Evening star., 1903-07-02
SNAKES Of" FAR EAST
REASON FOR 1zLoas oF LIFE
AMONG nAr5ef3oF INDIA
The KARAT More dangerous Than the
Cobra-Too Sluggish to
Get Away.

From the New York T1mes. 81
New Workers. may Justly pride themselves
on their splendid snake collection. but I'd
like to see few more Of the most deadly
ones of my own country included in the
exhibit" said an Anglo-Indian visitor to
the reptile house in the New York Zoo
logical Park. Somehow. the cobra has be-
come SO identified with India that persons
are apt to forget we have still other poison
Gus species worth mentioning. In fact. NO
sooner do you mention India than one OF
the first pictures awakened in the mind OF
the listener is that of the white-turbaned
snake charmer and hfs hooded cobra. We
have so many other poisonous species OF
snakes that of the 1000 deaths that an
nually occur throughout India owing to
snake poison. only two-fifths are due to the
bites of cobraS.
.'The Indian snake responsible fer more
deaths than any other kind is the shOrts
thick dusky, white-ringed KARAT, yet pos
sibly you never even have heard It's name.
The poison of the KARAT Is not more deadly
than that of the cobra: in fact, the contrary
IS the case. But the viper Is more plentiful
than the king of all snakes, and his habits
bring him into the bungalows of the
natives. where he lfves:} iaxy and sluggish.
too lethargic to get out of the way of i'm
pending danger. as a cobra will when given
the chance, and infinitely more willing to
strike than his famous brother snake.
KARAT Follows Man.
wherever there is human habitatior
there the KARAT is apt to follow. He likes
to climb to the roof beams of bungalows,
there to nestle under the warm thatch At
night he is apt to fall to the floor Or on to
your bed. and the first time he is irritated
he strikes deep, injecting poison of about
the same virulence as that of your Amer
too, lit, Hf tt,, H.
live in the Valley of the Doom, where this
snake particularly plentiful every pre-
caution must be taken to examine your
bungalow for danger. of this snake. He
likes to curl on the tops Of window SasheS.
or to nestle behind washstands or behind
trunks or boxes or barrels, and even inside
unused bureau drawers.
'1f a KARAT bites you and you are Of
strong constitution, you have about tho
same chances of escaping death as II a
rattlesnake had sunk its fangs into you.
But unless prompt surgical aid is at hand
and a victim is of the strongest health the
KARAT bite is as sure to be as fatal as 1t is
almost invariably in the cases of the lean.
puny natives.
Besides the KARAT we have the daboia
and the echis. a pair of vipers that an
nually work tremendous havoc among the
unfortunate nativeS-think what 1T means.
g, 900 deaths owing to snake venom. GO per-
sons a day. or one life In less than twenty
five minutes. and this continues year in
and year out. But I'll come back to that.
1 want to tell you about the cobra as you
would see her in her own jungle at home.
The Cobra at Home.
Death owing to a cobra bite is one Of
the most pleasant. or least revelting, forms
in which the grim visitor comes to man.
A victim feels no pain fTHe does not even
experience anxiety. 'iOneeby one his nerves
are paralyzed He does not feel this. He
will not believe it even if told. He never
felt better and more-comfortable in all his
life than he does at CHE yoment the poison
Is steadily soothing him into eternity In
time he begins to feel drpwsy. He wants
to sleep. He lies down md the most rest
full of slumbers sitssan his tired lids. and
he closes them never to wake up. and to
pass away as If the most expert surgeon
had prepared his rdeatheewiths an anaes-
thetic a,.f, s,,c,,,ta, z-;,,....-- -
Contrary to ,general, belief, the cobra Is
slow to attack. Given warning-unless 1t
be at breeding time, when'9 there is a nest
way of trouble in most cases. The reptile
seems no. more anxious to cause trouble
than she is to inyite 1t for herself A fact
that bears this out is the proportionateIy
small number Of whites who are bitten by
cobras. The reason is not that the white
persons wear s;oes that would offer much
of protection to the poison fangs of one
or these snakes-a fang would penetrate
leather as readily as it would bare skin II
the snake willed. But the shoes creak and
they sound as the white man comes shut
fling through the brush. and the snake has
warning to dart away. Natives. however
wear no shoes. They walk noiSeeSsly like
broad-day specters. A cobra has no warn
Ing of impending interference until sud
denly it sees dusky foot or ankle placed
within striking distance. Then the snake
strikes, holding fast to the bitten part for
half minute or more. so as to give the
poison a chance to circulate deep into the