The Zoologist — September, 1869. 1813 



afterwards to have been a cobra) ; immediately upon its occurrence,— 

 at least, within five minutes of it, — he came into my room, and I at 

 once (before he spoke) saw that something had happened, for his 

 countenance wore an anxious and alarmed look. He told me that he 

 had seen a large snake coiled up asleep within a few yards of the 

 door, and had seized it by the neck, but unfortunately not sufficiently 

 far forward, for the head had play enough to turn round and bite him, 

 Lieut. S. said he felt positive that it was not a poisonous snake, and 

 consequently refused all treatment, saying that it would be all right 

 presently. He then left for the billiard-room, which was next door : 

 I, feeling uneasy about him, followed a few minutes after. I found 

 him with a cue in his hand ; but he was looking pale, and drops of 

 perspiration were standing out on his face and forehead. The thumb 

 also had swollen, and he complained of pain running up the arm : 

 1 persuaded him to return with me to the house, immediately upon 

 entering which, he vomited. As no local remedies would at that stage 

 have been of any use, — indeed, I much question if they are of any use 

 at any period, for the poison on injection from the fang is imme- 

 diately, in my opinion, intermingled with the circulation, — the* case 

 had simply to be dealt with on the principle that the action of the 

 heart must be restrained until the sedative influence of the poison had 

 passed off. Within a short time after the vomiting, Lieut. S. began 

 to feel sleepy; and the pulse, on examination, was found to be lower; 

 it was, therefore, time to commence operations. A dose of sal volatile 

 in whisky was administered, and Lieut. S. was directed to walk quietly 

 up and down the verandah: the time was then about 4 p.m. The 

 desire to sleep, notwithstanding the exercise, was so strong that I was 

 before long obliged myself to walk with him to keep him up to the 

 mark. Later 1 had to send for two soldiers to support him by each 

 arm ; for the limbs were beginning to drag, and the drowsiness was 

 intense : the pulse was at the same time exceedingly low, and the 

 pain and swelling of the arm had increased considerably. From time 

 to time diffusable stimulants were administered, and the walk was 

 quickened into a run whenever the falling state of the pulse demanded 

 it, which was frequently the case, for at times it was scarcely to be 

 fell. At about ] a.m. the case attained its period of greatest intensity ; 

 for at that time it seemed as if neither running nor stimulant would 

 maintain the circulation any longer, and I feared it would end fatally. 

 Shortly afterwards, happily, the pulse began to improve, which im- 

 provement was maintained until about 3 a, m,, by which time the 



