THE COBRA.

Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 298, 18 December 1886, Page 3

THE COBRA.

Some Facts About the Deadly Indian Serpents.

While at home on furlough from India a short time ago, I was much amused at finding a very general impression among my friends that to coma across a cobra'is an everyday kind of occurrenca id India. Huw erroneous this idea is may be gathered from the f.ict, that not many days ago a brother officer told mo that although he had been about ten years in India, he had never yet ssen a cobra in a wiid state. He is, it is true, probably an exceptional case ; but still it ?hows that an Englishman may pa?s a considerable time in India without coining across one of these venomous reptiles. Cobras, however, are met with quite often enough, and sometimes in very curious and uncomfoitable flices. For in.etance, a y-'ung lady who had just returned from a bull in a small station in Southern India, noticed, as she was on the point of getting into bed, that the pillow looked disarranged, and on taking it"up to smooth it out she discovered a cobri coiled up underneath it She cal'orl out for assistance, and her father coming to the rescuo speedily despatched tho obnoxious intruder with a stick. I happened to mention this circumstance to an officer ono f*ay, and ho informad mi that the very sam", thing had happened 11 him soon after his fir3t arrival in tho country, ».nd that in conpequence he never got into bed until he had examined the pillows. In the year 1573, while quartered at Bellary, on goiDg to the drawing-room of the bungalow, which afc.jjiat time I shared with a friend, I discovered a cobra curled upon the>ofa.cushion. I hastened out ot the room tn foich a stick, HsU in doing so, ■'. must, I supp- s ■, have made somo nt)l?e, as on retui-uin2 thl miks h?rt. disapp'eArod; A fow iivsninirs lar.or, hrswovir, juat as my " phnm;-" "was i avinjrtbe Hru^e tn go out to dinner, he called out to mo that there w'jr a enako crawling up the »tep^ of the verandah in front of the drawing room' I ran out. with a stick, and succeeded in killings tl'.o unwelcome visitor. It. turned but to be, a fairly large cobrsu and was in all probability tho one which I bad seen a few days

previously on the sofa. It »a» however, in the bathrooms of an Indian bungalow that cobra?, when met with within doors, are most frequently encountered, as they come there in.pursuit of the frogs which ■Might to take up their quarters there; for froggy is an article of diet to which the •obra is very partial. An officer of the Madras'cavalry, since deceased, told me that when quartered at Arcot he one day observed in hir. bathroom, emerging from The waste-water pipe, the head of a cobra, which was holding in its mouth a frog. The pipe was too narrow to admit of the snakejs withdrawing his head unless he released bia victim; this, however, from unwillingness co forego his meal, he would not do, _ and in consequence paid the penalty for his gluttony with his life. One day my wife's ayah came running into our bedroom saying there^ was a large -make in the bath room. Arming myself an usual with a stick, I went into the bathroom Justin time to seethe snake disappear into the wasto-water pipe, which rah under another small room to the back of the house, where the water found its outlet. The servants etationed themselves at tho outlet, while I endeavoured to drive the reptile out from the rear, first with my stick, and afterward by pouring the-con-tents of a kettle of boiling water down the uipe. Both attempts to dislodge.the intruder from the position proving' ineffectual, I commenced a vigorius Oisault on him by thrusting a bamboo about 6ve feet; long down the pipe, and thia time success rewarded "my efforts, and the snake, driven from his refuge, was killed by the servants outside. This cobra measured about five feet six inches in length, and was the largest that I have ever seen killed. I may here mention that the ordinary ideas ataput the size attained by this species qf snake are greatly exaggerated. _ Some years ago a surgeon-major serving in the Madras presidency, with whom I was acquainted, took a great interest in this matter, and offered a considerable reward to anyone who would bring him a cobra six feet in length ; but, if my memory serves me right, the reward was never gained, although a very large number of cobras were produced for his inspection. Once I witnessed a wonderful escape from the almost invariably fatal effects of a cobra bite. I was marching with, some native troops in the cold weather, and halted for the night, at a place called Maikur, where, instead of having our tents pitched, my wife and, I preferred occupying ft small - bungalow belonging to the Department of Public, Works, which was situated opposite the encampment ground. Sitting out,-. s>id6 the bungalow after dinner, • I had occasion to call my head servant to give him some orders far the - next morning. As he ran up, I saw him kick something off his left foot, and at the same time he called out: " Samp, sahib, samp!"

("A snake, sir, a snake.") There was a bright good fire burning close bjy and ,I ( " saw by its light the snake with its hood up. It was immediately killed by some of the camp followers, and was brought to me, and proved to be a email Cobra. Oa examining my servant's foot, I found one tiny , puncture on the ankle, on which was a single drop of blood. The man waa: at once taken to the hospital tent and attended to by the hospital assistant in medical charge of the troops, who applied ammonia and did all that waa in ■•/; his power. I was very anxious about the ; man s but he woke me at the bpur for... '■* marching next morning as i£ nothing had: happened, and for some time apparently experienced no inconvenience. Some weeks later, however, after we had reached our destination, his left leg swelled very much and he suffered great pain for a considerable time, but he eventually . recovered., The snake was seen by eight or ten persons , besides myself, and was beyond doubt a -_ cobra, and the only possible explanation of . the man's escape seems to be that the reptile must have bitten something else'vary; shortly before, and bo to a great extent ex--"" : hausted the deadly poison injts fange. One of "our children had a narrow escape, ■ though of a different. kind,' when quite a baby. My wife picked him up ono day . from the floor, where he was lying, enjoy ■ ing himself in baby fashion. She had hardly done so when.a cobra fell from-the roof on the very spot on which the little * one had been disporting himself the moment ' before. - * . On one occasion a curious native super- • : stition with regard to the subject of these*-" ■ notes came to my notice. A cobra which had been killed in the hut of one of the men was brought up to be shown to me, when.a. : bavildar (nativa-aergeant). called my atten-' - tion to the fact that the. end of his,tail was .>V blunt, saying in Hindoatani;,'! Look, sahib; v this is»a downright villain; he has.bitten- ';; some man, so lost the tip of his tail." On . my making further inquiries I was con- ■ fidently assured that whenever a cobra bites ' a man the tip of his tail invariably becomes . blunted ! "' ." '' - -■■ •■ /'-.■■<■■ ■■ -•'--■