The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1906-07-06
VICIOUS SEA SNAKES
THERE ARE FIFTY VARIETIES. ALL or
THEM vENoMous.

with the Exception OF tho Cobra ana
B~ushmaster OF AfricS, No Bcrpent
on Land Kills SO Quickly and Ter
ribIy as DO Those OF the Ocean.
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 1t often
leads them to attack fishermen and
swimmers, and even TO climb up the
anchor chains and through the hawse
holes and attack tho crew, and as the
bite Of every one Of the fifty known
varieties is fatal there IS great fear felt
of them In tho ocean spaces which they
inhabit.
These fifty varieties are all classified
under tho general title Of thanato-
phidia. None of them 10 able to live
anywhere except in ocean water. Every
variety and subvariety is as poisonous
as h cobra or tho bushmaster Of AT.
RIGA. Indeed, with the exception Of
these two land varieties, there Is no
snake on land that kills so swiftly and
so terribly az do tho sea snakes. Ow-
Ing to their fatal weapons and their
ease and CELEBRITY In swimming there
are practically no enemies witch de-
stroy enough Of them to diminish &heir
numbers. 1,
Almost all the th~anatophidia>- are
beautifully colored, even more gorgeous
than any OF the land snakes, with the
possible exception Of tho coral, Grass
and carpet snakes. They are banded,
striped, speckled and blotched with
green, olive, yellow, blue and black and
present q most brilliant spectacle MS
they are seen swimming belowffhe sur
face of the Transparent blue of,the Indi-
an ocean. When they are swimming at
tho ordinary rate Of speed they eeem
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 IL far moro
graceful, and 10 they move and twist
IN colors play along their sides and
backs AZ they do on tho dolphin. When
they dash at their prey ct full speed
ehey move like an arrow, with theiy
heads and necks thrust straight before
them II they are swimming under Tie
surface, Or, IL they are darling along
the top Of the water, with their heads
elevated just enough to clear the
waves. When they arc racing along
thus their sole means Of locomotion La
their broad. paddle shaped tail, which
Is peculiar to all tho sea snakes and
forms the only striking difference be-
tween them and the ordinary land SER
pent.
This paddle is used like a steamers
screw and has Immense power. Bent
oideways 1t will stop the snako imme-
diately as II Q creature had anchored
suddenly. VII Iozing or resting oven
reefs, which are \ >mon In the coral
banks, snakes hold Il. to the rocks or
bottom with their broau cail0 and will
often sway In this way for hours ia
calm weather.
Ne may have recovered from tho
hitos OF these serpents, but there are
certainly mono en- record. Most OF
their victims are Malay and other ma
dive fishermen, and shore dwellors and
physicians rarely get to geo them.
Statistics r not kept In that part
OF the world, 80 1t 10 impossible to
ascertain how many are killed in this
way each yoar. Travellers say that
there 10 hardly O Aahlng village which
has not It's tale OF death to tell.
Scientists once held to the opinion
b a the deadllness of tho 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 are not poisonous
in themselves. But this opinion was
changed after the medical men on
board the British warshlp Algerine had
made careful observations OF q sailor
who had been bitten. They proved
that the snakes were directly poison
u 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 arLls OF tho sea, which separate
the islands Of China, India and tho
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 of
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, Timor
and New Guinea.-New York Herald.
nAuhY~ VrY