96 SERPENTS 



like the Hooded Cobra, or Cobra-de-Capello, 1 of India. 

 The bite of this species is very deadly, and whether wholly 

 guilty or not, in India it is debited annually with the deaths 

 of between 18,000 and 22,000 persons. It is said, however, 

 that many persons are murdered on the sly, and their deaths 

 are charged up to the account of the Cobra-de-Capello. 



The reasons why so many persons are bitten by Cobras 

 are: (1) that in the rainy season the serpents take refuge 

 in and about the huts; (2) that practically all the natives go 

 bare-footed and bare-legged; (3) that many of them are 

 compelled to go about at night, without lights of any kind, 

 and (4) the warning of the Cobra — spreading the hood and 

 hissing — is more frequently given after the bite than before 

 it! Moreover, the Cobra is naturally much more irritable 

 and vicious than the rattlesnake or any other American 

 serpent. 



Of all the serpents that have entered the Reptile House, 

 the Hooded Cobras are the most vicious and eager to do mis- 

 chief. At the slightest excuse they spring to an erect pos- 

 ture, spread their hoods, and try their utmost to bite. One 

 of them struck the glass of its cage front so frequently that 

 it brought on a disease of the jawbone, which finally rendered 

 it necessary to remove one entire side of the lower jaw. To 

 keep the three Cobras from seriously injuring their heads by 

 striking against the glass, it is necessary to keep the lower 

 portion of the plate painted white. 



The Hooded Cobra is a slender-bodied, nervous and active 

 serpent, with a maximum length of about 48 inches. When 



1 Na'ja tri-pu'di-ans. 



