348 
ORDERS OF REPTILES — SERPENTS 
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 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'us. 
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 away, 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 
