By AMOS W. BARBER, M.D.,¹ Cheyenne.

Poisoned wounds, inflicted by the fangs of the rattlesnake, are happily more rare each year, since, as the country is becoming more populated, the crotalus is rapidly being exterminated. Yet, considering the recklessness which characterizes the cow boy in his treatment of this reptile, it is astonishing that this class of injury is not more common. Thus it is the invariable custom among the cattlemen to dismount and destroy these snakes whenever they are seen. This is readily accomplished, since a slight blow will break the back. This blow is, however, generally delivered by means of the quirt, a whip not over two and a half feet long, and hence a weapon which brings the one who wields it in unpleasant proximity to the fangs of the reptile. A still more dangerous practice, and one which I have frequently seen, is a method of playing with the rattlesnake for the delectation of the cow boy at the expense of a "tenderfoot." It is well known that unless a snake is coiled, or held by the tail or body, or placed at length in a hole or crevice so narrow that by rendering its length sinuous a certain amount of support is given, it cannot strike.

On this theory a mounted cow boy first puts a rattler to flight, then pushes his pony in pursuit, stoops from the saddle, seizes it by the tail, gives a quick upward jerk, and, swinging it so rapidly around his head that it is impossible for it to strike, sets off in pursuit of whoever has exhibited most terror at the sight of the reptile. When within fair distance he hurls the snake at the unfortunate victim, in the full assurance that even should it strike him it cannot bury its fangs in his flesh, since it is impossible for it to coil till it reaches the ground. This is a jest of which I have frequently been the victim, nor have I yet learned to appreciate it with unalloyed mirth.

The belief that rattlesnakes always give warning before striking is not well founded. If come upon suddenly, they often strike first, and if disturbed when in a space so narrow that the coil cannot be formed, they may give no warning of their presence beyond the penetration of the fangs into the hand or foot of an intruder. One such case I saw.

It seems to be well established that a snake will not voluntarily crawl over a hair rope, and in certain parts of the country it is common for campers-out to surround their beds with such a rope, since the reptiles seek warmth, and are frequently found under or in the blankets of those sleeping on the ground.

After an exceptionally large experience with wounds inflicted by the fangs of the rattlesnake, and an experience which, I am glad to say, has been most successful in its outcome, I think it my duty to add, from a practical standpoint, my testimony as to the efficacy of permanganate of potassium in the treatment of this class of cases. This drug was first introduced by Lacerda, of Brazil, and, if more generally used, would, I believe, render comparatively innocuous a class of injury which now usually terminates in death.

I make this statement as to the fatality of crotalus poison advisedly. I know the belief is very common that the poison of a rattlesnake is readily combated by full doses of whisky. This is fallacious. I have taken the pains to investigate a number of instances of cure resulting from the employment of free stimulation. In each case the fangs did not penetrate deeply into the tissues, but either scratched over the surface or tore through, making a wound of entrance and exit, so that the poison, or at least the major part of it, was not injected into the tissues of the person struck. The effect is very much the same as when an inexperienced practitioner picks up a fold of skin for the purpose of making a hypodermic injection, and plunges his needle entirely through, forcing the medicament wide of his patient.

Nearly all, if not all, of the cases treated by stimulation alone have, according to my experience, perished if they have received a full dose of virus from a vigorous snake. One of these cases lived for upward of a month. He then perished of what might be considered a chronic pyaemia, the symptoms being those of blood poisoning, accompanied by multiple abscesses. Another case, not occurring in my own practice, died at the end of four days apparently of cardiac failure. Active delirium persisted all through this case. Two other cases treated by stimulants also died with symptoms of more or less acute blood poisoning.

The feeling is almost universal among the people of Wyoming that a fair strike from a rattlesnake is certain death, and that the free use of stimulants simply postpones the end. I do not for a moment deny that a strong, lusty man may be struck fairly by a rattlesnake and if the wound is at once opened and cauterized, and the heart judiciously supported, he may yet recover; still the fact remains that the great majority of these cases perish at a longer or shorter interval following the infliction of the wound. Hence any treatment that will save even the majority of such cases is a distinct gain, and one which has saved every one of nine cases to which it has been applied needs no further commendation.

The first case of rattlesnake wound to which I was called occurred in 1885. A cow boy was bitten on the foot, the fang penetrating through the boot. He was brought forty miles to Fort Fetterman, where I was then stationed. I saw him about twenty-four hours after he was struck. There was an enormous swelling, extending up to the knee. The whole limb was bronzed in appearance. There was no special discoloration about the wound; in fact, the swelling disguised this to such an extent that it was impossible to determine exactly where the fangs had entered. The pulse was scarcely perceptible at the wrist; the heart was beating with excessive rapidity. The patient was suffering great pain. His mind was clear, but he was oppressed with a dreadful anxiety. Up to the time I saw him he had received absolutely no treatment, excepting the application of a cactus poultice to the leg, since there was no whisky at the ranch where he was wounded. I at once made free incisions, five or six in number, from one to two inches in depth, and about three inches in length. These cuts gave him very little pain, nor was there much bleeding, though there was an enormous amount of serous oozing.