Norwich bulletin., 1909-09-01
HOW coPPERHEAD BIT
LANTERN HILL MAN
Napoleon Langevin Blames Himself
for CareIessness.

In speaking of his experience recent
" when he was bitten by copper
head snake near Lantern Hill, Napo-
leon Langevin lays his trouble and
recovery in a measure to drink, says
the New London Day. Mr.. Langevin,
wearing around his neck big bandage
to keep the dressings on the wound
made by the snake and afterwards
enlarged by the physicians who at
tended the case. told in his own terse
but partly broken English of the oc-
currence.
He has always had some kind of
linking to handle snakes and has for
years kept several of all local kinds
in cases at dis home. Wit hthese, rat
tiers, redsnakeg, blacksnakes, etc., he
has been on terms of intimacy. TAX
ing them out Of the cases and allowing
them to crawl all over him at Will.
The bite he received some five weeks
ago he acknowledged to be due to his
own carelesssness altogether. With the
exception of a number of bites from
blacksnakes, harmless. this was the
first time he ever experienced the ef-
fects of the deadly venom lying at
the root of the fangs of poisonous
snake.
How He Was Bitten.
He said: Il blame myself for II. I
had taken Just little too much whisky
to be careful and had two big red
snakes around my neck at the time l
was bitten One. the biggest of the
pair, dropped to the floor This made
the snake mad. I ought to have
known better but picked it up again
from the floor and replaced it around
my neck. Very soon I felt the bite.
I was not at all excited. but quietly
said he had bitten me and kept on for
a few seconds with the snakes. Put
ting them down into the case I got
whisky and the people there. seeing
ne commencing to show the effects of
the bite, gave me more, as much more
as I could take Doctors were sent
for, but before they got there other
remedies had been tried. There is an
old tale which says that the skin of
the snake that bites you, applied to
the wound, will draw the poison. i
got the snake that bit me out of his
hox and killed and skinned him, put
ting the warm skin on the wound. All
this time I knew everything that was
going on and when a chicken was
killed and the fresh, warm flesh put
on the wound, / knew all about it. ]
felt no pain, but seemed like someone
in a dreaw. When DIR. Campbell ar
rived he said that the giving me large
quantities of whisky had been the
means of keeping me alive until that
time. He made an incision in my head
| (the snake bit Mr.. LangeVin in the
back of the read well down towards
| the head Of the dorsal column towards
the front of the skull and almost over
the left temple. He made an injection
of permanganate of potash and or
| dered more whisky to be given.
Heard Ecvery Word Said.
"Other doctors had arrived by this
time and while they thought / was
| unconscious ] heard and recollected
every word they said I felt no pain
from the cutting or from the treat
ment. The doctors said: IF we can
keep him alive for three days he may
recover Later, in Backus hospital
I began to keep track of the days and
when / found ] was on earth at the
end of the third day was glad. They
used me we'll in the hospital and said
/ was the best endurer of pain they
ever had.
my snakes kneE me-" said he land
never made any fuss when / approach
| ed them or handled them. / have now
a lot of them, but will not in the future
| handle them quite SO freely After ]
was bitten my head swelled up to a
great size, but no swelling was no
| ticed anywhere else. The doctors said
the whisky ecounteracted the poison
and that it was kept in the head Aft
er going to hospital the same remedy
was given me every five minutes until
signs of improvement were noticed"
| The snake which bit Mr.. Langevin
was one of the largest red snakes ever
seen in this county. 1t measured ovel
| four feet.
! Sueaking of capturing the rec
snakes, Langevin says they are really
4 the easiest to capture and handle
| They are not aggressive and If taker
up in the proper manner will not at
| tempt to strike. The fangs of the
snake which bit him were at least ar
inch in length and quite a wound was
torn in his head by them. OF interest
to students of natural history is the
statement made by him that as soor
as the snake struck IL dropped off
This the snake will always do If per.
mitted endeavoring to extricate its
fangs from the wound.
Black Snakes Most Puenacious.
| Mr. Langevin, in speaking of snake,
i generally, said he found the black
snakes the most pugnacious of all
They would bite at the slightest prov.
| ocation, but the bite was no more
worthy of notice than the price of 6
brier. He showed several places OF