The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-09-20

l.
it was just after my tenth and last
bite. As usual, the wound was on my
right hand, and at first it seemed a
pretty stubborn case. Somebody recon-
mended the kerosene bath, and I soaked
the damaged hand for hours in a tin
milk pail full Of the oil. 1t worked to
a charm. I'm a short time the pain
grew. less, great clots of blood came
from the wound, and the swelling be-
gan to go down. 1t was a week or ten
days before 1 felt it right to say l was
cured, but that is a shorter time than
usual
How does it feel to be bitten? Well,
the first two or three times it feels like
death. The first time l felt the fangs of
a rattlesnake L was nearly scared, out
of my senses. But aside from the
fright it is really not very painful to
be bitten by a. rattlesnake. The pain
begins to come pretty soon after the
bite, however 1t streaks UP the arm
or leg-moste bites are received near the
eXtremities, of loeourse-With amazing
rapidity. In little while the bitten
member swells tremendously and
changes color. Then the tongue swells
up. You feel as if you we're made of
pith. Especially is this true with re-
gard to the tongue, which not only
swells, but practically refuses to speak
with any diStinctness, though my i'm
preston in this matter may be some
what due to the fact that l drink SO
much whisky When 1 am bitten.
once. acting on the advice of a
stranger, [ soaked my middle finger,
which had been bitten, IN ammonia. 1t
took the skin off and partially rotted
the flesh; the finger has been a pretty
bad looking member ever since. The
eyesight is generally affected more or
less, and it is when the vision begins to
clear a little that the fight with the
venom may be said to be turning in
favor of the victim. The symptom that
remains longest is soreness of the mus
cles, especially those in the bitten
member. My right arm is tender now
from the last bite, though it occurred
some weeks ago.
Il knew a fellow who, being bitten on
! the thumb at a time when he was a
long way from liquor store or drug
gists, could think of no way to treat
the wound but to cut off the thumb.
This he did with Ratchet. After that
! he ran most OF the way to a village
| some miles off, allowing the thumb to
bleed along the road. When he got TO
the village he was naturally pretty
weak from loss of blood, as we'll as
| from excitement and the effect of the
| poison. He got we'll all right, but his
arm spots up every August and his
! eyes are affected that month, each
| year, too.
! 81 knew woman in Oil City who
/ was bitten some Two years ago. Her
| arm is said to spot up badly every Aug
! ust and they say the spots assume the
| pattern of the snake that bit her, but
l can't vouch for that. This woman
| claims also that she can't see as well
! in August as she does the remainder Of
! the year; and she says that she can
a.
| l don't want you to understand that I
| back this statement
L often wonder why folks kill snakes
SO virldictively. They are of great ben
! eft to farmers They Kill and eat a good
many small animals and insects that
| are injurious to the crops, and they
really harm no one unless they are at
tackled. 1 have never known either a
ra5tlesnake or a copperhead TO attack a
manor am animal except when oornered
| and l have never been told of such a
case by a trustworthy person. When
( driven to bay, however, both rattlerS
ard copperheads viii fight; perhaps in
| such instances the latter are the mora
to be feared. This circumstance and
the fact that, unlike the RATHER. the
copperhead cannot give warming OF his
presence, do certainly make this snake
more to be dreaded and doubtless the
same reasons account for the fact that
msn pursue and XIII copperheads with
greater persistence than they elaoW in
following up Iattleal9ke=. There is COM
rtsgatively little risk in being bitten by
iattlegnakes except where they are very
thick indeed: but it requires some eau
tten to avoid copperheads in theii
haur.s
L myself have never killed a snake
exceIt after it had been in captivity
same time, nor have [ ever been bitter
by a snake except When I had been
handling one. The popular belief thai
a rastlesnake Will BITE itself 10 death
rather than be captured is true. Cop
peIheads for some reason rarely on
never attempt suicide All that is sale
about the virtues OF rattlesnaAe oil az
( a remedy is true; but never heard Of
anybody making oil from copperheads
The oil of the rattlesnalSe is made from
fat which lies ON each side of ;.he back
bone. exactly as the leaf fat of a heel
or sheep is disposed, and is tried out il
the same manner as tallow or lard
Here .-Rattlesnake Pete" paused long
enough in his talk to go to a Gag,
where he constantly keeps dozen K
40 rattiers, every one of them with III
poison fangs undraWn. First he stirred
up the whole den of reptiles with a Ions
stick. The result was a sudden enliven
lYnenI Of the c9iled snakes S, a dozen sharI
and prolonged nissings, as of steam es
Gaping at a high pressure, and a per
feet storm of slirill rafting Cautiously
opening the door of, THE cage, CRUDE