Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-31
Poisonous Snakes of India
Cause $4,000 Deaths a Year

cause trouble than she is to invite n for
herself. A fact that bears this out ia the
proport1onately small number of whites
VINO are bitten by cobras. The reason Is
not mat the white persons wear shoes
that would offer much of protectIon
to the poison fangs of one of these
snakes-a fang would penetrate leather
as readily as 1t would bare skin But the
snoes creak and the snake has warning
10 Dart away Natives. however, wear
no shoes. They walk noiselessly. A cobra
mas no warning of impending Interior
ence until suddenly 1t sees a dusky foot
or an ankle placed within striking dis
lance Then the snake strikes holding
FAST to the bitten part for a half minute
or more so as to give the poison a chance
to circulate deep into the flesh ana
through the system
:
Even in dried state, cobra poison
is unfailing deadly. Native doctors use
1t to administer in infinitesimally small
portions as a stimulant. and they have
cruel method for extracting It. The
COBRA is placed in an earthen pot and q
banana is dropped into the vessel after
1t. Then the pot is sealed and placed
on Sow fire. AS the heat increases
the snake becomes more and more un-
comfortable. until II becomes maddened
by pain. and In frenzy OF agony buries
which is afterward taken from the vessel
and dried and pulverized.
The snake popularity called the king
cobra is known In India as the hamadryas
1t is the largest Of all poisonous snakes
Of our country Owing to its size-it
frequently attains length OF ten or
fourteen feet-the quantity of poison IL
injects is considerably more than IL an
ordinary cobra Of the smaller species
we're to strike. Yet even this dangerous
I'LL
when occasion offered. and to retreat
rather than to seek trouble. A remark
able illustration of this happened to a
government official. who lived in the out
thought was a huge. harmless rock snake
For three weeks he had the strange pct
in his bungalow. fed 1t on milk, pulled
it by the tail. and handled It as he saw
fit until forest officer. upon visiting.
promptly recognized the most danRerous
of all snakes. the king cobra
In America you have but one poiso0-
Gus snake. the moccasin. But in India
We have a specimen of sea snake which
infests the Bay of Bengal. and which
would put your largest moccasin to bfush,
never saw one of these snakes. nor do
know geological name for them az
cept that they are universally called sea
snakes. Frequently numbers OF them
swim up the Hooghly river all the way to
Calcutta. a distance Of at least eighty
miles. and there they get stuck in city
water pipes. make bathing perilous and
are generally troublesome. Native fish,
ermen tell gruesome stories about these
reptiles. The immediate effect OF being
bitten by a sea snake is rising of the
spirits. The victim becomes more and
more sociable No pain attacks him. The
taking-off process is something the same
as when man gets drunk. But within
two days death is inevitable.
Taking just these few poisonous
to mention a half dozen other
kinds of less importance-you can sea
readily the reasons for the frightfll NOR
tally of the snake curse which rests on
India. The government 10 ready and
willing to do anything within reason to
check the evil. but among the natives
themselves 10 the greatest stumbling
block