The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1920-01-23
Death of Boyakin
Snake Charmer
,coxrrxryp FROM PAGE ONE


eomposition OF the blood In a human
hodv. according TO q statement secured
yesterday by a Union reporter from
= nhysician who is recognized as the
l.ad,nx local authority on poisons ana
kindred subjects. IL acts particularly
on those organisms in the blood tha'
take nm the oxygen In the lungs. Inc
blood A curdled, thickened and DARK
sned. BLOOD shows black In the VEINS
of n person stricken with rattleshhAe
venom. The heart cannot function
with such blood.
Rovakin's wife and sister. grief
stricken in their rooms at the Elsih
hotel yesterday. were at a loss TO ae-
count for the death of Babe" Boya-
Kin. big, good natured fellow who has
always laughed at snake bites
Mrs. Boyakin has been his partne'
in theatrical acts of various kinds
and was accustomed to his dealings
with snakes. The sister had become
rsconciied to his penchant for snakes.
although at first she strongly disap-
proved.
He hypnotized them" said Mrs.
Boyakin. mo snake would bite him
unless he wanted 1t to. They loved
him. / have seen them raise hair
their length in the air and remain
there for hours rigid at his hypnotic
command. At other times they would
actually crawl from one room to an
other In search Of him.
II always hated the sakes." con-
tinued Mrs. Boyakin. "and Babe al
ways respected my feelings about
them. He never kept them near me
or tried to brighten me with them"
The sister. Mrs. Make Gardner. camo
down from Los Angeles in response
to a telegram saying that her brother
was nearing death. She arrived too
late to see him alive. The young
mans mother will be here from Ne
vada.
Boyakin was an infantryman in the
United States Army during the war.
He fought In the Argonne and was
wounded in the head with bayonet
during a hand to hand skirmish
Since coming to this city he has
been a restaurant waiter at times
when he was not engaged in theatrical
work of one kind or another.
Mrs. Boyakin has in her possession
the skins of two enormous rattle
snakes that were her husbands es-
pecial pets He called them Teddy
Roosevelt" and Hard Boiled" and
had his picture taken with these anu
many other snakes that he had owneo.
Teddy Roosevelt" and Hard Boil
ed" died, as rattle snakes are apt to
do in captivity. according to Mrs.
Boyakin. and her husband really griev-
cd. Their skins show that the two
snakes were Of unusually great pro-
portions and were marked with the
strikingly regular black diamonds
that some Of the species wear.
The case has attracted wide atten-
ton here and all over the country.
It has been considered from every
angle, and no plausible explanation
has been evolved.
Considered speculatively-a side
that will not enter into the delibera-
tions Of the coroner's Jury today
there is a possibility, some medical,
men declare, that he psychological eff
feet Of the bite. combined with the
undoubted physiological potentialities
Of It, brought death.
In other words. that Boyakin, inn
pregnated with rattlesnake venom
and immunized against it to large
extent, became frightened at sons
unusual circumstance connected with
that particular bite-the broken fang,
for instance-and the effect on his
consciousness was such that 1t coun-
teracted his condition of physical inn
munity from such things.
'Rattlesnake bite Is rarely fatal"
That IL an extract from a treatise by
an internationally recognized author.
ity on the subject Of snake bites.
Yet Frank "Babe' Royakin. bitten
Z hundred times before. was smitten
to his death. Why?