348 



ORDERS OF REPTILES— SERPENTS 



with the deaths of between 1,8,000 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 fre- 

 quently given after the bite than before it ! More- 

 over, 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 mischief. At the slightest ex- 

 cuse, they spring to an erect posture, spread 

 their hoods, and try their utmost to bite. One 

 of them struck the glass of its cage front so fre- 

 quently that it brought on a disease of the jaw- 

 bone, which finally rendered it necessary to re- 

 move 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, ner- 

 vous and active serpent, with a maximum length 

 of about 48 inches. When the rainy season is on 

 in India, it seeks refuge in and about human 

 dwellings, especially under floors, and is also 

 partial to thatched roofs. For its bite there is no 

 sure antidote. 



The King-Cobra, or Snake-Eating Cobra, 1 

 of the Malay Peninsula is the largest of all venom- 

 ous serpents, easily attaining a length of ten 

 feet. It is a very athletic serpent, slender- 

 bodied and strong-muscled, able to erect its 

 head three feet, perpendicularly, and strike 

 nearly a yard. It is a very expert and vigorous 

 climber, swims nearly as well as a water-snake, 

 and is a thorough believer in the survival of the 

 fittest. It feeds only upon other serpents and 

 lizards, but it would be better if harmless ser- 

 pents fed upon it. 



No matter where you find him, the Rattle- 

 snake is a fair fighter, and entitled to far more 

 1 Na'ja bun-gar' ii s . 



respect than he is likely to receive in this snake- 

 terrified world. He strikes only in self-defence, 

 when he thinks he is about to be trodden upon. 

 Instead of lying in ambush, and striking in deadly 

 silence, like the cobra and the moccasin, he rat- 

 tles loudly when man or beast approaches, and 

 gives fair warning to "keep off!" He rattles 

 to save himself from injury, and his persistent 

 whirr has saved thousands of persons, and tens 

 of thousands of domestic animals, from being 

 bitten. A western cow-pony, a government 

 mule, or a range steer will spring sidewise from 

 a warning whirr in the sage-brush quite as quick- 

 ly as man himself, and almost as far. 



If Rattlesnakes generally (of which there are 

 fifteen species) were disposed to be mean, and 

 treat man as many human beings treat all ser- 

 pents, the annual death-list from Rattlesnake 

 bites would be a long one. Despite the few 

 exceptional cases, however, it is a ruling fact that 

 Rattlesnakes do not go pestering around camps, 

 or frequently crawl under the blankets of men 

 sleeping upon the ground. Every year thou- 

 sands of cow-boys sleep on the ground, literally 

 among these reptiles, without a single Rattle- 

 snake accident. 



Thanks to a long-standing acquaintance with 

 this serpent, I have myself on numberless oc- 

 casions "bedded down in the open" in Mon- 

 tana, Wyoming, Florida, and elsewhere, with 

 not a moment's fear of snakes. Depend upon it, 

 a Rattlesnake does not go about looking for 

 trouble. His best efforts are devoted to the 

 promotion of peace and longevity. 



Beyond question, the Rattler is a serpent of 

 timid and retiring disposition. It has not one- 

 half the courage of the hog-nosed snake, nor a 

 quarter of the cobra's vicious aggressiveness. 

 If you encounter one at a fair distance, say ten 

 feet, it will either crawl awaj r , slowly and de- 

 fensively, or coil and warn you to keep off. In 

 its feeding habits, in captivity, it is one of the 

 most timid and nervous of all reptiles, and sel- 

 dom eats save when safe from observation and 

 interruption. When darkness falls, and the 

 Reptile House is entirely quiet, the Rattler bash- 

 fully swallows his freshly killed rat or guinea- 



Pig- 



My first experiment with a captive Rattle- 

 snake, a huge Diamond Rattler from Florida, 

 was to catch and place in its cage a live rat. The 



