THE ALCOHOL CURE FOR SNAKE BITE. 327 
are often destroyed in such numbers and the rest so shrivelled 
and otherwise damaged, that the functions of the brain are, 
ever afterwards, impaired even to the degree of permanent 
weakening of the intellect. 
All these terrible risks are taken because of the belief that 
alcohol cures snake bite. 
Alcohol has no curative effect. When brandy or whisky is 
mixed with snake venom and injected into animals, the poisonous 
properties of the venom are in no degree lessened. The animals 
die just as rapidly as if the venom had been injected pure. 
Animals have been made incapably drunk with alcohol and 
injected with snake venom. Others have been injected with 
exactly the same dose of venom, but were not treated with 
alcohol. Those previously made drunk died just as soon, often 
sooner, than those not so treated. I have measured out doses 
of venom and injected it in equal proportions into two animals 
at a time. One was then dosed freely with alcohol, the other 
was kept warm and left to itself. The creature treated with 
alcohol died first. These experiments were repeated several 
times. 
When snake venom is mixed with absolute alcohol, a white 
precipitate is thrown down, but the poisonous properties which 
have been thrown out of solution are just as soluble as ever, 
and if injected into the blood, exert the same poisonous effects 
_as venom direct from a snake. If alcohol had the power of 
rendering the poisonous parts of snake venom insoluble, or 
changing its nature, then if the blood was saturated with alcohol 
it would have some curative effect, but this is not so. Even 
overproof spirit does not lessen its poisonous properties when 
mixed with it. The only good effect of alcohol in the treatment 
of snake bite is its power in somewhat deadening the patient’s 
sense of fear and dread. In this connection it is often useful, 
for in many cases the shock to the nervous system through fear 
is more to be dreaded than the venom. Naturally when the 
nervous system is more or less benumbed through shock due to 
terror, the vitality is at low ebb, and the natural resistance of 
the body to the venom is considerably lessened. 
However, large doses are never justified. In fact, the only 
times when alcohol is suggested is in slight cases of snake bite, 
to blunt the patient’s sense of fear. It is valueless as an actual 
