CASES OF SNAKE-BITE. 
wei - e two other men asleep in the hut, the owner on a charpoy, 
the deceased and another man on the ground. At 4 a.m. July 
27th, 1870, deceased called out that a snake had bitten him. 
It was quite dark, and nobody saw the snake. The two other 
men ran out for assistance ; they, however, did not give notice 
to the police or come to the Station Staff Hospital (not five 
minutes’ walk off) for aid, but brought in a Bheestie (water- 
carrier)—who gave the patient some leaves to smell—and a man 
of the 13th N.I., who appears to have a reputation as a snake-bite 
curer; nothing, however, was really done except blowing on the 
man s face, giving him some leaves to smell, and reciting certain 
prayers. Soon after he had been bitten the patient was foaming 
at the mouth. He did not get up, but remained where he had 
been sleeping, groaning, complaining of slight pain in the arm 
bitten, but altogether unnaturally quiet. By G a.m. he was 
unable to speak; he was unconscious and could give no 
answer. He died a little after 7 a.m., about three hours after 
the bite. No search, was made for the snake. The body was 
brought to hospital at 10 a.m. Post-mortem examination took 
place at 1.15 p.m., five and a half hours after death. Average 
temperature of the day 87°, damp heat. Bigor mortis slight; 
well marked in legs, hardly marked in the upper extremities. 
Considerable tympanites, sanious dark fluid dropping from 
mouth. Catarrhal mucosities oozing out of nose. There were 
four small punctures on the outside of the arm (right) just below 
the elbow. One of the punctures is a mere slit, as if done with 
a penknife. Three-quarters of an inch from it are two punctures 
straiglit down into the cellular tissue; one bled a few drops of 
blood, and there is a little dry blood around it. Cutting through 
the skin a small, soft, half-formed clot, dark red, with a 
good deal of watery reddish, serum all around it, is seen. But 
there is no swelling or puffiness near the punctures ; there is 
no tumefaction of the limb, the punctures look externally sucli 
as the thorns of a bramble would inflict. Chest .—On opening 
the cavity air escaped, as on puncturing a bladder. The lungs 
were liealthy and well distended by air, the left was slightly 
congested, the right a little more so. A little red fluid oozed out 
of incisions in both lungs, but both lungs were bealthy. No 
fluid in pleural cavities. The auricles of the heart were quite 
empty. Left ventricle empty, contained onty a little dark red 
blood amongst the pillars, but no clot. Bight ventricle empty 
also, witli only a little dark fluid bathing the sides of it. No 
appearance of fibrinized clots in beart or large vessels. No 
formed clots seen in either. A considerable quantity of dark red 
fluid in tbe large vessels. No appearance of previous disease 
in chest. Abdomen .—Liver of natural size, consistence, and 
colour ; not congested ; tbe peritoneal covering peels off very 
easily. Spleen natural in size and colour. Kidneys slightly 
congested, but otherwise normal; oozing of watery reddish 
fluid, greater than normal. Stomach half filled with digested 
rice, but distended. The gastric mucous membrane coated 
with a gelatinous grey substance, like catarrhal mucosity. 
Some considerable congestion near the cardiac orifice. Lesser 
intestine distended with gas, a little congested in places hut 
otherwise normal. Large intestines normal, empty, not dis¬ 
tended. Peritoneum distended by gas. Other organs, not 
specially mentioned, apparently quite normal. Head. —Mem¬ 
branes of brain perfectly normal. No fluid. Brain of ordinary 
consistence and appearance, but on section showing a great 
many spots of congestion, almost as much as in concussion of 
brain. But the ventricles are empty of fluid. There are about 
two drachms of pale fluid at the base of the brain. Cerebellum 
healthy, with spots of congestion as in brain. 
“ Remarks .—The arm with the bites not being swollen or 
puffy, and not showing much less marked rigor mortis than the 
other arm, the nails not being blue, the brain not being soft, 
and some discrepancy occurring in the statements made by the 
men who lived in the same hut about what the man had eaten 
49 
at night, the stomach and its contents were sent to the Chemical 
Examiner to Government. The report of the additional 
Examiner was that no trace of any poisonous substance could be 
found. July 27th was the heaviest rainfall this year as yet. It 
rained 2.46 inches from 6 p.m. 26th to 6 p.m. on July 27th. It 
seems therefore probable that the snake entered the hut to o-et 
away from the rain, and went to nestle for shelter and warmth 
near the deceased who was sleeping on the ground. The de¬ 
ceased happening to move his arm, or rolling half over in his 
sleep, frightened or hurt the snake, which at once bit him. 
“ This was my first case of snake-bite in Bengal. I have seen 
three other cases on the extreme north-western frontier, but 
there the cases were very different, being those in which a 
haemorrhagic or purpuric oozing of blood from the skin and 
mucous membrane is the most marked symptom. Looking at 
the case now, after seeing the bodies of other victims, I cannot 
doubt for a moment that the cause of death was the bite of a 
snake, almost certainly of a Cobra.” 
“ Hurrie Doss, aged fifteen, a fine, strong, well-fed lad, of the 
village of Khurdah, four and a half miles from Barrackpoor, is 
said to have been bitten by a snake at 10 p.m. on July 27th, 1870. 
The deceased’s mother states that Hurrie and another boy, 
younger, were aleep in a hut on the ground close to her. He 
awoke up, shouting that a snake was spitting at him, put out 
his right hand to push off the animal, and was bitten on the 
wrist. The old woman says that she saw the snake, and 
described graphically enough the striking of a Cobra. She is 
quite certain that the snake stood up to strike her half-asleep 
boy. The deceased did not apparently realize at once that he 
had been bitten; he took up the younger boy and handed him 
to his mother, but he did not leave his place. He told his 
mother that the snake had some dirty white spots on its body. 
She says that the snake was dark-coloured, and that she did 
not notice the spots mentioned by her son. The snake 
made off, and was not seen by anybody else. Deceased com¬ 
plained of burning pain in wrist; hung down his arm, from 
which a few drops of blood fell. He kept very quiet staring at 
his drooping hand. Within half an hour he lost his voice and 
became partially unconscious. He foamed at the mouth a 
little, and in an hour was quite unconscious. A Brahmin 
came in, breathed on the patient, sprinkled water over him and 
recited prayers ; he remained nearly two hours in attendance, 
but the patient never gave sign of consciousness. Koneyhi, a 
Fakir, went through similar performances. .Petumber, a culti¬ 
vator, also tried some incantations. Finally, a Bengali Kobiraj 
(native doctor) took up the case. He put some leaves in cold 
water and spi’inkled the water on the head of the patient. No 
internal remedy was given. The Kobiraj felt the pulse and 
said the case was hopeless. The boy died at 8 a.m., July 28tli, 
ten hours after he had been bitten.* The body was brought to 
Barrackpoor in the middle of the day, July 28th. Post¬ 
mortem examination 5.30 p.m., nine and a half hours after 
death : average temperature 86°, very damp. Face puffy; a 
good deal of tympanites; right arm swollen ; nails blue on both 
hands. Bigor mortis well marked in legs and left arm, but 
altogether absent from the right arm. Two deep punctures on 
right wrist surrounded by swelling, the whole wrist, hand, and 
arm puffy up to the elbow. A little dark fluid oozing from the 
mouth ; catarrhal mucosities bubbling from nose. Half-formed, 
imperfect, dark clots in cellular tissue under the punctures. 
The body was not opened, the case being quite plain, and the 
mother anxious that the body should not be cut. 
“ Remarks .—This was another case on the night of July 27tli, 
when 2.46 inches of rain fell. It is therefore probable that the 
* The patient had one natural stool about an hour after the bite. He was then 
sufficiently conscious to attempt to sit on a pan, and he was supported by two 
men during defecation. 
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