Curing a Rattlesnake Bite.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume I, Issue 23, 18 November 1879, Page 4

Curing a Rattlesnake Bite.

During the haying season an honest old farmer out on the Gratiot road employed three young men from the city to help to cut and store his timothy. None of them liked work half as well as whisky, and a conspiracy was the result. At noon one day one of the trio fell down in the field, shouting and kicking, and the other two ran to the farmer with wild eyes, and called out that their companion had been bitten by a rattlesnake, and must have whisky. The farmer rushed to the house and brought out a quart, and the three harvesters got a big drink all round on the sly, while the “bitten” one had a layoff half a day. The next forenoon a second one was bitten, and again the farmer rushed for his bottle. It was a nice little job for the boys, and on the third day the third put in his claim for a bite, and yelled for the whisky bottle. The farmer took the matter very coolly this time, and after making particular enquiries as to the size of the snake, location of the bite, the sensation, and so forth, he slowly continued: —•“ Day before yesterday James was bitten, and drank a quart of good whisky. Yesterday John was bitten and drank a quart more. To-day you’ve got a bite, and the beat thing you can do is to smell their breaths, and lay in the shade while the rest of us eat dinner !” The man got well in ten minutes, and not another rattlesnake was seen during the season.