door and barred
the way.
THE best way to kill the cobra is with
rattan stick. The cobra, strange as it may
appear from his size, has a weak back
and IL you hit him with q stick OF this
kind it sort of paralyzes him and he will
get down and be reasonably quiet
so l got rattan stick about four feet
long, and, keeping my distance and watch
ing my chances, got in body blow on
the cobra that laid him out. He wasn't
dead by any means-iust partly paralyzed
and he fioundered around in half help
less way.
II managed to get him out on the
ground where the people could see him
and while had him there he made sew
eral attempts to use his fangs on those
about MIN. But it was all futile, and then
l saw thing which exceeded in strange
ness anything ever saw. He bit himself
about half way in the center of his body,
lay down and in few moments was dead.
He committed suicide"