The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-04-26
HANDLING VIPERS.
SNAKE POISONS and THEIR AC-
TION.
The Nerve Destroying and Blood
Destroying PoisOns.

Destroying Poisons.
AS the visitor to the New York Zoo
logical Park enters the reptile house
and pauses in front of the big glass
cages wherein great vipers hang lazily
entWined in their eage-trees like great
snarls of monster rain worms, he Won
ders at the tales of death and suffer
ing said to be entailed by a drop Of
the dead poison injected into a victim
Like many other dangers when seen
at close range, eminently satisfactory
from the standpoint of safety, the SEN
sation of fear and aversion is partly
lost and supplanted by skepticism
Just how much poison is given off
by single viper was shown recent
ly on an afternoon in the reptile house
when cottonmouth mocassin, one of
the most deadly species known, had
just shed her skin.
Keeper Snyder, holding tight to the
throat of "a splendid specimen of this
southland reptile, stood in the door of
the curator's office, the fat, thick body
of the viper coiled about his arm. The
keepers fingers were clutched so tight
about the gray neck that they trem-
bled under the strain, and it seemed
as if the creature must choke.
This fellow was shedding his skin
and l helped him a bit, l wanted
to see how nice she looks" said the
keeper.
She's just in time. Bring her here.
| want to show how well she can bite"
said the curator. AS if realizing the
uselessness of struggle in the mighty
grip about her throat, the reptile, re-
splendent in brandnew skin, shiny as
if vanished. made no effort to strug-
gle, but remained like so much lifeless
rope in the hold of her captor.
The curator took a sheet of ordinary
writing paper, folded it loosely once
on itself, and offered spot between
his thubs and forefngers to the dead
ly mouth The snake made no attempt
to snap or to grab at the target. 1t
waited without unseemly haste and not
until the paper was pressed against
the mouth did that hideous aperture
open,
Then it opened wide-big as the
mouth Of the full-grown cat. AS the
jaws dstended the poison fangs sharp
as fishbones, rose into view. Like an
automaton the jaws closed. There was
priclling sound as the fangs pierced
the paper For all of five seconds the
jaws held fast. Then they were opened
again with the lifeless precision of an
automaton.
Two holes. big as the points of lead
pencils, were cut through the paper as
clean as if made by darning needle.
Then the paper cylinder was unroled
and inside, clinging to the paper, was
a teaspoonful of canary yellow fluid,
viscouS as milk.
The paper was burned to preclude the
possibility of accident, for there was
enough poison on it to kill three men.
The poison of about forty moccasins,
the curator declared, would fill a wine
glass to the brim-enough to kill a reg
iment of men.
Many myths regarding strange pois-
oning cases by snakes have appeared
from time to time, but the only kinds
of snake poisons are two, divided into
that of the cobra poisons and that of
the viperine snakes. In a sense the
poisons are as Numerically opposite
as could be well imagined. The pois-
on of the viperine snakes--the rattlers,
the copperheads, ETC., is composed of
95 per cent. of poison that acts on the
blood and per cent. of poison that de-
stroys the nerves. Against this is the
cobra poison, containing 50 per cent.
Of Notwithstanding poison and per
cent. of Notwithstanding poison,
AS the compositions of the posons
differ, so do the effects of their injec-
ton. In the case of the cobra bite,
If by miracle recovery has been as
sured, the poison wears off rapidly
within a week-and the pa
tent is as well as ever. In the case
If the viperine snakes however, the
after effects are often permanent. At
Ter ar attlesnake bite. even If the pa
tent Withstands the first shock serious
sangrene may set in. and the bite of a
'oppeiHedu entails Dolls ana assesses
years after supposed recovery.
Similarly, in the deaths of two vic
inns, each bitten by different species
If poisonous reptile. there is wide di-
tergence Death due to the bite of
,obra poison is a. singularly easy and
pleasant one, as death go. Only the
nerves are attacked, practically, and
he victim has no pain-one of the
great dangers of this very poison is in
act in not knowing when the effect has
worm off. Steadily the nerves are |
oothed to numbness, the victim feel |
ng that he is recovering, for the nerves !
ire being put to put. At the very time |
when the unfortunate fees that he is |
low out Of danger he sinks into sleep |
md into death, so slowly and gradually !
hat sometimes even physicians have I
ong sat by the bed of the victim eX-
,ecting the end, when in reality the !
,atient has already passed away.
With the bite of viper, however,
ONES death of excruciating pain
The poison attacking the blood acts on
he tiny red corpuscles exactly as in
he case OF any other blood poisoning. |
'he poison eats and eats into the veins |