An in quest was held at the York and Albany Tavern, on the body of Edward Horatio Gurling, a keeper in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's-park, who was, owing to his own imprudence, bitten on the Wednesday previous, by a venomous serpent called the cobra di capella, of which bite he died in a few hours.
The body presented no very unusual appearance, not being swollen or otherwise disfigured, and the mark of the serpent's bite being indicated only by a slight discolouration on the bridge of the nose. The accident occurred in the Serpent-house, which is fitted up in such a manner as, with the most ordinary precautions, to insure perfect safety from casualties of the kind. The whole front of each cell is of thick plate-glass. By means of an iron rod, hooked at the end, and inserted through the small aperture at the top of each compartment, the reptiles are easily removed into the compartment next their own, and made secure there, while the keepers place food in and clean out the empty one. Visitors are enabled to see the serpents in perfect security through the thick glass fronts of the compartments; and nothing can be better than the arrangements of the Society in this portion of their display, the keepers having the strictest orders never on any account to lift the glass slides or to attempt doing anything in the compartments without first removing their occupants. The cobra which inflicted the fatal wound is that found in India, Ceylon, and the adjacent islands, and differs from the African cobra, a specimen of which is placed beside it, in having its skin marked with rings of a dirty yellow colour.
Edward Stewart, one of the attendants of the humming-bird collection, said that he helped Curling in the mornings, and had been with him on the evening preceding his death; they had been out together the previous night, and had not been to bed at all. Deceased was not intoxicated when they went to the Gardens, but was in an excited state. Witness was present when the fatal accident took place, and was going out of the room with a basket of sparrows, a little after 8 o'clock, when the deceased walked inside of the railing which fenced off the compartments in which the serpents are confined, and lifting up the glass front took out a Morocco snake by the middle. Another man entered the room at the time, and witness, turning round to Curling, said, "For God's sake put it back again!" He replied, "I am inspired," and laughed at witness. He then laid the snake round the shoulder of witness, who stooped down, and said, "It will bite me in a minute;" after which he put it back. Witness then walked down the room, going on with his work, when the deceased, who was close beside him, inside the railing, exclaimed, "Now for the cobra!" Witness called out, "Good God! what are you about?" but he had the cobra out before he could prevent him, and put it under his waistcoat. It coiled round his waist and came out behind; when taking hold of it, about a foot from the head with one hand, and with the other lower down, he held it up in front of his face. It then flew at him, and witness saw the blood flowing from the bridge of his nose. Gurling said to him, "Run for Hunt," and he ran off accordingly. How long he was away he could not tell, being in a maze, but deceased must have put back the snake in the interval, for he was in his compartment and the front glass closed down. Witness was perfectly sober at the time. He had seen deceased excited with drink once or twice before, but never so bad, and when he was intoxicated he generally went home.
Mr. G. F. Burder, house-surgeon at the University College Hospital, said that he was present at the death of the deceased, which happened on the morning of Wednesday, the 20th of October, at half-past 10. He had been there about an hour before the event took place. When taken in he appeared almost if not quite un conscious, and unable to support his head. His face was livid, his respiration very imperfect, he moved himself uneasily, and pointed to his throat and moaned. The pupils were rather large and acted very imperfectly, the left, however, being most active. The surface of the skin was of the natural temperature, and the pulse pretty good and strong. He never spoke after his admission, and could not walk or stand. Witness had him taken at once to a ward and put to bed, when artificial respiration and galvanism were at once resorted to. He seemed quite unable to swallow. The artificial respiration seemed able to keep up the action of the heart after natural respiration had ceased, but he rapidly sank, and galvanism had no effect. About five minutes after his admission respiration was at 20, but then shallow, and it shortly after be came very slow and ceased. His eyes were partially open throughout, but did not give indications of paralysis. The wounds were small punctures on either side of the bridge of the nose, symmetrically placed, four on the right side, and six on the left. The right eyelid was swollen, but the left not at all. The largest puncture would be about one-sixth of an inch in diameter, and the deepest was about an eighth of an inch. It had penetrated through the skin into the cellular tissue, but witness could not detect any mark in the periosteum. The face was more livid than is usual before death, and continued much so for some time. It extended, on the post-mortem examination, half way down the neck, and also about the back. Witness had never seen a case of the kind before. The post mortem examination was made 29 hours after death. In the brain there was no unnatural congestion, and the same might be said of the spinal column, except that it seemed unusually soft, in the lower part. The chest and lungs were less collapsed than in ordinary cases, which might be attributed to artificial respiration, but towards the back part of both lungs they were intensely congested, were black in colour, and a blackish froth issued from the tissue. The mucous membrane of the inner passages was of a very dark colour, and the passages themselves were filled with a dark frothy fluid. The same sort of fluid had also issued in considerable quantities from the wounds, between the death and the post mortem examination. The artificial respiration was continued for 40 minutes after the natural respiration had stopped, and until the pulse ceased to beat. There was nothing unusual about the larynx or glottis, and there was no sign of constriction. The black colour of the mucous membrane commenced in the lower part of the trachea, and increased as it descended. There was nothing unusual in the pericardium, and the heart was free from disease. The left cavities were firmly contracted and free from blood; the right were moderately full of dark- coloured blood, and a small quantity of very loose coagulum. The stomach had patches of dark- coloured spots like ecchymosis, the surface of the mucous membrane being mottled, and in some parts red, in others pale. The stomach contained a small quantity of fluid, but witness could not say of what kind. The intestines were healthy throughout ; the liver was of a darkish colour on the surface and in sections. The kidneys, though sound, were much congested. The spleen was excessively congested, almost black in colour, and very soft. The deepest of the punctures had been constantly since death exuding a thin bloody fluid. There was an ecchymosis under the skin, such as might take place from any other puncture, but no unusual inflammatory action.
The Coroner. — Did you discover the cause of death?
Witness supposed it was from asphyxia, and he had no doubt that it was caused by poison. Some of the post-mortem appearances could be accounted for as the result of the artificial respiration, but others resulted from the poisonous bite of a serpent.
The Jury returned a verdict to the effect that the deceased had lost his life by the bite of a ser pent known as the cobra di capella, when in a state of intoxication, and in consequence of his own rashness and indiscretion.
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