138 YEARBOOK, PUBLIC MUSEUM, MILWAUKEE [Vol. III. 



ward crevices in the rock or the undergrowth where it at once seeks 

 concealment.""^^ "The fangs are ordinarily employed — as is the 

 venom apparatus of all serpents — to subdue and to kill the prey, and 

 not to use as weapons of aggression upon mankind. "^^ "Of the tens of 

 thousands of these reptiles slaughtered, there may be said to be barely 

 one accident to man in the killing of ten thousand Rattlesnakes. To 

 illustrate this, it might be explained that a death from the bite of a 

 Rattlesnake in the United States is so rare a thing the occurrence 

 appears as a first page paragraph in nearly every newspaper of the 

 Union.^^ 



In the case of captive specimens of Crotalus horridus, Ditmars 

 says, "Of the various rattlesnakes inhabiting the United States, this 

 is the most mild-tempered species. It becomes so docile in captivity 

 that the majoritj^ of specimens may be actually handled with the same 

 freedom as a harmless snake without showing signs of irritation — a 

 trait particularly characteristic of male specimens. While this has 

 frequently been done by reckless persons, the writer begs to explain 

 that he is not advising the student to try the dangerous experiment. 

 The fact should always be in mind, in studying poisonous snakes, 

 that no matter how gentle may be the demeanour of the serpent, it 

 is provided with fangs, and can produce a deadly wound in lightning- 

 like fashion, and moreover, though a venomous snake be extremely 

 good-natured, there lurks within its brain a nervous and instinctive 

 tendency to instantly employ the fangs if the movements of a nearby 

 object appear suspicious or threaten danger. And it takes but little to 

 provoke a poisonous snake. It is almost involuntary for the more 

 irritable of venomous snakes to instantly turn and bite at an object 

 that presses against their bodies. This tendency may be noted in a 

 snake freshly killed, and decapitated."*^ 



While discussing the methods of striking and the probabilities of 

 accident it may seem desirable to say something as to the remedies 

 for snake-bite. Inasmuch as the reader of this article may desire to 

 know the proper steps to take in case of snake-bite and also something 

 as to the efficacy of the so-called "whiskey remedy" it is best to again 

 quote from our authority, Ditmars, in view of that scientist's very 

 broad experience with dangerous reptiles. "Against the action of 

 the subtle fluid (snake venom) mankind has battled in the search for 

 an ' antidote,' and many are the alleged cures for ' snake-bite,' though 



38Ibid., p. 445. 

 39lbid., p. 387. 

 *>Ibid., p. 427. 

 «Ibid., p. 444, 445. 



