Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1912-09-18
wE.No.NAH PLAYS WITH DEATH
Indian Woman Lets Rattlers Inject
Poison Into Her Veins.
charleston News and Courier.)

. Why, uoSo q Hhti ScllOuS dCJ Oh the
stage, but a still more marvellous
one in private. In public she dances
before her pets, which happen to be
the most deadly of all snakes, the
Texas rattlers. They strike ~viciously
at her, kissing and rafting all the
time above the music in such q way
as to cause a thrill of horror to run
down the backs Of the nervous. But
We-No~Nah among her snakes in
her dressing room Is even more dar-
ing than on the stage.
How to BE Immune.
She is not a big woman physically,
but she has a big heart. Nor was
she always immune. Indeed, the
flrst time she was struck by a RATHER
she barely escaped with her life. But
having escaped she purposely had
herself bitten two months later.
This time 1t did not go so hard with
her. Two months later she was bit
ten again, and this course of treat
ment was repeated until the strike
Of the reptile had no moro effect on
her than the bite Of a mosquito. But
she cannot stand too much of the
poison even now. If she Is struck
more than four times a day it makes
her sick and faint. Last night her
right arm was all swollen. She had
been struck ON a vein in the first
performance. Only once in all of
her experience with rattlers has she
been struck on an artery, and Their
1T almost killed her. The fang last
night went deep into her arm and
broke off. She pulled 1T out uncon-
cernedly and wiped it off before CIV
ing 1t to the reporter.
Makes Snakes Give Venom.
We-No-Nah has often given exhi-
billions before doctors and convinced
them that the snakes actually pour
their venom into her body. She
picked out a perfect monster last
night from her trunk and opened his
mouth as far as possible. His fangs
were plainly visible. Then she leased
him until he struck an arrangement
We-No-Nah had and the venom
poured out on an envelope. 1t was
yellow in color and in quantity there
was about half a teaspoonful. "Keep
It," she said to the reporter. at will
turn to crystals by morning." But
the reporter decided 1t would be best
no to be careless with 1t. In ano-
ther trunk We-No-Nah had a great
number OF baby snakes, and in still
another trunk some others. She only
uses the same snakes a week at a
time. After that their mouths get
sore from continued striking at her
and a disease sets in which kills
Them. n carries a regular snake
farm along with her, having literally
hundreds Of them.
Poison n Cure for Leprosy.
We-No-Nah often has the snakes
give up their venom for her. She
waits until it turns to crystals, which
she bottles and sends to her husband
w. 0. Learn, of San Antonio, who
conducts a great snake ranch and
supplies the medical professor with
the poison. 1t is used in rheuma-
tism and in the treatment Of leprosy.
Needless to say it is worth its weight
In gold. Mr.. Learn supplies rattlers,
with their poison bags removed, to
many performers. but his wife Is the
only one who can handle them freely
IN their natural state. Wc-No-Nah
thinks that snakes are great cures
For almost anything. of you kill a
RATHER quick before he hi ns him
SELF she says. and eat his heart
while 1t is warm it will cure any case
OF stomach trouble." We-No-Noh
tried to give one of her biggest raj
tiers to Governor Tencr, Of Pennsyl-
vania, but His Exccllcncy would only
accept a king snake. "People are so
afraid" sighed the Indian girl.
y Distressing Incident.
We-No-Nah has one OF the only
two sets of Yaqui dance beads in en-
istence. She has also many eXuuis-
lite frontier costumes and quantities
of snake skins. The one she gave
the reporter has fourteen rattles and
a button. But she was very unhapp,
last night. Schrodc and Mulvuy,
whose act Is he big hit at the Vic
toria this week, do a lot of dancing
and tumbling, and when they went
on after We-No-Nah they found
blood on the floor Of the stage, not