Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1905-06-24
GETTING EVEN WITH SNAKES.
Medical Men Trying To Discover Anti
dote to Virulent Poisons.


dote to Viru1ent Poisons.
The method pursued by medical sci
ence in Its treatment of the more fatal
diseases, is to set back fires; that is,
use the cause of the malady to effect
its cure, says the Boston Transcript.
This is particularly true Of those that
develop active and viruent poisons, or
more particularly the germ diseases.
This has now been brought forward to
hopeful experimentation with the pois-
on of venOmous snakes. That is a dan
ger that perhaps does not possess much
personal interest for jewellers in cities,
but If a genuine antidote for the bites
of all kinds Of serpents from the cobra
to the copperhead could be discovered,
thousands Of painful deaths in the old
world and the new could be annually
prevented. Even the United States
possesses its share of poisonous rep
tiles in its mountain regions and its
semitropical belt, and a great many
thousand people would feel more COM
Portable did they know that an ade-
quate antidote to their venomous at
lacks existed.
In the Bengal province of India the
statistics show that over a thousand
deaths occur from snake bites every
year, and in the other districts the
fatalities from the same cause are pro-
portionally more numerous. The cob
IA is the principal offender, and as its
bite, unlike that of the rattlesnake and
most other venomous serpents, causes
a comparatively painless death, 1t may
be preferable to undergoing expert
ences with famine or bubonic plague.
Still, there are many other sections of
the world where life is still regarded
as worth living and where the bites of
poisonous serpents are very much
| dreaded
1t is stated that DR.. Marshall of the
pathological department of the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania has allied him
self with scientists of Europe in the
attempt to discover an efficient anti.
dote II is proper that this enterprise
should be international, because If re-
suits Of value are obtained the whole
habitable globe will become their bene
ficiary and perhaps spots on it not now
considered habitable will then become
so. DR.. Marshall Is now in Europe
making his experiments, but he has
enthusiastic co-laborers working foi
him at the university and at the store
house of the Philadelphia zoo. To this
latter post twice month representa-
tives of the university repair to milk
the rattlesnakes and other venomou,
specimens. The snake is throttled S,
1t is impossible for him to use hi
fangs and the poison sacs are theI
pressed, yielding perhaps a teaspoonfu
of yellowish venom. When the entir,
stock has been MIXED the snakes ar
returned to the storehouse to secrete
new supply.
The product is taken to the labora
tory, filtered and mixed with salt solu
tons until 1t crystallizes and Is thei
consigned to DIR. Marshall in Europe
who experiments upon guinea pigs
rabbits and dogs to test its toxicolog
ical effects. Enough progress has bee
made to learn that snake venom Is no
simple poison, but is composed o
several constituents Of a proteid ma
ture, each Of which acts on one tissu
class of cells. The only human subjeC
upon which the antitoxin has bee
tested was the colored janltor OF tn
zoo, who was bitten by an escape
rattlesnake and recovered by the us
OF the serum. Serpents will never b
agreeable associates, but their neigl
borhood Will be robbed Of most Of II
terrors should this scientific quest a
tain a completely successful issue.
He hath q moor snirit ,rhn ia M