The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-06-20
ABOUT RATTLESNAKES.
BY AN OBSeRVANT WOOOMAN WHO
LIVES AMONG THEM.
A RcmcLy Tor the Dreaded Hite-Market
for Snake Skins and Observation-Disclosures
Kings-Consumption Cure-A Popular
Observation-Disclosures

Supcrstitiou--Antid
Tho splitting of live chicken and ap
plying the warm flesh 10 q rattlesnake
bite" said lakewood resident. who lives
almost within gunshot Of rattlesnake
den on the Upper Shohola creek, lis be
lieved by nine out of ten Of the old time
dwcllers among the mountains of north
eastern Pennsy lvania to be a never failing
extractor Of the venom Of that reptile.
have never known personally Of a case OF
fatal poisoning by rattesnake bites III
human beings In fact. cannot rcnem.
Der of n single person ever having been
bitten within my knowledge, and live
within ten minutes walk Of place where
over 200 rattlesnakes were captured by
one man in the spring Of 1886. and where
| can go any day and gather as many rat
tiers as n customer may desire. Within
the past five years there has arisen craze
among city people who spend the summer
in the Pike county and other North Penn
sylvania mountains for specimens Of rat
tlesnaxe skins and rattles, and ! have my
self driven profitable business in supply
ing hides and buttons for that purpose
for three summers ! know one summer
boarding house keeper who buys these
things on speculation TO sell TO his
boardcrs. furnished him more than
fifty big skins and as many sets of rattles
last summer, and have now a contract for
100 of the same this season. ] have known
as much as $3.50 to be paid for one rattle
snake skin Some fanciers have the skins
stuffed and mounted, and others havo
belts. pockctbooks, card cases. cigar cases
and even slippers made from the skins,
after "A careful process of tanning, by
which tho colors and luster Of the skin
are preserved as they arc when the snake
is alive and ready to sink his fangs in his
aesthetic utilizcr
The person who caught the 200 rattle
snakes two years ago was Elijah Pelton, T.
big, double Gstcd woodman. He kept
them all alive without removing q fang,
and was tho only person | ever really
knew 10 handle live, fang whole rattle
snakes with impunity he did this daily
nearly all summer at Shohola Glen before
hundreds of New York people who visited
that place. and always thought the per.
Torrance singular one 10 be made an
attraction of summer sOjOurning place,
especially as PcltOn did not conceal the
fact that the snakes were captured within
an hours iourncyNf the resort. He had
the snakes IN 4 largo cage. which he On
tered and handled there at VIII, 20 the &c
Compartment of an almos, Ccatenirg
chorus of rafting from his vicious looking
pets. as they dartcd here and there about
the cage. or cOilel themselves IL the posi-
ton they always assume when about TO
strike Pciton asserts that he was bitten
time and time again, but that he simply
sucked ont the poison, and did not stint
himself as TO whisky
There was once another rattlcsnake
king In Pike county named Sam Helms.
lie supplied himself with snakes from the
same den that Pelton got his from. and
was never known TO be without his bosom
and pockets filed with them. He died
some years ago Of consumption. and his
death from that disease shook the faith Of
the old mountainecrs in the efficacy Of the
rattlesuakc "A curative power.
The high valCe that is set on rattle
snake oil wherever that snake is found Is
widely known have known as much as
s. TO he Paid for Cn ounce OF rattlcsnake
oil. SO g.cat vas the purchasers faith in
it as cure for Rheumatism. and many
believe that The oil is infallille as an in
tcrual remedy in all kinds Of fever, and in
some places it is regarded MS % never fail
ing cure for fits Il Is or record that many
years ago oyer ia Sullivan county, the
settlers on the east branch of the Della
ware got together ono fall and killed over
1.2O0 mtflcsnaEc5 an their dcns for tue
purpose oi trying ont the oil for b0ttling.
But HE uses Of the live m;tl'snako a.
a medicinal agent are not 50 well known.
The father of one of my present ncighsor-
suffered some years ago from an ulcer on
his leg lie dill not seem to receive any
benefit from rIttlesnake oil. 50 he tool,
the advice of an old resident, now dead,
and carried q live rattlesnal;e to bed with
him and kept il there three days The
old gentleman always insisted that he was
bitten by the snake and that the poison
simply counteracted the poison of the dis
ease that was in his blood and drove II
out How true that may be ] do not
know. but it Is certain that the mans
ulcer disappeared. and he got well and
lived for several years. don't know
whether the snake died or not, but very
likely it did
Then there was. and to some extent is
vet, a belief that If a conSuIptive should
bite deep into the neck of a live rattle.
snake at certain times the disease would
be cured When il was found that Sam
Helms had the consumption the live rot
tlesnake treatment was tried on him.
From all accounts he must have bitten
the necks of a Whole den Of live rattle
snakes. bnt cOnsumption's hand was not
stayed and Sam was gathered to his non
snake biting fathers.
Another popular superstition among
the old residenters. and one that some Of
their descendants believe in yet, was to
carry d set of rGttles in their hats 20 pre-
vent or cure headache and render sun
stroke impossible 1t was also once be
lieved that if person bitten by rattle
snake should swallow few drops of the
poison itself the former would have no
effect Not a few Woodsmen | have
known always had little vial of the
poison, which they extracted from the
sacs at the base Of the fangs of rattle
snakes they killed for their oil, TO be used
in case they should have the |
misfortune TO be inoculated by snake
bite in their tramps through the woods. /.
But never knew of any of them having
.,eo 81 o1iaral opfilofp