Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-05-13
FOR SNAKE POISON.
DISCOVERY THAT STRYCHNlNE NEIL.
TRALIzES THE VENOM.
1acts Recently Demonstrated Concerning
the Bite of Deadly Reptiles-The Fisher
man Need No Longer Incumber Him.
self With Loaded Flask.

self With Loaded Flask.
Inc deadly fluid sccreted by certain spe-
cles OF snakes was made subject of study
from very early date, but the old time
investigators knew not how to solve the
intricate problems of organic chemistry.
AL; tfiat they accomplished was to create a
prodlgious number of antidotes. so called.
most OF which in their turn were declared
lnfalllble. Not one of them was worth a
penny.
| The most notable work in this line
within recent years has been performed by
DR. Weir Mitchell of Philadelphia, who.
for the sake of obtaining sufficient ouan-
| titles of the poison, has sometimes kept ae
many as 100 serpents in his laboratory. His
method of securing the venom for exami-
nation was to seize the snake by the neck
with tongs, forcing a saucer between the
| jaws. The enraged animal would then bite
| into the saucer on which the poison emit
| ted was left.
The substance thus obtained is a yellow
ish, transparent, sticky fluid, without
smell or taste, easily dissolved in water.
When dried, it will retain its toxic proper
ties for any length of time apparentlv.
looking like gum or varnish, and it has
been preserved for 90 years without alter
ing in the least. On this ground it is ad-
visable to handle with caution even the
| dried fangs of snakes long dead. Boiling,
unless continued for q long time, does not
render the fluid harmless.
Alcohol has long held the first place in
popular esteem rs an antidote for snake
poison. In truth, it is not such at all.
though useful to sustain the vitality of the
person bitten against the attack made
upon it by the toxic agent 1t stimulates
the nerve centers and the action of the
heart, if taken in small Doses But the
mistake ordinarily made is to pour into
the patient large quantities of whisky, the
effect of which is exactly the opposite OF
that required. In such great doses alcohol
depresses instead of stimulates the vital
functions. IntoXication, far from helping
the cure, aids the poison. And, by the
way, people have often died from snake
bite who were bitten when dead drunk.
With the newly discovered antidote the
case is exactly opposite. Danger is far
more likely to result from hesitation in
using it literally than from an overdose
Strychninc, itself n poison scarcely less
terrible than snake venom, acts directly
upon the nerves, stimulating and turning
on their batteries, which the snake poison
seeks to depress and turn off. Acting with
the unerring certainty of chemical test,
it neutraliZes the effect of the serpent
venom. But it must be administered in
extraordinary quantities, even to the point
of producing spasmodic twitchings of the
muscles.
In fact, the ordinary doses must be
greatly exceeded, and the administration
of the strychnine must be continued, even
if the total quantity injected within an
hour or two amounts to what in the alb,
sence of snak@ poison would be n danger
Gus if not fatal dose The few failures
among the numerous successes with the
drug thus far recorded have nearly all been
traceablc to an msufficiency of the anti
dotc. In urgent cases as much us 20 to 25
minims should be given to any person over
Il years of age. If at the end of 30 min.
utes the symptoms show no abatement, q
second injection of the same strength
should be made promptly, and unless then
decided improvement is perceptibc q
third one, after like interval The action
of the drug when applied as an antidotc is
not cumulative. The tendency to relapse
is always great where much venom has
been absorbed.
Apparently yielding to the strychnine
for a time the insidious poison, after an
interval during which it seems to have
been conquered, all at once rcasscrts its
presence and has to be met by fresh mice
tions, regardless of the quantity previous
ly administered. With children the amount
of the remedy to be given must not be
judged by the age of the child, but by the
amount of venom to be countcractcd, the
degree of danger chiefly depending upon
the size of the snake The bigger the rep
tile of course the more poison it has. Fur
thcrmOrc, it Is to be remembered that of
all American scrpentS the rattlesnako is
the most dangerous, the coppcrhead less
SO and the water mOccasin least.
In case of snake bite, the first thing to
be done is to tie a string or handkerchief
as tightly rs possible between the wound
and the heart, whenever practicable. Next,
cut deeply into the punctures made by the
fangs, so as to cause the blood to flow free
ly. Suck the blood from the wound-a
proceeding perfectly harmless, inasmuch
as the poison does no harm when taken in |
ternally. Then carefully loosen the liga-
ture so as to admit a small quantity of |
fresh blood to the member, in order that |
modification may not ensue, Small doses |
of whisky may now be given at frequent |
intervals If the patient has to wait for |
the arrival Of doctor, this is the time to |
try all means to produce profuse perspira-
ton. The physician will administer OK
tract of jaborandi for n sudoritic and diu- |
retc, and will adm mister hypodermic in |
jections of Is to 20minims of liquid strych- |
MIA, repeated every 20 minutes until slight |
spasms appear.
All of these facts and suggestions are
summed up in a paper published by the
National museum in its annual report
1t is from the pen Of the famous ophidian |
expert, DIR. Leonard Stejneger. The au-
thor states incidentally that the poisonous
snakes of this country are decreasing rap
idly in numbers. This is pleasant news
certainly. The main cause of the decrease
is the growing cultivation OF land. In
parts of the country it may be traced di-
rectly to tho killing of serpents by hogs.
These animals are by no means proof
against the venom if it enters their veins.
but their bodies are protected by layer of
fat which is thick enough ordinarily to
prevent the fangs Of the reptile from pene-