The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-04

I with a certain amount Of coto7ous venom
! The poison Of the vipers is mainly com
posed Of a cOtorous venom. with more or
! less admixture Of the cobra constituent
! The cobra and rattlesnake are selected as
/ typical spe linens OF the e,apine and viper
/ families in regard TO their poison. as the
cobra contains least admiXture OF me
! viper or cotorous venom. aud vice versa
/ The effect Of these two poisons is distinct
/ ly different the cobra venom Affecting the
/ entire system. reaching :he nervous OF
! motor centres with extreme rapidity, ana
! leaving only a slight scar 70 mark the
4 wound. while the viper poison acts chiefly
! by causing modification Of the part bit
/ ten. which may spread with more or less
! raridity over the entire body, or may only
1 result in local affection
The Power of Mesmerism.
Snake venom. in its most virulent form,
/ is only modified saliva. doubtless convert
/ ed by nature into a specific poison, as
much for the purpose Of enabling the an
! imaI TO procure food as for weapon of
defence The fact that the blood Of the
I reptile is impregnated with an antidote
| which enables its to safely devour It's
! poisoned prey seems to render this suppo-
! sition probable. Another remarkable GIT
/ which nature seems to have bestowed
upon certain varieties of snakes is the
power Of fascinating or mesmerizing their
victims. Although this may appear
I rather fanciful idea some very distln-
guished scientists of the present day are
. inclined 20 admit that there Is some
truth in IT, and there are cases upon rec
ord which can scarcely be explained in any
other way
The African traveller Paul Du Chaillu,
| relates a story of an occurrence when
came under his observation in equatorial
( Africa He was a fever conyalescent at
! the time and lay upon his sick couch IN
der the shadow Of a tree. Gazing up into
! the branches with the idle but eXquisitely
refined senses of a convalescent, he dis
cerned a hideous black snake lying in
/ coil upon one Of the branches, and at
/ little distance a bird was perched, i'm
movable. gazing into the beady eye Of the
/ loathsome reptile. The snake and his in
tended victim remained thus for consid-
| cradle period. to the utter wonder Of Du
Chaillu. who. with agonizing expectation,
was waiting for the bird to fly. He found
I himself too weak 10 utter a cry OF warn
ing and before his horror-stricken eyes
the serpent monster leisurely despatched
| the unfortunate little bird. Whether this
was an instance of fright upon the part Of
| the bird or the faculty Of mesmerism in
]
cases have been reported in this country
upon reliable evidence. and the question
will probably always remain an enigma,
! as science has procured no means OF solv-
z ing such problems
remarkable feature Of the greater part
! Of uoisonous snakes in this country by
means Of which they are readily distin-
I guished from the non-poisonous varieties,
/ is a deep pit or hole found In the rattle
l snakes and their nearest relations on the
side Of the face Between the nostrii and
eve. This feature has led to the sub-classi-
fcstion Of the rattlesnakes, moccasins,
copperheads etc. into pit vipers. The
pit or cavity. sinks deep into the
naxillary bone. and represents blind
sac lined with epidermis. which. not being
connected with any Of the other cavities
CT organs IN the head by any inside open
ing or canal forms another interesting
puzzle FOR scientists
When the earlier biologists came to ex-
anime this peculiar structure they, OF
course. tried to identify it with other or
cans already known some limiting at the
closed uostrils OF the fishes, while others
pointed out its similarity, In position at
least. 10 the tear sacs" OF the deer. 1t
was urged. also, that it might have some
/ connection with the poison apparatus. 1t
/ ing these explanations that they were not
the true solution of the question, and so
most authors have been satisfied with
reference to the pits as mysterious"
The existence Of a sixth sense" how
ever. has lately been satisfactorily proved
in some animals as the lateral line In
fishes. and while in the case Of the pit
viper. the purpose Of such an organ has
not been determined st is now the general
opinion among scientists that the pit or
cavity indicates its presence. as in nature
there Is nothing in vain. One OF the most
dangerous Of these pit vipers is the water
moccasiu. OF which It has been said that
il is one Of those creatures, naturally OF
a savage disposition. that become tame and
even amiable in captivity. That it is nat
urally savage may be gathered from the
fact that a specimen recently captured and
confined strikes at everything that is put
into its cage. sometimes even. in the ex
cess Of its rage, biting itself. which, how
ever has not the slightest IN effect upon
it's health. When an attempt was made
10 place il in a favorable position for TAX
ing its photograph the reptile struck at
the keepers rod again and again, and 1t
I was found necessary to desist from further
Efforts for fear the snake would injufe its
mouth in its fury The water moccasin.
which is an inhabtant Of the Southeastern
/ states. feeds principally on fishes. II must
not be COMPOUNDED with the true moccasin,
an innocuous snake which il somewhat
I resembles. and whose only bad trait is
propensity to devour its mate. should both
/ happen 10 be imprisoned together in the
same cage In fact. all seTpenis are can
nibals. and cases are known where two
; have commenced to deYOur each other
starting from opposite ends and, when
meeting in the centre. still continuing the
meal. with the inevitable result, however,
| that one Of the eaters was devoured by the
other
The Copperhead Species.
The only member Of the pub viper tribe
l which is found in this section OF the coun-
I try is the copperhead. some Of the most
notable specimens. now in the National
Museum having been obtained In the i'm
mediate vicinity sf Washington One was
] found in the grounds Of the Government
/ Hospital for the Insane Which exhibits
| very marked difference In color from any
so far obtained. The colors OF the cop
4 perhead. however, are known to vary &C
! cording to lis age and the locality which
IL inhahi,s. il is said 10 be the hanIsomest
Of snakes
As nature exhibits no strict line Of de-
I narration between any Of her creations.
but rather merges the different species
/ into each other through informed ATE types,
SO the distinction between the poisonous
1 and non poisonous snakes c-nIot be specii-
cally stated. There are numbers OF snakes
whose bite may prove dangerous, and even
fatal 10 man. but which nevertheless do
not possess any poison apparatus, and there
are others who possess the poison appara-
Ha1 10 hs