The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-08-21
HE DEADLY FER DE LANCE
'""a oy DIR. Calmette to he tho NJ.
'enomous OF American sna,.1 '''

Veno, ue'te To he the Most
~, 'inous OF American Snakes.
Inc experiments with snake venoo,
nlaae by DR.. Calmette of Paris hovo I do,a
Illustrated that the venom Of tbo W..
inulan Ter dc lance places that ront;, %0 ..
'he mead OF the list of North and South
american deadly snakes. This rent;Ia
.nilVes III the greatest numbers ON tbo
,sland OF Martinique, where il attains a
length OF eight feet and is much dreadoJ
" tne many persons exposed to its fangs
oh Ihe sugar plantations.
ms serpent is scientifically known
unuer the rather startling name Of
Sraspedocephalus lanceolatus. II he
longs TO the yiperine group which com.
prlses the North American rattlesnake
iloccasln and copperhead In fact the
c.opperhead is an exact counternart of
l.s west Indian relative in every nartic-
ular excepting color, The snakes of this
group possess long, erectile poison fanps
winch when not in use are messed
against the roof Of the mouth, but when
the mouth is opened TO bite the fangs
springs forward ready for action. These
iangs are really hollow teeth openinp
III small hole at the tip and each con.
meeting with gland behind the eve
containing deadly fluid. Nature has
given the fer de lance this fluid to kill
It's prey, and for its poison man as
yet has found no infallible antidote.
Ihe Ter de lance, or mapepire balsayn.
as 1t is called by the creoles, freouents
the damp tropical forests of the islands
OF 81 Lucia, Martinique and Trinidad,
FEEDING upon birds, frogs and rats. 1t
goes to the sugar plantations to obtain
rats, and thus is, III one way at least,
OF some benefit to the sugar planter.
When alarmed, this creature throws
Its body into a coil, and initiating itself
with air glares at the object of its anger.
AT this time it vibrates its tail rapidly,
as do most Of the venomous snakes Of
this group, a habit probably due to its
close relation to the rattlesnake. If still
further annoyed, it draws back the head
and strikes with widely distended Jaws,
and the fangs, standing upright on the
upper jaw, stab its tormentor if the
blow Is true, at the same time inoculat-
ing the victim with their venom. This
operation is performed in the fraction of
a second, too quickly for the eye to fol-
low it, and the victim into whose body
the fluid has been injected staggers
blindly forward and falls gasping to the
ground, overcome by an inability tC
breathe, as the venom acts upon set OF
nerves controlling the muscles of respira-
ton. In the course Of a few moments all
life has left his body, the system being
permeated by the venom.
Not long ago the mongoose was
brought from India TO exterminate the
fer de lance. The mongoose resembles
in shape and size a ferret and was sale
to prey largely upon snakes. But the
mongoose, finding itself in a strange
country and not wishing to wander
from the hands of those who had treated
it so tenderly during its trip, confined
its attacks upon the chicken yards of thu
towns, and the mapepire still rules tn,
interior of the islands. The mongoos
became merely another pest of the is
landers, who must endure, besides tn
presence Of reaches three inches long
gigantic spiders, scorpions and cent?
peds, not to mention the smaller crea
lures which swarm in tropical regions
History records this occurrence i'll Mar
Unique:
A wealthy resident near the coast, be
ing visited by some foreign guests, dc
cided to give banquet in their honor
His spacious grounds were illuminate
for the occasion with many fancy Ian
terms. The guests assembled for the OF
casion, and soon their conversation an
laughter, mingling with the music OF
string orchestra, changed the sllei
grounds into a scene Of festivity. 81
among the branches Of the trees and
the thick foliage of the palms 9TH
guests were surveying the scene wit
menacing eyes. These guests were N
clad in broadcloth or fine silks, but
coats of velvety green scales, and the
catlike eyes watched every movement
the merry party.
When the musicians announced II
beginning of the banquet, the men an
women went indoors, and the uninvite
guests took sole possession of the ga
dens. They were soon gliding slowl
up and down the leafy paths and col
ing their scaly bodies upon the rust
benches. When the men and women n
turned for a stroll in the cool night ali
they found ON all sides the dreaded Il
de lance, and before sufficient warnin
could be given II had been stabbed wit
the fangs of these dreaded creatures
r. l.. Ditmars in New York Sun.