98 
THE THANATOPHIDIA OF INDIA, 
that at the least it is very difficult. The moment of time that 
intervenes between the injection of the snake-poison by the 
powerful maxillary muscles through the tube-like fang into 
the minute blood-vessels of the part, and the application of 
the ligature and actual cautery, is sufficient to allow of the 
entry of the poison into the circulation, and this reaching the 
nerve centres, even in a small quantity, may prove fatal. The 
ligature is evidently very unreliable when applied to large 
parts of the body, such as the limbs ; for it is almost physically 
impossible to compress the part so tightly as to stop the circu¬ 
lation ; and unless this he done to the depth of the penetration 
of the snake’s fangs, it is obvious that it can only be of very 
partial effect in preventing the entry of the poison. On a 
finger or a toe the ligature might be of more service, as the 
smaller part might be thoroughly strangulated ; but unless the 
ligature were applied immediately, it is obvious that it would 
he useless even there, for the poison would have already entered, 
and be on its course towards the nerve centres. How quickly 
this occurs is proved by those experiments in which the poison 
was injected directly into the jugular vein. What took place 
there, with the hypodermic needle inserted into the jugular 
vein, has its exact counterpart in the case of the Cobra’s fang, 
inserted, as it must be, when it penetrates a vascular part, into 
the minute veins. 
The same may be said of the actual cautery. Unless the hot 
iron enter the puncture directly after the fang has been with¬ 
drawn, the poison is already far on its way towards the centre, 
and the burning, though it destroy the tissues and such of the 
poison as may not yet have entered the circulation, can have no 
influence on that which is already beyond its reach. But as the 
ligature, if tightly and quickly applied, and the actual cautery, 
if promptly and thoroughly inserted, must limit to a certain 
extent the entrance of the poison, both should be had recourse 
to as speedily and efficaciously as possible, in the hope that the 
amount of poison left to find, or that may have already found 
its way into the system, may he less than is sufficient to cause 
death. 
To conceive of an antidote, in the true sense of the term, to 
snake-poison, one must imagine a substance so subtle as to 
follow, overtake, and neutralize the venom in the blood, or that 
shall have the power of counteracting and neutralizing the 
deadly influence it has exerted on the vital forces. Such a 
substance has still to be found, and our present experience of 
the action of drugs does not lead to hopeful anticipation that 
we shall find it. 
But I repeat that where the poisonous effects are produced 
in a minor degree, or when the secondary consequences are to 
be dealt with, we may do much to aid the natural forces in 
bringing about recovery. This is not, however, what is meant 
by an antidote. 
Experiment No. 17. 
A large and powerful Dog had the right external jugular vein 
exposed. Twenty drops of a mixture of fresh Cobra poison, 
taken from the snake the same day, one part, and liquor am¬ 
monias, specific gravity '959, forty drops or two parts, was then 
injected with the hypodermic syringe into the vein. The time 
of the insertion of the fluid was 4.27.30. The effect was in¬ 
stantaneous ; the Dog struggled, howled, and was convulsed on 
the table: he was immediately released and placed on the 
ground, but was already almost unconscious and convulsed. 
He made an effort to rise on his legs, and fell prone on his 
belly. Within one minute respiration had ceased, though the 
heart’s action continued faintly. This ceased, and at 4.30 a.m. 
he was quite dead. The action of the poison with the ammonia 
was frightfully rapid in this case. Death occurred in two 
minutes and a half, complete unconsciousness within a minute; 
and only by the faint heating of the heart, which continued 
for two minutes and a half, was any sign of life manifested. 
This surely is fatal to the theory of ammonia injected into the 
circulation being of any benefit in snake-poisoning. In this 
case the poison and the so-called antidote were injected syn¬ 
chronously ; the result was almost instant death. 
The experiment was performed by Dr. Ewart and myself 
with the greatest care, and certainly no air entered the vein. 
Experiment No. 18. 
The Cobra that bit the Dog in a former experiment (No. 15) 
hit a Fowl in the thigh at 3.46 p.m. The bird immediately 
began to limp, and then crouched, and then fell over. 
3.47.—Head fallen over, beak resting on the ground. 3.49.— 
Convulsed; dead. Death occurred in three minutes. 
A second Fowl was bitten by the same snake at 3.50 p.m. in 
the thigh. 3.51.—Drooping his wings. 3.55.—Sits down, 
beak resting on the ground. 3.57.—Is convulsed. 4 p.m.— 
Dead in ten minutes. 
A third Fowl bitten by the same snake in the thigh at 3.51 
p.m., shortly after drooped. 3.58.—Convulsed. 4.2.—Dead. 
Dead in eleven minutes. 
A fourth and larger Fowl bitten in the thigh by the same 
Cobra at 4.3 p.m. 4.8.—Crouching ; wings spread out; gets 
up ; tries to run, and falls; head droops, beak resting on the 
ground. 4.10.—Convulsed. 4.17.—Still convulsed; comb livid. 
4.20.—Dead in seventeen minutes. 
A fifth Fowl bitten in the thigh by the same Cobra at 4.13 
p.m. 4.20.—Crouches ; comb drooping. 4.24.—Head droop¬ 
ing ; resting on beak. 4.29.—Quite paralysed; convulsed. 
4.35.—Dead in twenty-two minutes. 
A Pigeon was bitten in the thigh by the same Cobra at 
4.37 p.m. 4.47.—The Pigeon is drooping, and when he stands, 
it is on one leg, and then falls over again. 5.22.—Dead in 
forty-five minutes. 
This was the ninth animal bitten by the Cobra in rapid suc¬ 
cession, and still it is apparently not quite exhausted. 
A sixth Fowl bitten in the thigh by the same Cobra at 
4.32 p.m. 
4.35.—Crouching. 4.47.—Staggers. 5.45.—Lying down 
insensible. 6.5.—Dead in ninety-nine minutes. 
A seventh Fowl bitten by the same Cobra in the thigh at 
4.34 p.m. 
4.37.—Crouches. 4.47.—Seems sluggish, and limps. 
June 27th, 5.30 a.m.— Lying down, and eyes half closed; 
unable to walk. 
June 28th, 6 a.m.— Is recovering; walks sluggishly, and 
limps, but is evidently regaining strength. 
The object of this experiment was to test the extent of power 
possessed by the Cobra. It destroyed one Dog, six Fowls, and 
a Pigeon in rapid succession, but the intervals between the 
bite and the death of each became more prolonged, showing the 
gradual diminution of power at each bite. The seventh Fowl 
poisoned was only slightly so, and recovered. 
The Cobra was neither a very large nor a very vigorous one, 
and yet how deadly! Eight creatures destroyed by a rapid 
succession of bites. The experiment proves that the snake 
becomes weaker by biting, until quite exhausted. 
Experiment No. 19. 
A Daboia was bitten by a fresh Cobra (“ Kala Keautiah ”) 
near the tail sufficiently far from the viscera. The scales were 
previously scraped off. The snake bit fiercely and repeatedly 
at 4.54 p.m. 
6 p.m. —No change. 
On June 28th, at 6 a.m., there was no change. 
The object of this experiment was to repeat the test of the 
influence of the Cobra poison on the Yiper. The result tends 
to show that it is innocuous. 
