ON THE "GIL A MONSTER." 67 



from the wound, a small quantity of whiskey, external ap- 

 plication of ice and laudanum and a lead-water wash af- 

 terward to reduce the swelling. He passed a sleepless 

 night. By the next day the swelling was considerably re- 

 duced and thereafter disappeared gradually. The follow- 

 ing is the conclusion of the doctor's statement : " Jaking 

 "everything into consideration, we must believe the bite 

 " of IModerma suspectum to be a harmless one beyond the 

 "ordinary symptoms that usually follow the bite of any ir- 

 " ritated animal. I have seen, as perhaps all surgeons 

 " have, the most serious consequences follow the bite in- 

 " flicted by an angry man, and several years ago the writer 

 " had his hand confined in a sling for many weeks from 

 "such a wound administered by the teeth of a common 

 "cat, the even tenor of whose life had been suddenly in- 

 " terrupted." 



The most conclusive of my own experiments on the sub- 

 ject of this notice, H. suspectum, eighteen inches in length, 

 was made with a young cat less than one-third grown. 

 The cat was bitten on the right hand and wrist, the lizard 

 holding fast like a bull dog, and blood was seen to flow 

 when they were released. That there might be no doubt 

 of the effectiveness of the bite, in two minutes the teeth 

 were inserted a second time, the saurian retaining his hold 

 and sinking his teeth deeper as the cat struggled to get 

 free. For half an hour or more the wound occasioned 

 some distress and was licked and dressed by the kitten, 

 which then went to sleep for about an hour and a half. In 

 expectation of its death it was left undisturbed. To my 

 surprise it awoke as lively as if nothing had happened. 

 Though the hand was somewhat swollen, it was but slight- 

 ly lame. Twenty-four hours afterward when it was as 

 bright as ever and apparently without ill effects from its 

 mishap, the same cat was again bitten twice on the fore- 



