The Washington times., 1901-08-25
NEW USE FOR RATTLERs.

NEW USE FOR RATTLERs.
The VenOmous Reptiles Made to Ac-
| cOmmOdate Man in Many Ways.
| Civilization is fast finding a use for the
waste products Of nature. One of the odd
est examples of this is the utilization OF
the dreaded rattlesnake in a variety of
| ways for the benefit of mankind. So many
uses have been found for the rattiesnake
quite recently, moreover, that in few
| years time there seems to be little doubt
we shall be cultivating the erstwhile cpl
| tome of our terror for economic purposes.
| The latest person to announce the value
| of the rattlesnake is Prof. Barnett. of
New York. who advances the statement
| that the poison of the rattlesnake is prob
| ably the only cure for tetanus in exist
| ence.
| Medical science has hitherto failed to
discover any direct specific for this terri
BILE disease and Prof. BarnetGs discovery
will be welcomed by the profession the
| world ,er as one of the most valuable
modern acquisitions to the treatment Of
| apparently incurable cases.
| THE venom of the rattlesnake," said
Prof. Barnett when seen by me in rela-
ton to his discovery, is composed Of two
| elements. constituting a salt of a peculiar
| character which has been tested in sew
eral cases recently with extraordinary re-
suits. The first experience had with its
| use was in Brazil where l saw a case of
| tetanus treated by native doctor with II
| which completely astonished me. The re-
| suit obtained was almost instantaneous.
| / was then engaged in making a collection
| of pathological specimens. but immedi-
| ately became interested in the reptile
| kingdom.
Brazil Is practically the home OF rattle
snakes. / found upon investigation that
| the rattlesnake enjoys a sort of divided
| position there between utility and destruc-
| tiveness. The Brazilian variety is known
as the fer de lance, and 1t is said to be
the deadliest known. The native doctors
| compound many medicines both from its
body and from the venom itself and at
| tribute great virtues to them, a belief in
| which the natives evidently share.
Another beneficial purpose to which the
| rattles are put is that of driving away the
| rats with which the sugar plantations are
| infested. An idea Of the destructiveness
| of these rats may be shown by the follow
ing facts. The natives who work in the
plantations were afraid to go to work on
at them suddenly. without warning other
| than momentary. and killed numbers.
doubtless from sheer fright. 1t looked q
| question Of survival of rattlesnake or In
| dian and SO the owners of some of the
| principal plantations imported numbers of
mongoose or ichneumon to destroy the
| rattlers. These queer little lizards went to
work with q vengeance and the sugar
oil nil ad y-ifh tha
of dead fer de lances. But as fast as the
snakes disappeared the rats returned and
their devastating work brought matters to
a crisis. The plantation owners consulted
| and decided to import no more ichneu-
mon"
Prof. Barnett is by no means assured OF
the fact that the bite of the rattlesnake
is not deadly. but inclines to think that 1t
unquestionably is so in spite of assertions
| to the contrary. Il had slight bite my
self once" said the professor. and treat
| ed it promptly so that no bad results en-
sued. l was feeding captive RATHER with
a sRewer, as 1t had not eaten for about
fifteen months and | wished to save it
| was holding it by the head with my right
hand when II suddenly projected its fang
and caught me on'the left thumb
Il promptly thrust 1t into case and
called for assistance. A ligature was i'm
mediately tied below the wound and with
a razor ! made two cuts to the bone, suck
Ing the poisoned blood and splitting 1t out
| then swallowed diluted solution of
strychnine and bathed the thumb in a |
per cent solution of permanganate of pot
ash. which | subsequently swallowed No
| harmful results ensued. but that, / as
sumo, was due to the promptness of my
action in applying remedies.
Rattlers are not particularly agreeable
things to handle. but those whose bust
ness it is to tackle them do not show
much fear. The way these people go to
work is to follow them on the run, for
they will rarely go for you unless you
are afraid. and drop short thick stick
on the top Of the head, pressing 1t to the
floor and promptly Selling it by the giIls.
being certain to secure a firm hold Just
as the point wnore it will be unable to
drop its fangs ny turning its head.
With the reptile thus grasped and pow
erless a stick or something handy should
be pushed down it's throat to quiet it,
care being taken to avoid the deadly ven
ON which 1t IS almost certain to be squirt
ing out. The real source from which this
poisonous fluid comes inside the snakes
mouth was not until recently known and
this was due to the extreme danger of
opening their mouths. The poison comes
from the fangs. these deadly members
being located in the upper part OF the
jaw. They are of cloven shape and the
supply of venom is kept in a little sack.
located just in front of the reptiles eyes.
THE fangs are constructed on the prin-
ciple of a hyperdermic syringe, about a
quarter of the length of the fang being
grooved on the outside, which fact pre-
vents the blood or matter from the man
or animal bitten from stopping the in
flow of the venom. When the snake is
not angry the fangs fall back into a nat
ural position and are not noticeable
Columbus Despatch.