THE TIIANATOPHIDIA OF INDIA. 
96 
stand, but is very weak. The injection of the Condy’s fluid was 
not followed by convulsions as in the case of the liquor ammonne. 
3.58.—Lies down; head falls over; breathing hurried; rises 
and staggers a little, and sits down again. 4 p.m. —Lies 
sluggish and dejected; can walk when raised, but staggers and 
soon sits down again. 4.5.—Can still stand and walk with 
staggering gait. 4.7.—Lying down, but gets up and walks a 
few steps; head drooping, and look dejected; twitching of 
muscles generally. 4.8.—AVI ion put on his legs can still stand; 
breathing hurried; coat staring. 4.12.—Forty more drops in¬ 
jected into jugular vein. Slight twitching of muscles generally; 
lies down on his side, cannot rise; limbs paralysed; pupils dilated; 
slight convulsions of extremities, and muscular system gene¬ 
rally; breathing catching and rather slow. 4.22.—Motionless; 
heart still beats fifty in the minute; no respiration. 4.24.— 
Heart still felt. 4.25.—Dead. Bitten at 3.48. Dead at 4.25— 
in thirty-seven minutes. 
Death occurred in about the usual time, and with the usual 
symptoms in which it occurs when a Dog is bitten by a Cobra. 
I do not believe the effects of the poison were in any way 
influenced by the permanganate. 
Post-mortem at 4.40 p.m. —Lungs much collapsed and very 
pallid. Both sides of heart full of fluid blood; great vessels 
distended. The blood coagulated firmly when let out of the 
heart and vessels. Abdominal viscera not so pallid as in the 
other Dog. Brain vessels on surface full of blood: cerebral 
substance pale, scarcely any puncta. 
Experiment No. 4. 
A Fowl bitten by a Cobra (not fresh) in the thigh at 
4.45 p.m. ; twenty drops of liquor ammonite having previously, 
at 4.43, been hypodermically injected into the thigh, no 
apparent effect produced by the ammonia thus injected. Bitten 
by the Cobra at 4.45 p.m. ; in thirty seconds it was in violent 
convulsions. 4.46.—Twenty more drops injected. Dead 
before it could be placed on the ground. 
The following experiments (Nos. 5, 6,) were tried with the 
object of again testing the effect of the Cobra poison on itself, 
or on another Cobra:— 
Experiment No. 5. 
A Cobra was bitten sufficiently near the tail to avoid the 
chance of injuring any of the viscera, by another full-grown, 
fresh and vigorous Cobra. The snake bit deeply, plunging its 
fangs twice or thrice into the flesh of the other Cobra, which 
was then put aside in a separate cage and watched. 
13th, 6 a.m. no change. 
„ 7 p.m. „ 
14th, 6 a.m.. 
„ 6 p.m. » 
15th, 6 a.m. >y 
The snake evidently has not suffered. 
Experiment No. 6. 
A vigorous and fresh full-grown Cobra, with one ocellus in 
the hood, “ Keautiah” of the natives, was made to bite himself 
three or four times near the tail at 4.48 p.m. He bit himself 
quite as freely as he would have bitten another snake, brought 
blood, and smeared the surface with poison; put into a cage 
and watched. Was not the least affected on the 15th, three 
days after the bite. 
These two experiments, which were very carefully performed, 
tend to prove that the Cobra cannot poison itself or its own 
species. 
June 19 th, 1869. 
Present, Drs. Fayrer, Ewart, Waller, and Mr. Sceva. 
Experiment No. 7. 
A full-grown Cat was bitten at 2.43 p.m, in the right thigh, 
by a large Daboia. The snake had been long in captivity, and 
was therefore most probably not vigorous though active and 
vicious. 2.49.—Twitching of the muscles; restless. 3.12.— 
The Cat appears to be unaffected. 3.15.—The Daboia again 
made to close his jaws on the Cat’s thigh, though evidently 
unwilling to bite. 3.44.—The Cat seems sluggish, and is 
evidently now feeling the poison. 3.45.—Bitten by a Cobra 
on the thigh. 3.46.—The Cat is unsteady in its gait; 
breathes hard; looks distressed. 4.7.—Cat is restless; tries 
to rise, and staggers. 4.10.—Tries to stand, but falls over. 
4.18.—Kespiration very hurried; cannot stand; twitching of 
the muscles. 4.24.—Lies quite paralysed; pupils dilated; 
breathing hard. 4.27.—Convulsed. 4.30.—Dead. 
The Cat was bitten by the Daboia at 2.43 p.m., and again at 
3.15. The snake was old and feeble; it had been in captivity 
for more than six months, during which time it had touched 
neither food nor water, and yet it vyas active and vicious, hissing 
fiercely at any one who came near it; that it was capable of 
secreting poison was evident in later experiments. 
The Cobra bit at 2.45 ; and death occurred at 4,30; that is, 
in one hour and forty-seven minutes. The Cobra was also not 
fresh, and its poison was weak, perhaps scanty. There was 
nothing whatever in this experiment to make us think that 
the Cobra’s poison proved antidotal to that of the Daboia; on 
the contrary, it rather expedited death. 
Experiment No. 8. 
A Fowl was bitten in the thigh by the same Daboia at 3.40. 
The snake would not bite until his jaws were closed on the 
bird’s thigh. 
3.44.—The Fowl, whilst walking about with rather a sluggish 
gait, suddenly sprang off the ground, and fell over in convul¬ 
sions. It was immediately bitten in the thigh by a Cobra. 
It continued unconscious and convulsed, and was dead at 3.46; 
that is, in six minutes after it was bitten by the Viper. Had 
this Viper been fresh, the bird would probably not have lived 
one minute. 
Experiment No. 9. 
Another Fowl bitten by the same Daboia at 3.56 p.m. 
3.58. —It limps; has a depressed look, and its comb droops. 
3.59. —Bitten by a Cobra in the thigh ; lies down. 4.2.—Slight 
convulsions. 4.3.—Comb livid; convulsed and unconscious. 
4.5.—Dead—in nine minutes. 
These three experiments, I think, dispose of the question of 
the poison of one family of venomous snakes being antidotal to 
the other. 
In these cases the Viper was old and exhausted, and yet his 
poison was deadly. The poison of the Cobra, which was also a 
partially exhausted snake selected on purpose, had no counter¬ 
acting effect. The only thing proved is the terribly deadly 
nature of the Daboia, which after such long confinement with¬ 
out food or water yet retained the power of causing death.* 
These experiments (Nos. 7, 8, 9) were made in reference to 
certain suggestions that have appeared in the journals, but not 
with any expectation on my part that any other result than 
that which occurred could take place. The poison of the deadly 
snakes, of whatever family, kills by paralysing the nerve centres, 
and it appears as reasonable to expect prussic acid to prove 
antidotal to aconite, as the Cobra poison to be so to that of 
any other form of venomous snake. 
Experiment No. 10. 
A Fowl was bitten by the same Daboia in the thigh at 4.7 
p.m. 4.10.—Sitting down ; looks sluggish. 4.15.—Bises and 
runs about, but is lame. 4.27,—Walks, but is very lame on 
* The Daloia was not intentionally deprived of food or water; it would take 
neither. 
