Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1901-10-04
SNAKE VENOM FOR SHAKES.
viper's Bite Cured a Bad Case Of Chills
= and Fever. 49, = -

Patrick Smith, q charcoal burner
of Wet Woods, has been cured of ma
larial fever by the bite of a spreading
viper, one of the most poisonous
snakes known. Smith, sayst the Louis
vile Courier-Journal, is about IS
years of age, and was born and reared
in Wet Woods as charcoal burner.
Smith had hard work to earn a living,
He occupies a small cabin in the
woods. On one side is stagnant
pond, and the fever-breeding morass
extends some distance.
About three months ago he was
taken down with a. severe attack of
malarial chills and fever. Ever since
then he has been fighting the inroads
OF the disease. DIR. G. S. Lallou was
driving through the woods one day
and found the sufferer in a serious
condition.. The fever had him, and
in all probability HE would not have
Lived through the night. DR.. Lallou
tended the case carefully and treated
the patient with quinineand slight
dose OF arsenic. Slowly he became
better.
But the place itself defed curative
measures. The hot days evaporated
almost all the water on the pond un-
til only a disease-breeding scum re-
manned. The walls and roof of the
tumble-down hut let in the blistering
rays OF the sun and the dews of night.
Lallou insisted again and again that
the patient be removed to the CITY
hospital. But the sufferer would hear
nothing of the idea.
Friday night Smith became deliri-
Gus. He tossed restlessly about in his
rude hut and could find no comfort.
While he was in semiconscious state,
and during one of the temporary lulls
IN ms dellrlum, spreading viper
crawled through the door and under
the blanket. As the night wore on,
Smith was seized with another fit Of
raving and tossed to one side: He
rolled on the body of the viper. The
low, wicked head spread out and
there was lightning stroke. The
snake stuck his fangs deep in
Smiths thigh. But that had no ef-
feet on the delirious sleeper. Over he
rolled and the head of the snake was
crushed under his large hip bones. :.
The next morning DR.. Lallou came
to pay his accustomed visit to the
lonely cabin. Much to his astonish-
ment he found his patient, whom he
had left the night before in a raving
condition, enjoying a refreshing
sleep. 1t was necessary to administer
the.medicine, so Smith was awakened.
He sat up with clear look in his eyes
and greeted the doctor with CHEEKY
good morning. The doctor felt his
pulse, took his temperature and every
vestige of the ailment had disap-
peared. The doctor was amazed.
He quickly had Smith out of bed
to move to more healthy quarters.
As he threw. back the blanket, there,
stretched upon the ground. was a
spreading viper. In a flash the doc
tor leaped back from the deadly
snake. But it made no move and he
saw it was dead. Further examina-
tion showed the viper crushed to
death. Drops of venom were on the
ground, showing it had died in agony.
Pat said he knew nothing of the
snake.
The doctor examined his patient
and found two little red spots on
Smiths hip. These he carefully ex-
amined and identified them as snake
bite. The matter has been reported
to local physicians, who are discussin 6
the STRANGE cura