SeptemIsbb 1, 1897.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



-207 



the diflference in the position of the fangs of the viper and 

 the cobra at the time of striking : in the former the}' are 

 erectile, and, as just shown, are pointed straight at the 

 victim ; in the latter, owing to the length of the maxillary 

 bone, they are practically immovable, and when the snake 

 13 about to bite they are nearly in the same position as 

 the " holders " of a dog when springing forward with open 

 mouth — that is to say, they point downwards and slightly 

 backwards. When attacking, the cobra rai^^fs the anterior 

 third of its body, and strikes forward and downward, the 

 head being projected in a curve similar to that described 

 by the point of a sword in a forward and downward cut ; 

 the line taken by the points of the viper's fangs, on the 

 other hand, resembling that of the point of the sword in a 

 thrust. Bearing in mind the fixed position of the cobra's 

 fangs, it is obvious that only at certain limited portions of 

 this curve can the stroke be dangerous. I have, indeed, 

 had an opportunity of testing this myself. I was explaining 

 the structure of the hood of the cobra, and, with the object 

 of calling attention to one particular feature, I pointed with 

 my finger close to the glass. Instantly the snake struck 

 at it with great apparent ferocity, and I noticed that 

 when the head came in contact with the glass it had 

 already begun to descend, and consequently the blo'.v was 

 given with the upper part of the rostral shield and not with 

 the fangs. It is clear, therefore, that, even if the glass 

 had not been there, the worst I should have had to fear 

 (besides the nervous shock) would have been a smart crack 

 on the hand from the snake's nose ; and had I encountered 

 the stroke a little earlier, I should have been struck by 

 the front curve of the fangs, and not the dangerous down- 

 ward drive of the points. In confirmation of this view, I 

 observe that Sir Joseph Fayrer, in his " Thanatophidia of 

 India," records that on one occasion he had a cobra and a 

 mongoose put together in a cage. After fighting for some 

 time they were separated, and it was found that the 

 mongoose was bleeding freely about the head from several 

 scratches from the snake's fangs, but it showed no 

 symptoms of poisoning. Subsequently the cobra was made 

 to close its jaws on the mongoose's thigh, and the poor 

 brute soon succumbed to the effect of the venom. It may 

 be suggested that I have here selected a serpent which is 

 handicapped by the frill-like expansion of the loose skin 

 round its neck — the so-called hood — both as to the rapidity 

 and accuracy of its stroke, on the same principle that an 

 oar is moved less quickly through the air with the blade 

 squared than with the blade feathered. It is true that 

 the cobra is the worst shot I have ever seen, but the 

 same argument as to the comparative danger of the 

 attack of snakes with fixed fangs, and of vipers, applies 

 to kindred and very venomous serpents, such as the 

 African mamba {Dcndraspis), and the Australian black 

 snake, sometimes called the purple death-adder {Pseiidechis 

 porphijriaca). 



It must be remembered, both as regards the danger of 

 the attack and the virulence of the poison, that the 

 normally recumbent position of the viper's fangs admits of 

 much greater development than iu those of the poisonous 

 colubrines, and that consequently the wound inflicted is 

 as a rule deeper, and the poison therefore more thoroughly 

 inoculated into the system ; on the other hand, they are 

 extremely brittle and liable to be broken off. 



There is no doubt that the toxic properties of the poison 

 of cobras and kindred snakes are much more active than 

 in that of vipers, notwithstanding the fact that the record 

 in Sir J. Fayrer's experiments is held, I believe, by one of 

 the latter, a fowl having died from the bite of a Russell 

 snake {Vipera Ilussellii) in forty-eight seconds In speaking 

 of this serpent the same authority observes that though 



the poison is slower in taking effect than that of the 

 cobra, the results were almost invariably fatal. Never- 

 theless it is quite clear that the longer the victim lives, 

 the better is the chance of counteracting the poison and 

 saving his life ; and it is to be hoped that the attention 

 which for some time has been directed to this subject 

 will result in some definite and reliable antidote bemg 

 discovered. 



Of all venomous serpents the hamadryad {^"ja 

 Buni/nnis) of the East Indies is popularly accredited 

 with beiug the fiercest in disposition, as it is undoubtedly 

 the largest in size, sometimes attaining a length of fourteen 

 feet, if half the stories about it are tru=, it not only 

 fiercely resents being disturbed, but actually pursues the 

 unfortunate intruder ; in fact, its sole virtue seems to be a 

 propensity to cannibalism. It has a rival in South Africa, 

 the mamba (Dendraspis). I have frequently conversed 

 with travellers and residents in South Africa on the subject 

 of poisonous snakes, and have noticed that, while they 

 speak of such brutes as the puff-adder and cobra with 

 comparative indifference, they always refer to the mamba 

 with an amount of seriousness which warrants the belief 

 that the danger of an encounter with one is very real. 

 This serpent appears to be absolutely aggressive, and will 

 come down from a tree merely for the sake of a fight. 

 The fact that it is arboreal makes it all the more dangerous, 

 as one is liable to be bitten in the face. It is remarkable 

 that two serpents, the Indian rat-snake (Zamenis mucosus) 

 and the Cape bucephalus {Dinpholidus typiis), which are 

 quite harmless (the poison of the Cape bucephalus is not 

 strong enough to injure human beings), so greatly resemble 

 the hamadryad and the mamba respectively that they 

 frequently pay the penalty of mistaken identity with their 

 lives. 



Some at any rate of the I.achesis are stated to be equally 

 fierce, and although I have some hesitation in believing 

 that they are actually aggressive, I see no reason for 

 doubting that they will attack on very slight provocation. 

 The two worst ofl'rinders are reported to be the bushmaster 

 {Lachesis nmtus), largest and fiercest of vipers, and the 

 /(')• de lance {Lachesis lanceolatus), also a good-sized snake ; 

 while I have heard bad accounts of the tivora de la cruz 

 of Argentina {Lacliesis alternatus). But the East Indian 

 varieties, the old Trimeresurids, do not seem to be so 

 dangerous as their American cousins, and are also inferior 

 in size. 



A friend of mine tells me that he was entering his hut 



i in the West Indies, and was closing the lower half of the 



; door— which was divided like an ordinary stable-door^ 



■ when he was startled by a fer de lance striking at him from 



' a beam or shelf inside the hut, with such violence that it 



passed over his shoulder and fell outside. There is a 



mountain in the same neighbourhood supposed to be 



inaccessible, both from natural difficulties and from being 



infested with these serpents. 



In conclusion, it will only be proper to say something 

 about the father of the family (Lachesis nmtus). Linna3U3, 

 judging, no doubt, that the structure of the end of the 

 tail — several rows of very small keeled scales ending in a 

 spine— contained the rudiments of a rattle, classified it as 

 a rattlesnake under the name of Crotalus niutus, the 

 silent rattlesnake — the rattler which cannot rattle. Other 

 naturalists, however, differing from Linnseiis, and perhaps 

 finding that the other Fates had been appropriated by other 

 vipers — Clothohy the puff-adder and others, and Atniposhy 

 the berg-adder — altered the appellation to Lachesis, which 

 was very sensible ; but retained the nnitus, which was 

 idiotic, as the term loses all its significance when apart 

 from Crotalus. 



