The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1896-08-14
SNAKE cAARMERs SECRET.
Nature Furnishes the Necessary Protso-
tIon Against Reptile Poisoning.

Nature Furnishes the Necessary PrOsso-
tIOn Against Reptile Poisoning.
It has often been stated that Indi-
an and African natives who handle
poisonous snakes without taking
any precaution protect themselves
with the juice of an herb, the odor
of which is said to be very distaste-
full to the snakes. Various species
of the aristolochia, W ong them the
birthwort and the ginia snake
root, have the reputation in various
parts of the world OF possessing the
properties of keeping away venom
ous reptiles and insects and of coun-
teracting their poison. These state
ments have as often been asserted
as disputed by botanis IS and chem
lists; but, according toe report made
by Mr.. Sada, the botarist at the Co
lonial park of Pondicherry, in India,
he has recently satisfied himself
that the Aristolochia indica really
possesses such qualities This plant
is known in Sanskrit as "ari' or
"hari, meaning SNAKE. " One al
most believes oneself perusing an
old myth of Glaukos or Plinius
when reading Mr.. Sads's report,
where he claims to have observed a
chameleon which, after being stung
by a scorpion, hurriedly searched
for an aristolochia bush and ate of
its leaves. The chameleon then re-
manned lying on the ground for n
short time as if lifeless, and finally
biting off a stem with a few leaves
attacked the scorpion with this
branch. AS soon as the animal adj
vanced, the scorpion turned and fed.
This sounds like a myth, but Mr..
Sada has also seen that "a cobra
snake, the head of which was strew-
ed with aristolochia leaves, was
dazed by their odor so that it could
be killed without trouble. The steam
ing of aristolochia leaves Is the best
remedy against the plague of insects
and vermin, and in the province of
Malabar the natives even carry
wreaths of the foliage of the plants
upon their heads in order to keep
away stinging insects. Babies era
dies in that country are also sur
rounded by garlands of these leaves.
1t is high time that these reports
should be scientifically examined rs
to their real value, for the loss of
. life by snake bites in India alone Is
still enormous. The experiments OF
Clamette and Fraser, who claim e
make people poisonproof by gradu-
J ally inoculating them with the poi
sons, is not new. While it explain:
to some extent how several of III,
Indian snake charmers are poison
n proof, it Is by no means possible L
]. carry the idea out generally. i
would be physical impossihihty {,
inoculate with snake poison thl
It 400, 600, 600 native inhabitants of In
n dia and adjacent countries. As al
l. old snake charmer has said TO Mr.
Sada, their secret Is exclusively Il
= the poisonproof qualities of the ar
plant-that is, the aristolochia indi
ca. The swallowing of small quan
titles of the juice pressed from thi
plant anu the rubbing of the ski
with it are said to be a perfectly SAT
preventative against snake bites, 70
the simple reason that the snake, be
fore fastening its fangs, will tar
away its head. 1t cannot stand tn
smell. AS consequence the snak
can never inflict a wound in such
way as to imbed the poison fangs i
, the vOund -Phi1adelnhia Record