The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1889-08-31
NOTICE TO MAIL SUBSCRIBERS,
NEWS AND GOSSIP.
A STRANGE SNAKE STORY.

A STRANGE SNAKE SIOR1.
Policeman Edward Dawson, Of
Philadelphia, visited the Geological
Garden in that city the other day
not to see the animals, but to seek
medical advice for strange mala.
dy. On officer Dawson's hand, be-
tween the second and third fingers,
is little open wound, no larger
than a pin-head, that has remained
so since 1866, when he was bitten
by snake in Australia. He wanted
to find out if the keepers of the Zoo
had any particular specific for snake
bites. His story is a remarkable
one. He passed his boyhood in
Gibbs Land, Province of Victoria.
When about fifteen years old, while
playing in the bush, he was bitten
by snake of variety unknown
to him. He ran home, and his
mother sucked the wound to ex-
tract the venom. His father, who
was high police official, sent for
Professor Halford, of the Melbourne
hospital, who injected ammonia in
to the lads wrist, and no i'll effects
immediately followed from the bite.
But for years Dawson has suffered
from a most perplexing malady
which he cannot but attribute to
the snakes bite. AS soon as warm
weather comes on the palms OF his
hands develop a scaly eruption,
which looks like the under part of
a snakes body, and like trouble
appears in streaks on the legs be-
low the knees and on the feet. The
puncture in the wrist where Profes-
sor Halford injected the ammonia
always shows dark circle around
it. The eruption is very painful,
and Policeman Dawson has diff
Guilty in grasping his club when it
is necessary in the discharge Of his
duty. Dawson has consulted en-
inent physicians in this country and
Australia, and has even been to In
dia to see if any native knowledge
of venomous serpents could find a
remedy for his case. He says he
has spent more money than he has
ever made in trying to get cured.
He asked to see the snakes in the
garden, and among them he found
one that he said was like the one
that bit him. The snake he desig-
mated is called the Indigo snake,
and came from South America. 1t
is about seven feet long, but being
a new arrival little has been learned
us to its characteristics.
ANOTHER KIND OF A SNAKE STORY.
A party of young people went up
on the mountain near Passaic, n. j.,
last week to gather water lilies from
the mountain lake. Miss Van Or
den strayed from the rest, and while
standing on rock near the sum-
NIT she heard the warning rattle of
d snake. On turning round she
saw a black and yellow reptile coiled
up on rock almost on a level
with her face. She held an alpen
stock in her hand, and without a
moments hesitation she whirled it
in the air and brought it down with
all her strength upon the elevated
head of the snake, killing it with
one blow. The snake was forty
two inches long and had seven rat
ties. The snake was skinned and
the skin sent to Newark to be tan
ned and made into a girdle for the
plucky girl that killed it.
DANGER FROM ELECTRIC WIRES.
On the west side of Eighth avenue,
just above Thirtieth street, New
York, line of eight or nine Brush
electric wires runs through several
ailanthus trees growing along the
curb. The top of one of the trees
was killed some time ago by being
set on fire by the current that leaked
from one of the wires. A few even
ings ago Policeman Maginley saw
that the dead branches were again
on fire. He telephoned to the Brush
station for lineman, and Patrick
Driscoll was sent round. Driscoll
had no gloves, and the policeman
advised him not to tamper with the
wires without them. He laughed
at the caution, and climbed up the
tree, fixing himself in the lower
branches and using a small rope to
throw over and break off the limbs
that were touching the wires. AS
he did this, strong flashes of cleo
tricity darted about his hand, franz
ing it in fire. This scared Magin-
ley, and he called to Driscoll to
come down, but the latter paid no
attention. A few moments later
the policeman heard a cry, and,
looking up, saw Driscoll lying on
his back upon number of wires
with both hands reaching up and
grasping another wire. Maginley
ran to the nearest box and sent out
q lire alarm, so as to get ladder.
When he got back to the tree a
crowd had collected and were shak-
ing it as hard as they could trying
to shake down the lipeman. Not