The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-08-26
CAN'T MAKE A
SNAKE HARMLESS
Process of Removing Fangs
Doesn't Do Away with
Their Deadly Power.

Can poisonous snakes be made safe
to handlec Nine out of ten men will
J answer readily: Yes. by simply
charleston News and Courier.)
, drawing their fangs." However. that
a poisonous snake is made harmless
by removing its fanss is not true. Far
from it. In point of fact there is no
way of making a snake
harmless. 1t is truc that by extract
ing the fangs of a Venomous snake a
part of the danger is removed, but
| not all.
And yet there are many persons
who are foolish enough to tax risks.
relying on the alleged fact that you
can and do make poisonous snakes
harmless by pulling their fangs. One
of the earliest acquaintances of the
writer with a ra%ttlcsnake was when
he was a boy of 10 years of age.
There was a locomotive engineer
named W.. whose home then was
in Sumter, S. c. While pulling the
construction train h engineer came
into possession of a large r~attlesnake.
The reptile was taken to Sumter and
after MIR, VI amused himself fire.
quently by chasing the employees at
the freight depot of the A.. c. L. road
all around the building with the
snake. The snake was kept in a box
beneath the depot. and when the
owner was ready to have some fun"
he would don a thick pair of gloves
and. Selling the reptile behind the
head with n hand and by the tail
coed to start something" 1t is not
hard to believe that it was but a few
minutes before the engineer and the
Writhing "a were In complete
possession of the building.
, All who trust to the supposed fact
that snakes with their fangs removed
are safe to handle are taking an un-
warranted risk. About two years
ago another instance of recklessness
of the real facts was witnessed in
Columbia, S. G. In the show window
of a certain drug store there was on
exhibition a huge "diamond-back"
rattlesnake. The reptile measured
considerably over seven feet in
length, and was about four inches
around the largest part of its body.
1t a been brought from the home
Of the greatest specimens OF this
species, Florida. In the window with
ii We're several white rats. an opossum
and a prairie dog--"a happy family"
apparently. After a close inspection
of the reptile it was noticeable that
there was some injury to or malfor-
nation Of its mouth. Its lips on each
side We're much sunken in and put Of
their natural line. On inquiry it de-
veloped that a dentist had success
fully removed (?) the fangs of the
snake. and the sunken-in places were
the result Of the operation. Some Of
those present were much startled to
see the reckless manner in which a
man there all III handled the Gre
allure. The writer protested. but was
only laughed at, IN the grounds that
since the snakes fangs had been re-
moved it was wholly harmless.
Whether or not the snake was harm
less will develop later.
1t is for the purpose Of pointing
out some Of the popular errors which,
if put into practice. nay lead to
fatal results that this article is I'M
%dertaken. 1t is we'll to know that no
poisonous snake is made harmless by
merely removing its fangs. A venom
Gus snake, be it alive or dead, with
or without fangs. is always danger
Gus. n should be let alone. 1t has
been shown in a previous paper how