St. Paul daily globe., 1892-11-19
VENEZUELA sUPERsTITIONs.
Women, It is Believed, Bring
Delth to y 9Aa ke 6it5ea Pec.

son. 74
Caracas Letter in New York Sun. 8
While the English railroad from
Tuacas to BarquiSimeto was under con-
struction an Englishman holding an i'm
portant position in the work was bitten
by rattlesnake (here known as the
cuebra) The man was forthwith
taken to the English quarters and put
TO bed. While the English doctor was
being summoned the wives Of the En-
glishmen at work on the road hustled
about and tried to do what they could to
help the sufferer. In the midst of the
confusion native came running in
with the kiud-hearted intention of cur
ing the man.
"Turn all the women out" said he.
"What the devil?" said the English
mans friends. "What for?''
Their eyes are DEATH" explained the
native. The man Will not live if they
look upon him."
With that the Englishmen turned the
native out of the house, and the bitten
man himself declared that il the Eng
lish doctor could not cure him no super
stluiouS native could. The physician
came in hot haste and worked until the
perSpiration ran down his face in little
streams. The women hovered around
and did what they could. In exactly
two hours and half the man was dead.
The kind-hearted native heard of it,
shrugged his shoulders and went his
way.
On the following day native laborer
was very badly bitten bV rattlesnake g
near the same place. He was not of
sufficient account for the well-paid Eng
liSh doctor to bother with. so the native
laborerS carried him off to a house and
turned all the women out and sent for
herbs and leaves and such things They
worked at him for an hour or so in the
way that the natives and Indians
know, and the next day he was back at
work as though nothing had happened.
The thick-headed Engiishmen could not
explain this, and they cannot do so even
to this day.
Here is another story on the same
subject: A native Woman's ten-year- old
son was bitten most frlghtfully by some
sort of venomous serpent. Did Sne
rush up to him, clasp him in her arms
and try to cure him? Not She The
only thiDg that she did was to send for
her husband and to hide herself and her
female servants far away from the suf-
fering lads presence. Her husband and
a neighbor or two hustled about and
looked after the boy, and it was only on
the third day that she looked upon her
son. Ii she had looked upon him while
the snakes poison was in his blood the
natives had no doubt her eyes would
have caused him to yomit blool and die.
Yet this woman loved her boy with all
a mothers devotion. -
When the exposition was held at
Caracas in 1888, the year of the Bolivar
centennial, two men from some remote
inland place had on exhibition a box
full Of exceedingly venomous reptiles.
Merely Ol00k at these poisonous snakes
would make one Shudder. One day
when the place was crowded the box
was overturned, and five of the ugly
things got out and began to run about
in remalk kably lively sort of way. A
tiger let loose would not have created
half the excitement and confusion. Peo-
pie went raying mad in their desire to
get away. Tables, chairs and show
cases were overturned by the frantic
mob, and for time it looked as though
half the crowd would be bitten to death
or tramped under foot before they
could get away.
The man who told this story pulled
off his coat and threWit over one of the
snakes, anIthe two snake exhibitors
caught the Others in their naked hands.
One of the men was bitten several times
so badly bitten, in fact. that it see med
to be impossible that he could live
twenty minutes.
His companion knew just exactly
what to do and did it. In the first place
he called for blankets or pieces of cloth
Or anything that he could get, and with
feverlsh haste he wrapped his bitten
companion completely out Of sight.
This was done with haste that we'll nigh
amounted to madness. Then the help
less man was carried across the street