On the Poison of t?ie Rattlesnake. 87 



the members of the Academy to propose the absolute interdic- 

 tion of the exhibition of poisonous animals for the gratification 

 of public curiosity. M. Geoffroy, to demonstrate the virulence 

 of the poison of the rattlesnake, mentioned that the body of 

 the reptile which had bitten Mr Drake had been sent to the 

 Museum of Natural History ; and that, eight days after its 

 dissection, one of the assistants having punctured his hand with 

 the scalpel employed in this operation, the slight wound was 

 followed by nearly serious consequences. The hand swelled, 

 and severe pain in the axilla supervened ; symptoms similar 

 to what occur in this country from scratches and punctures 

 received in dissection, without any reference to a specific poison. 

 M. Dumeril remarked, that the eiFects of the bite of the 

 rattlesnake in America was much less sudden and less fatal 

 than in the case which had unfortunately happened at Rouen ; 

 and M. Bosc stated, that of all venomous animals the rattlesnake 

 was the most gentle, and never attempted to bite where flight 

 was possible. He had seen, he said, more than thirty persons 

 bitten by rattlesnakes, none of whom died. A horse, however, 

 which had been bitten on the tongue, fell a victim to the poison. 

 The discrepancy in the result of the cases may perhaps be 

 accounted for, by supposing that the virulence of the poison 

 in the rattlesnake may not be the same at all periods of the 

 year, or of the animal's life. In some cases, however, and Mr 

 Drake''s is one of them, the poison seems to act speedily and 

 fatally. In a curious Memoir on the habits of the rattlesnake, 

 read lately by Mr Audubon at the Wernerian Society, that 

 gentleman mentioned a circumstance which tends to show that 

 the poisonous fangs of this reptile, even when withdrawn from 

 the animal, retain their virulence for years. A person had been 

 . bitten by a rattlesnake in the woods through a strong boot. 

 . He died without the cause of his death being properly inves- 

 ; tigated. The boots descended to his son, who, after putting 

 ' them on, was taken suddenly ill, and also died. The effects 

 . of this last were brought to sale ; and a younger brother fancy- 

 ing the boots, or willing to preserve some memorial of his 

 father and brother, was the purchaser. He used them only 

 once, when he also fell ill and died. The medical men, whom 

 such an occurrence had led to investigate its cause, at last rip- 



