The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-10-30
COFFEE crnrp nr snAKrs
They Are Wound Around Patients Neclrr
Snakes Killed by the Process.

Snakes Killed by the Process.
ROCHESTER,. Oct. 20.-Al the rural visitors In
Rochester go 10 see Rattlesnake Pete's mus
scum on their arrival. Pete's speciality Ia rats
tlesnakes. He gets postal cards from people
every day in the week. telling him where there
are signs OF %rattlers. II there are any ~rattlern
there Pete gets them, and the next day. living
or dead. they grace his museum. Pete has
been bitten several times by the reptiles. aud
he hns been drunk the same number Of tinsAs
Whenever no is nipped by q RATHER he takes to
liquor; never otherwise. When tho bite ia
cured he stops drinking,
Pete. whose last name is Gruber. has made
q discovery in studying tho habits Of snakes
that is expected to be OF value to the medical.
profession. Any physician will tell how hard 10
is to treat a goitre successfully. Tho percent$
age OF cures Is very small. Ines Gruber. Pete'a
little daughter. was troubled with one OF these
obstinate swellinRs on her neck, and the hunter
OF rattlers spent considerable money in trying
to get It cured. Having found the value Of
snakes in other ways, he decided to try them
on the Goitre. He took a common grass snake.
about three feet long, and allowed it to coil it-,
self about the child's neck, and repeated the
process every day for two or three weeks. To
his surprise and joy the goitre disappearedf
The snake died, but the child's life. which was
threatened by the, alarming growth of the
Those to whom this was told looked upon u
as a fairy story. but Pete tried It on others with
s%Sss' thoR sof BE-. Il. YRS T. dFSSSm, 6 66EsISlsn q
Monroe county. became interested, and az in:
TEShnH DeGatS was az. S sIessrl SPdS SEp saf q alF sSis olt y
Here is part OF Mr.. Denpis's report: y
case SE e. p EOiiSs Il % SraStIS al SSl sSe 'e ssm snSf iS III II
cases. InAccordanee with the physical strength
Of th on pa ; fie ss to s'' sf4 feet e ' n |enf sFSm T FssesS
snakes are In all cases non venomoSs and are
P pstlshP9a god procured sSs s1sn II El99r r 6Fso.d sHI 5 tEd the 6Ss
t s%sh sSsSi Ghs III TS z s sSsfISI ]: NV, %SsSSis q S SifS ,ts
head and sometimes also is tail around tS9i
H3 SofI post ss5e Of 6 eh Sf+6rd or ot lsyer, OBJ
pplseeSIl In position the reptile begins :, gentIss
e entifs len s1RSansTTRRhi s f Is fo SG1 np fTo% ! siG Rsit rs sSl
thresiiq naSeri Of ar. an h N'yg: when whsn y 10 all9 'SU 81
stSHsH e 81 one week E EeSS about ! si EsD weSfs. ~ TR3
snake usually dies at the expiration offrom sizk
"a strange feature e that even %delIcassa
person, or after seeing, the oon6dent manneNs
the first application they show no more iesN
than eneRi they would at N the o6 SpIliSH1tion !, Of hS e corss,
"First-That the cases under considerations
were. true Goitre, that conditions were ame33
liS2ratted. and in some cases a complete cure
"Second-That the action OF the. snake. an.
applied. constitutes true mechanical maesagef!
"Third-That snakes. applied In the manneS
Of Q week. Invariably die within from, six tol
eight weeks Of the first application, and some-s
ines. in exceptional cases. within q much
shorter period. A
-. From these and other facts 1 am forced to-
the conclusion: n
"'First-That the element Of electricity Oh
animal magnetism or its equivalent e~ntors,
into the massage movement. =
Second-That this electrical massage. in
some manner yet to be determined. restores the
normal functions Of the thyroid gland, thus.
after a more or less extended period Of time.
allowing 1t to resume it's natural or nearly
natural action with consequent reduction in
size. ...- q
:".ThirdJ-That the vitality OF the serpent is
akin to electrical or magnetic force; that the
action on the part Of the snake exhausts this
vital force. finally resulting in its death.
"Fourth-That the effect OF the massage in
creases in proportion to the square OF the area
of surface Of the snake which is .brought.into
contact with the person Of the patient"