THE OTHER CASE | AdventAI

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 9, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 38.

THE OTHER CASE.

The latest case of rattlesnake bite comes from New York, and occurred in a bowery dime museum. The snake charmer, who was a confirmed opium smoker, was bitten by a freshly imported rattlesnake which he was taking out of its box. He adopted the usual remedies of cauterizing the wound and drinking freely of whisky. The result was that he felt no ill effects of the bite, but, strange to relate, the snake died in less than twenty-four hours, and its flesh began to decay at once. The explanation made was that the man was so full of opium that the snake received the full benefit of the drug and succumbed to the poison. The investigation of the case may lead to some light on the nature of the rattlesnake venom, which is not yet understood by medical men.—S. F. Chronicle.