The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1900-11-07
TALES OF PLUCK
and ADVENTURE.

Daring Catcher.
T n British India no less than sixty
people die daily from snabe-bite,
a total of twenty-five thousand
year. Little wonder that the Gov
ernment pays bounty for the heads
of venomous snakes. or that It readily
agreed. few years ago, to assist Pro-
fessor Calmette in his experiments in
making from the venom of serpents
an antitoXic serum which should serve
as an antidote TO snake poisoning.
The work of Professor Calmette was
done at the Pasteur Institute. The
venom which he used was collected
FOR him at Delhi from the fangs of
living snakcs-about hundred week
and was forwarded in weekly install
ments to Paris.
The man employed to catch these
creatures and extract their venom was
low-bred Mohammedan of the dis
trict named kullan, n snake-catchcr
by profession. His father and grand
father before him had followed the
same trade. and had both finally died
of snake-bitc. An interesting account
of Kullan and his methods has re-
Gently been published.
His only weapon in snake hunting
was a stick Two feet long, with an iron
hook at the end. He went lightly
clad and barefooted. He used his
naked hand to catch the snakes by
the tail or back Of the neck, after jerk
ing them from their hiding places with
his hook.
OF the -four kinds Of poisonous snakes
with which he had to dcal-the cobra,
the kerait and two kinds of viper-he
used most caution with one of the
vipers, because IL Is swift in its NOV y
ments and irritable in temper. He
feared the cobra least. because 1t is
less rapid and it net aggressive. He
would allow cobra to strike directly
at his hand. sure he could whip it
away just before the fangs could
touch, but he did not risk such liber-
ties with the lightning-like little viper.
Kullan never pretended to any magic
or peculiar influence over serpents. He
was in the catching business and was
not Snowman. Nevertheless, he oc-
caslonally played startling tricks to
amuse his friends.
"On one occasion he made the on
lockers blood curdle," writes an En-
glishman who was present, "by taking
up n large black cobra by the neck
and placing its head toward his open
mouth. The inclination of these snakes
is TO crawl quietly out of sight In the
first hole they can find, and so the
reptile began to crawl into his mouth.
"Kullan waited his opportunity, and
then suddenly closed his teeth firmly
on the seIpent's head. The snake, it
is needless to say, violently resented
the action; but 1t was powerless for
harm, and could only show its indig-
nation by desperate wriggling of its
body, while the man maintained firm
grip of its head with his teeth, at the
same time letting both hands drop
to his side. After few seconds he
seized the snake firmly by the neck
and released its head"
When he did not purposely tease his
cobras, he could handle them freely
without annoyance on their part; in
deed, they seemed to like it, for his
touch was gentle and he talked to
them endearingly in Hindustani. strok-
ing and petting them as il they had
been harmless worms.
With an angry cobra he dealt other
wise. He would hold up and shake
a rag in his left hand. On this the
infuriated reptile would rivet its gaze.
With his right hand, from behind, the
man would then suddenly seize II
round the neck about three inches be-
low the head, and an assistant would
lay hold of the tail to prevent 1t from
winding round Kullans arm.
His right hand would then slide for
ward till he had fastened his fingers
round the neck just behind the Jaw.
Then he would insert the rim of a
watch-glass between the jaws, slight
ly relax his grip,and the serpent would
viclously close its jaws on the watch.
| glass, and in doing so would squirt
the whole of its venom through the
tiny holes Of its fangs into the concav.
ity of the glass.
There it dried into flakes, which
were afterward reduced to yellow pow.
der and sent to Professor Calmette In
Paris.-Youth's Companion
| Australian Adventure.
Mrs. Rowan, in her book, "a Flower
Hunter in Queensland and New Zea'
land, describes an adventure which te
fell her on the Bloomfield River in
Northern Queensland. She had been
put on shore near the mouth OF the
river, at poor and lonely hut.
l was getting so hungry that l de