Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1906-05-31

had n5 yfa,.t fasa.d either for cossss
or I1indoo.s and we soon hunted Git
the CORA and dispatched i..:.l forth
with.
Even tho ve,lomous cobra can u.
mails II p.. of, Mi.l1s, IL one Is wise,
his fanss and poison glands, and, as
for the mongoosc. he is oac of the most
compan:onablc OF wild beasts. There
is l..ora than o..e variety OF this animal,
and they vary iii size according; to their
breed and geographical distribution.
One of the most interesting pets had
OF this kind WAS a molyoosa that was
sent me from the sultan OF I.eiei. an
Arabian district some thirty miles from
our outpost Oh Alden, when was sta
toned in that very su.try locality.
thought this Arabian variety was small
CT than those had seen lin India.
Some people doubt If there can be
any recovery from the full bite of
grown COBRA The poisonous bored
fan.s of this creature work on IL kind
OF hinge and arc folded back OH the
roof OF the mouth when the animal is
IN rapose, but when the cobra prepares
to strike the mere mechanism of tho
upper jaw In opening the mouth raises
these folded fungs. Ii the fungs then
hit the victim straight fancy recovery
must be very rare. But there is not III
ways full complement of poison In
tho glands ut the root of the fangs, ana
every successive strike makes tie
quantity less for the time being. Again,
the dress may catch up the greater por-
ton of the virus before the Skin Is
reached, and lastly the fanss may not
strike straight. and then they are cas-
lily doubled UP OH account of the joint
spoken of, so that in such instances the
front or outer portion CT the fangs may
Craze the skin With perhaps no poison
at all.
remember Il strange thing happen
ing once regarding the bite of IL snake.
In certain part of Balucllistan de-
tachmcnt was in search of IL new site
for temporary cantonmcEt in place
of the undesirable one we then had,
ThGll Chotiali. On our first camping
ground we were seated at dinner in
side the mess tent, when sudden cry
was raised that one of the camp follow
crs had been bitten by snake almost
Immediately outside the tent. The
medical officer of the detachment, With
the knife he was at the time holding in
his hand, rushed out at once. The
wound was plain enough on the mans
bare leg.
He had been, native fashion, squat
ting on the ground. and had been bit
ten on the outside tlcshy portion of the
leg Il few inches above the ankle. The
major at once made slash on each
side above and below the wound and
cut a V shaped fid out Of the poor
mans leg within II few seconds of the
cry being raised. AS we had only gone
some dozen miles away from our pre-
vious headquarters and as the dctach-
mcnt was going OH still farther the
man was sent i'll next morning i'll a
dhoolie to the hospital, where he lay
very III for some time, but eventually
recovered to a certain degree AS it
was nighttime and the other natives
got flurricl the snake unfortunately cs-
capped III the dark, SO have always
wondered whether 1t was cobra and
il the prompt eXcsion saved the camp
followers life.
Considering that over 2o,0oo-think
Of it-human lives arc annually lost in
India from wild beasts, very great
portion Of which is from vcnoMous
snakes, it is at first surprising to see
the almost complete immunity of Eu-
ropeans from snake bites in that cou1l-
try. 1t must be borne in mind, how
ever, that there is only mere handful
100000 or SOY of Europeans in India
altogether, as against the vast number
of natives, approaching the stupcndous
figures of 3OO,OOO,OGO. The natives,
moreover, grope about in the dark and
roam the junglcs with bare feet ana
often Earc everything else, condition
Of affairs; that leaves them particularly
exposed 10 the bites of snakes. &c this
as 1t may, 1t Is seldom o:sc hears Of
Il death from snake b! a....:i,g the Eu-
roDean portion of the Indian popula-
tion.-Chambcrs Journal.