New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1898-08-24

sea snakes could be seen swimming !
about as far as the eye could reach. |
They kept upon the surface, and several !
distinct species were recognized among
them.
During calm weather these reptiles !
may be seen summing themselves upon
the surface Of the sea, remaining mo-
tionless except for a slight unduhtion
caused by the movement Of the water:
When alarmed, the agile reptiles dive
like arrows, leaving train of bubbles
behind them. Some species are extreme
~ brilliant in celebration, being bright
yellow, banded with black, while others
are tinted with delicate shades Of green.
The food Of sea snakes consists entire
ly Of fishes. Frequently fishes armed
with long sharp spines fall victims to
their appetites. Among these are the
apogous and siluroids, which are fur
nished with spines three and five inches
long. But these do not embarrass the
voracious reptile in the least The vic
tim is first killed by the snakes poison,
after which it is swallowed head first.
The spines, naturally pointing toward
the tail Of the victim, and being relaxed
in death, are compressed against the
body of the fish as deglutition proceeds.
While in search Of their prey, sea
snakes sometimes venture short dis
lance up the mouth of large rivers
DR.. Weber records an instance where
2 he was fishing in one of the rivers on
the east coast of Sumatra. He was using
dragnet and had cornered number
Of medium sized fish. AS the net was
being brought in, two large sea snakes
suddenly made their appearance inside.
They showed no signs Of uneasiness at
capture, but were hurriedly gobbling
down the cornered fishes Nor did they
cease operations until the last fish had
disappeared, when the formidable crea-
lures made their escape. .-T..
Being air breathers, the sea snakes
lead similar existence to the whale.
as to how long they can remain under
water. Professor R. P. Whitfield Of the
American Museum of Natural History,
while dragging for corals, saw a large
sea snake lying motionless among some
| coral growths, some eight feet below
| the surface. It showed no signs of fear
! and remained in the same position for
half an hour. The venom of these rep
| tiles is even more deadly than that of
the cobra The fangs are very short,
| and consequently do not penetrate SO
deep as the fangs of most serpents, but
only scratch from them is necessary
to produce serious results Owing to
their great shyness accidents are very
rare. When cornered, they snap upon q
victim. AS the eyes are adapted only
for use in the water they strike blindly
when brought into the air. although
living for days when removed from
their native element. I#@5J. J.: ~
Many specimens hauled up in fisher.
mems nets have been sent to geological
gardens. The London gardens even
went SO far as to build q special tank
for their accommodation. But these
captured specimns either die en- route
or short time after. being placed II
captivity. Seeking dark corner Of
their tank, they refuse all food and al
timately starve to death. Around thu
numerous volcanic islands of the Malay
an archipelago these reptiles are par
ticularly numerous. Frequent eruption
occur among these islands, which ar,
hardly more than the body Of the vol
cano. ~ %l....... h
During the time of an eruption tn
few people residing near by take to tn
water in their. boats to escape the rail