Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-07-11
'tv- 4-e-- 81
THE POISON OF SNAKES.
Stuoy OF the Effects in Seeking for
Antidotes.

Upon lines that DR.. S. Weir Mitchell
suggested. DR.. Simon Flexner and Drl
Hldeyo Noguchi have been studying
at the University for two years the ven
ON OF cobras, rattlesnakes and other
poisonous reptiles. Highly interest
ing are the experiments that in the
course of their work these two scien-
lists have made. They believe that it
Is possible, in time, to discover for each
kind Of venom an antidote. !
The cloroforning of a snake and the
extraction of it's poison while it lies UNI
performed and interesting to see. The
snake is first seized with a lasso about
the middle. The lasso is leather loop
vt the end of a stick like q. broomstick,
and the tightening of the loop holds the
snake securely After it is caught, its
head IS pinned down to a table with q
notched stick that is pressed upon it's
neck. A tube one and one half inches
in diameter, containing sponge satu7
rated with chloroform. is slipped over
the snakes head, as a glove is slipped
| on q finger, and soon the reptile is I'M
conscious. An assistant then seizes it
| by the neck, and slips the edge of sau-
Ger under its upper jaw in such a man
ner as to elevate the two fangs. These
L fangs now. lie, as, it were, upon the sau-
GER. The operator takes them, one at
a time, between the thumb and fore
finger of his right hand, and strips them
1 forWard-squeeZes them, that is to say,
from the base to the tip-and thus all
their venom is extracted. This venom,
yellow, and of the thickness of mOlas-.
SEES, runs out upon the saucer, and it is
gathered in vial and sealed up.
In the experiments with live animals
that the university carries on, it is
thought best to inject the venom hypo-
dermically, rather than to allow the
snake, ITSELF to do the injecting in the
ordinary method with its fangs, because
a snake does not always strike effect
lively. Sometimes it fails to elevate
Its fangs sufficiently to inject into its
victim more than a drop or two of VEN.
ON. Sometimes it strikes fiercely and
| it's teeth are actually fastened for q
moment in the animals flesh, but the
fangs are doubled backward, and not
a drop of venom is injected into the
wound. Yet, to all appearances, the
bite has been terrible one, and an ex-
perimenter, administering to the
wounded animal a certain antidote,
would decide that this antidote was
marvellously potent one-would hold 1T
to have injured the animal Immediately
when, as q matter of fact, there would
have been nothing the matter with the
animal from the beginning.
On small animals the effect Of q
small dose of venom is almost imme-
diately fatal. A pigeon, for instance.
fri ontinn of fhrpp
four drops, walks Il few steps, crouches,
gasps, rolls over on lbs side, and in one
or two minutes, sometimes In less than
one minute, Is stone dead.
On a larger animal, such as dog. the
poison does not act so powerfully: a
thirty-one pound bull terrier was bit
ten on the right leg, near the thigh.
The bite was a thorough one. Inc
dog whined % little after 1t was drawn
up. moped n while, and III fifteen MN
utes was so weak that 1t had to lie
down. At the end of twenty-five min
utes 1t could rise when hidden, though
1T was growing weaker. At the END OF
fifty minutes 1t had lost all power over
its hind legs. At the end of eighty
minutes it's breathing was labored. Az
the end of three hours 1t was DEAD.
A man-one of the attendants-was bit
ten by a RATHER at the university by &C
cidcnt In n few minutes he became SICK
ut the stomach and very weak. lils race
paled. n cold sweat broke out on him.
his breathing was hurried, and MS Pulse
feeble. This was the first stage OF the at
tack. and in it the wound itself gave no
main In the second stagc--the stage OF
| recovery-the wound was painful, me
case of this man was TYPICAL ne "aY
pulled through without trouble
| The physicians experiments have SHOWN
so far that the antidotcS usually recon-
mended for snake bite are almost worth
They regard alcohol taken internally
as very valuable-not as an anlldple ~! pt't
as a stimulant Persons bitten by snakes
can take extraordinary quanttes OF
whiskey or brandy-tWo quarts, say, In an
hour-without exhibiting a sign Of drunk
cnness. On animals alcohol has been
tried as stimulant with good erect
In every case il has done much to, tide the
victim over the stage OF prostratlon tnat
follows the snakes bite. ~. oo.
The remedial agent that Is OF inc great
ast known value is the intermittent ligi}-
ture-the tight band, drawn about the
wounded limb. that Is looseped for an
instant at stated intervals thus, allow
Ing the poison 10 enter tns system 6ia n,,,-
hafs the poison well where the interInit-
tone ligature Is used; ana alcofloi gwen
each time the band of ioosened. heip ps
much to counteract the ~edheAiiB ehcee
of the entering venom
One experiment proves that the me-
chansm which controls the act OF strlk1
in the Rahs Mas e cut the off sp ana
tpnn the PHYSICIANS assistant pinched
ta instantly s the Ref fhe G mah h sae
= =, Is How This action has often been
t. the ansases snear
Tra',.a,. Of Vale claimed that years ago
in cassaa an str nna It's arP 3a
a ani, ot atannsng along In the bushes he
fat mo aa stsna nss on ses
lound ina. ,f ne AZ Ma rattlesnake-a large.
Vicious and nsa i fslsT he e eaad a sns
str;ke t me thick hi boot that held him fast
ss f and he faaa fhsa
h hew ct w off his rattles Stepping aside he
the body s, f ia hk inak eut P s aG
mna sure reff its length. the professor took
hold of the serpent to straghte.n MN out out