Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1895-10-25
VIPER KILLED THE LITTLE CHILD
Jersey Farmers Baby Kisses the Snake
and Is Bitten.

anu Is bltteus
Nettie Herring, 20 months old. the
daughter of John Herring, prosperous
Jersey farmer living near Camden, died
the. other morning from the effects of
snake bite received several days ago while
playing in her fathers back yard, says the
New York Telegram. Several prominent
New York medical men have been inter-
ested in Nettie's case, as 1t afforded rare
opportunity to test the new treatment for
poisonous snake bites discovered by DR..
A. Calmette of Paris and recently intro
duced in New York.
The failure of the antidote, which has
been so successful abroad, is attributed
to totally unwarranted superstition of
the child's parents. In some way Mr.. and
Mrs. Herring heard the physicians were
trying a new medicine, anC >eaough they
were informed that Calmette's antidote
was the only hope they objected, the doc
tors say, to their little daughter being
made Subject for medical experiment.
In vain the specialists told of the COM
plete success of the treatment upon ami
mails inoculated with all the different va
rieties of deadly snake bites in the New
York laboratories.
The reptile was found in the grounds
about the house by the interested physi-
clans the day after the little girl was bit
| ten. 1t proved to be one of the species
known as sand vipers, which are most
| poisonous, and have rarely been seen IN
| this locality of late. 1t was put al alcohol.
| Mrs Herring gave the doctors, Whitman
! White and Leon Thomas of this city, VINO
| were called in to assist DR.. George Wells,
| the local practitioner, the following &C
| count of her discovery that her little
| daughter had been bitten by snake:
| She was busy with her household duties
and left Nettie within watching distance
| from the kitchen door.
nj xvif
| and then suddenly dropping the playthine
| crept across the grass plot, picked some
| thing up, and seemed to fondle 1t. Inc
| mother could not see what that something
4 was, but, feeling sure that no harm couic
! come to her little one in the yard, she
| went on with her work. 1t also seemed t
! her that in case anything was wrong the
child would scream, when she would rur
to her babe.
! later glance showed the child in thu
| same position. Mrs. Herring became Gu
rlOus and watched attentively for mo
| rnent The baby seemed charmed an'
| soon fell to the ground as limp as rag
| but without making an utterance. Re
H covering herself. the mother ran fran
| tically to Nettie's side and found her in
FAINT daughter unconscious.
Kissing beside the little body Mrs. Her
! ring saw the snake, when was ABOUT /
inches long.
The cause of the childs strange aetini
| became evident to her, and she hurried.
picked the child UP and carried it int
the house.
Mr.. Herring had just returned from tn
field, and went for the nearest physician
who sent for the New York specialists.
The examination made by Drs. Whit
and Thomas was a long and tedious one
They found all the symptoms of snak
poisoning, but there seemed to be 10 IN
dication of bite anywhere on the child
body. The specialists were puzzled for
long time, but on examining the interio
of the mouth, which is always the last re
sort when looking for any sort of bodil
mark, they discovered the spot where tn
reptile had buried its fangs.
It then became evident to the doctor
that, baby fashion, Nettie had kissed tn
viper-probably after fondling it awhile
Such an action on the part of the chill
/ could alone account for the bite being o
| the tip of her tongue, which had then
p eady commenced to swell.
/ For nine hours after being bitten Ne
/ tie first lay in a stupor and then writhe
in he agony of inward spasms. The Ca
met, tie treatment, the doctors say, had jus
com, nenced to be effective when the pal
ents became superstitious and ordered
stoppe d.