FER-DE-LANCE 
Because of its deadliness and abundance, the fer-de-lance, also called barba 
amarilla, is known as the terror of the Central American lowlands. It also 
frequents tropical South America and the West Indian islands of Martinique 
and St. Lucia. The effects of this snake’s poison are rapid and terrible. It 
destroys the red blood cells and breaks down the walls of the blood vessels. 
Visible early symptoms are reddening of the eyes and vomiting of blood. 
Hemorrhages ensue in the stomach, throat, mouth and kidneys. The tissue 
around the wound is completely destroyed by the poison. So strong is the 
venom that a Honduran woman whose fingers were lacerated from grating 
cocoanut died from tending the wound of her bitten husband. One reason 
for the uncommon abundance of the fer-de-lance is that the young are 
brought forth in litters of sixty or more. 
This viper attains a length of eight feet. Its color is gray, olive or 
reddish with dark cross bands. Its brightly colored tail is said to attract 
its prey and its lance-shaped head is the reason for its French name of fer-de- 
lance. Tomigoff is British West Indian Negro dialect for a snake of any sort, 
and Jamaican workers on the Panama Canal applied the term to the fer-de- 
lance, which was abundant in that region. The name of barba amarilla , or 
yellow beard, arises from its yellow chin. Mongooses introduced into Marti¬ 
nique and St. Lucia to combat it have had some success, chiefly in killing the 
young. A full-grown snake is just as likely to kill the mongoose. The fer-de- 
lance is common in regions inhabited by man, because it commonly feeds 
on rodents. A legend long current in the West Indian islands has it that they 
were purposely introduced by the French planters to make it difficult for 
slaves to escape. 
RUSSELL’S VIPER 
Though sluggish and slow-moving, the five-foot Russell’s viper, or tic 
polonga , rivals the cobra as the greatest killer among oriental snakes. The 
poison of this viper tends to coagulate the blood and destroy the red blood 
cells. It can kill a chicken in the record time of thirty-eight seconds and a 
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