Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1906-03-11
VICIOUS SEA SNAKES IN XIX
THERE ARE FIFTY VARIETIES, ALL OF
THEM VENoMoUS.

on Land kills So Quickly md Ter
ribiy as 10 Thone of the Ocean.
Fearlessness is one of the most strik-
Ing characteristics of sen snakes, and
1t adds greatly to the danger that is to
De apprehended from them, fog it often
leads them to attack fishermen and
swimmers, and even to climb lip 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-
phldia. None of them Is able to live
anywhere except in ocean water Every
variety and subyariety Is as poisonous
as the cobra or the bushmaster of Az
RIGA. Indeed, With the exception of
these two land varieties, there Is no
snake on land that Kills SO swiftly and
so terribly as do the sea snakes. Ow.
ing to their fatal weapons and their
ease and celebrity In swimming there
are practically no enemies which de-
stroy enough Of them to diminish their
numbers.
Almost all the thanatophldia 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 most brilliant spectacle rs
they are seen swimming below the sur
face Of the transparent blue Of the Indi-
an ocean. When they are swimming Mt
the ordinary rate Of speed they seem
to undulate all over. They do not wind
through the water US 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 ut their prey ut full speed
tney move Ike an arrow, with their
heaus and heoEs thrust straight before
them IL they are swimming under the
surface, or, If they are darling along
the top of the water. With their heads
~ e'Su JuSI ciiouSu 10 clcHf 1le
waves. When they are racing along
thus their sole means of ocomotion is
their broad,. paddle shipped tail, which
is peculiar 10 all the sea snakes and
forms the only striking difference be-
tween them and the ordinary land ser
pent.
This paddle Is used like steumer's
screw and has immense power. Bent
Sideways 1t Will stop the snake imme-
.diately US If the creature had apchored
suddenly. When doing orresting over
reefs. Which are common IN the coral
banks, snakes hold fnst to The rocks or
bottom With their broad tails and will
often swny in this way for hours in
calm weather
Men mny 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 10 see them
Statistics are not Kept lii that purt
of the world, SO 1t is Impossible to
ascertain how many are Killed In this
way. each year. Travellers say that
there is hardly fishing village which
has not its tale or death to tell.
r Scientists once held to the opinion
that the deadliness of the. bite was due
not to the venom, like that of, the land
snakes, but to some property that
caused blood poison. as does the bite
OF many fishes which ure not poisonous
in themselves But this opinion was
changed after the medical men on
board. the British warship Algerine had
made careful observations Of sailor
who had been bitten. They proved
that the snakes were directly poison
Gus and TINT they carry fangs charged
with venom exactly like the cobra.
The open ocean is the home of the
sen 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 say.
agely they will stay still till they die.
They are found In many parts of
the world - In the Indlan 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, Ti1noI
and New Guinea New York Herald