The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1913-05-15
MAKE USE OF SNAKES
SCIENTISTS FIND DEADLY REP
TILES AN AID IN MEDICINE.
Captured at Much Risk, Their Pecu-
MARY Value Great-Are "Baited"
to Induce Them to Elect Valu-
able Poison.

The majority of snakes are not, as
most people suppose, aggressive in
their habits. but, like the British
viper, far more anxious to get out of
the way of the human intruder than
into it. But there are a few famous,
or infamous, exceptions, and the man.
ba--one of the largest of the cobras,
and native of Africa-is said to be
the most dangerous reptile in the
world. 1t will fly at anything and
anybody; goes out of its way to pick
a. quarrel with every passerby, and
has even been known to come down
from tree where it was resting, APP
parently fast asleep, to try conclu-
sions with man armed with a gun.
! The only snake that at all approaches
| the mamba in ferocity is the great
| king cobra, or hamadryad of the east,
which is larger than the mamba and
generally quite as ready to interfere
with any living creature that comes
within it's ken. 1t has been known
to chase a man on horseback, and so
fast can 1t travel that 1t is said none
but q sWiftfooted animal has any
chance Of escape The poison Of both
these snakes is so powerful that, as
some one once stated iu an examin3-
ton paper on reptiles. "even q sCieut-
list when bitten by either OF these
ier0Cious creatures, cease t0 be inter
ested in the matter after ,L4 space Oh
few minutes" Among the Austria
liam cobras, the pitvipers Of America,
and the great West African vipers,
there are certain species that prefer
the offensive to the defensive method,
and in most cases it is the aggressive
varieties that carry the most poison
Gus fangs
Snake-baiting is an amusement that
few persons would care to indulge in,
but it appears that this hazardous
occupation is an actual business in
certain parts of Australia. The poison
is said to be invaluable in the prepare
ton of particular medicines, and is
also much sought after by scientists
and experimenters. It's value is such,
indeed. that the snake poison col
4 lected by the natives of New South
Wales has been sold for as much
as sovereign to twenty-five shillings
a grain, which works out at the amaz.
ing figure of $4,000 per pound troy
The business of snake-catching Is
1 naturally exceedingly dangerous, but
1 some of the Australian snake hunters
a are so expert that they can take theiI
| quarry with no other weapon but theil
! hands. While one attracts the rep
tiles attention another creeps up be
hind and grasps the snake by the
neck, and so holds 1t until It can be
transferred to a cage or bag. The
D reptiles are then taken to their perma
4 nent cages, where they are at inter
e walls "baited" with a specially pre-
p pared instrument, upon whose enc
is rubber band encircling a small
sheet of glass. The snake bites
through the rubber and deposits it:
venom on the glass, which is theI
: scraped into phial and the contents
v sealed down. The snake, once cap
/. tured without injury, is a constan
source of revenue, as the poison il
quickly secreted afresh, ready for tn,
next batting" Thus, at last tn,
snake, whose reputation has hitherto
been mainly earned in it's capacity TO
S destroying life, may now be said to b,
an important agent in its preserya
ton.