VENOMOUS SNAKES. 119 
limbs, the pupils of the eyes dilated, a tendency to sleep, then 
total paralysis, and coma immediately preceding death. 
- Dr. Mueller’s Antidote.—This physician, when a new chum, 
was bitten by a tiger snake, which nearly cost him his life, and set 
him thinking on the action of the insidious venom, but it was many 
years before he could mature and announce his discovery—that 
strychnine is an antidote. In his work on ‘‘Snake Poison,” Dr. 
Mueller quotes 50 cases of snakebite successfully treated with 
strychnine, only two of these by himself, the rest by doctors in the 
colonies who communicated the results to him. Of these 10 persons 
had been bitten by tiger snakes, 8 by black Snakes, 7 by brown 
snakes, and 5 by death adders. In the other instances, the snakes 
having escaped could not be determined. He records six casualties 
* in which the remedy failed, partly from lapse of time and partly 
from too weak injections. The discoverer does not take it for 
granted that all the 50 sufferers had lethal bites, perhaps some 
would have recovered under other treatment, or without any treat- 
ment at all, but he justly claims this much—their recovery was 
more speedy and, further, it was assured. No one can tell what 
might pave happened but for his timely specific, Of the fatal cases 
two occurred in hospitals of New South Wales from bites of the 
brown snake. That of a beautiful lady aged 17, of Darling Point, 
Sydney, is the most remarkable. Being on a visit at Everton, near 
Beechworth, Victoria, Jan., 1893, she was bitten when stepping out 
of the bath at dusk one Sunday by a half-grown tiger snake, sub- 
sequently caught and killed in the room. The bite was in the back 
of the second right toe; she did not suspect snakebite, and no 
ligature was applied until the poison had been ebsorbed and had 
overpowered her. Instead of sinking into coma, she became un- 
conscious for a short time only. When a doctor saw. her a few 
hours after the bite, she declared herself well. She passed a good 
night, but in the morning symptoms made their appearance almost 
identical with those described by Indian writers as following cobra- 
bite. She had difficulty in breathing and swallowing, but a small 
injection, 1-10 grain of strychnine, removed these, and once more 
all danger was thought past. On Monday evening the symptoms 
appeared again in an aggravated form. Strychnine was again 
resorted to, but it failed to act as before, and from hour to hour 
AAT: young’ lady’s condition became more critical. Dr, Mueller 
having been sent for, arrived on Tuesday afternoon 42 hours after 
the bite. This young lady’s case appeared hopeless, paralysis being 
imminent. He injected one tenth grain doses of strychnine every 
half hour, till the physiological action of the drug showed itself 
but it failed to have the least effect on the affected centres, and 
complete paralysis ensued 45 hours after the infliction of the fata] 
bite. ‘Che conclusion the doctor arrived at from what he witnessed 
as—* the antidote can only be relied on within the first 24 hours 
after the bite.” Patients die when treated in an advanced state of 
the malady. ‘ ‘ 
a8 Use as strychnine. —Dr. Rendle (Brisbane) designed a packet 
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