Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-07-13

did the snake stone in our. experiments 1t
is very important to remember that the
ligature or constructing band cannot be al
lowed to remain very long as gangrene
would inevitably result, it should be
loosened from time to time, SO as to admit
of slight circulation through the affected
part, and to permit a small amount of the
venom only to enter the system, and the
effect of this should be met by the admit
ministration of the remedies already indi-
Gated. In the case of a rapidly weakening
heart. tincture digitalis in Is drop doses
might be given every two hours, or, if at
hand, few drops of nitrate of amyl might
be inhaled. Everything failing, it might be
worth while to
ATTEMPT ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION,
in the hope that if life could be prolonged,
the system might throw off the poison, as
it has been shown by the Indian Snake
Commission, that the action of venom &C.
tually is delayed by this method. In one
case mentioned by Vincent Richards, of
a grain of cobra venom was injected into a
dog. 'It took four hours and ten minutes
before the animal appeared to be dying,
until artificial respiration was resorted to.
In four minutes more in the absence of
this system this animals heart would have
ceased to beat and somatic death be COM
pleted. But by its steady application life
was extended to forty-one hours and fifty
two minutes" In a desperate case there
should be no hesitation in trying the effect
of artificial respiration.
Before leaving the subject of snake bites
it seems proper to allude to matter which
has of late received some little attention,
VIZ, the
PREVENTIVE INCUBATION
of serpent venom to prevent danger from
bites, and while the writer does not COM
NIT himself to the theory he believes it
may be worthy of serious consideration. AS
has already been stated in this paper the
Ann Arbor experiments showed conclusive
ly that after time with repeated inocula-
ton of venom the animals experimental
upon seemed to be much less susceptible to
its effect, and quite recently an individual
has been visiting the principal cities claim
ing an immunity from snake bite, on &C.
count of an incubation performed on him
by some South American Indians, and Of
fering to have the matter tested upon a
large dog, which had also been inoculated.
1t has been stated that in Philadelphia
these experiments were successful. Tschudi
informs us that some of the American In
dians are said to acquire an immunity from
ated but the process has to be repeated
from time to time In this connection the
following extract is given from ''The Vete-
rinarian," London, 1887, LIZ, sos, as it
seems to bear the impress of truthfulness
s'Three of the oxen were bitten by snakes.
One of the bushmen undertook to cure
them, and taking knife made one or two
slight incisions round the place where the
bite was, which was easily seen by swell
ing, and rubbed in powder which he said
was made from the dried poison sacs of ar
other snake. In a few hours the poison had
entirely subsidized and the cattle were as well
as their half starved state would allow them
to be. I expressed some doubt whether
this cure would be effcacious in the case
of the more deadly kind of snake, but the
bushman assured me that it would, and
that he was not afraid of being bitten by
any snake in this country so long as he had
the poison sac of another snake to use as
an antidote. The very next day had an
opportunity of putting him to the test.
While waiting ahead of the wagon saw
capell or spunghe slange lying under
bank, and calling the bushman said,
Catch that snake alive. You are afraid of
it, are you?' No, boss, he replied, I am
not afraid. and will catch it for roll of
tobacco Not wishing to be accessory to
his death, I refused to bride him, and went
to get the driving whip to kill the snake
with I had scarcely returned when he
gave it kick with his naked foot, and the
horrible reptile bit him. Coolly taking out
some dried poison sacs he reduced them to
powder, prioked his feet near the puncture
with his knife, and rubbed the virus pow
der in just as he had done with the cattle.
In the meantime I had put a stop to the
snake biting any more by blow from the
whip stock, and the bushman extracted the
fangs, drank drop of poison from the
virus sac, and soon fell into stupor, which
lasted some hours. At first the swelling in
creased rapidly. but after time it began
to subside, and the next morning he inocu-
lated himself again. That night the swell
ing disappeared, and in four days he was
as we'll as ever"