Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 April 1877 — The cobra de Capello. [ARTICLE]

The cobra de Capello.

We, hive been favored, says Chambers' Journal , with the following details concerning one of the deadliest of the Indian snakes' the cobra, by a gentleman who has passed many years in the East. He says: The cobra de capello (Naja tripudums), sometimes called the “ hooded,” or “spectacle snake,” is the most dreaded of all the venomous snakes of India. When excited hr confronting an ««my it assumes a remarkably graceful posture of defense by raising the forepart of the body to a height of, perhaps, a foot and a half trom the ground, and at the

same moment drawing together into aeoil the remaining portion of its body and tail, till it forma, aa it were, • kina of spiral spring, which, aided by the elasticity and muscular power of its frame, enables it so soon as it deems its opponent to be within range of its stroke, to launch itself forward with lightning rapidity. In an instant the bite is given, which, as we shall presently see, is nearly if not always fatal. I believe thjtt the cobra de capello is found throughout Hindostan, though it is far more numerous in some localities than in others. In some of our Bengal stations where I have been quartered, I have not seen a single cobra nor noticed the trace of one from one year's end to the other; in others, especially during “the rains,” hardly a week has passed without several having been seen. In Bundelcund, especially in the neighborhood of Jhansi and Lullutpore, the cobra is unusually common. It harbors chiefly in holes under the foundations and in the walls of old rained forts and temples, in honeycombed ant-hills, in the sides of old wells, or amid the debris of fallen buildings and deserted outhouses, particularly where grass and jungle have been allowed to grow and rubbish to accumulate. During the day it is rarely seen abroad, but lies coiled up asleep in its place of concealment, sallying forth in search of food as soon as darkness sets in. It preys chiefly on frogs, toads, rats, joung birds, and the like. It will readily invade a house in quest of such creatures, and, on entering a room, travels round the angles made by the walls and floor. During the hot weather mouths, when, on account of the oppressive heat, doors and windows are left wide open throughout the night, and there is nothing to bar the entrance of vermin of all sorts, it is nothing unusual in the morning to find portions of the slough cast off its body by a prowling cobra. Houses with thatched roofs, particularly old buildings, are always more frequented by snakes than tiled dwellings of recent construction. It is a mistake to imagine that the cobra, or, in fact, any other kind of serpent that I am acquainted with, will ever bite or molest human beings, unless disturbed, meddled with or provoked in the first instance. On the contrary, the greater majority of snakes are only too glad to be permitted to escape and be&t a retreat when discovered by man, and, unless driven into a corner, or followed up, speedily vanish into some old rat-hole or other hiding place, without showing, beyond a threatening hiss, a sign of opposition to, or desire of retaliating on, the intruder. I believe that nearly always it is the sense of fear more than anything else that induces the cobra, when surprised or touched even without hurt, instantaneously to turn and bite the person who has alarmed it. The boots and trousers or gaiters usually worn by Europeans when out walking or shooting in a great measure protect the wearers from the teeth of snakes. Natives of India, on the other hand, in spite of the fearful loss of life annually occasioned among them by poisonous snakes, appear to be perfectly callous and indifferent about guarding against such dangerous creatures, neglecting to take even the most ordinary precautions. Some classes sleep on charpoys or native bedsteads; but the great majority, especially of the poorer orders, sleep on the ground, with their heads wrapped up. ana their bodies enveloped in a sheet or blanket. A cobra, when traveling at night in search of food, instead of circling round, often crosses over the body or legs of a sleeper, the weight and movement of the reptile partially awaken the unfortunate slumberer, who, in a half-conscious state, puts out his hand to discover what has disturbed him, probably touches the hideous intruder, and is immediately bitten.