The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-07-06
MOST DEADLY OF ALL SNAKES.
Cobra Has Record of Over Twenty
 Thousand Victims Year.

From the New York Tribune.
 The India cobra, or cobra di capello tNaja tripudians). is the most deadly of all snakes. It inhabits India and Ceylon, Bprmah the Andamaus, Southern China, Indo-Chna and the Malay peninsula and archipelago In the Himalayas it's range extends to an altitude of 5000 feet To the west 1t ranges to Afghanistan. north east Persia and South Turkestan, as far a., the east cost of the Caspian sea.
 Cobras are most active at night They feed on small animals, birds eggs, frogs, fish or insects They attack hen roosts and swallow the eggs whole They drink great deal of water although they can live for weeks or even months. in captivity, without touching food or water. Cobras can climb, and occasionally as- cend trees in search of food.
 As rule they are not aggressive, and, unless interfered with or irritated they crawl along the ground with neck un- dilated, looking like some harmless snake; but the moment they are disturbed they assume menacing attitude The poison of a cobra when thoroughly inoculated by fresh and vigorous specimen. is quickly fatal Paralysis of the nerve cen ter takes place and death follows rapid 1y. sometimes in a few minutes. especial 1y when the fangs. having penetrated vein, inoculate the poson immediately into the venous circulation The venom is harmless. however, i. taken internally nor Is 1t fatal when brought in contact with a mucous surface. such as the in- terior of the stomach or the eye.
 Indian tradition relates that Ruddha provided the cobra with "spectacles" to enable 1t to ward of the attacks of it's old enemy the Brahminnv kite. These "spectaces'' seem to be restricted to the Indian species: certainly they do not oc- cur on either of the African cobras.
 When searching for prey the cobra glides about easily and quietly, but once ex- cited he raises his head and large part of his body straight in the air. while the remainder is gathered beneath in coil as a kind of support. His next warlike movement is to spread out his upper ribs laterally. extending six or more | inches downward from the head thus converting his neck into thin iatten- ed. oval disk four or five inches broad" ]" This Is the hood" which is found in the Indian, and. in a smaller degree. on the North African cobra. but is entirely want ing in the form found in South Africa Above the hood protrudes the head. ex- pectant and held horizontally, facing the foe.
 Probably the average annual number of the cobra's victims |, Indian alone. which is placed at about [ enty thousand. would be very much greiHri 1t did not possess such nervous tey y 1erament, which often l leads the snake 5 strike at moving object long befc 1t is near enough to reach the ohject effectually. thus vast ing a large amount of venom
 l When a cobra strikes he hisses audi ] bly, and immediately reassumes his erect I position and thus he continues to act | as long as danger menaces of a safe ave nue of escape does not present itself. The l turning from left to right, as above men toned constitutes the so-called cobra dancing which many have attributed to the influence of music. but which com bined with the appearance of faintness and death which these snakes some times assume. is properly referahle to the natural tactics of defense and attack, while the "fainting" is simply tempor-
 arily weakened condition due to its ex-
 tremeiy nervous and excitable disposi- | tion