Hurter-^Herpetology of Missouri. 221 



a theory by which to explain so much of the stories as 

 appeared worthy of being admitted as facts/' 



In all my experience of hunting and collecting rep- 

 tiles for over thirty years, I have never witnessed any 

 of these so-called ^^ charming exhibitions." 



The Treatment of Snake Bites. 



** Evidently the first thing to ascertain is whether the 

 case is really that of a bite by a poisonous snake. If con- 

 sisting of one or two isolated punctures, the wound is 

 almost certain to be caused by a poisonous bite, and the 

 distance between the two punctures will usually give a 

 clew to the size of the snake and consequently to the pre- 

 sumable degree of poisoning. If the snake or its head are 

 secured, the identification may be comparatively easy, 

 as all our poisonous snakes, with the exception of the 

 Coral Snake, are readily recognized by the pit between 

 the eye and the nostril. 



**In very severe and acute cases, in which the venom 

 has been injected directly into the circulation, no matter 

 by what kind of snake, the chances for recovery are very 

 slight indeed. The only chance in such cases seems to be 

 to stimulate the nervous centers as speedily as possible, 

 the best known means to this end being injection of large 

 doses of strychnine, if necessary, intravenously, until 

 tetanic effects are obtained and the patient roused from 

 the coma which has probably seized him. This result 

 obtained, other systematic or local remedies, as the case 

 may require, can then be applied. 



**A similar treatment also seems advisable in such 

 cases of slow poisoning in which the patient has already 

 reached a stage of collapse, or coma, before assistance can 

 be rendered, provided not more than twenty-four hours 

 have elapsed since the bite was inflicted, in which case 

 injections of strychnine seem inapplicable. 



**If in case of slow poisoning help can be administered 

 very soon after the infliction of the wound and the venom 



