New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1852-02-05
DAILY CRESCENT.
OFFICIAL JOURNAL
TIE COUNCIL OF THE SECOND MTNIcr
The South American snake-plant.
\ sEsiLous EXPERIMENT

tangled Woods--renders the knowledge of any
counteracting remedy a matter of great i'm
pOrtance to these people. In consequence much
diligence has at all times been used in seeking
for such remedies; and many, more or less eff
cacious, have, from time to time, been discovered
| That of surest virtues yet known is plant
| called the gudcO-the sap of whose leaves is a
complete antidote against the bite of the most
poisonous reptiles. The guaco is species Of
willow, and is q strong, healthy plant, bu,
grows only in the hot regions, and fourishes bes,
| in the shade Of other trees, along the banks o
| the streams. 1t is not found in the colder up.
lands (tierrns .frias y and in this disposal ma
ture again beautifully exhibits her design, as
here exist not the yenomous creatures against
whose poisons the guaco seems intended as an
antidote
! That part of the plant which is used for the
snake-bite is a sap or tea distilled from its
leaves. 1t may be taken either preventive
or cure; in the former case, enabling him who
has drunk of it to handle the most dangerous
| serpents with impunity. For long time the
knowledge of the antidotalqualities of the guaco
remained great mystery. and was confined to
few among the native inhabitants of South
America Those of them who possessed the
the secret were interested in preserving it, as
through it they obtained considerable recon-
pense not only from those who had been bitten
by yenomous snakes, but also from many who
were curious to witness the feats of these snake
tanners themselves. However, the medicinal
virtues of the guaco are now generally known
in all countries where it is found and its
effects only cause astonishment to the stranger
or traveller.
Being at Margarita some time ago, heard of
this singular plant. and was desirous of witness
ing the test of its virtues. Among the slaves
of the place there was one noted as q skillful
snake doctor; and as enjoyed the acquaintance
of his master, was not long in obtaining a
promise that my curiosity should be gratifed
few days after, the negro entered my room
carrying in his hands a pair of coral-snakes, of
that species known as the most beautiful and
venomous. The negros hands and arms were
completely naked: and he manipulated the rep
tiles, turning them about, and twisting them
over his wrists with the greatest apparent con-
fdence | was, for while, under the suspicion
that their fangs had been previously drawn :
but l soon found that had been mistaken. The
man convinced me of this by opening the mouths
of both, and showing me the interior There
sure enough, were both teeth and fangs in their
perfect state; and yet the animals did not make
the least attempt to use them On the contrary,
they seemed to exhibit no anger, although the
negro handled them roughly. They appeared
perfectly inocuous. and rather afraid of him.
Determined to assure myself beyond the sha-
dow Of a doubt, l ordered large mastiff to be
snakes could reach him The dog was sufficiently
frightened, but being tied he could not retreat !;
and after short while one of the serpents
''struck," and hit him on the back of the neck
The dog was now set loose, but did not at first
appear to notice the wound he had received In
two or three minutes, however, he began to limp
and howl most fearfully. In five minutes more
he fell, and struggled over the ground in violent
convulsions, similar to those occasioned by hy-
drophobia Blood and viscous matter gushetl
from his mouth and nostrils, and at the end Of
a quarter of an hour by the watch he was dead
Witnessing all this | became extremely desir-
Gus of possessing the important secret-which,
by the way, was not then so generally known.
| offered q good round sum; and the negro
promising to meet my wishes, took his departure.
On the following day he returned, bringing
with him a handful fheart- shaped leaves which
recognized as those of the bejuco de guaco, or
snake-plant. These he placed in bowl, having
first crushed them between two stones. He next
poured a little water into the vessel. In few
minutes maceration took place. and the &c tea''
was ready. | was instructed to swallow two
small spoonfuls of it, which l did. The negro
then made three incisions in each of my hands
at the forking of my fingers, and three similar
ones on each foot between the toes Through
these he inoculcated me with the extract of the
guaco. He next punetured my breast, both on
the right and left side, and performed a similar
incubation. was now ready for the snakes
several of which, both of the coral and cascabel
species, the negro had brought along with him
With all my wish to become a snake charmer
must confess that at the sight of the hdeous
reptiles | felt my courage oozing through my
nails. The negro, however, continued to assure
me- and as took great pains to convince him
that my death would cost him his life, and saw
that he still entreated me to go ahead, l came at
length to the determination to run the risk
With a somewhat shaky hand took up one of
the corals, and passed it delicately through my
fingers. All right. The reptile showed no dis
position to bite, but twisted itself through my
hands, apparently covering and frightened.
soon grew bolder, and took up another and an
other, until l had three of them in my grasp at
one time. then put them down and caught
snake of the cascabel species--the rattlesnake
Of the north. This fellow behaved in a more
lively manner, but did not show any symptoms
of irritation.
After had handled the reptile for some
minutes, was holding it near the middle, when,
to my horror. saw it suddenly elevate its head
and strike at my left arm | felt that I was
bitten, and, finging the snake from me, / turned
to my companion with shudder of despair.
The negro, who, with his arms folded, had stood
all the while calmly looking on, now answered
my quick and terrified inquiries with repeated
assurances that there was no danger whatever,
and that nothing serious would result from the
bite. This he did with as much GOODNESS and
composure as if it had been only the sting of
mosquito. / was more comforted by the man.
ner of my companion than by his words; but to
make assurance doubly sure, | took fresh sup
of the guaco tea, and waited tremblingly the
result. A slight infammatory swelling soon ap-
peared about the oritice of the wound, but at the
expiration of few hours it had completely sub
sided. and felt that l was all right again.
On many occasions afterwards | repeated the
experiment of handling serpents had myself
taken in the woods and some of them of the
most poisonous species On these occasions |
adopted no further precaution than to swallow
a dose of the guaco sap, and even chewing the
leaves of the plant itself was sufficient. This
precaution is also taken by those-such as hun
ters and wood choppers-whose calling carries
them into the. thick ijungles of the southern
forest, where dangerous reptiles abound
The guaco no doubt has saved many a life.
The tradition which the Indians relate of the
discovery of its virtues is interesting. 1t is as
follows: In the Herras caiientes there is bird
OF the kite species-a gapilan, whose food con-
.sists principally of serpents When in search
of its victims, this bird utters loud but mo-
notonous note, which sounds like the word
gua-co slowly pronounced. The Indians alege
that this note is for the purpose of calling to it
the snakes, over whom it possesses mysterious
power, that summons them forth from their
hiding places. This, of course is pure supersti-