POISONOUS ANIMALS 209 



decorated upon the back of its neck with a light- 

 coloured design which resembles an inverted pair 

 of spectacles ; but others are marked with an 

 ocellus or ring-like design ; and in some individuals 

 no pattern is present. In Bengal, those with the 

 spectacle mark are termed Gokurrahs, and those with 

 the ocellus are called Keautiahs. As a general rule 

 the cobra de capello is not of an aggressive dispo- 

 sition, and, unless disturbed, will seldom attack a 

 human being ; but, nevertheless, owing to the 

 creature principally confining its activities to the 

 night-time, the danger attending the meeting of one 

 is much greater than would otherwise be the case 

 were it diurnal in habits. Should a man be bitten 

 by a cobra, the symptom first produced by the 

 action of the venom is a burning sensation in the 

 region of the wound, which is followed by consider- 

 able swelling and tenderness. After an interval of 

 about half an hour, the victim begins to feel sleepy 

 and his legs become so weak that he is quite unable 

 to stand. Paralysis of the tongue and larynx 

 supervenes, and then a more or less general state 

 of paralysis which is liable to affect the respiratory 

 organs and the heart to such an extent as to prove 

 fatal. If, however, the patient is able to throw off 

 the latter symptoms, he rapidly recovers his normal 

 state of health. 



Many remedies for the bites of poisonous snakes 

 have been tried with varying degrees of success, and 

 ammonia is stated to be a most useful agent, 

 Professor Halford recording that of twenty cases 

 in which hypodermic injections of that fluid were 



o 



