Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-06-23
ABOUT RATTI.ESNAKES.
BY AN OBSERvAhT WOODMAN WHO
LIVES AMONG THEM.

for snake skins and Observation-Disclosures
ngs-Consumption Cure-A Popular
Observation-Disclosures
"The splitting of live chicken and ap-
plying the warm flesh TO q rattlesnake
bite. said backwoods resident. who lives
almost within gunshot Of a rattlesnake
den on the Upper Shohola creek. lis be-
lieved by nine out of ten of the old time
dwellers among the mountains OF north
eastern Pennsylvania to be never falling
extractor of the venom of that reptile.
have never known personally of case of
fatal poisoning by rattlesnake bites in
human beings In fact, | cannot remem-
Ter of single person ever having been
bitten within my knowledge and live
within ten minutes walk of a 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 a customer may desire. Within
the past five years there has arisen a craze
among city people who spend the summer
In the Pike county and other North Penn
sylvania mountains for specimens of rat
tlesnake 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
boarders furnished him more than
fifty big skins and as many sets of rattles
last summer. and have now 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, pocketbooks, card cases. cigar cases
and even slippers made from the skins.
after careful process of tanning. by
which the colors and luster of the skin
are preserved as they are when the snake
is alive and ready to sink his fangs in his
aesthetic utilizer
The person who caught the 200 rattle
snakes two years ago was Elijah Pelton, a
big. double listed woodman. He kept
them all alive without removing q fang.
and was the only person ever really
knew to handle live. fang whole rattle
snakes with impunity He did this daily
nearly all summer at Shohola Glen before
of New York people who visited
that place. and ! always thought the per
forlnance singular one to be made an
attraction of summer sojourning place.
as Pelton did not conceal the
fact that the snakes were captured within
an hours journey of the resort. He had
the snakes in a large cage. which he en-
tered and handled there at will. to the &C
compartment of an almost deafening
chorus of rattling from his vicious looking
pets. as they darted here and there about
the cage. or coiled themselves in the posi-
tion they always assume when about to
strike Pelton asserts that he was bitten
time and time again. but that he simply
sucked out the poison. and did not stint
himself as TO whisky
There was once another rattlesnake
king in Pike county named Sam Helms.
He supplied himself with snakes from the
same den that Pelton got his from. and
was never known to bo without his bosom
and pockets filled with them. He died
some years ago of consumption. and his
death from that disease shook the faith of
the old mountaineers in the efficacy of the
as a curative power.
The high value that Is set on rattle
snake oil wherever that snake Is found Is
widely known | have known as much as
S. to be paid for an ounce Of rattlesnake
oil. SO great was the purchasers faith in
IL as cure for rheumatism, and many
believe that the oil is infallible as an in
ternal remedy in all kinds of fever. and in
some places IT is regarded as never fail
ing cure for fits II is on record that many
years ago. over in Sullivan county, the
settlers on the east branch of the Della.
ware got together one fall and killed over
l 200 rattlesnakes at their dens for the
purpose of trying out the oil for bottling.
But the uses of the live rattlesnake as
a medicinal agent are not SO well known
The father of one of my present neighbors
suffered some years ago from an ulcer on
his leg He did not seem to receive any
benefit from rattlesnake oil, so he took
the advice of an old resident. now dead.
and carried live rattlesnake to bed with
him and kept it 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 it
out. How true that may be | do not
know. but 1t is certain that the mans
ulcer disappeared. and he got well and
lived for several years. don't know
the snake died or not. but very
likely ii did
Then there was. and to some extent is
yet. belief that if a consumptive should
bite deep into the neck of live rattle
snake at certain times the disease would
be cured When it was found that Sam
Helms had the consumption the live rat
tlesnake treatment was tried on him
From all accounts he must have bitten
the necks of a whole den of live rattle
snakes. but consumption 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 a set of rattles In their hats to pre-
vent or cure headache and render sun
stroke impossible 1t was also once be
lieved that if person bitten by a 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
sacs at the base Of the fangs of rattle
snakes :hey killed for their oil. to be used
in case they should have the
to be inoculated by snake
bite in their tramps through the woods
But never knew Of any of them having
TO use the alleged antidote.
if some of them are 10 be be-
lieved they have taken pints Of the venom
during their lives The antidote they
took. guess. was carried in much larger
bottles. and was purchased at the nearest
tavern
There used to be a man named Geer
who lived near Long Eddy, Sullivan
and who claimed to have an in
fallible cure for rattlesnake bites that his
grandfather obtained from the Indians
The composition of the cure was a secret.
but Geer would go any distance to doctor
persons who were snake bitten He
claimed TO have saved the lives of many
people suffering from rattlesnake poison
Geer died year or two ago. but the secret
Of the rattlesnake cure is still in his
family 1t is singular fact that
none Of the alleged antidotes for rattle
snake bites is effectral in case of poison
ing by the copperhead or pilot.-Hawley
Pa Cor. New York Sun.
Barrel to An Annie.