The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-12-28
EFFECT OF A SNAKE BITE.
4 Chicago Professor Gives tI,e Re-
suit of His Investigations.

4 Chicago Professor Gives tBe He
suit of His Investigations.
CHICAGO. Dec 2S--Edward J. James,
professor in the University of Chicago and
President OF the American Academy OF
Political and Social Science, has been
working for twenty years in an effort to
obtain a well authenticated instance OF
death from snake bite in the United
States and at last he has been successful.
He says:
Il have read SO frequently and heard so
many stories about this and that and the
other person having been bitten by a rat
tlesnake and dying from the effects there
of that concluded years ago to MAKE
collection Of such cases. but l found upon
investigation that every case l heard OF
turned out TO be entirely without founda
ton or resting upon evidence which
no intelligent person wculd think of ac-
cepting for moment in regard to any
other matter
Il read some weeks ago that a person
by the name Of Edward Swanson, of Ham
moad. Ind, had been bitten by a rattle
snake at Fort Valley, Ga, and had died
in short time from the results Of the
bite I succeeded n obtaining a state
ment from the physician who attended
him. The following is the certificate of
the physician, D. n. Singleton:
Edward Swanson, American, white,
aged twe1ty-four, from Hammond Ind,
while giving an exhibition in Fort Valley,
Ga as a snake eharmer on December s.
1909. was bitten by a large rattlesnake Of
the species known as the diamond rat
tie which had four fully developed faags
Three OF the fangs struck into the
right forearm just above the junction of
the lower and middle third. One fang
pierced the radial and one the median
vein. Fifteen minutes later l saw him and
found him suffering intensely. and his
circulation much excited and his hand and
arm already swollen to the elbow. Two
of the veins having been punetured, the
wound bed freely
2" After trying to extract what virus I
could by cupping gave one-GuarteT grain
Of morphine hyp0dermically to relieve the
Tain and administered the usual remedies
of ammonia, permanganate of potash,
whisky, etc.
He was nauseateG and vomited SO
frequently that I was forced to depend
solely On hypoderEaic medication Soon
the excited condition Of his nervous sys-
TEN succumbed to the morphine and in
one TO two hours the primary effect Of the
poison (which Was TO stimulate the hear0
was followed by a weakening OF the
hearts action. To overcome this I gave
frequent injections of nitro-glyeerine, sui
plate of atTopia, Strychnine digitalis,
ammonia. and whisky
.. The swelling rapidly extended until
the entire arm WIS swollen 10 an immense
size and in a few hours was so discolored
as to be almost black He lived eighteen
hours and was conscious 10 the last. His
thirst was intense throughout. A cold
sweat was so Profuse as 20 vet the entire
bed After the first few hours of intense
suffering he seemed to sleep most of the
time
when aroused he would be perfectly
rational and would not believe he was GO
ing to die In spite OF all We could do for
him his hearts action became weaker and
his pulse mere feeble until he died. HIS
breathing was good until near the last.
For several hours before he died only the
second sound CT the heart could be heard
After death decomposition set in so rap
idly he could not be sent home for burial,
but had to have a speedy burial here .