The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-08-04
THE COBRA'S FANGS.
.,ooF THAT THEY ARE NOT IN
THEMSELVES POI ONoUs.

=
,,, tho Reptile strikes and tho Effect
,,,e ls;nw-Ac' ION Is Magnificent and
sin as a Lightning FlaSh-Attack Is
rsraiIy Fatal
No,v the so-called poisonous fangs
moi in themselves poisonous that
o. ,bry are not coated with poison;
l,reycn bavethey a capillary tube run
D,,.5 inside along their lengths. through
ii,b The cobra iljccts the poison in.
,rp wound. If that were the case.
~. r,bfl could not sniZe its food with
injecting il with the poison The
sl fsct is there iH Il fine tube running
,.on The base Of each of the two fangs
'..tvYrd under the eye to an almond.
.bancd gland or bag, which contains
n, poisou. This gland is constantly
..retina the poison. with small SUP.
IL fnr immediate use. Hence, if The
,abe connecting tlc gland to the base
" tbp fang were kept oTcn. tho poison
,rogld be constantly running out into
III. mouth of the cobra. and thus vast
al 10 no purpose. 70 prevent this
.;rctlgr muscle bands the tube some.
rrrrp about the middle But when
,br cobra strikes sts prey, this muscle
/ relaxed. and another one SquccZcS
be poison bag, aud thus injocts the
poison.
Rnt let MS describe the whole pro
cass of striking, and soc what the
cobra does when he means mischief.
Ne cyuands his head and rcarS at
Ioast third of his length in the air.
with fine resi- Of the body coilcd in the
form Of a spiral This spiral form
gives him sufficient anchorage to rear
his bndy by sheer muscular effect and
also the necessary leverage in dealing
tbc blow. His cvas glistcn like obcl-
jsks. his forked tongue darts in and
ont with a low. kissing sound. Sud
dcnly he throws back his head in low
cprve. and as swiftly darts forward
IN his victim. parsly as n plunge and
ngrtly as a spring, unfolding portion
of his coil to increase his range. 1t
ooks as if the cobra sprang into the
air but. as a matter of fact. his belly
usually touches the ground mt the mo-
. mpnt of striking, in order to afford
Fl nm SilIItlt4ll rev w ul0
4 faucs firmly in the body of the victim.
The action is magnificent. and yet
swift MS a lightning flash. The tongue
is withdrawn. the mouth wide open.
Tile fangs fall on the victim an
stab, the lower jaw closing in beneath
rs a bite. If the blow has been fair
and square. two small punctureS are
made in the flesh of the victim by the
two rangs; otherwise, if the blow has
been ore-sided, there will be only one
puncturc.
Now. the mere striking of the blow
is not enough. and if the cobra were
simultaneously to withdraw the fangs
after dealing the blow. his prey would
suffer no worse effect than the pain
of those needle-lile punctures. 1t is
Il still necessary TO iHiect the poison. In
certain cases, indeed, by a strong mus
GUAR action the poison has been in
ectcd almost simultaneously with the
blow; nay. in case where the cobra
was mordnatcly reused to fury. the
poison was shot out by a strong mus
cular effort while the cobra was still
IN the act Of plunging in this case
4 the wOuld-he victim. who was really
out Of range, escaped the blow, hut
had the poison squirted ali over him.
y Still. however. in most cases the poison
Is injected after the blow though il he
q but half second after. That half n
4 second has saved many a life-for in
stance, where the blow. not being
struck full in the body. but only on
he edge Of it, the cobra slipped off
the body by the mere impetus Of the
blow, causing the fangs to scratch
along the skin in two thin lines.
Assuming, however, that the blow
has been struck full on the body or the
Tictim, the cobra Immediately after the
blow wriggles his head either to the
right or to the left. This act of turn
Ing helps to squeeze the poison gland
situated on that side to which the
cobra has turned. and thus to inject
The poison over the puncture on that
side After this discharge the cobra
usually drops off the limb in an inert
mass as if considerably. though temp
orarily, weakened by the loss of the
precious fluid. There may, of course
De sufficient secretion still left in the
bag to give a second bite Immediately
Ritter, but in that case the wound may
pot necessarily he fatal.