434 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
death as it was possible for a man, and yet he lived. He lay 
for days almost insensible and completely paralyzed from head 
to foot. 
Now, if snake venom permanently destroys the nerve centres, 
rendering them for ever incapable of. resuming their functions, ° 
how comes it that Williams made a complete recovery? I 
have kept him under observation for three and a half years, and 
have failed to detect any harm having resulted to his nervous 
system. His mental functions remain unimpaired. Physically, 
he is as vigorous as he was prior to being bitten. For some 
months there were some slight after-effects, such as giddiness, 
but this can be attributed to the terrible benumbing influence 
which the venom exerted upon his whole nervous organization, 
and the mucous membranes of his body. It is a matter of surprise 
to all that he made so rapid a recovery, for the condition he was 
in for a week or two was most serious. To be realized fully it 
had to be witnessed. 
When snake venom does not kill men, recovery invariably 
takes place rapidly. I have observed the same rapid recovery 
in animals. Those which I injected with a small amount of 
venom appeared as though about to die. After a time they 
rallied, and soon were as well as ever, excepting perhaps for 
local swellings, or patches of blood which had oozed from the 
small blood-vessels and accumulated under the skin. Rapid 
recoveries, however, are not usual with men who habitually 
use alcoholic liquor. In these cases I have observed more or less 
serious after-effects supervene, such as the sloughing away of 
the flesh at and near the site of the bite, and even mortification 
which necessitated amputation. 
CURARE AND SNAKE VENOM, 
Curare is a powerful poison of vegetable origin, used by the 
natives of the northern parts of South America for poisoning 
the tips of their arrows. Curare acts upon the nerve centres in 
very much the same manner as snake venom. Like the latter, 
it is harmless if swallowed, providing, of course, there are no 
abrasions of the mouth, or catarrhal conditions of the stomach. 
