Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1884-12-10
SNAKE BITE CURES.
REMEDIES Fos SERPENT POISONING.
Ths Things Relied On TO SeutraIize the
Most Violent or Poisons Cases
Where whisky and Tobzsp
co Have Uses.


poison Ia the true sense Of the term" Sir
Joseph Fayrer explains, lone must imag-
ine = substance SO subtle as 70 follow
0Yertake and neutralize the venom in the
blood; one that shall have the power Of
e0unteracting and neutralizing the deadly
influence il has exerted ON the vital forces.
Such substance has still to be found, and
our present experience Of the action OF
drugs does not lead 20 hopeful anticipation
that We shall find it,"
With regard 70 the many drugs used IN
various countries for the cure OF snake.
bite, it is curious TO note that, as rule,
they are procured from the most deadly
plants. AS like cures like, SO poison cures
poison. Pennyroyal, says Charas, was
held TO the nose OF viper, which by turn
ing and wriggling labored hard to avoid
1t, and in half an hours time was killed
by it. This was in july, at which season
these creatures are computed 60 be IN the
greatest vigor OF their poison.
Another drug which is poison 20 ven-
omous snake is tobacco, within the reach
OF most persons. This, among native
remedies, has always been in favor, and
we have heard of its efficacy ever since
the weed was known to Europeans. Vari-
Gus species of tobacco and its allies are
indigenous to most tropical countries, and
probably were in use for both man and
snake bites long before civilized nations
took comfort in smoking. Man carries
more poison in his mouth than snake,
said an old Virginian writer, alluding TO
nicotine. He can poison rattlesnake
more quickly than it can him. Nicholson
states that il also rapidly affects a cobra,
aud he recommends it, should you wish TO
destroy the snake uninjured 'You have"
he says, 'but to blow into its mouth a
drop or two of the oil from a dirty pipe"
Two young men chopping wood together
in Virginia espied a rattlesnake. With
forked stick one of them held its head
close TO the gronnd, keeping its body con-
strained with his foot while his comrade
took from his own moth a quid of tobacco,
which he forced into that of the snake.
The reptile was then released, and had not
crawled a couple of yards before it was
convulsed, swelling and dying within
short time.
Strychnine appears to have similar
effect to tobacco on snakes. Fayrer found
cobras extremely susceptible to the inau-
ence of strychnine. An almost impalpa-
Bile quantity caused cobra to twist itself
up in a rigid series of coils and die. Car
bolic acid is another drug which produces
powerful effects. Poured ON the floor Of
their cages it will kill venomous snakes in
very short time. A large Bungarus died
in ten minutes in this way.
DR.. Weir Mitchell approves of carbolic
acid. The Lancet recommends every back
woodsrnan TO supply himself with little
of it, which is easily portable and manage
able in capillary tubes. In several of
Mitchell's experiments with crotalus
venom, carbolic acid applied to the wound
done at once.
The whole secret of cures-when cures
can be effected at all-lies in promptness.
1t is celebrity on the part of the Indians
which insures their success. In an instant,
II his comrade be bitten, the savage is on
his knees sucking the wound, grasping the
limb firmly, or strapping it tightly above
and below the bite, knowing quite well the
Importance of checking the circulation.
He has his "poison pills" and tobacco in
his pouch. He explodes gunpowder on the
wound, and loses not instant, nor does the
victim lose heart. He submits with courage
and confidence, and in these lie another
element of success.
Many cases are on record Of persons be-
ing at deaths door through fear alone,
when bitten by harmless snake, but re-
covering on being assured that there was
no danger. And other cases are well
known where bitten persons have died of
fright and the depressing influence sur
rounding the accident when they might
possibly have recovered.
And now for few words about the
most popular and perhaps most attain
able of all remedies-alcohol. No wonder
the backswoodsman resorts to this, which,
without any chopping off of fingers or
toes, or personal pyrotechnics, or other
local tOrtures, deadens his sensibilities,
renders him unconscious of suffering, and
sends him into happy obliviousness Of
danger. 1t is not a refined mode of treat
ment, nor one that presents many oppor-
tunities Of exhibiting professional skill;
and IL is no doubt somewhat derogatory TO
admit that 60 become dead drunk is an ef-
fective victory against snake venom. Dur
ing sojourn in Iowa some years ago,
WHtU VIII anu uUttcaFtu lhQuS IOfUltQ
the streets" OF the town in which / was
staying-Lyons, on the Mississippi River.
and as lovely spot "a artists and bot
anists can wish 20 revel init was by no
means an infrequent occurrence TO hear of
rattlesnake bite.
"What was done 20 the man2 Is he
aIives' were the questions naturally
/ asked.
"He drank quart Of raw whisky, and
/ got dead drunk.-
Generally quart had the desired effect
that is, OF causing intoxication. Persons
unused 30 intoxicants might be affected by
= less guam tity, but 80 violent l. the com
bat between venom and whisky that a
large dose must bs swallowed before any
effects at ali are produced. heard Of .
man In Nevada--Ucorge Terhnne. team
ster a KivS hls name having reason 10 be.
I Ileve the truth Of the story 1-who wss
bitten IN the hand ~ a rsttlesnsks whlls
st,,opine - reach SONS water out ~ .
a.