327 
SNAKE BITE AND ITS ANTIDOTE. 
Crotalus) recover, and that the mere fact of their surviving can 
assuredly be no test of the value of any particular form of treat¬ 
ment. _ 
Dr. E. R. Sisson, of New Bedford, Mass., sends to the Tampa 
(bla.) Journal this report of his successful treatment of a dog 
bitten by a rattlesnake : 
“ On March 1 my pointer Joe wss bitten by a rattlesnake. It 
being my custom, while hunting in Florida, to go prepared for an 
emergency of this kind, and being present at the time of the acci¬ 
dent, I lost no time in applying the treatment. 
“ First, I pressed the wound to make it bleed as freely as pos¬ 
sible; then I sucked it; after this applied five drops concentrated 
spirits of ammonia to the open wound, immediately following by 
ten drops of the fluid extract of jaborandi hypodermically, hold¬ 
ing it in the puncture for two minutes. After making these local 
applications to destroy the action of the poison on the blood, I 
gave 1 oz. of whiskey with a drop of the ammonia internally every 
hour. After this, stopped the ammonia and gave whiskey and 
milk; six ounces of milk to six teaspoonsful of whiskey, decreas¬ 
ing gradually the whiskey for the first twenty-four hours, as the 
circulation and strength improved, when I stopped it altogether, 
and gave 6 oz. of beef tea, making the tea of Liebig’s extract, 
usual strength, alternately with the same quantity of milk, once 
in six hours. This course was followed for sixty hours, when the 
animal voluntarily took small pieces of fresh beef. From this 
time on his improvement has been continual, having hunted the 
dog twice within the last three days, with all his usual vigor, and 
no loss in the strength of his nose. 
“ This is my first experience in the treatment of a rattlesnake 
bite, and I give it to sportsmen for what it is worth. 
“ No treatment, in my opinion, will amount to much in such 
a case, where the circulation is involved, unless applied immedi¬ 
ately and continued regularly for at least seventy hours or more, 
with rest and freedom from all excitement. 
E. R. Sisson, M. D.” 
Dr. Yarrow advises us that Lieut.-Com. William P. Randall, 
U. S. Navy, also vouches for the above. 
