SNAKE BITE AND ITS ANTIDOTE. 
505 
about 55 years of age, was in May, 1885, in Fairbanks, Arizona Territory, bitten 
by a Gila monster. He, to prove the innocuousness of the beast, put his left 
thumb and forefinger into his mouth, and he was bitten. He was immediately 
loaded to the guards with whiskey—it happened in a saloon—and he seemed all 
right, save for a slight numbness and swelling in the hand and arm. He sat down 
in a chair in the saloon, talked with those around for an hour. The crowd thin- 
ning out, he seemed to drop asleep. In about an hour more, the saloon keeper 
spoke to him, but not making a reply, he was taken hold of and found to be 
dead. I was sent for, but before I could leave received a second message announc¬ 
ing his death. He was a man addicted to the use of liquor, and so far as I can 
ascertain had been on a prolonged spree for months. Whether he died of the 
reptilian poison or a combination of whiskey, disease and Gila monster I cannot 
say. 
About four years ago on the lower San Pedro I was informed that a man had 
been bitten in the foot while in the field and died within three hours. I could 
neither prove nor disprove the case. 
That the Gila monster is a poisonous lizard cannot now be denied. That its 
bite is fatal uniformly is open to discussion. I have always considered that they 
were a trifle more poisonous than the scorpion, tarantula and centipede, not even 
approaching the rattlesnake, and I have been accustomed to regard the bite of 
the three first mentioned as little worse than the sting of a bee or wasp. I have 
known of bee stings killing, but though I have seen many bitten, and have had a 
personal experience as well, never have I known of a death to occur from the bite 
of a scorpion, tarantula or centipede. That they can kill under certain condi¬ 
tions I am convinced. * * * Very respectfully, G. E. Goodfellow. 
These accounts are the only authentic ones the writer has been 
able to gather, after ten years of constant labor and research. 
On the other side it may be stated that Mr. Horan, the su 
perintendent of the National Museum, has been bitten several 
times by this lizard without serious results following-. 
The first experiment of Mitchell and Reichert was as follows: 
‘‘About 4 minims (of saliva) was diluted with one-half cubic cen¬ 
timetre of water, and thrown into the breast muscles of a large 
strong pigeon at 4:25 p.m. In three minutes the pigeon was 
rocking on its feet and walking unsteadily. At the same time 
the respiration became rapid and short, and at the fifth minute 
feeble, at the sixth minute the bird fell in convulsions with dilated 
pupils, and was dead before the end of the seventh minute. The 
first contrast to the effect of venom was shown when the wound 
made by the hypodermic needle was examined. There was not 
the least trace of local action, such as is so characteristic of the 
bite of serpents, and especially of the Crotalidce. The muscles 
