The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-04-26

a diamond back rattIesnake bit hun
ter who was out quail shooting in COM
pany with surgeon. Despite the
prompt medical assistance of the sur
geon the man died within the hour
One of the extraordinary things about
a poisonous snake is that it is as dead
ly as if full grown the instant it comes
into the world. A hundred of instances
showing the deadlness of the bites of
baby snakes happened in amuseum in
this city. One night brood of cotton
mouth moccasins appeared unexpected
ly in a cage adjoining that Of an
eleven-foot anaconda. The partition
between the cages of the old moccasins
and the anaconda was sufficiently close
to prevent the viper from getting at the
great constructing neighbor But for
the baby snakes the partition was not
close enough. During the night, in some
way, one of the little fellows managed
to wriggle into the cage of the anacon
Ola. Next morning the eleven-foot chap
lay lifeless, while the baby moccasin,
not half as many inches long, lay
stretched triumphantly across the big.
body
In the handling of young vipers,
therefore, just as much care is used
as in the handling of the full-grown
snake. Long forceps are employed
when it becomes necessary to transfer
the animals from one case to another,
may in the lips of these the youngsters
may struggle and try to bite without
danger of injury to man.
The amount of time and the trouble
which scientists have taken to discover
an antidote for snakebites can be COM
pared only to the efforts in discovering
a remedy against the most dread of all
human diseases-tuberculo In our
own northern countries the danger to
humanity from snakebites is practi-
cally insignificant. But In India, ac-
cording to statistics no less than 5000
persons are yearly killed owing to the
bite of the deadly king cobra alone.
America and in sections of Africa the
death rate owing to snakebites is al
most unbelievable.
Governments have tried in vain to ex-
terminate the serpents, and in one
case, in that of one of the West In
dies, the mongoose "Rikki- Tiki Tavi,"
was imported to fight the deadly fer
defiance, which was fast becoming a
danger in wood and field that prom
ised serious trouble.
"Rikkl-Tikl1i' misbehaved himself in
this case however, He promptly ex-
terminated the snake pest, fighting the
reptile to the death whenever a fiat,
poisonous head showed. But when he
had done for the snakes chickens be-
came his speciality, and the mongoose
is about as great a nuisance as the
snake was.
Chief among the enemies Of the
snakes are the reptiles themselves
Is general among the
creatures, the smaller snake serving as
food to the larger one. But chief of all
snakes that hunt its own kind for the
pleasure of slaughter is the long, slen- |
der king snake, a constructor by habit |
and flash in his movements Among
all retpiles, the king snake alone may |
truly be said to be the friend of man. |
He is found throughout the whole |
South where the RATHER and moccasin
abound, summing himself and preying /
FOR slaughter. Picked up by human |
hand, the reptile seems pleased with |
the touch. He makes no effort to es-
APE, but twlnes about his captor's arm
and makes himself comfortable.
To the rattlesnake and to every other
dangerous snake, large or small, the
King snake is a terror. The poison of
'attIer has no more effect on him
han so much moonshine. Instinctively
he RATHER knows his match, and at
light of a king snake tries to escape, if
possible. In fight, the king snake relies
wholly upon his incredible speed. If the
movements of an ordinary snake seem
luick to the human ey+, the move
nents of a king snake would seem in
In a twinkle the long Iank
elbow has wound himself about the
hroat of an antagonist, and his
inewy coils closing about the others
hroat, chokes the wind out of him.
OF all kind provisions of nature, per-
laps the manner In which snakes are
brought into the world is the most re-
narkable. AS a rule all harmless snakes
re Matched from eggs arriving in
patches Of from thirty to eighty. The
poisonous snakes, on the other hand,
re born in litters of from seven to
even in number. There are exceptions
o the rule, of course, but they are few
nd unimportant for, though the dead
Y king cobra lays her eggs to be
latched by the sun, they are few in
lumber. unlike the colonies deposited
~ the harmless snakes.-From the
Jew York Times.