Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1889-09-27
A SNAKE CHARM Err.
He Has Been Bitten Forty Nine
Times-His Remedy for Snake
Bite

publican reporter.
"Yes, sir, forty nine times, either
while catching them, handling them
or performing before the public will
them. l am known as the great ser
pent charmer, or tanner. have nan
died thousands of venomous serpents
and twenty-three years ago performed
in the Bella Union theatre as a snake
charmer, when it was managed by Mrs
Tetlow and son.
Il have often heard that IL a rattle
snake bites person, the sore, even 1
healed, will break out again every
twelve months. That is not 50. ii
you are once cured you are cured for,
ever. / have often read in the news
papers of snakes charming little chill
dren, and of children feeding them
without being bitten. That is all non
sense.
mo venomous snake will eat dead
food; it must be live food that he catch
es himself, and he will not take food
while Gagged up, not even the most i'm
viting morsel. They can live n remark
bly, long time without food. / once
saw rattlesnake in Marysville, in a
cage. that had not taken food for elev-
en- years. | have kept many of them
from five to eleven years without food.
They will, however, drink water.
suppose TO keep their poison replen-
ished.
"Rattlers are epicureans. They will
crawl out OF their dens in the spring,
and IL they catch a quail, n young rab-
bit, or squirrel during the summer
they are satisfied. II not, they will
take their drink of water in the fall
and 60 TO their dens and wait until next
spring for their breakfast"
What remedies do you use for snake
! bites9" was asked.
IL put an ounce of ammonia into IA
two-ounce vial. Then | add a dozen or
SO leaves OF the mistletoe. The leaves
soon dissolve, and the liquid becomes
of reddish color. Put eighteen or
twenty drops of this liquid into tum-
bier half full OF water and drink il as
soon as you can after being bitten.
Then drink a pint of whisky After
that you must wait fifteen or twenty
minutes, and if you feel no signs of in
ebriation repeat the dose; but the mo-
y
drink no more, but YOU may tike an
other dose OF the ammoniated LIQUID.
Some people when bitten by snake
keep pouring down whisky until they
get thoroughly drunk, but in such cases
the remedy is worse than the disease.
Those who know me say that am poi
son-proof, but that is not true, while
ut the same time snake bite that
would kill some men would injure me
very little. Harmless snakes are all
gourmands and want to be swallowing
all the time"
do you believe that snakes can
fasc!nate or charm other animals?"
asked the reporter.
That is an error" was the reply. |
''No serpent has that faculty. Every
animal has its own instructive way OF |
taking its prey-by stealth. agility !
brute force, or strength. Ny exper- |
fence during the last forty years con- |
firms my belief. | have often heard |
birds makinga great noise in a swamp. |
and / used TO say: There's a snake |
charming bird / would 90 down
there to see what was going ON and |
sure enough there would be "A black
snake going along slowly from one
branch OF a tree TO another There
would b. n catbird or some other kind
OF bird flying around the snake, great
ly excited, while the snake moved
along slowly toward nest to rob it of
its young,
The maternal instinct Of the mother
bird makes her forget tho danger in
great measure. So she flies around
and over the snake and futters along
just ahead of him, trying 10 lead him
IN an opposite direction, but all to no
purpose, and as he comes near the nest
she becomes more desperate
''She pecks at his eyes, beats him
with her wings, and like Il flash he
grabs her. for he would as soon have
her as the young. because she is a
larger mouthful, if not so delicious.
She was not spellbound; she had all
the use OF her muscles and could
leave him at her will.
'At the Sacramento state fair some
twenty years ago was bitten by
rattler In the bowels, and he left his
fangs behind. performed in the tent
until 9 o'clock at night. In closing up
| felt around my person and pulled all
of the snakes out OF my bosom, as I
lb, DuO pHCNIbOhtu one. i went /
around the town to see the sights,
playing game or two, and st ,rted for
my hotel.
1T was called the Orc then. but
the name is changed now Then
threw myself across the bed. and the
first thing knew | was bitten. was
smothering him. | grabbed him by
the head through my shirt. and gave
him a twist Hence | broke his
fangs. held him up TO the moon
light. and found him to be favoritc of
mine.
al had no remedies with me. and the
1rug-stOres were shut mp at that hour.
At last | found doctor named Logan.
who gave me bottle of whisky and
twenty-five drops OF ammonia. and
was soon all right. but the fangs re-
manned in me. | beggan to grow sick
at last, and the wound had TO be open
ed afresh and the fangs extracted 1t
was three months after I was bitten
that the network OF fat that covers the
bowels began to infame. and it came