Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-09-20
POISONOUS SNAKES.
Charnc ristfcS of Reptiles witt
Bites That Kill.

Bites That Kill.
Among the big glass cages and the
forest of palms in the Geological park
reptile house, visitors were listening to
a snake mans impromptu lecture on
the deadliness of the various snake
poisons. In front of the huge cage Of
the cobra the party halted. Within,
tall knotted around the tip Of the cage
tree, body resting neatly coiled on the
palm leaf bungalow and head resting
on the floor, lay Naigina, brownish
gray, the splendid fourteen-foot speci-
men, said to be the finest Of her kind
in captivity.
Looks Innocent.
Doesn't look so wicked" suggested
one of the men. "Take the rattlers
over in the corner, and whether you
knew they were rattlers or not you
could see the poison in their eyes, but
this chap"
That's one Of the characteristics OF
the Species" interrupted the snake
man. Harmless to look at. Harmless
as far as pain goes, even In death, but
there never was a surer death than
that following the bite Of the cobra.
1t is the quantity Of the poison emitted
from so large q snake which makes
the attack so fatal. Likewise the meth
cd of injecting the venom. The fangs
of the cobra are short. In the case of
the rattler and the other vipers the
fangs are long. A quick slash buries
the poison at a depth where 1t Is sure
to enter the blood. But all the cobras
have short fangs, and to inject the
venom properly they hold on tight, like
the grip Of bulldog, giving the poison
time to be absorbed in the blood.
Insures Easy Death.
There Is no easier death than that
due to a cobra bite. The poison con-
tains 95 per cent. of nerve attacking
and 5 per cent. Of blood destroying VEN
ON. The victim, therefore, is paralyzed
by inches, loses sensibility and think
ing that he is on the road to recovery
until the last. AS the end comes he
sinks into sleep so gently and passes or
so painlessly that frequently, with ply
sicians sitting by the bedside, it is i'm
possible to say just when life quits the
body.
Unlike most poisonous snakes, the
cobra laws eggs, which are hatched into
its young. AS a rule, it Is only the
harmless snake that lays eggs-from
sixty to eighty at time-while, ac-
cording to the wise provision Of nature,
the young Of the venomous reptiles are
born as in the case Of warm-blooded
animals, in broods numbering only six
or eight.
"DiamOnd Backs"
"The back rattlesnake, for
instance, brings it's young to earth
alive. The American rattler, in scale
of poisons numbers only about third,
the fer-delance Of the West Indies, as
we'll as the cobra, ranking before him.
The fangs Of the rattler are long and
sharp as the bones of a shad. Deep
and quick they penetrate the victims
body, the senation being as slight as
the prick Of a needle until the poison
begins to take effect, which Is within
five minutes. Contrary to the cobra s
bite, the sting of a rattler entails tre-
mendous suffering. Analysed, the ven-
ON contains 95 per cent. of blood-de-
stroying and per cent. Of nerve-de-
stroying poison-directly opposite to
that of a cobra. The consequence is
that the victim dies with all the an
guish and pain Of full case of blood
poisoning. all the suffering Of a pro-
tracted illness being crowded into the
space Of a few hours.
Our Noble Rather.
"Of all snakes none is at bottom
more noble reptile than that peculiar
to our own country. Never yet has
rattler struck before giving warning.
The signal, as is we'll known, is emit
ted from the rattles at the end Of the
snake. In sound it resembles the far
away rattle Of a moving machine In
country meadow or the kissing of the
steam as it escapes from an ordinary
radiator.
"Among the dangerous snakes OF our
own south, perhaps not another can
come up to the cotton-mouth mocca-
sin. He is one of the few poisonous wa
ter snakes in existence. But his bite Is
almost as fatal as that Of the rattler
himself. In the swamps and cane
brakes Of North and South Carolina
the moccasin is at home. Here he lies
awaiting anything that comes along In
the fish line from frogs to minnows.
Handling Young Snakes.
I'm the reptile house, when we have
a brood of young rattlers or baby moe
casins. every possible care is taken IN
their handling. The youngsters re-
quire more care than their older kind.
It is necessary to change their water
and to feed them at shorter in
tervals. In a large glass box showing
plainly from all sides where the little
ones are located the babies are kept.
The snake man detailed to handle them
is provided with long forceps. After
opening the door with care, it is neces-
sary to remove some of the brood near
the water or the food trough to be
cleaned. One or two of the reptiles are
picked up between the thin forelegs OF
the instrument and thrown into q heap
in the farther corner of the cage. 1t is
amusing to watch their wrath at haV-
ing been disturbed. The little ones coil
into a spiral, their heads are extended
and with the tiny tail. as vet unpOS-