Semi=weekly graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1895-1902, 1897-02-13
TERRIBLE WEAPONS.


-AAfNA AtNs'7 -Aa AEAs--t-fE As Aaal ~ n esAGu
ana Ferplo1iae s.annes.
1.-TWO Of the most beautiful and n
the same time mur5ro objects I hav,
ever ecen in all my travels I picked NJ
in Paris during my TSP tharo last sum
j mer, said J. v Atkinson of Savannah
to a friend
Il boecht beth Of them from an Ole
gunsmita ia the eaartier Latin. aud he
+ assured mo they were, wi6bout doubt,
tho only onas in existence, rs far as his
knowledge Of dentb deaiiHg instruments
4 went, and he also told ma that be had
purchased them Of an old Spauiara who
had spent most Of his life in Che South
American countries.
II am sure he must have had them
made to his especial rda9. Ter, as [ have
already stated, DURING ait my travels I
have never seen anything that would in
any Wy appFoeeh them fer villainous,
mGfasfoas purposes
he first, as yea see, leeks innocent
enoaeh. and when I esk you what you
thlhk It IS yoa I'll 1es5t
a silver matchbox, answered tho
reporter as he giaeeely handled the beau
tiiully chased silseg object.
"990eh that sp1ne
1T m easy ta#sh the lid Of the box
few open on q powerfully hinged sprina
and disclosed the interior, and in com
partment about oae-half Of the capacity
of the box were a aoaou wax matches.
Nov you'll find finv button on
the siae no2t YOU and near v0ar fbnmb
just press THAT lightly
As the suggestion Yves followed u lit.
tie, sharp pointed, creamy Whito. curved
object popped into view nom that nor.
tion of the hox not Ceeupiod nv the
matches
What is thais''
THAT, said 8Ir Atkinson. s'is not
more nor less than tho fore fang Of the
Cr0talus horridas. tho great American
rattlasnake, and one OF the most venom
Gus Of serpents known to iohtbyoloqists.
You viii notice that the FANG is sharu
as q needle at its point; that it is slit
for a distance up the middle, and that
it is hollow You viii also observe that
o fine, amber ool0red, jellylike substance
is contained within the hollow Of tho
fang. That is nothing loss horrible than
the venom Of tire arotalidaa, and tho
rankest poison. tbe most deadly Of
agents known to man. A couple of
scrapes on "a mans hand On face mean
a certain and horrible dQath-nausea
and vomiting. retehing, commissions,
aemiparalysis, complete paralysis, state
Of coma, death IA q most ho8lbla form
and the swelling t. AorlbIo proportions
Of 5ha corpse as It rapidly turns biaok
from the yirulenoe of the venom. You
may take the fearful agent, bake it be-
tween bricks, freeze it between blocks
Of leo, and it will still retain its terrible
power. You may inoculate a rat with
the venom, and he will die in few
moments, dog In Eve ana a man in
from ten minutes TO am honr, ACCORDING
to the amount received and tho oondi.
ton Of his aystem at the time. The blood
OF the first rat can be inooulated into a
second, ard tie blood ef the second into
q third. and SO on down through 100
yes, 200 subieets-witboat recourse m
the original venom, and the last subject
viii die as quickly and eonyulsiyaly I'd
the first. for It's virulsnoe 4s absolutely
fatal
t'Yeo can readily see what q terrible
weapon it would be in Che hands Of an
unsorupulous vilIaip a scratch or two
and the deed would be done while the
victim would simply imagine that he