The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1898-09-06

surrounding water of these interesting
islands team with veritable sea serpents.
These strange creatures, which pass
their entire existence i'll the water, pos
sess deadly fangs They are a great
menace to the fishermen, who are CON
stantly exposed to their attacks.
Technically speaking, science has
named the group the Hydrophid8.
They differ from the. terrestrial snakes
only in the possession of fiat, paddle
like tail. These reptiles inhabit the
tropical seas Of the old world and occa-
sionally attain length of 8 feet. DIR.
Rudolph Weber, professor of drawing
in Princeton university, observed large
numbers of these creatures while on
steamer bound for Sumatra. DR.. Weber
was in charge of a scientific expedition
and naturally took special notice of
them. He says that when the vessel was
some 80 miles off the coast myriads of
sea snakes could be seen swimming
about as far as the eye could reach.
They kept upon the surface, and several
distinct species We're 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 undulation
caused by the movement of the water
When alarmed, the agile reptiles dive
like arrows, leaving a train of bubbles
behind them. Some species are extreme
ly brilliant in coloration, 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
/ i'll death, are compressed against the
body of the fish as deglutition proceeds
While in search of their prey, sea
snakes sometimes venture a short dis
lance up the mouth of large rivers.
DR.. Weber records an instance where
/ he was fishing in one of the rivers on
/ the east coast of Sumatra. He was using
a dragnet and had oornered a 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.
4 Being air breathers, the sea snakes
/ lead similar existence to the whale.
! Scientists have expressed much interest
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. 1t 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 a
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,
Many specimens hauled up in fisher
men S nets have been sent to geological
gardens The London gardens even
went so far as to build special tank
for their accommodation. But these
captured specimns either die en- route
or short time after being placed in
captivity. Seeking dark corner Of
their tank, they refuse all food and Ill
timately starve to death. Around the
numerous volcanic islands of the Malay
an archipelago these reptiles are par
ticularly numerous Frequent eruptions
occur among these islands, which are
hardly more than the body of the vol
cano
During the time of an eruption the
few people residing near by take to the
water in their boats to escape the rain
of ashes and mud.
1t is generally a case of jumping
from the frying pan into the fire, how
ever. At such times the sea becomes
uncomfortably warm from its close
proximity to the burning mountain,
and the sea snakes swim wildly about
for escape They endeavor to climb
over the gunwales Of the refugees
boats, while they Irvine their bodies in
great masses about the forward chains.
When about to lay their eggs, these
serpents approach the shore. The eggs
are laid above high water mark and
left to hatch by the heat of the sun.
Many creatures prey upon the young
reptiles Among their enemies are
sharks and other large fishes while the
adults, in spite of their death dealing
fangs, fall victims to sea eagles and
large gulls. After the great typhoons,
which are common in the Philippines
and their vicinity, many of these crea-
/ lures may be found along the beach,
where they have been cast up during
the storm and killed by the violent
| pounding of the waves New York
1 Times