e wound. If the poison be very deadly, the bird soon
evinces symptoms of distress, becomes drowsy, droops its head, and
dies. It is replaced by a second, a third, and more if requisite. When,
however, the bird no longer exhibits any of the signs just mentioned,
the patient is considered out of danger. A frog similarly applied is
supposed to be equally efficacious."

Haunberg, in his Travels in South Africa, mentions an antidote against
the bite of serpents. He says: "The blood of the turtle was much cried
up, which, on account of this extraordinary virtue, the inhabitants dry
in the form of small scales or membranes, and carry about them when
they travel in this country, which swarms with this most noxious
vermin. Whenever any one is wounded by a serpent, he takes a couple of
pinches of the dried blood internally, and applies a little of it to
the wound."

I was present upon one occasion when an Indian child was struck in the
fore finger by a large rattlesnake. His mother, who was near at the
time, seized him in her arms, and, placing the wounded finger in her
mouth, sucked the poison from the puncture for some minutes, repeatedly
spitting out the saliva; after which she chewed and mashed some
plantain leaves and applied to the wound. Over this she sprinkled some
finely-powdered tobacco, and wrapped the finger up in a rag. I did not
observe that the child suffered afterward the least pain or
inconvenience. The immediate application of the remedies probably saved
his life.

Irritation from the bite of gnats and musquitoes, etc., may be relieved
by chewing the plantain, and rubbing the spittle on the bite.

I knew of another instance near Fort Towson, in Northern Texas, where a
small child was left upon the earthen floor of a cabin while its mother
was washing at a spring near by. She heard a cry of distress, and, on
going to the cabin, what was her horror on seeing a rattlesnake coiled
around the child's arm, and striking it repeatedly with its fangs.
After killing the snake, she hurried to her nearest neighbor, procured
a bottle of brandy, and returned as soon as possible; but the poison
had already so operated upon the arm that it was as black as a negro's.
She poured down the child's throat a huge draught of the liquor, which
soon took effect, making it very drunk, and stopped the action of the
poison. Although the child was relieved, it remained sick for a long
time, but ultimately recovered.

A man was struck