EXPERIMENTS WITH RATTLESNAKES. 87 



tained the other two near to a stove, and excited them with a small 

 stick, to assure himself that they were alive and in health. As 

 one of the Snakes made no movement, Drake took it by the head, 

 and tail and approached a window to see if it was dead ; the animal 

 turned its head quicklj', and bit the unfortunate man on the back 

 of his left hand ; as he replaced it in the cage he was bitten anew 

 in the palm of the same hand. " A doctor ! a doctor ! " cried 

 the unhappy man. He rubbed his hand upon some ice which was 

 close by, and two minutes after, he bound the wrist tightlj'' with 

 a cord. Four hours later a doctor arrived, and cauterized the 

 wound, but alarming symptoms soon appeared. Syncope, noisy 

 respiration, scarcely any pulsation, and involuntary evacuations 

 followed ; the eyes closed, their pupils contracted ; the limbs 

 became paralyzed, and the body cold. Drake died at the end of 

 nine hours. 



Some experiments made by a friend of Dr. Bell seem to present 

 different results. This gentleman had received a living Rattle- 

 snake from America, intending to try the successive effects of its 

 bite upon some Eats. He introduced one into the cage with the 

 Snake : it immediatelj^ struck the Rat, and the latter died in two 

 minutes. Another that was placed in the cage ran to the 

 farthest corner, uttering cries of distress. The Snake did not 

 attack it immediately ; but after about half an hour, on being 

 irritated, it struck the Rat, which, however, exhibited no signs of 

 being poisoned for several minutes ; nor did it die for aboul 

 twenty minutes after the bite had been inflicted. A third Rat, 

 remarkably large, was then introduced into the cage, and 

 exhibited no signs of terror, nor did it seem to be noticed by its 

 dangerous companion : after watching some time, the gentleman 

 retired to bed, leaving the Rattlesnake and Rat in the cage 

 together. In the morning the Snake lay dead, and the Rat had 

 supped on the muscular part of its backbone. Unfortunatelj', 

 Dr. Bell does not remember at what season this experiment took 

 place, but thinks it was not in very warm weather. 



The climate of France differing only .slightly from that of the 

 United States, it is consequently well adapted for the production 

 of Rattlesnakes. If a living male and female of these dangerous 

 CrotalidcB were to escape from a menagerie, they would soon 



