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III. The Case of a Man , w/w died in consequence of the Bite of a 
Rattle-snake ; with an Account of the Effects produced by the 
Poison. By Everard Home, Esq . F.R.S . 
Read December 21, 1809. 
Opportunities of tracing the symptoms produced by the 
bite of poisonous snakes, and ascertaining the local effects on 
the human body when the bite proves fatal, are of such rare 
occurrence, that no well described case of this kind, is to be 
met with in any of the records that I have examined. I am 
therefore induced to lay before this Society the following ac- 
count, with the view of elucidating this subject, in which the 
interests of humanity are so deeply concerned. 
Thomas Soper, 2 6 years of age, of a spare habit, on the 
17th of October 1809, went into the room in which two 
healthy rattle snakes, brought from America in the preceding 
summer, were exhibited. He teized one of them with the end 
of a foot rule, but could not induce the snake to bite it, and 
on the rule dropping out of his hand, he opened the door of 
the cage to take it out ; . the snake immediately darted at the 
hand, and bit it twice in succession, making two wounds on 
the back part of the first phalanx of the thumb, and two on 
the side of the second joint of the fore finger. The snake is 
between 4 and 5 feet long, and when much irritated bites the 
object twice, which I believe snakes do not usually do. 
The bite took place at half past two o'clock. He went 
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