Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-02-07

ditiSiS ny lnlS WlQe dWdho SCOuI Al
the Wigwam to-day. Stories sucf
as these are a credit. not only to the
| scout but to his troop. There ought
to be more of them. Welcome tc
the Wigwam. Hagar. and may this
visit be only the first of many thai
you may make.
Before Hagar takes the floor, fell
lows, let me say that hope to see
every one of you at the big feed or
Monday night. If your troop has
not planned any stunts as yet, you
had better. hustle. Only three days
you know. is -
RED CLOUD.
| THE COBRA
| g.. (By Scout Hasar)
The name "cobro dc capello," or
hooded snake, was applied by the
Portuguese in Ceylon to the common
| Indian representative of a genius OF
deadly serpents distinguished from
! the crafts by their power of inflat-
ing the neck, and likewise by the
scales in the middle of the back not
| being larger than the rest. BY
| Europeans these snakes are now gen.
orally known of the name Cobra.
| Agreeing with the crafts in having
the fangs furnished with complete
likewise by the presence of from one
so three solid teeth behind them,
the cobras have the head distinct
from the neck, and covered with
large shields, among which the To-
real is wanting; the eye being rather
small. with a round pupil. The body
is cylindrical, with the smooth dis
posed in fifteen or more oblique
rows; while the tail is of moderate
length, with its inferior shields in
either a single or double series. The
dilation of the neck, which always
, takes place when they are excited
and about to strike, at once serves
to distinguish the cobras from all
other snakes. Cobras are confined
to Africa and Southern Asia, and
are represented by six or seven
species, two of which are found in
India and third found in Java and
Borneo, the others being African. OF
the Indian forms, by far the most
abundant is the common or true
cobra which is known to the natives
of India as the kala nag or kala
samp (black snake). Distinguished
by having no large shields on the
head behind the parietals, and by
the whole of the shields on the un-
der surface of the tail being arranged
in a double series, this snake is a
very variable species as regards col
grafton, some examples having a
dark spectable-like mark on the
back of the hood, while others have
only a single eye-like spot, and
others, again, have no mark at all
in this region. In regards to colora-
ton, Mr.. Boulenger remarks that
the hue of the upper-parts may be
greyish brown or black, with or
without a specticle-or Ioop-shaped
black Hght-edged marking on the
neck-or with light spots or cross
bands on the body; while beneath it
varies from whitish, through brown
ish to blackish, sometimes with
black cross-bars on the fore-part of
the body. Occasionally attaining a
length of few inches over six feet,
while an instance is on record where
specimen measured upwards of
seven feet, three inches, this cobra
is distributed over the whole of In
dia and Ceylon, ranging westwards
through Afghanistan to the Caspian
Sea, and to the east to the Malayan
region, and the south of China. The
other Indian species, or giant cobra
is larger snake, distinguished by
the presence of large shields on the
head behind the partietals, while the
shields beneath the tail usually form
only single series. When adult, its
color is yellowish or brown, with
more or less distinctly marked dark
crossbands; but young specimens are
usually black, with yellow rings on
the body and bars on the head, and
in some instances there are light
spots on the upper surface and the
inferior shields are whitish with
black margins. In size, the giant is
known to measure as much as thir-
teen feet, and probably grows larger.
Fiercer than the common species,
this cobra is fortunately far less
abundant; its range extending from
India through Burma and Siam to
the Malayan region and the Philip
pines, Another species is the asp
or Egyptian cobra which is widely
spread over Africa and presents great
variation in color. Somewhat ex-
ceeding in size the true cobra the
asp is distinguished by the sixth up
per labial shield of the head much
exceeding the others in length and
uniting the temporal, so as to form
a large plate, which anteriorly comes
in contact with the postocular shield.
In most Egyptian examples the col
or of the upper parts is uniformly
straw yellow, while the under parts
are light yellow; but there may be
dark cross bands on the under sur
face of the region of the neck, which
sometimes unite into a patch. The
straw may, however, shade into
blackish brown and occasionally the
hues may be brighter.
Our account of the habits of these
snakes will be mainly confined to
the common Indian species, and
since these have been specially
studied, We shall paraphrase or
quote from these writings. Although
frequently seen in motion during the
day, cobras are most active during
the night; and feed chiefly on small
mammals, birds eggs, frogs, fish, and
even insects. The giant cobra sub
sists however, almost on other
snakes, and the other species will
occasionally rob hens nests. swal-
lowing. the eggs whole. In captivity.
cobras will live weeks and even
months without tasting food of anv
kind or touching water. Although
essential terrestrial, they will readily
enter water, in which. they will
swim we'll; while they occasionally
climb trees in search of food and
are often found, more especially
during the rainy season. in old
buildings and walls, or in wood
stacks or heaps of rubbish. 1t lis
when collective in such situations
that they are most commonly caught
by the native-and most frequently
at night than other times-with the
ur0TI lrv Raka