334 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA 



A remedy commonly used in the East, mostly in India, and 

 known as the Tanjore Pill, has a great reputation as a snake bite 

 antidote. It is an arsenical preparation. Doctors Fayrer and 

 Brunton have shown that the belief in this famous cure is without 

 any foundation. 



Vinegar is another popular remedy which has failed when 

 scientifically tested. Swallowed, rubbed into the scarified sites 

 of the bites, or as fomentations, it has proved valueless. 



In Australia the natives have great faith in the water cure 

 for snake bite. They, or a great many of them, believe that if 

 the bitten part is immersed in cold water, or better still, if the 

 whole of the body be submerged for an hour or more, the venom 

 will be drawn out through the skin. This water cure is believed 

 in by numbers of Australian colonists. Cold water has no effect 

 in drawing any substance from the blood through the skin. The 

 application of hot water, on the contrary, would open the pores 

 and cause perspiration to issue forth. In this way it is possible 

 some of the venom might be drained out. 



Momentary cold plunges, or dashing cold water over the 

 skin would have the effect of stimulating the nerves and in- 

 creasing the activity of the brain and other organs, but beyond 

 this, cold water can have no actual curative influence in cases 

 of snake bite. 



Dried Snake Venom Cure. 



A medical friend from Bechuanaland writes me as follows : 

 " Dried snake poison is used by Bushmen as an antidote for 

 snake bite, as they have implicit faith in its efficacy. I never 

 saw a case of its being used, but reliable European Kalahari 

 Desert hunters assured me that with a supply of this they feared 

 no snake bite ; that they had repeatedly used it with the most 

 satisfactory results. It is rubbed into a scarified surface over 

 the site of the punctures inflicted by the snake." 



I have heard of this " cure " in many parts of South Africa. 

 A sample was sent me. It consisted of the pulverized poison 

 glands of a Puff Adder. When mixed with water a little was 

 injected into several animals. They all showed symptoms of 

 snake venom poisoning, although they eventually recovered, 

 owing to the small quantity of venom in the solution. 



The venoms of all species of snakes, when dry, have exactly 



