The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-19
DEER IN FLORIDA.
PLENTY OF THE BEAUTIFUL AMI
MAILS IN THE EVERGLADES.

the Bite of RattIesnake-SOme
other Facts About snakes.
Miami CBay Biscayne). Fla. May IT,
Since the extension of the East Coast
Line OF railway TO the Lake Worth region
In Florida and the pushing forward Of
the work on the canal from the lower end
of the lake 10 the waters OF Biscayne
Bay, public interest has been directed 10
this beautiful spot. and 1t is rapidly be
coming the ultima thule Of the Florida
tourist. 1t is a little gem from the heart
OF the tropics set in surroundings purely
semi-tropical Biscayne Bay is the
most lovely sheet of water conceivable.
Kirk Munroe made il famous among
yachtsmen and lovers of outdoor life, but
now all classes Of people are in love with
Il as soon as they once look upon it. Hun
tiers from out the ranks Of the wealthy
and leisurely classes in the northern
states are beginning 10 come here in con-
siderable numbers every winter, for
few of them, like Prof. c. 3. Cory the
Boston NATURALIST. have spread abroad
the attractions of this region for devotees
Of gun and rod. and frequent inquiries
about it come from as far north as the
Canadas and from oregon and Lower
California in the west
There is stiIl an abundance Of deer all
through this section" said Prof. Cory to
the correspondent a few nights ago, as
the pair sat on the se8ward porch of the
Yacht club house. while the soft moon
light was glinterng through the graceful
cocoanut palms on either side. when /
was in the edge of the Everglades just
west of here with the Seminoles last
March Tom Tiger. one Of the Indian chiefs.
killed seven deer inside of two days They
We're all beautiful animals too. The
Seminoles find no difficulty in getting all
the deer they want They do not use
dogs, as We do. but follow the old prac-
tice of stin hunting The meat is taken
70 the villages for sale or is shipped to the
big hotels along the East Coast. The
skins are used by the bucks for leggins
and various other purposes about the
camps; but the antlers, which northern
hunters prize so highly, are thrown away.
The Seminoles appear to set no value
upon them.
Bears are beginning to be scarce south
of Lake Worth. Wild turkeys are plentiful
and are killed in large numbers for food.
Tarpon in their season are abundant in
the Bay and New river. TO use COM
mon expression. is just fun of them. The
Indians are very fond of tarpCn steak,
and i find IL not bad eating for "A hun
CRY man. Mullets and the other smaller
food-hshes are very abundant. The water
OF the Bay, the river and the creeks
fairly teen with them. and many Of them
are most delicious eating, finely favored
and hard-meated.'
DO you find that the snakes, which are
said to be numerous hereabOuts are any
serious drawbacks to hunting. Mr.. Cory?"
No; experienced hunters have little or
no fear of them. l killed eight rattle
snakes in this region last winter, the
largest one feet and IL inches long. Lat
terly, ] have become much interested in
the study of snake poison and in what
are known as cures for snaSe-bites. There
Is a widely prevalent belief that the In
dams have a sure cure for the bite of
Robert Osceola says: mo cure. Never
knew Indian to live after he was bitten"
And Old Charley, another chief, says the
same thing But the Indians arc very
seldom bitten by snakes, presumably be-
cause they know the habits of the rep
tiles so well and are always on the look
out for them. The children and the wo-
men are perhaps more likely to be bitten
than the men. / learned while among
them that Osecola's wife was bitten some
time last year by a highland moccasin.
The wound was on her left leg and was
a bad enc. She was sick for seven
months with it, but finally got well, the
wound having healed completely, al
though leaving an ugly scar The bite
of the highland moccasin is thought to
be deadly poison. This snake Is some
times called the cotton mouth But in
the absence of any positive testimoney OF
reliable character as to the exact spe-
cies of snake which bit Osceola squaw
TINS tale OF her cure from the bite or
highland moccasin has not much value
las TO rattlesnakes, there is at present
no known cure for their bites. As you
well know, they carry their poison in
little sack, the supply becoming exhausted
after the reptile has made a few strikes
in quick succession, and the later bites
are in consequence less VenOmOus than
the first. This poison is not secreted fast
enough to enable a RATHER to keep up a
very long fight With deadly et-
interests in India and of the
large number of persons who die there ev-
cry year from snake-bite, the English gov
eminent not long ago offered a large sum
of money as a prize or reward for the dis
cOvery of an antidote for cobra poison.
Many foreign doctors experimental in this
field of research. One French physician
succeeded in saving a certain percentage
of small mammals bitten by the cobra. He
used hyperdermic injection of pure
chloride of lime Chloride of calcium)-One
part of the chloride TO eleven parts of
water-and also made use of stimulants.
How this would act in the case of rat
tlesnake bite is questionable. the expert
ment having never been tried, as far as l
know.
"Dr. Spejneger, the curator of reptiles
in the Smithsonian Institution at Wash
ington. believes that hyperdermic in
lection of a solution of crOmic acid. or of
bichloride of gold, would be effcacious in
bringing about cure for, rattlesnakes
bite. OF course, as the action of crotaline
poison (Which is the proper name for
snake-bite) is directly upon the heart, it
is necessary to stimulate that organ in
the patient with a hope of tiding over
the paralyzng effect of the poison This
is best accomplished by the use of strych-
nine to be given, l should say, in doses
of one-thirtieth of grain each
every half hour oroftener even than that,
II the heart shows any symptoms of fail
ure. ] am not so sure but what by the
use of strychnine alone, person bitten
by RATHER might be saved from death,
If only the wound be opened at once, so
as to encourage a free flow of blood and
a ligature be applied to prevent the poison
entering the circulation. My recommen-
dation would be that the wound be opened
Immediately after the bite, a hgature be
applied and that whisky or brandy be
given the patient in good stiff doses, with
a view TO counteracting the ill-effects on
the nervous system produced by the fear
of death. Strychnia should then be given
and the acton of the heart be watched
closely. If the patient can be kept alive
and conscious for thirty-six hours there is
then a good chance for a cure.
my reference in the matter of treat
ment is more particularly to the rattle
snakes OF Florida. The rattlesnake of the
west in another species entirely. The bite
of the Florida 'rattler' is considered al
most invariably falkland very properly
so, too, up TO the present time at least
The western rattlesnake and that of the
Carolinas are not really very dangerous,
and, If healthy person is bitten by one,
the chances of recovery are almost al nc