Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-11-04
POISONOUS SNAKE BITES.
Some Simple Backswoods Surgery
That May Prove Effective.

| That May Prove Effective.
| MN IS unrcasonably afraid of snakes
1t is rare, indeed, that a person concerns
himself with the classification Of the ser
pent that chances to cross ms paul
He Immediately possesses himself OF IL
stout club and proceeds to maui the IN
| offending reptile into the earth without
troubling his mind to find out If the
snake is harmless or otherwise. This IS
wrong, for when one comes 70 know
| them. serpents arc quite interesting. 1t
is wrong, too, for with u little study the
ordinary man can famliarize himself
with the characteristic markings Of me
| venomous serpents and differentlat1
them from those that are non-venomous.
| All the deadly snakes, with the eXccp-
ton of the little harlequin snake of the
extreme South, are similarly marked anu
| all belong to the class of pit Nlpcrs
| characterized by a depression or PIT
back of the nostriI. The head is TRAN
| rular. with massive muscular develop
mcnt of the Jaw; the neck slender II
proportion to the size of the head ana
body. The body itself is quite thick, the
skin rough. The pupil of the eye is clip
/
Inon-venomous snakes.
| The harmless varieties, on the other
hand. are long and slender, the skin
smooth and shining. the head oval or
| round. If in doubt after the above, the
investigator can pin his subject 10 the
| ground with d fOrkcd stick placed just
back of the head and examine the teeth.
If he finds hanging from the upper jaw,
or inclined forward from it, two fangs,
| long and sharp needles, he can De
| pretty safe in assuming that his subject
| is poisonous. The non-vcnomous snakes
have a dentiton very much the same as
some of the smaller rodents, the mice.
for instance.
| While rattlesnakes are dangerous, their
bite is not nearly 50 fatal as is popu-
larlv supposed. This fact has at least
two important reasons, viz, season ana
| the habits of life of the snake. In the
extreme South and in midsummer the
venom attains its highest state of Vlru-
Hence Then the person fairly struck by
| a large RATHER is in extreme danger, pro-
viced the second factor in the equation
does not intrudc that is, the habits Of
life.
/
iallv rattlesnakcs, are sluggish. They do
mot move rapidly or over great distances
| Their lcthal power is given them as Il
means Of procuring food and when once
| the snake strikes he cXpends practically
| all the ammunition in his arsenal. 1t re-
quircs hours and perhaps days to rene"
1.-The supply during which time the ser
| pent is defcnseleSs Should the human
| victim happen along at such time and be
| bitten it Is quite probable that he would
not receive a fatal dose of the poison
! The, manner in which the rattlesnakc
| intlicts his wound is worthy Of some
study III the first place, it may be as
sumcd as automatic that the snake can
| not strike farther than his own length,
and seldom even that Stories of rattle
snakes lifting themselves from the
| ground bodily and hurting themselves
| through the air are purely imaginative
| Nor can the snake strike unless cooled.
| 1t does not follow that he must be III
complete coil. but he must have at least
Il few kinks in his spine before he can
deliver a blow; then he can only strike
| the length of the kinks.
| Still. people are bitten. and the location
| Of the wound has much to do with the
chances Of recovery. About GO per cent.
of all ncrsons wounded arc struck on the
lower limbs, 81 on the hand or arm and
J five on the trunk and face. OF these,
wounds on the lower limbs are the least
| dangerous and those on the trunk or
face, being near large nerve and arterial
vessels, most 50. Tic more remote from
the genera, circulation, the less danger
| from the wound.
Tho treatment of a rattlcsnakc wound
resolves itself into the application of Il
few very simple rules. In the first place.
| 4 person wounded by a snake usually
does the very thing he should not do
that is goes tearing off at top speed for
| the nearest human -habitatlon. thereby
increaS sing the circulation and dlSSemina-
| ting the virus through the system more
rapidly. The man should sit calmly
| down and bind his handkerchief around
the limb Gf it is limb, break off a
| stout twiG and insert beneath the hand
kcrchicf, producing rude tourniqucnt
and twist until the circulation is cffcc-
| tually shut off
| With IL sharp knife make an \ inciS-
| ion over the wound, taking care t. penc
trate deeper than the fangs have done
| If he has good teeth and no canker in
his mouth, he may now suck vigorously
upon the wound 1t does no good to suck
| the original wound. 1t is quite difficult
to get any virus back through an open
| ing not greater in caliber than a fine
needle
| If this is all done without delay, the
chances are that the patients will suffer
no great Inconvenience from his expert
| cncc. If he chances to have handy n
stick of nitrate he can cauterizc the
wound thoroughly. Failing that, a
brand from the fire will serve After a
time he may release his tourniquet some
what and permit portion of the retain
| ed blood to enter the circulation; the
! system is capable of taking care of Il
| great deal of poison if it is allowed 20
| flow into the blood gradually From
Outing.
! (t'rom Outingp