54 
EXPERIMENTS ON THE POISONS 
SECTION II. 
Experiments on the Poison oj the Cobra cle Capello . Mo. VI. 
Experiment I. June, 1787.-A dog, bitten on the inside of the thigh, by the Comboo Nagoo, howled at 
first as if in much pain. After two or three minutes, he lay down, and continued, at intervals, to moan and howl. 
After twenty minutes, he rose, but stood with difficulty, and was unable to walk; his whole frame seemed 
greatly disordered. He soon lay down again, and, in a few minutes, was seized with convulsions, in which he 
expired, twenty-seven minutes and a half after the bite. 
Experiment II. July. -A large, very stout dog, was bitten by another variety of the Coluber Naja, in the 
inside of the thigh. In a minute or two, the thigh was drawn up ; which in general is the first symptom of the 
poison having taken effect. He continued, however, nearly an hour, walking on three legs, seemingly not other¬ 
wise disordered ; he then laid himself along, showed great inquietude, but did not howl; purged once. About 
this time, he became in an uncommon degree convulsed about the head and throat, and made several vain efforts 
to rise; both hinder legs being now paralytic. In this state he continued above an hour, and then expired : 
two hours and half a minute after the bite. 
Experiment III.-A black bitch was bitten in the usual place of the thigh, immediately after the dog in 
the former experiment. Showing no signs, for an hour and a half, of being affected, she was bitten in the other 
thigh, by a Cobra, which had been kept several days without biting. Though the snake bit fiercely, no conse¬ 
quences were observed, for above two hours, after which I did not see her ; but in the third hour, she became 
disordered in the usual manner, and expired in five hours after the second bite. 
Experiment IV.-A strong dog, bitten in the usual place, did not appear to be disordered, till after one 
houi’, when he began to droop ; but the legs were not affected. In twenty minutes more, he howled a little, and 
both hinder legs were then observed to have become paralytic. From this time, he grew gradually worse ; and, 
after some slight convulsions, he died : within an hour and forty-eight minutes from the bite. 
Experiment V. July 20.-A Scinta Nagoo (Tamarind Cobra) was made to bite a strong dog, in the usual 
place of the thigh. He very soon showed signs of being infected, and in half an hour appeared much disordered. 
In the second hour, he seemed to grow worse, he panted much as he lay on his side ; and, at one time, suddenly 
starting up, he howled dismally, and was seized with an universal trembling. He then fell into a stupor, in which 
he continued one hour ; but at the end of four hours from the bite, he appeared pretty well recovered. 
Experiment VI.-The snake in the preceding experiment, after having bit another dog, was made to bite 
a chicken in the thigh, which had previously been well rubbed with oil. For a quarter of an hour, the bird 
showed no signs of disorder ; it then began to droop, could hardly move from its place ; and growing gradually 
more dull and stupid, it expired in an hour and twenty minutes, without convulsions. 
Experiment VII.-Another chicken was bitten in the thigh, without applying oil ; but showing no signs 
of disorder whatever, it was bitten a second time, at the distance of four hours. It survived the second bite two 
hours ; and, as in Experiment VI. died without convulsions. 
Observations.- It may be remarked, that fowls seldom die from the poison, without suffering convulsions 
in some degree. Their absence in the first chicken, might have been ascribed to the oil; but no oil had been used 
for the second : and many subsequent experiments showed that oil, rubbed on the part previously to the bite, 
neither prevented the poison taking effect, nor produced any mitigation of the usual symptoms. 
Experiment VIII. November 11.-A large dog was bitten in the thigh, by a Male Nagoo , which had been 
captive only two days. He complained a good deal at the instant of the bite, and the leg was soon drawn up. 
In twenty-five minutes, he was seized with convulsions, succeeded by a stupor, in which state he lay for ten 
minutes. The convulsions, however, returned, and he expired in a quarter of an hour: fifty-six minutes from 
the bite. 
