The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1873-02-06

Dcell lying uOWn anu ulSplayCu IL
wounds in the cheek.
/, Rattlesnake-the deadly crotalus-
| foe most dangerous and dread, to con
as it were suddenly in our midst, Otter
too, striking men without aifordin
them an opportunity for taking revenq
upon the crawling, insidious assailan
SO that, in the course of q few houl,
men shrank with blanched cheek frol
taking their turn in riie-pit or eartl
work-soldiers who would have gon
ont boldly to the encounter Of some il
imical regiment. The very knowledg
Of there being such a deadly plague i
our midst sent II shudder through tin
whole brigade; and those who had bee.
i'll the habit Of throwing themselve
down to rest in all inSOuciancc, wer
now to be seen turning over stones
searching and beating bushes about til,
tents, and starting like frightened chill
drcn ut every false alarm.
Twice over the yenomous beast wa,
brought in with the sufferer; and, aftcl
attending to the stricken mans wants, !
had gazcd with considerable crlsiosity
at the long, 1.-the, iaitly-quiyering, scaly
body, whose crushed head had contained
50 potent Il philtcr from Natures labora.
tory, that Il tiny drop in the veins Of a
stout man brought him, in u very short
space, to the brink Of death.
was very successful, saving lives Of
all three men by the same mcans-a
powerful stimulus, whose strength
countcracted the fatal prostration in
duced by the poison.
And now here was another-a fine,
strong young fellow-sinking fast when
he reached the tent, and only just able
to tell how he had lain down, and then,
ut almost one and the same moment
heard the rattle and felt the sharp prick
of the beasts fangs. | had a hard fight,
tho poison having obtained 50 strong u
hold; but perseverance and science
proved the ~victors in the end, and there
were tears Of gratitude in my patients
eyes as he took his leave.
That night, 50 serious was the panic
amongst the men, that the general of
brigade consulted with his brother
officers concerning the choosing of fresh
ground; but from the strength of our
position, this vas negativcd; and the
next morning the mel we're encouraged
to hunt out our reptile foes, the result
being tho exhibition Of four large-sized
rattlesnakes, whose career of danger to
man had been brought to Il conclusion.
There was ne respite for uc, though
many hours had..elapsed, an Irish
man was led in, with a strap tightly
fastened round one arm to arrest the
of the poison, while his hand dis
the customary punctures, and
sufferer the usual symptoms of pros
%tration. In this case, though, the effect
the stimulmt exhibited was to send
the patient into a profound state of I'M
consciousness, which somewhat alarmed
me, from its being a contrary effect to
that usually produced--thc power of
poison being such that a pint cf
whisky did little more than re-
viyo the sufferer.
The lrishman was dismissed, cured,
following morning; but two hours
after, another poor fellow from his com
pany was led in, crying and moaning
ike a child,
so docthor, docthor dear" he cried,
isn't cruel to keep the boys here in
'nch n nest Of snakes? I'm kilt intiro-
y wild one Of the little pison bastos wild
rattlctail, and it's such a small place
hardly car see it, Wirrasthruc!
did | lave oulc Ireland at all at all?
where there isn's vinimous haste to
ONE and dovour q boy, is he's liver so
Iungry."
"Thcre, there! stop that bowling,
ny good follow" | said, "and lot me
ook."
"l8 it bowling yc call it., docthor
lear, whin the pison's running all
Trough YEP. But place be a-lool;in' at
before Tn kill intirely. There,
.octhor, dear, it'sthim two small howls,
lst as if some n had brogged EN- in
I'D two pins. o docthOr dear, shall |
lie? shall | have to be bcrrid in the
ovid airth widout bcin' daccntly
'akcd? Ochono! why did | come out
t all at all?"
"There, confound it man, be quiet"
exclaimed; and then with Il little ap-
@lication of bandago and lancet, I gave
he poor fellow the stimulant, which he
to gulp down as if it were so
luch water, until at last insensibility
nsucd; and | noted down in my little
lsc book that the effect OF poison and
ntidotc was different upon men of the
race, and | lay down that night
, my tent very quiet and thoughtful.
Not a single %rattlosnakc had been
ilicd that day, in spite of tho most en-
rgetic search; and / began to hope
nat the peril would soon be a thing of
Re past-the snakes fleeing from the
of man; but the very next
.orning, directly after leaving the mess
the colonel come to me himself,
.'companying another Irishman from
le same company.
1T will never do, Ellison" the colo
Il c1iI. 40 r,nII, ,,,,,.. l,.1 - VI