nce lessening his
chances for recovery.

"The reputation of whisky as a remedy in these cases is due to
the fact that on an average only one person in eight who is
bitten by a rattlesnake is really poisoned; the reasons for this
were fully explained in an interesting paper on 'Rattlesnakes,'
by the eminent Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, and published in the
Smithsonian Contributions to _Knowledge_ for 1860. If the snake
strikes several times before inflicting a wound, the sacs
containing the venom may be emptied, so that the succeeding bite
will introduce only the most minute quantity of poison--not
enough to produce serious, or fatal results. If the part bitten
is covered by clothing, the poison may be absorbed by the
clothing, so that but very little enters the circulation. In
various other ways the snake is prevented from inflicting a
fatal wound. The popular idea, that every bite of a rattlesnake
is necessarily poisonous, is thus shown to be erroneous. It is
not at all probable that the administration of whisky has ever
in any case contributed to the long life of a person bitten by a
rattlesnake.

"Whisky is often recommended by physicians with the idea that it
will sustain the energies of the patient, or will stimulate the
heart, etc.; but it has been clearly shown that alcohol in all
forms is not only useless for these purposes, but does actual
damage, since it lessens the resistance of the patient, weakens
the heart, and helps along the prostration which is the
characteristic effect of the rattlesnake venom. Alcohol has, for
many years, been used as an antidote for collapse under an
anaesthetic administered for surgical purposes, but no
intelligent physician nowadays thinks of using alcohol for such
a purpose; instead, alcohol is given before the anaesthetic for
the purpose of facilitating its effect. Errors of this sort
which have once become established are very hard to uproot.
Probably some physicians will continue to use alcohol for shock,
exhaustion, general debility and similar conditions as well as
for rattlesnake poisoning for another quarter of a century, but
such use of alcohol does not belong to the domain of rational
medicine and is not supported by scientific facts."

"Under the Pasteur method, a man who did not take alcohol was
much more likely to re