The sun., 1891-06-21
BITTEN BY A GTLA MONSTER.
SNAKE CHARMER SONELL PUT UNDKn
COUNTER POESONS IN BELLEHUE
He Was Handling tho venomous L,..-a

He Was Handling tho yenomons Lizard -
DIR. &. slower Allen's snake Peisou
Studio, when Il set It's Teeth IN HIS
Finscr-The Bite Is Often Net Mortal.
The chief snake charmer" OF Huber's Four
teenth Street Museum Ia John Sonell. q Cor.
man. 80 years old, who lives at 400 East Ninety
eighth street with his wife. Donatus, who II
engaged In similar capacity at Worth's Mu-
scum. DR.. G. Slower Allen OF 81 East Twenty
eighth street 10 engaged in experiments with
poisonous snakes and other reptiles, and for
this purpose has a laboratory in Fourth ave-
nue. near Ssventy.sixth street. where 6onell
takes care OF the snakes for him.
Yesterday afternoon. at about / O'Clock the
snake charmer brought to tho laboratory whae
he declares was a Gila monster-the uGly New
Mexican lizard the bite OF which some a..
thoritios sny is atroci ,usly poisonous, while
other authorities instance cases In which the
bite did no harm. In tran sferrng tho lizard
from the basket In which he carried It to box
Sonell lifted It by the tail. He turned his eyes
In another direction for q moment, and the
lizard. which is about eighteen inches long,
turuod and fastened it's toeth In the middle
finger OF Sonell's left hand.
Sonell WAS alone in the place. He banged
the lizard about, but could not loosen it, hold
until he pried Its big laws apart with nall
Then he put the lizard In its box. and ran to
DR.. Aliens Office in East Twenty. eighth street.
The physician was not In. His offlce boy
went with Sonell to Drs. +. 8. Bates and r. q.
Fry. whose offices at At East Twenty
eighth street Dr.. Fry cauterized the wound
and DR.. Allen, who had heard Of the accident.
hurried In and cut away the flesh on the In
side part OF tho base Of the finger. where four
zach side; Then an amhulance was sum.
moped and sonell was taken to bellevue Hos
There he was put in ward 80. under, the care care
bn sSsa .eovs a"sy se nS s z sss
who had greeviously tainted. was a. e
fright. and confidently believed that no. wouid
die. He tremblel in eyery muscle and could
Dr.: Bensel administered atrorine 6ypodo-
mically. simultaneously injecting whtskey and
bie poison that ne might have received. five
mullins Of dig!taii, were administered at .
a.hs sh %
about three hours later. Tho swelling y his
that one GI the other phySsiGI;al9S pSlIa9 gSs
@ ses%ed dszea H answered auestions S vasusis ,
Part RI OF Of soneIIs story was confirmed BY the
doctors who cauterized his wounds. Just
where Dr. Allen 8 laboratory Is none OF tnos0
concerned will say.
The Gila monster is found in Now Mexico
and Arizona. 1t is q srepnlsiye-looking reptile
with AN ugly snake like head. Its body II gem
orally pulled out like a big pouch, and touches
the ground whom the lizard stands erect on itS
four black logs
The tai is about one. third the entire length
Of the BODY. being OF nearly the same thieknesa
throughout and terminating abruptly In Q
blunt point. The mouth is black. and ite
tongue, Of the same hue. is fiat aud forked,
The tsla's scientific name y Heloderma h9rs
extr mely poisonous, species Of the lizard FAM
ily. The body is sraly. resembling that Of q
rattlesnake and IA covered with irrogulaS
BLACK and yellow spots or blotegas-
ster" is generally found. regard iis bite as verT
dangerous only when the reptile Is enragsds
whom II gives of a peculiar blackiah saliva.
ORA Mitchell and Reichart OF the College OF
Physicians In Philadelphia. made a series OF
eyyperiments with the ella and m. INJECTED some
than nine minutes.
The doctors affirmed that rattlesnako poison
WAS hagRtelle in comparison. and that large
worms and insects perished moro quickly from
scissors. On the other hand. & German ~,
Harvard caused n kitten to be bitten twice BY
tho monster. and on diSsecting the cat found
no indications of poison.
Tho NJ yicans and Indians are deathly afraid
OF The Gia and toll marvellous stories Of 10
poisonous. and from this It receives the native
crgn men: escunion. meaning In Engllsh "tha
splitter" Tho Meyicans hold that the Gile0
poison is derived from the loco. or crazy plant.
and In Texas. Where the loco plant doesI not
considered poisonous. The natives capture ID
by using long sapling with moose.