The San Francisco call., 1896-01-18

Fifteen minutes later other symptoms of
stronger nature appeared, followed subse-
quently by motions of the bowels. At 9:55
the chicken was leaping like drunk, and ex-
actly after one hour and forty-eight minutes
OF excruciating pain, opening convulsively the
beak, the poor fowl died.
Some time ago well-known San Francisco
journalist asked me if there was any sure
remedy against viper bite. 1 said there was
none, and also stated the experiments of diff
ferent American naturalists and of myself. OF
course there are people bitten by poisonous
snake who recover. That is true; still there
are great many conditions to be taken into
consideration, as, for instance, the species OF
the snake, its state, age, sex. Then the state
OF the victim, If sound or affected by any kind
OF sickness, the nature of the wound, the guam
tlty OF the injected poison, the quality, etc.
Here are, in few lines, the results OF ex-
periments which 1 made n South America,
showing the rapid effect of the venom by
means of the active circulation of the blood
driving 80 pounds of that alterated and inal-
terated blood through the heart in an hour.
"The prehensile tail of a spider-monkey
(atebes melanochir) given to me by an Indian,
was held by long forceps and the end pre-
sented to 'trigonocephalus lanceolatus' the
so-called fer-de-lance snake infestiug the
swemps and sugar plantations in the South
Fifteen seconds after the bite had the long
tail amputated at the base. Against nv pros
poets the monkey showed after eight minutes
KIND OF uneaslness, which symptoms, however,
put on the account OF the operation. char
acteristic move of the bowels soon followed by
tremors, first taught me the unexpected action
Of the poison. IN commissions, with,a terrible
rlctus in the face, and after exactly l hour 10
minutes of hardships this unknown victim of
experimentation died. good warning for nv
self and my traveller servant assisting at the
performed operation.
~ should say that from that time I was by
far more careful and suspicious about han
ding and catching poisonous snakes.
Until very recently it was almost uniyer-
sally supposed that the poison OF the 'ancis-
Todon eontortrlse (copperhead) or that of the
common rattler had no effect on the swine
just like those who say that the East Indian
mongoose (herpestes javanicus and Fl. urva)
kind OF an ichneumon, better known as crab
eating 1chneumon, black with white or light
yellow ring near the end of the long hairs can
outhold with impunity the bite of the most
terrible 'optiophagus elaps,' the feared cousin
OF the naja tripuians cobra di capello) of
the impenetrable jungles.
81 think those errors might be attrihuted in
a large scale to the aversion which common
people always feel for cold reptiles in general
and for snakes in particular. This feeling is
able to account when combined with the en-
tire credulity usually shown in such matters
for the many strange talks circulating In our
schoolhooks and leading newspapers, giving an
entirely false idea of nature and natural his
tory.
IA last but very instructive and very in
teresting experiment was done by me some
months ago in Texas in trying TO kill
pig between forty and fifty pounds
IN weight with the fangs of an eighty
hye centimeter long rattlesnake. 1 ap-
Piled the. fangs on fleshy part of the body
and after five days, the wound sinking utter
| ly, the hog was found dead in the corral. The
mongoose, If bitten in the leg by cobra, will
surely die and in a short time; but, of course,
those snake-fghters, whatever the name, hog,
mongoose, road-runner, etc. are well fitted
against their dangerous enemy by great
aglnty on one part and by q protective cara
pace on the other.
when was travelling in the Ahuasteca
veracruzana had the opportunity of Deing
called to little nine-year-old boy, bitten by
an 'elaps corallinus' bigger in size than the
'eiaps euryxanthus.' The wound was on
the big toe and there was swelling with fever
In making crucial incision Iapplied sponge
with ammonia-saturated bandsge to the toe
ana over the entire foot.
"Then l prescribed ammonia with liquilla
(Mextcan agave brandy in proportion from
1.5 ounces taken with bicarbonate of soda di-
luted in water. Ten doses has proved to me
fair result, and when left the child was al
ready SAFE
without any doubt there are much better
prescriptions than the above one, but that
one has the advantage of being generally
found in the poorest settlement where men are
living together and in the saddle-pockets
of every traveller"