Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-03-30
NO. 90.

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 most brilliant spectacle as
they are seen swimming below the sur
face of the transparent blue Of the In
dian ocean. When they are swimming
at the ordinary rate Of speed they seem
to undu,ate 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 IL they are swimming under the
surface, or, II 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 locomotion 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
This paddle Is used like a steamers
screw and has immense power. Bent
sideways 1t will stop the snake imme-
diately as II the creature had anchored
suddenly. When doing or resting over
reefs which are common In the coral
banks snakes hold fast to the rocks or
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 I'm that part OF
the world, so It is impossible to ascer-
tain how many are killed In this way
each year. Travellers say that there Is
hardly fishing village which has not
its tale of death to tell.
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 are not poisonous
In themselves. But this opinion was
changed after the medical men on
board the British warsh!p Algerine had
made careful observations Of sailor
who had been bitten. They proved
that the snakes were directly poisonous
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 fayorite 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 incapable -of--
much movement on land, and after
wriggling about and biting savagely
they will stay still till they die. They
are found in many parts Of the world
i'm the Indian and Pacific oceans.
from Cape of Good Hope and NADIA
gascar to the western shores Of Pana-
ma and from New Zealand to japan,
in the bay of Bengal and the sea
around Nicobars, Molucca, Timor and
New Guinea.-New York Herald.