The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-06-04

Ff~-e'~ N~t4 Fsat9s4k Ai4r9n1I9rE
Poison Is surely one 81 the NOS
weird Of natures bizarre conrirances
A tiny speck Of an innocent lookln.
white powder on the tip q the tongue
means instant death II that powder
happens to be the deadly drug aconi
tine 4 moments whEn of unseen va
por, and If that vapor rises from pure
prusstc acid ali human aid is too Iare
Tie strangest fact about that curious
group Of bodies called pOisons ia that
sometimes they are not poisons. o.
course every one knows that when
kept under control by the skiIIful hand
or the physician polsons are most val
uabIe medicines. But few persons are
aware Of the still more curious fact
that poisons when taken BY certain an
imals even in large quantities are quite
harmless.
Yet strange as It may seem, this Is
perfectly true Take, for Instance. the
hedgehog. This bristIy little animal is
absolutely poison proof. 1t can eat
without discomfort as much opium as
q hardened Chinese can smoke 10 a
fortnight and can wash a meal down
with as much prussic acid as would
Kill regiment Of soldiers. 1t is ca
pable Of swallowing arsenic with just
as much relish as 1t eats cockroaches.
It is quite immune to the venom Of the
snake, though the prickly hedgehog
has little need to fear the approach Of
such reptile. It has even been stated
that II can swallow corrosive subli-
mate, and yet this is a virulent poison
which human beings must handle with
caution, for even a solution Of 1t exter-
nally applied has been known to cause
death.
Cyanide Of potassium is another
deacly substance Of which the hedge
hog need have no fear, and yet the
merest trace OF the poison is sufficient
to cause full grown man to foam at
the mouth and lose the power Of his
limbs. Truly the hedgehog Is strange
freak, and yet not so inexplicable as
the poisons by which he refuses to be
poisoned.
Man Is said to resemble the monkey
In more WAYS than one: but. whatever
characteristics they may have In com
mon, the ape differs from tile human
being In this respect--he can take with
impunity as much strychnine as would
kill two men instantly. The monkey,
curiously enough, shares the immunity
to strychnIne poisoning with inverte
bratc animals. Another phenomenon is
the rat The number of rat poisonsI
sold by druggists is legion, but there Il
one poison which never enters into
their composition-nameIy, dlgltalln.
the active principle Of the foxglove
One-half grain Of this poisonous prin.
ciple su1ices to kill man within three
quarters Of an hour, but the rat abso-
lutely refuses to let it kill him.
When It is discovered that human
being has swallowed oxalic acid, the
first thing the doctor does is to give bis
unfortunate patient good dose Of
chalk. technically known as calcium
carbonate. Strange 10 relate, chickens
are not poisoned by oxalic acid, for the
simple reason that their intestines con
tain the antidote IN the form Of guam
titles OF calcium, which combine with |
the poison and render It quite harm.
less. 1t is interesting, however, to
mention that if oxalic acid Is injected |
into the blood Of a fowl 1t would be
poisoned. 1t is only when given by the
mouth that the acid comes In contact |
with the antidote. However, as chick
ems are not provided with hypodernaic
syringes, they are not likely to run any I
danger.
If China were inhabited by pigeons
instead Of by people who speak pigeon
English, costly war and no end Of |
controversy might have been averted.
for pigeons are not demoralized BY
opium. You cannot put a pigeon to
sleep with the "drowsy giant simply
because there is something in the birds
Interior which resists the narcotic in.
duence Of the morphine to which
opium owes its activity.
There Is little to connect the Russian
peasant with a goat--unless 1t Is beard
--yet nevertheless both have one trait
In c0mmon--neither is harmed by hem
lock- 1t was the Juice Of the hemlock.
50 We hive been told until we are tired
of hearing It. that killed Socrates. Ever
since then 1t has been on the poison list
as far rs civilized beings are concern
ed; but, all the same, roots Of hemlock
are eaten ns food by the Russian peas
ants--and by goats.
In one respect the peasant of the
Austrian TyroI resembles the hedge
hog. because he can take IN one dose
as much arsenic as would kill several
Americans. This Is not because the
peasant is provided with any special
means Of combating the effects Of the
irug, but because he habituates him
self to It. The Tyrolean finds that ar.
senic increases his power Of endurance
lie commences BY taking an eighth
part Of grain for dose. which Is
gradually increased until he can take
without any I'll effect five or more
graIns at d time