The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-11-06
CHA MONSTER
IS UNMASKED.
Discovery of the Poison Reservoir
That Has Puzzled Science.

A mystery long inexplicaole to science
has at last been solved.
II relates to the ella monster. so long
suspected, though not proven. TO be
poisonous. The name bestowed upon It,
helodrama suspectum, is an expression
Of this doubt. Now, for the first time. It
is known positively that the creature
is dangerous and that its bite may kill
I'VE have discovered the poison gland,
which hitherto has been declared not
to exist" said DR.. Leonhard Stejneger,
the famous reptilian expert Of the Smith
sonlan Institution, yesterday. 1T is To-
Gated in the lower jaw-just where we
would have least expected to find It,
inasmuch as the poison glands Of venom
Gus snakes are in the upper Jaw.
Furthermore. think that we are now
able to account for the contradictions OF
opinion among naturalists respecting the
danger 10 be apprehended from an at
tack by this creature.
"As TO whether or not suffering or
death may follow It's bite. II appears 20
depend upon the manner In which the
injury Is inflicted.
when a snake bites man The We
nom. located in glands at the base OF
the fangs in the upper Jaw. 8 Instantly
conveyed into the wound through grooves
IN the teeth provided for the purpose.
The teeth Of the ella monster have
grooves. which have been imagined TO
be designed 10 n similar end. but we
have reason now 10 believe that this
form Of structure has reference merely
10 strength. At all events. the venom
Of the ella monster cannot be conveyed
TO the wound made by its bite with much
quiclUness.
when the animal strikes the poison
flows out Of the gland through series
Of little holes between the teeth and the
lower lip. II IS In no sense squirted into
the wound. and II will not enter the lat
ter unless the creature succeeds In get
ting a good grip with its teeth and in
holding on for quite a little time.
you must remember also that liquids
do not flow upward as readily as down.
ward. This accounts for the fact that
some persons who have been bitten have
not suffered I'm consequence. while 9TH
ers have experienced very painful re-
suits. There seems TO he authentic evil
dence TO the effect that deaths have
followed assaults by the reptile. But
what have said will suffice in large mea-
sure 10 explain the contradictions OF
testimony on the subject
Some years ago Or. Weir Mitchell or
PHILADELPHIA. who is an authority on rep
tilo poisons made an elaborate series OF
experiments concerning the ella mon
ster. but was unable to fully establish
whether Il was poisonous or not.
This reptile lives under the ground, or
under vegetable debris. and is torpid OK
copt before daybreak and in tho even
incs. when n goes abroad and preys
upon slow-moving insects. II also eats
the eggs. and perhaps. the nestlings,
of ground-nesting birds.
Nobody knows whether or not the
ella monster laws eggs. Eggs have
been found i'm the bodies Of female
specimens but they may be Matched IN
the body Of the mother reptile. They
are about threo-Ouarters Of an inch long
and covered with smooth. white skin.
Tho Indians Of Mexico. by the way.
claim 10 have n cure for the poison or
the ella monster. which is efiicacious
II administered promptly"
The Smithsonian Institution has now
IN rs possession the skeleton or mon
strous water snake. which was dug up
recently IN AlaDdlna. II was lu4ly lW'H-
ty-dve feet long when alive. with body
circumference Of about two fect Pro-
badly 1000 years have elapsed since
10 died
Special interest attaches 20 the dis
coverv because fossil snakes are very
rarc-espccially from the geological hor-
lion Of the Eocene. 20 which epoch this
serpent BELONGED. Furthermore. the spe-
cimen I'm question represents genus
and species new 70 science. II was n
fresh water snake and harmless the
latter point being indicated by the abb
sence n certain appendices beneath tho
vertebrate which are characteristic OF
venomous serpents. Though ifs size was
so great. II was not larger than tho
modern anaconda.
Not FAR from his mighty snake was
discovered tho fossil remains Of a huge
frosh-w9tcr turtle five feet long. This
was not as large. however as some 81
the t0rtoisos OF past epochs. one Of
those. the Tcsiudo atlas. crawled over
the land in what IS now India and had
n shell nine feet in length. 4 marine
turtle. the Protostega Of equal size. IS
found fossil I'm Kansas.-Phladelphia