The Pensacola journal., 1906-04-07
VICIOUS SNAKES
OF THE DEEP
WATERS
With Exception of the Cobra and
DuShmaSter of Africa, No Ser
pent on Land Kills So
Quickly.

Fearlessness is one Of the most strik-
Ing characteristics of sea snakes, and
1t adds greatly to the danger that is to
be apprehended from them, for it often
leads them to attack fishermen and
swimmers, and even to climb up the
anchor chains and through the hawse
holes and attack the crew, and as the
bite of every one of the fifty known
varieties is fatal there is great fear felt
Of them In the ocean spaces which they
inhabit.
These fifty varieties are all classified
under the general title Of thanato-
phidia. None of them is able to live
anywhere except in ocean water. Every
variety and subvariety is as poisonous
as the cobra or the bushmaster Of AZ
rica Indeed, with the exception Of
these two land varieties, there is no
snake on land that kills so swiftly and
30 terribly as do the sea snakes. Ow-
ing to their fatal weapons and their
ease and ceIerity in swimming there
are practically no enemies which de-
stroy enough Of them to diminish their
numbers.
Almost all the thanatophidia are
beautifully colored, even more gorgeous
than any Of the land snakes, with the
possible exception Of the coral, Grass
and carpet snakes. They are banded,
striped, speckled and blotched with
green, olive, yellow, blue and black and
present a most brilliant spectacle as
they are seen swimming below the sur
face Of the transparent blue Of the Indi-
an ocean. When they are swimming at
the ordinary rate of speed they seem
to undulate all over They do not wind
through the water as the eel does, but
their locomotion resembles that Of the
caterpillar except that 1t is far more
graceful, and as they move and twist
the colors play along their sides and
backs as they do on the dolphin. When
they dash at their prey at full speed
they move like an arrow, with their
heads and necks thrust straight before
them If they are swimming under the
surface, or, if they are darting along
the top Of the water, with their heads
elevated just enough to clear the
waves. When they are racing along
thus their sole means of Iocomotion is
their broad, paddle shaped tail, which
is peculiar to all the sea snakes and
forms the only striking difference be-
tween them and the ordinary land SER
pent. fse
This paddle is used like a steamers
screw and has immense power. Bent
sideways it will stop the snake imme-
diately as if the creature had anchored
suddenly. When doing or resting over
reefs, which are common in the coral
banks, snakes hold fast to the rocks OF
bottom with their broad tails and will
often sway in this way for hours in
calm weather.
Men may have recovered from the
bites Of these serpents, but there are
certainly none on record. Most of
their victims are Malay and other ma
tive fishermen, and shore dwellers and
physicians rarely get to see them.
Statistics are not kept in that part
of the world, so it is impossible to
ascertain how many are killed In this
way each year. Travellers say that
there Il hardly a fishing village which
has not its. tale of death to tell.
Scientists once held to the opinion
that the deadTiness Of the bite was due
not to the venom, like that Of the land
snakes, but to some property thar
caused blood poison, as does the bite
of many fishes which are not poisonous
in themselves. But this opinion was
changed after the medical men on
board the British warship Algerine had
made careful observations of a sailor
who had been bitten. They proved
that the snakes were directly poison
Gus and that they carry fangs charged
with venom exactly like the cobra.
The open ocean is the home Of the
sea snakes. They do not even ascend
the rivers. Their favOrite haunts are
the arms Of the sea, which separate
the islands Of China, India and the
south Pacific seas. They don't stay
near the shores, but remain at some
distance from the land. They are inca
pable of much movement on land, and
after wriggling about and biting saw
agely they will stay still till they die,
They are found in many parts oi
the world - In the Indian and Pacific
oceans, from Cape Of Good Hope and
Madagascar to the western shores Of
Panama and from New Zealand to
Japan, in the bay Of Bengal and the
sea around Nicobars, Molucca, TimoI
aud New Guinea.-New York Herald.
Eannoua Dwarf.