The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1878-10-03
THE CH1LDL1Ks RATTLEsNAKE.
An Esart Making to Utilize Bis Powers for
tho Preservation OF Life.
Eton, the Clieaao Tin,es

Yesterday Tins reporter met Prof.
q. R. Piper, snd the conversation natu-
rally drifting around to microscopy, the
Professor mentioned the fact that he was
about to begin microscopial investiga-
ton into the effect of rattlesnake poison
in the blood of various animals. He
was asked to give some information re-
garding the serpent, and at once COM
piled.
DIR. Piper's first remark was the rather
appalling one that 80, 0,0G0 people die in
India annually from snake bites, not in
cluding the victims of the reptile that
stingeth like an adder and lurketh in
mems boots. In this country, so far as
regards remedies, and the operation of
the poison on the system, SO far as it can
be done without the microscope, the sub
iect has already been carefully investiga-
ted. Recently, it is said that this instru-
ment has been brought in to aid such
Investigations, and important discoveries
hayebeen made. The results of poison
ing are not manifest until the poison has
reached the osterial capillary system.
Strychnine and prussic acid applied di-
rectly to the brain, spinal marrow or
nerves, produce little if any effect
Hence, it follows that if the poison be
rets rded from entering into the circula-
to,J system, the results will be retarded
) in exactly the same ratio. This is claimed
as having been demonstrated, but if it
7 was true how were we to account for the
production of death instantaneously by
the application of concentrated prlissic
acid to the tongue.
In DR.. Farrer's experiments with the
cobra di capello, he found the fowls bit
ten by the serpent in the leg or wing
were cured by the immediate removal of
the bitten part. A dog, bitten in the
fold of the skin raised for the purpose,
escaped by having the part Immediately
excised BY clean sweep of the scalpel.
But it was found that however tightly o
ligature might be drawn, it only retarded
the. action of. the subtle. agent. In the
case Of q fowl bitten, by the cobra, when
the ligature was drawn around the limb
with The full strength of q man, the AMI
NAL died in forty-four minutes.
The poison of the cobra does not ap-
pear to operate more rapidly. than that
Of the rattlesnake. In DR.. Macbeth's
{ experiments ION fowls he found that the
inEeryal between the bite and the symp-
toms was from nine to fifteen minutes |;
in dogs, from sixty-eight to one hundred
and thirty minutes. In the experiments
made by Drs. Taylor and Pavy on rab-.
bit, symptoms of poisoning came in fif-
teen Minutes 50 s-\ :
The extreme rapidity of the action of
poison when injected into the blood
vessels has been shown by Sir R. Christi-
son, who states that upon injecting poi
son into the femoral vein of a dog, with
his watch in his hand, he was unable to
notice any appreeiable interval between
the moment at which it was injected and
that in which the animal died. DR..
Farrer found that when the cobra poison
was injected into the jugular rein Of an
animal the action of the heart was at
once arrested. The heart was not paral-
yzed, but was thrown into state of te-
tanic spasm. It would seem that the
poison could not have had time to reach
the heart in such cases, but that the eff
feet was produced by transmitted action.
Prof. Piper thinks the action of poison
in such cases is probably somewhat anal
ogous to an electric shock.
Prof. Piper was in Indianapolis week
before last, and by the courtesy of DIR.
L. R. Haynes he was invited to witness
series of experiments made by the
Doctor with view to studying the effect
of snake poison upon the blood and tis-
sues of the animal system. Of course
this involves q long and patient use of
the microscope.
DR.. Haynes had fine rattiesnake about
eleven years old and three and half or
:. four feet long, confined in a cage of
woven wire. One object of his expert
ments was to note the effects of the poi
son with reference to its use as reme-
dial agent in certain cases of disease. 1t
is known that the physiological effects of
curave, the poison used by some savages
in poisoning their arrows and spear
points, are directly antagonistic to those
of strychnine, though to chemical analy-
sis they appear identical. From this it
is inferred that the snake poison might
5 be used to the same end in treating GER
tain kinds of disease.
Some thirty animals were used by DR..
Haynes in his experiments. The ami
imals were rats, hens, pigeons and rab-
bits. They lived varying periods after
being bitten, death not following in any
regular sequence of time, as is generally
believed. One rat died in eight minutes,
one in twelve, and the next rat lived
twenty-seven hours, the next surviving
twenty hours. A pigeon died in seventy
FIVE minutes. A hen which was struck
three times lived for three days in a
stupid condition, and finally recovered.
This was brave hen. She showed fight
and drew blood from the snake.
The symptoms were labored breathing,
paralysis of the hind extremities in the
auadrupeds, and absence of blood in the
extremities. After death the hearts were
found gorged with blood in fnal state.
This non-coagulation OF blood in these
cases might not be due to the poison.
Prof. Piper has often met with the same
fact in cases Of death from operations,
accidents and violence, both in human
beings and animals. The authorities
mention similar cases. Prof Piper was
inclined to attribute the non-coagulation
of the blood to fright or excitement just
before death. This, he thought, perhaps,
explained the old trial for murder by the
ordeal of touch. According to the ordeal
the suspected person was compelled to
touch the body of the victim, and if the
blood flowed from the wounds it was re-
garded as verdict against the accused.
If the blood in the victim of murder was
not coagulated very slight touch would
II - a., aran ~, nra Faalv than water
DR.. Piper said tile rattlesnake appeared
capable of striking from several different
positions, according as it suited bis con,
1enience, but when about to strike there
we're always two lateral curves of the
body, one backward and one forward.
The rattlesnake springs only two-thirds
OF his own length.
As to the remedy for the bite of the
rattlesnake, Prof. Piper had not paid
particular attention to the matter, but