Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-11-02
RATHER BITES
SNAKE C.AARMER

UNnNl UlInNlvIlIl
SNOWMAN POISONED DOING THE
least INDIA" STUNT.
Butte Hospital Physicians Save Man.
Life BY Heroic Work-victim
Expresses Gratitude.
Butte, Mont.-Twenty drops OF
snake poison in the tongue of George
Forner, a professional snake charmer
caused the tongue to protrude from
his mouth and necessitated the Ian
cling of the tongue in three places
and as last resort to save Horner's
life the lancing of the throat and Il
t1acheotomy operation.
Horner was treated at the Butte
emergency hospital after receiving
treatments at Pocatello, where he was
performing with a circus when bitten
by big RATHER. To show his graft
tude, Horner promised to go into the
hills of Montana and secure rattle
snakes, which he will rob of their
poison sacks and present the venom
to City Chemist Easton for expert
mental purposes. The recovery of
Horner, who has been bitten seventy.
five times during his twenty years
experience with snakes, is regarded
as remarkable.
Horner, whose home is in Pennsyl-
vania, ever since boy had a pecu-
liar fascination for snakes. His moth
er had trouble keeping him from the
reptiles, and when 10 years old Horn
er ran away with circus and kept
close to the snakes. Later he was
given a job feeding them and fifteen
years ago became charmer.
He learned the EAST India" stunt
OF removing rattlers' fangs with the
human teeth. Horner would grasp a
big rattler with his fingers. just back
of the head, forcing the snake to open
his mouth two sinches and protru6e
the fangs to a point where Horner
could stick out his teeth and pull out
the fangs. The pressure of the fingers
kept the poison in the sacks and away
from the fangs. In this way he re-
moved all sets of twelve fangs.
At Pocatello new snake charmer
was added to the circus and Horner
was asked to demonstrate the East
India" stunt on an Idaho RATHER,
which was seven feet long and IA
years old, with IL rattles. 1t was ma
ting time and the snake had stored
up the poison in one sack, the other
having been removed. Horner grasped
the snakes head too far back and as
he opened his mouth to catch the
fangs with his teeth the snake struck
and twenty drops Of venom went into
Horner's tongue.
When the snake pulled back his
fs,ngs he removed apiece of Horner's
tongue about as big as the little fin
gernail. In two minutes Horner's neck
and face had turned black and he was
choked. The circulation was cut OF
in the throat. Horner had presence
OF mind enough to motion his partne,
t. get out a dirty pocket Knife, which
Eorner cleaned by wiping on his
clothing. An electricians pair Of
tweezers was secured and the tongue
was pulled out and Horner himself
lanced his tongue in three places and
bled it. However, the poison had
gone into his system, and the throat
began to swell so Horner could not
breathe.
Horner was taken to the rooms Of
DR.. Newton of Pocatello and prepare
tons made for performing an opera
ton on the throat. Horner wrote:
Doctor, there is only one way to save
my life. Take chance and cut my
throat and put a tube in"
Without an anaesthetic Horner had
his throat lanced. The doctor how
ever did not have the proper respir-
ator and for two hours the opening in
Horner's throat was held open with
the operators fingers while search
was made for the instrument. A rub
Der tube was placed in the throat and
Horner was able to breathe.
Then his arm and back was laid
open with incisions and gallon and
a pint of blood taken out to rid the
system of the poison. The tongue, in
spite of the cuts, had swollen so that
1t protruded out of the mouth. Horn
er's eyes were swollen and inflamed
with the poison and his body was
black to the, waist
Horner was placed in bed, but after
three days he boarded train for
Butte. En- route he had three hem
crrhages from the mouth and reached
here in state of collapse and applied
for treatment at the emergency h,spi-
tai, as he was without funds.
II have so much snake poison in my
system that sometimes wake up at
night and feel Jumps all over my
body, but was never sick. / always
thought / was immune to snake bites
until Big Bess' struck me at Pc "a.
tello. l was bitten on the end Of the
tongue several years ago, but lanced
II and tho noiSon WAS o1lit xiv re-