Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-07-23
OF 4 SNAKE
Fiery Ordeal That Follows Z kiss
From a Puff Adder.
IT IS ALMOST CERTAIN DEATH.

IT IS ALMOST CERTAIN DEATH.
Dramatic Experience 81 . Man Whe
J Received he Venom Laden Cares
and w. In Spite Of the Deetsrs
Verdict Lived 20 Tell the Tale.
Not many men are alive to tell what
Il - IKE to be bitten BY q putf adder.
one Of the most venomous Of snakes.
In South Africa. where 1t Is found, its
bite u believed to be certain death.
Nevertheless =. N. Strsat6eld. formse.
II resident commissioners Of Bechuana.
had. not only survived the bite Of q
+pu6 adder. bat told biz story in the
London Field 10 had captured the
make, which was three feet and 4 half
long, In South Africa, and was bring.
Ing Il homo confined In an old cartridge
box to present 10 The Regents park
100. Hs says:
Somehow or other it became known
% my fellow passengers that I had .
pu6 adder in my portmanteau. and
they begged to be allowed to go It.
For a long time ! refused, but at last
was oveEpersuaded and fetched her Ia
dyship.
Taking her out Of her box and grasp
ing her close behind her head, ! ex'
planned to tho company the marvellous
economy Of the poison apparatus. l
opened her mouth and displayed the
fangs, showed the poison glands and
how the muscles that raised the fangs
at the same time pressed on the glands
and forced thu. poison through the tiny
duct.
Having concluded my lecture I be-
gan to put her ladyship back into her
temporary home. In getting rid Of a
poisonous snake you should be sure
that no coil Is wound round an arm
and that its whole body is free. Then
when you let 60 your hold your hands
should be instantly snatched away out
Of reach.
When I was in the very act Of quit
ting my hold some one spoke to me,
and I have no doubt that ! left my
hand within reach Of the deadly fangs
instead Of snatching 1t away. l must
have turned my head toward the man
who spoke to me. for l did not see the
stroke.
But I felt - II . knife had been
sharply drawn across my finger, and,
looking down, I saw the blood flowing
freely and her ladyship out Of her
box, trying 70 make her way across the
table. snatched her back by the tail,
caught her by the neck again and got
her safely into the box.
When I was struck there were about
twenty men In the room. Twenty Sec
Gods afterward there was not one I
never saw a cleared in IKE time.
They simply tumbled over each other.
When the prisoner was again under
lock and key the company came slow
" back. and the doctor appeared
I. asked for ammonia. There was
none on tho ship, and 20 I had to take
q great deal Of brandy. l lanced my
finger down to the bone, where the
snakes fang had made a wound. Then
/ sucked the wound vigorously.
l gave my keys and home address to
my good friend. W. L.. who promised
to look after me and to carry out my
instructions while ! remained insensi.
BILE. Soon after that I became uncon.
ocious.
I had told L. that l should be report
ed dead, but that I should not be, and
that II he could get even a few drops
Of brandy down my throat when my
heart failed 1t would Jog on again.
and that by and by I should come to.
It was 10 o'clock when l lay down on
the smoking room sofa and became I'M
conscious. When l came to again the
east was rosy with the morning sun.
Several times during the night the
doctor told L. that I was already dead,
and II my friend had not obsdnately
refused to listen to him and insist on
following out my own instructions I
should have been sent, wrapped up In
q piece Of canvas, to the bottom Of the
sea, some $50 miles north Of Madeira.
never felt 80 Ill or suffered such
pain as when l recovered conscious
ness that morning. I ached from the
DIP Of my finger to my shoulder. as II
the bone had been redhot iron, and
my swollen arm looked like . hard
pillow.
They carried me to LIS bunk, and
there I lay for twenty-four hours.
Then with the help Of q friends arm
I could crawl a few yards. BY degrees
the pain grew less, and by the dme I
reached home I had begun to take q
little interest in life, but for months
I had to be very gentle with myself
I have never since been 30 strong 40
was before and have come to know
the meaning Of the word tired" some
thing I did not know before her lady