The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1906-03-21
VICIOUS SEA SNAKES
THERE ARE FIFTY VARIETIES, ALL OF
THEM vENOMous.

with the Exception OF the Cobra and
on Land Kills So Quickly and Tex-
Tibiy aa DO Those or the Ocean.
Fearlessness Is one Of tic most str;s-
Ing characteristics OF sen snakes, and
1t adds greatly to the danger that is to
be apprehended from them, for 1t often
leads them to attack fishermen und
swimmers, and even to climb up the
anchor chains Gnd through the hnwse
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-
phidiu. None Of them Is able to live
anywhere except In ocean water. Every
variety and subvariety is rs poisonous
rs the cobra or the bushmaster Of AZ
rica. Indl ID, with the exception OF
these two land varieties. there Is no
snake ON iand that kills so swiftly and
SO terribly rs do the sea snakes. Ow-
Ing to their fatal weapons and their
ease aud celebrity in swimming there
are practically no enemies which de-
stroy enough Of them to diminish their
numbers.
Almost ali 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 q 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 ut
the ordinary rate Of speed they seem
to undulate all over. They do not wind
through the water as the eel does, but
their locomotlon resembles that Of the
caterpillar except that 1t. is far more
graceful, and, rs they move and twist
the colors play along their sides and
bncks Us they do OH the dolphin. When
they dash at their Prey Mt full speed
they move Ike nn arrow, with their
heads and nccks thrust straight before
them If they are swimming under the
surface, or, If they are dartlng 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 MI the sea Bnakes und
forms the only striking difference be-
tween then and the ordinary land SER
.pent. '','
This paddle Is used like q steamer's
screw and hns immense power. Bent
sideways 1t will stop the snake immo-
dietely as If the creature had anchored
suddenly. When doing or resting over
reefs, which nre common III the coral
banks, snakes bold 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
the!c victims are Malay and otiier nj
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 yenr. Travellers say that
there Is hardly fishing village which
Aas net !ts ta!e 'oe death to tell.
Scientists once held to the opinion
, that the dsadllness Of the bite was due
not to the. venom, like that of the land
snakes, but to some property that
eaused 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 Algerlne had
made careful observations Of sailor
who had been bitten. They proved
that the snakes We're 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 favorlte haunts are
the arms OF the sen, 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
;pabIe OF much movement OF land, and
after wriggiing 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 10 the western shores OF
Panama and from New Zealand to
Japan, In the bay Of Bengal and the
; sea around Nicobars, Alolucca. Timor
and New. Guinea.-New York Herald.
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