A N    ~*<
      ACCOUNT     *V'^
                                                     v
  OF  THE MOST  EFFECTUAL  MEANS  OF
               PREVENTING   THE
 DELETERIOUS  CONSEQUENCES
            OF  THE  BITE  OF  THE
CROTALUS   HORRIDUS,
                        O R
  RJTTL E-S  N A K  E.
  By BENJAMIN SMITH BARTON,  M. D.
PROFESSOR OF NATURAL  HISTORY AND BOTANY IN THE
        UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, &c. (3c.
Extracted from the Third Volume of the Transactions op the
  American Philosophical Society, held  at Philadelphia, for
  promoting Useful Knowledge.
      PHILADELPHIA:
Printed by R. AITKEN &  S 0 N> Market-Street.
                  M.DCC.XCH. 
,<r*f
V'.' -," #&'■
>       :  ■        A 
 
An account of the mojl effectual means of preventing the de-
   leterious confequences of the bite oj the Crot alus Hor-
   ridus*, or Rattle-Snake,  i?/Benjamin Smith
   Barton, M. D»

Read Aug.  I ^ U R I N G  my  pafiage  through feveral  of
 19. 1791- J^J  the weftern fettlementsof Pennsylvania, and
the adjoining States,  in the year 1785, I made it an ob-
ject of attention to acquire every poifible  information  re-
fpecting the effects of the poifon of the Rattle-Snake,
and the methods of prevention, or of cure, which are com-
monly employed in thofe parts of  our country..  A very   |
 coniiderable number  of vegetables  were either mentioned,
 or mown, to me, all of which, I wras aflured,  nvere good.
for the bites of Snakes,   Without being much of the ikep-
                                                        tick
   * 1 think it proper to confine my remarks to this fpecies of Rattle-Snake, becaufe  it is
 that with which i am beft acquainted; becaufe it is the mod common fpecies in thofe parts of
 our country which are beft known tome, and becaufe I believe it is the moft deleterious fpe-
 cies that has yet been difcovered within the limits of the United-States.  I have little doubt,
 however, that the plan which I have recommended, and the remarks which  I have made,
 will equally tpply to the CrotaIusa</7/ar;i/j, the Crotalus Durijfus and the other fpecies of thii •
 formidable family of ferpents which are defcribed by Linnaeus, and by other writers. 
                         f   s    )
tick in medical  matters, I might have doubted either the
veracity of my  informers, or the  accuracy  with which
their experiments and obfervations  were made.   It, cer-
tainly, did not require a very extenlive acquaintance with
botanical or  with medical fcience to  difcover, that  thefe
reputed fpecificks were frequently  poflefled of proporties
the moft oppofite; and, confequently, that the effects  of
the poifon of our venemous ferpents,  which are  fo  uni-
form in their appearance, were  capable of  being ofoviated
or removed,  by a number of  vegetables,  perhaps  ho lefa
different in their influence on animal  bodies than  they are
in family, and  in fpecies.   I  might have doubted, for  a
moment,  whether  the  activity of thefe  poifons was  lb
great,  and the effects of their operation fo  dangerous iyad
fo fatal, as has been generally imagined.   I was  not  ig-
norant that in the feafons of fupervening languor and tor-
pidity the Rattle-Snake,  in particular, bites with feem-
ing reluctance,  and without  any,or with but little, ill con-
fequence ariling from the wound.  I, likewife, well knew,
that even in  thofe feafons when the fun powerfully exerts
its influence, at which  times  thefe animals are beft quali-
fied to ftrike and to  injure, individuals of the fpecies muft
often be found,  the  cavities of whofe venemous fangs  are
entirely, or nearly,  deftitute  of their  active  poifon,  from
the introduction of which  into  the  body,  thofe  alarming
fymptoms,  which characterife the  fuccefsful  bite  of this
animal  arifej*. I could imagine that, in fome inftances, the
                                                     poifon,
  f Several years fince, a gentlemen made the following experiments in Philadelphia.  He
had a large Rattli-Snake brought to him aliv-, which he fo managed by a ftring that he
could eaiily lead it into, or out of, a clofc cage. On the hrft day, he iuffersd this Snake to bite
a chicken, which had been allured to the mouth of the cage by crumbs of bread. In a few
hours, the bird " mortified" and died.  On the feccnd day, another chicken was bitten in the
fame manner, and furvived the injury much longer than the fixft.  On the third day, the ex-
periment was made upon a third chicken, which fwelled much, but, nevertheless, recovered.
On the fourth day, feveral chickens were fuffered to be bitten, without receiving any injury.
After this, itisfaid, the Snak«grew larger and fatter. M. S. by my father, penes me.  The
truth of thefe experiments feems to be confirmed by the original  and very well-written ac-
count of the fecond volume of the Count de la  Cepcdc's HijloirauturcUe da Serpens, l£e. pub-
                                                        iilhcd 
                        (    6    )
poifon might be thrown into ligamentous or tendinous mat-
ter,  from which there would be little probability  of an
abforption into the mafs of blood.   Thefe laft  mentioned
circumftances enabled me to underftand how, in fome in-
stances at  leaft,  the internal ufe of the various vegetables
which were employed, might have led my informers to fup-
pofe that thofe vegetables had accompliihed a cure.
   Upon examining the fubject more minutely, I found
that altMough the principal dependance feemed to  be placed
on the internal ufe of vegetables, yet the employment of ex-
ternal means was evidently the moft important part,  both
of the prevention and of  the cure.  In general, the firft
thing that was attended to, after  a  perfon had been bitten
by. the Rattle-Snake,  was to throw a tight ligature a-
bove the part into which the poifon had been introduced :
at leaft,  this was the pra&ice whenever the fituation of the
wounded  part  admitted of fuch  an  application    The
wound was next fcarified, and a mixture of fait  and gun-
powder, fometimes either of thefe articles  feparately,  was
laid  upon the part.   Over the whole was applied a piece
of the  bark of  the White-Walnut*.  At  the fame time,
fome one, frequently  more  than  one, of the vegetables
which were mentioned to me, were given internally, ei-
ther, in  decoction, or infulion, along with  large quanti-
 ties of milk.
   Such is  the rude  and fimple pradice of our weftern fet-
tkrs for preventing, or for curing, the dangerous effects
of the bite of the Rattle-Snake.  They likewife ex-
tend this practice to the bites of leveral other kinds of fer-
pents,  the hiftor-y of which will form the fubjed of a me-
                                                    moir,
lllhed i- the Ai+trih to He f-™J-volume of the monthly rtvino ethrgel: fee page 5II. The fimple
experiments v hich I have juft relied dele rve to be attended to. They cn.hle us to aff.gn a
reifon vhv perfons who have actually btenbitten by the Rattlesnake have fometimes ex-
....'ri^.-erlvcryinconfiderable, or no bad, confluences from the wound: they cn-ible us to
  Trover in what manner many vegetables have acquired a reputation for curing the  bites of
i rpents, without our recurring to the v.-ry difagreeable neceffity of arraigning the veracity ef
thofe from whom our informations derived: and, laftly, they teach us a il.yfiolog.cai fad,
that the poifon of the Rat tle-Snake is kcreted vcrj fiowly.
   * The juglans <?/.'.» of Linnaeus. 
                        (    7   )
 moir, which I hope to lay before the Society, fome time in
 the courfe of the enfuing  year.  At prefent, 1 lhall only
 remark that there is reafon to believe, the practice which
 I  have defcribed  has often been cmplo) ed for the bites of
 ferpents which do not belong to our ver.en.ous tribes. This I
 knovtobe the cafe with refpect to our Wampum-Snake', the
 Coluber fafciatusof Linnaeus:  for, a careful examination of
 this ferpent  and a curious inquiry into its  hiftory,  have
 convinced me that its bite, like that of many other fpecies of
 the extenlive genus of Coluber, is  really harmlefs.  It
 would be uncandid not to obferve that Mr. Catefby,  who
 has given a defcription  and a good figure of the  Wampum-
 Snake, in his Natural Hiftory of Carolina, &c .* was of the
 lame opinion long before me.   I  may alfo remark  that
 Linnaeus, in his Syjlema Naturtcf, has not annexed to the
 Coluber fajciatus that mark by which hedefunates the fer-
 pents which he fuppofedto be venemous.  But the Swedilli
 natural ift  does not  feem  to  have  been  certain  thai
 his Coluber  is  that  defcribed and  figured by  Catefby,
 under the name of the  Wampum-Snake. From comparing,
 however, the animal itfelf with  the defcriptions of Catefby
 and Linnoeus, I am confident that the  Wampum-Snake of *  *.„'
 Pennfylvania, Carolina, &c.  is no other than the  Coluber   <~~
fafciatus of the Sy'ftem of Nature.
   But to return from what is rather a  digreflion.  In the
 fimple practice which I have defcribed, I  am difpofed to
 repofe great confidence.   Nor can I have any doubt  that
 the beneficial effects which have been  experienced under
 the employment of the multifarious means I  have  menti-
 oned, are to be attributed principally to the ufe  of the li-
 gature, to the fcarification of the wounded part, the appli-
 cation of the fait,  the gunpowder and  the blifter.   I mail
 not deny that fome of the vegetables which were exhibit-
                                                    ed
• See Volume ad, p. 58 and t. 58.
+ See Volume lit, p. 378. Vienna edition of 1767. 
(   8    )
ed internally may be of ufe.  Such, perhaps,  are the vari-
ous decodions which are made of the moreftimulating vege-
tables, the infufions and ex prefled juices of vegetables, ac-
companied with the ufe of large draughts of warm water,
the fteam-bath, &c.  Thefe,  by  exciting a moft profufe
perfpiration,  may contribute to the difcharge of the poi-
fon from the mafs of blood.  Some of them ad powerful-
ly as diuretics, and in this way may  alio  be of fervice.
The Indians in the State of Jerfey,  I have been informed,
formerly made ufe of the ex prefled juice of the leaves  of
the common Garden-Rue * as a remedy for the bite of the
Rattle-Snake.   It is well known that this vegetable
poflefTes-*very adive powers, and  in  the large  dofes  in
which the Indians prefcribed it, it excited a moft violent
fweat.   They gave to an adult,  about  two  table-fpoons
full of the juice every two hours, until this effed was pro-
duced.  I think, there can be little doubt, that it has been
of confiderable fervice.
  It deferves, however, to be mentioned, in this  place,
that during the ufe of the Rue, and even before this vege-
table was adminiftered, external means were employed, the
principal of which was the application  of the ligature.
  We fee, therefore, that  without a knowledge  of the
name,  much lefs of the ftrudure and office, of the abfor-
bent-fyftem, the rude favages of our continent, from whom
it is probable the  white inhabitants derived  their experi-
ence on the fubjed, had learned the propriety of applying
a ligature, in order to prevent  the farther introduction of
the poifon into the body.  From the  nature of the favage
life, man in this ftate of his political exiftence is more lia-
ble to be injured by the bites of ferpents than in the more
polilhed ftages of his improvement.   It  is fortunate, there-
fore, that even among fome of the rudeft nations of men,
the mode of treating the bites of thefe animals is fo rational.
                                                   If 
(   9  )
If, along with the ligature and the application of different
ftimulants to the wounded part, they make ufe of various
internal  means, many  of which  are probably impotent,
and fome of them, perhaps,  pernicious, let  us remember
that even among the moft polifhed nations,  where medi-
cine is  cultivated as a fcience, phyficians  are accuftomed
to adminifter many articles whofe effed on the fyftem are
known to be inconfiderable or ufelefs.
  The  fait and gunpowder applied to the fcarified part
act powerfully by exciting a difcharge of blood,  and par-
ticularly of  the  ferous part, from the wound; whilft the
bark of the White-Walnut,  already mentioned, which pof-
fefles the evacuant power of cantharides, in no inconfidera-
ble degree, contributes to the farther difcharge of this ferum,
and along with it the poifon thrown in by the animal.      |
  I do not know that any vegetable fubftance befides the
bark of the White-Walnut  is ever employed in thefe cafes
as a blifter.  I know, indeed, that both the Indians and the
white inhabitants of this country are acquainted with the
bliftering property of other indigenous vegetables: fuch are
the Common-Wintergrccn (Pyr ola rotundifolta, Lin.), fome ■&
fpecies of the genus Ranunculus,  or Croiv-foot, &c.   In
fome parts of Pennfylvania, the roots of the firft: of thefe
plants are pounded, and then applied  to parts where it is
required to  raife a blifter.   The roots of  this Pyrola are,
however, principally ufed in rheumatick affedions, and I
have never  heard of their being employed in cafes of the
bites of venemous ferpents.  I have heard of one inftance
in which a blifter of cantharides was applied to the wound
occafioned by a Rattle-Snake, and was attended with
the beft effed*.
  If the method of treating the bite  of the  Rattle-
Snake which  I have  defcribed,  is  ever of fervice, it
                          O                        is
  • Since I wrote the above, I have read, with no fmall degree of pleafure, that the bark of
the Daphne Mezereuvi of Linnxus(the Cimmen-Mezeran, or Spurge-Olive) hasbeen applied to the
                                      %           wound 
(   io   )
is obvious that no time mould be loft in the  employment
of the means that have been mentioned, or of fome means
of a fimilar nature.  In thofe cafes where the poifon is ap-
plied near to the orifice of an abforbing-veffel we have rea-
fon to fuppofe that it will be conveyed into the mafs  of
blood with great celerity.   The mildeft  fluids  pafs along
the lymphatick-veffels with rapidity, but when thefe veffels
are expofed to the influence of cold, or when  they are fti-
mulated by poifons of any kind, their propelling adion is
greatly encreafed. Even,  however,  after wc  arc convinc-
ed that a portion of the poifon has  been abforbed,   we
ought not, I think, to omit the  ufe of the ligature, and of
fome of the other means which have been mentioned.
   As poifons of various kinds in their paffage through the
lymphatick-veffels are liable to be detained, for fome time,
in the glandular appendages of this fyftem,  it would,
perhaps, be of ufe to fcarify thefe  parts,  and to apply a
blifter to them, in order to promote the  difcharge of the
poifon.   Let us fuppofe, for inftance, that the  poifon  of
the Rattle-Snake isthrown intothefole, orend,of the
foot clofe to the mouths of a number of lymphatick-veffels.
In moft cafes, the  ftimulant effeds of this Angular  fluid
areobferved to take place in a few minutes. The lympha-
ticks partake of the inflammation which is excited: the poi-
fon is quickly propelled along them,  but its  paffage  into
the blood-veffels is fomewhat retarded by  the conglobate-
                                                    glands
wound occafioned by the bite of a poifonous f-rpent, and that the  application was attended
with the hippieft cffe^s. See the Flora Suecka of Linmeu*, p. ia8. It has alfo been lately
recommended, :.nd its beneficial effeds have been experienced, in the fume  cafe, and in the
b:te of the mad-dtfg. See what Acrel has fa;d on the fubjecr. in the Vd. A.ad. Handl, for
the ve^r 1778, p. 104.  All the fpecies of the genus Daphne, with which the totaniits are ac-
quainted, areindued with the fame property. The bark when chewed itron«ly ftimulatcs
the mouth and fauces, exciting a confiderable decree of heat: when applied externally to the
flcin, it produces a blifter and a confiderable difcharge of  ierous matter.  Its  good effects in
the i'nfl3nces juft mentioned, are, therefore, I prefume, to be referred to this  ftimulating pro-
perty  The bark of the Wbite-Walm.t, as I have already obferved, acts in the fame way, though
not fo readily, or fo powerfully.  The Mezerecn or the cantharides, perhaps  more efpeciaUy
the Daphne Gnidium, would, I imagine, be very propcily fuMtituted for it. 
                      {  II   )
glands, which form an effential part of the abforbent-fyf-
tem in man,   In  a fhort time, however, if the ligature
has not been very early and  very  carefully  applied, the
glands of the groin are obferved to fwell, and inflame.  In
this ftate of the complaint, I  would  advife an  extenfive
fcarification of thefe glands,  and the  application of  fome
powerful blifter, the effeds of which, at the fame time,
are very fuddenly exerted.   I know of no article  of the
materia medica fo likely to anfwer both thefe intentions as
the Ecorce de Qarou of the French, the bark of the Daphne
Gnidium, which I have already mentioned.
   It often happens that the poifonof theRATTLE-SNAKE,
like that of the mad-dog, being merely thrown into muf-
cular,  tendinous,  ligamentous or cellular parts, is  depo-
fited there fome time without being abforbed into the mafs
of blood.   In thefe cafes the  fuccefs of the plan  which I
have defcribed will,  probably, be very great.  Whatever
preference may be given to the ufe of the knife, or of the
cauftick over that of fcarification, the application of the blift-
er, &c. I think, theiie can be very little doubt of the pro-
priety of employing the ligature. I am convinced, indeed,
that on the ufe of this  fimple application, the  fuccefs  of
our cure, or to fpeak  more  properly  of our prevention
will, in a great meafure, depend.
   Hitherto, I  have  proceeded on the fuppofition, that
the poifon of the Rattle-Snake  is conveyed into the
blood-veffels through  the medium of the abforbent-lym-
phaticks.   But,  unfortunately, cafes fometimes occur in
which  this adive matter is thrown  immediately into a
vein or artery.  When this happens, the effeds of the
poifon  will be the more readily propagated to the remotcft
parts of the fyftem ; and the powers of medicine will then
be found to be lefs confiderable.   I  have received an ac- {
count of the cafe of a perfon  who, whilft he was repofin°-
himfelf under a tree in a wood, was bit in the neck by a R a t-
                         O 2                    TLE- 
                       (  «   )
 tle-Snake: remedies were immediately applied; buttons
 purpofe, for the unhappy fufferer expired in a few minutes.
 This very fudden operation of  the poifon will  not excite
 much wonder,  when we confider the proximity of  the
 wound in this  cafe to the fource of circulation.  For al-
 though experiments are wanted to demonftrate  theprecife
 adion of the poifon of the Rattle-Snake on the human
 and other animal fyftems,  we are already in poffefTion of
 fads which warrant us to conclude, that it exerts its prin-
 cipal effeds on the  fanguiferous fyftem, and, as I believe,
 immediately on the blood itfelf. In what manner it affeds
 this important fluid I am unable to decide with certainty.
 That it induces  a  preternatural tenuity of  it cannot, I
 think, be doubted.
   But whatever may be  the particular operation of  the
 poifon of which I am fpeaking,  we are certain that  the
 introdudion of  the fmalleft portion of it into a blood-
 veffel is generally attended  with the moft:  ferious  confe-
 quences.  Mr. Catefby fays that, " where a Rattle-Snake
 "  with full force penetrates with his deadly fangs, and
 "  pricks a vein  or  artery,  inevitable  death  enfues; and
 u  that, as I have often  feen,  in lefs than  two minutes.
 "  The Indians" he continues, " know theirdeftiny  the
 "  minute they are bit; and, when they perceive it mortal,
 "  apply no remedy, concluding all efforts in  vain*.*' Mr.
 Catefby is frequently very accurate in  relating fads, and
in  making  obfervations.  What he has here faid refpec-
ting the fatal  confequences of  the  immediate introduction
of the poifon into the blood-veffels perfedly  correfponds
with the information which I have received from a variety
of fources.   I  am unwilling, however, to believe that, in
every cafe, fuch an  introdudion is neceffarily mortal.  I
cannot but fuppofe that of the many cafes of  the bites of
                                                  the
    * The Natural Hiftory of Carolina, &c. vol. 2, p. 4*» 
(  «3   )
the Rattle-Snake which fo frequently occur in the lefs
inhabited  parts of  our country, the number of thofe in
which the poifon has been immediately applied to a blood-
veffel cannot be inconfiderable.  And yet, at prefent, how
feldom does the bite of this animal prove mortal! What-
ever may  be the event of this opinion,  I  think we ought
not to negled the application of the ligature, &c.  even
after we are confident the poifon has been thrown into a
blood-veffcl.   Perhaps, in this cafe,  the Rue, or fome
other powerful fudorifick, may be of fervice. How far the
ufe of milk, &c, will  tend to the recovery of our patient,
I cannot decide with confidence.   I  confefs, however, I
Ihould be  unwilling to place much hopes in the adrnini-
ftration of this fluid,  although the pradice is very gene-
rally adopted in moft  of our  new fettlements.
   I have now  defcribed the modes of peventing the dan-
gerous confequences of the bite of theRATTLE-SNAKE,
as they are pradiled in various parts of our country.  At
the fame time, I have ventured to throw out fome conjec-
tures  of my own, which I thought would not be impro-
per, nor altogether unacceptable.  As my obje£t in prefent-
ing this paper to the Puilofophical Society is  more utility
than  curiolity, I  have  avoided mentioning feveral other
means which  are daily employed for the fame purpofc,
both'in  the countries to the Eaft and in thofe to the Weft
of our  mountains.   I cannot, however, help obferving
that fucking of the  wounded part, is very generally prac-
tifed by the Creeks,  and fome other native tribes in the
fouthern parts  of our States, &c. as I have been inform-
ed by my  ingenious and wTorthy friend Mr. William Har-
tram, who received his information from the traders a-
m >ng thefe people.  It appears from Mr. Catefby's elegant
work, which I have already  quoted,  that  fome of  thele
tribes have learned the importance of cutting out the wound-
                                                   ed 
(   14   )
cd  part,  when, from the fituation of the  bite, this  can
be done *.
   When the poifon of  the Rattle-Snake  has actually
been introduced into the general mafs of blood,  it  begins
to exert its moft alarming and charaderiftick effeds.  A con-
fiderable degree of naufea is a very early fymptom j\   We
now difcover an  evident  alteration  in  the pulfe:  it  be-
comes full,  ftrong,  and greatly agitated. The whole body
begins  to  fwell:  the eyes become fo entirely fuffuied, that
it is difficult to difcover the fmalleft portion of the  adnata
that is  not painted with blood.   In many  inftances, there
is an hemorrhagy of blood from  the eyes, and likewifc
from the  nofe  and  ears: and   fo  great is the change in-
duced in the mafs of blood, that large quantities of it are
fometimes thrown out on  the furface of the body,  in  the
fp_rm, of fwgpt._ The teeth vacillate in  their focketsj whilft
the pains and gtoans of the unhappy fufferer  too plainly
inform us that  the extindionof life is  near at hand.
  In this ftage  of its adion, and even  before  it has  indu-
ced the moft alarming of the fymptomswhichl have men-
tioned,  the  powers of medicines can do  little  to check the
rap\d and violent progrefs of this poifon.   The employ-
ment of the ligature, the ufe of the blifter,  and of the  o-
ther modes of treatment which I recommended in the lo-
cal ftage, it is obvious to remark, will be of very  little, if
any, benefit here,   When there is no hemorrhagy,  how-
                                                       ever,
  * See vol. 2, p. 41. Mr. Catefby alfo makes mention of the practice of fucking the wound,
which, he fays,  " in a flight bite, has fometimes a good effect; tho' the recovered perfon
" never fails of having annual pains at the time they were bit.".  Vol. 2. p. 41.  The Abbe
Clavigero fays, the moft effectual remedy for the Lite of the R ittle-Snake, " is thought to be
" the holding of the wounded partfometime in the earth." The Hi/lory of Mexico, 5cc. vol. ift,
p. 59, Englifh Tranflajjon.
  f It is remarkable that a naufea, and fometimes a vomiting, is induced in many cafes iii a
few minutts after the poifon has been thrown into  a mufcular part, and long before it can
poflibiy have entt red the blood-veflels,throughtht medium of the abforbent-lyn dI; ;ttitl f; or, ad-
mitting that it has been introduced directly into a b'.ood-vefTd,  before this active  r.i-ifon can
have effected in the general mafs any charge whatever.  Does not this very furlden appearance
of the naufea and vomiting feemto render it probable that the poifon  of the Rattli>S.vAk£
extrts confiderable effefts on the nervous matter of animals? 
                      (   '5  )
ever, and when the fymptoms of a violent  adion nf the
heart and arteries take place,  mercy may, perhaps,  dic-
tate to  us the ufe of the  lancet,  with  the view to mode-
rate this adion.  I fay nothing of the employment of the
other parts of what is called by phyficians the antiphlogif-
tick treatment,  as the condition of the unhappy fufferer
will, in moft cafes, preclude the poflibility of it.
  I fhould have been glad to have annexed to this imper-
fed paper, a more accurate  account of the effeds of the
poifon  of the Rattle-Snake,  on the fyftem of man and
other animals, and, likewife, an analyfis of this fingular
fluid.   The fubjed is, certainly, a curious one,  and one
the minute invcftigation of which would, probably, throw
fome lights on the phyiiology of animals, whUfl it would,
no doubt, ultimately tend to the eftablifhrnent  of a more
certain mode of treating the bite of one of the moft formi-
dable ferpents that has hitherto been difcovered in North-
America.   But fuch an inveftigation would require much
time and patience, and, perhaps, I may  add, a portion of
fortitude.   Fully impreffed with a fenfe of the richnefs  of
the field, I mean to undertake the inquiry.   Meanwhile,
I fhalljuft obferve that the poilon of the R\ttle-Snake
is generally of a yellowifh, fomewhat greenifh, colour, and
that it changes to a darker hue with the  heat of our feafons.
During the period of the animal's  amours, the  poifon is
obferved to  be of a much darker green than at any other
time, and it is certain that itisnowalfoof a much more adive
and deleterious  nature.   Whether this increafe of adivity
depends on the procreative paflion of the animal, or whether
it is not merely a confequence of the heat of the feafon, I
lhall not  decide, at prefent.
  From the fads and obfervations which I have fubmitted
to the  Society, it appears that, in many cafes,  the  pre-
vention of  the  deleterious  effeds of the poifon  of the
Rattle-Snake, may be accomplished by means which
                                                  are 
                       (   16  )
 are fimple,  and within the reach of almoft  every p;rfon.
 To this fubjedl anxioufly wifti to turn the attention  of
 phyficians and  of phyfiologifts;  becaufe  the  analogies
 which fubfift between the effeds of this poifon and thofe of
 fome other animals, both of the fame and of different fami-
 lies, are numerous and ftriking.  It  is highly  probable,
 therefore, that our refearches into this fubjed, would con-
 dud us  to the knowledge of means  whereby we might
 fometimes, perhaps not unfrequently, be enabled to pre-
 vent the confequences of the bite  of the mad-dog, &c.
 Our fuccefs in one cafe ought, at  leaft, to ftimulate us to
 make the experiment in another.   Let us not, any longer,
 look for abfolutefpecificks.  Let us be content that, in the ful-
 nefs of her benevolence, nature, ever attentive to our welfare,
 has  enriched her feries of animals, of vegetables,  and of
 minerals, with  beings,  with objeds, and  with means,
which  man,  in  every ftage of his improvement,  is in-
ftruded to employ for preventing, for alleviating, or for
curing at leaft fome of thofe infirmities the whole of which
 conftitute, as it were, a part of his effence, or nature. The
 rage for fpeeifkks  is, indeed, nearly at an end.   I exceed-
 ingly regret,  however, that it  is  ftill, in fome meafure,
 fupported by  the  botanifts, who  cultivate  an  ufeful and
 an  amiable  branch  of  natural  knowledge.  Thus, the
 Flora of almoft every country, and even of a narrovv_dif-
 trid, or of the fuburbs of a city, is too frequently crowded
 with the moft unqualified recommendations of certain ve-
 getables  in different difeafes.  But  the  partiality of the
 botanifts for remedies for  the bites of poifonous ferpents
 appears to be peculiarly ftriking.  Perhaps, this partiality
 may be placed among thofe errors  which difgrace even the
primordia of medicine.  It is certain, that we very eafily
 trace it to aftate of fociety of which credulity, fuperftition,
 and ignorance are  the moft prominent and diftindive fea-
 tures,
                                                   Of 
(•  n   )
   Of the many travellers who have vifited the countries
of North-America, there are very few, indeed,  who have
not recorded in their journals at leaft one or two fpecificks
againft the bites of ferpents.  M. le Page du Pratz, who,
in fome  refpeds, is a judicious writer, ferioufly informs
us that the Rattle-Snake " fhuns the habitations of
" men, and by a fingular providence, wherever it retires
" to, there the herb which cures its bite, is likewife to be
" found*."  Had this gentleman obferved that wherever
the  animal,  of  which  we are fpeaking, retires, we find
vegetables which the full credulity of the Americans has
led them to imagine are antidotes to its bite, he would not
have expofed himfelf to the imputation of credulity with
thofe who are more intimately acquainted with the works
of nature, or with the  powers of medicines.   But the
truth is,  that there is no branch of  natural hiftory* in the
inveftigation of which even men of fcience have more pro-
minently difcovered their ignorance and  weaknefs than in
that of the  ferpents.  Here, even a Linnaeus,'forgetting
the cautious dignity which  became the  charader of him
who was deftined to reform  the fcience of nature, ferioufly
relates thofe _LaJjes  which ought to have been confined to
the ivigivaum of  the  favage, or to the cabin of the
moft uninformed hunter.
   To this account of what I deem to be the mojl effeclual
means of preventing the deleterious conferences of the bite
of the Crotalus Horridus, or  Rattle-Snake, I
fhall fubjoin a catalogue of a number of vegetables  which
have been recommended for  the fame purpofe,  either by
the Indians, or by the white inhabitants of our continent.
In enumerating thefe vegetables, I have thought it proper to
give both the Linnaean, or claflical, and the Englifh, or vul-
gar, names.  Some of thefe reputed fpecificks are ufed inter-
nally, others are employed externally, whilft others, again,
                                                  are
• The Hiftory of Louifiana, &c. p. 369. Englifh Tranflatioat 
                            (■   18   )
   are ufed  both internally and externally.   To fuch  as are
   ufed internally I have prefixed this  markf :  to fuch as are
   applied externally, I have prefixed the mark*:  thofe which
   are employed both internally and externally are defignated
   by both thefe marks,  whilft to thofe of which I have not
   learned,  with certainty, the particular exhibition,  I have
   prefixed no mark whatever.
]    Sa nguinaria canadeifis (*Puccoon, Blood-root, Turmerick),'
   Hypoxia erecla{^Erecl-Hypoxis,Star of Bethlehem), Laurus
   Saffafras  (* Saffafras), Polygala Senega (")**  Seneca Snake-
   root), Prenanthes alba (f White Ivy-leaf Dr. Witfs Snake-
   root),  Hieracium venofum  (^Feiny^Haivk-ioeed), Cuni-
   la mariana (f Dittany, Wild-Bafil)y Collinfonia canadenfts
   (  f Hor/e-zueed, Knot-root), IHJydrophyllum  canadenfe (j~
   Scaly-root),  Ribes nigrum  ("("Black-Currant),  Eryngium
   foetidum (~\ Fetid-Eryngo), Ardium  Lappa ( * Burdock),
   Uvulax'\&peifoliata (* Perfoliate-Uvularia), Aletris fari-
   Tiofa [Star-grafs, Star-root), Afarum—virginicumt [Heart
   Snake-roots),  Marrubium vulgare  (f White-Horehound),
   Scorzonera  hifpanica [Garden Vipers-grafs), Solidago {*")"
   Golden-rod.  Different fpecres arculcd-.), Ariftolochia Serpen-
   taria (*f Virginian Snake-root),  Iuglans tthhugz (*■ White-  &£&*-
   Walnut, Butter-nut),  Cynogloffum  virginicnm (f Virgi-
   nia7i Hounds-tongue), Convolvulus----arvenfisl (* Leaf-
   Bindweed) Adara racanofa  § American Bane-berry, Black
   Snake-foot,  Rattle-zveed), -Sanicula  canadenfis [\ Canadi-
   anSanicle), Vcratrum luteum {Rattle~Snake-root), Erige-
   Yon—philadflphicumP  (f* Robin's Plantain) Lirioden*-
   c3rori Tulipifera (f-  Tulip-tree, Poplar §), Crocus fativus
                            ':                     ft Common-
   (.: '  j--            -: ::.vj;;; i .■ :\  .  ■. • .  :     :'
        '.•)...•'      "    [    /_. ......,    •  ;'
     i Amoirg theChc^i-ake, anclpro'j.jLly ar-ri^pth-r-.AiTi-crican tribes, »hc i'ircr bark of this
   tie'e, after being hivif-.d, is iniu'ed in vater, :iod themfufion given to horfts which have been
   vitten 1 -y the Rattxc-SVaki^ ; It :*netitnpr<obabie*hat tifisnud-icine may lo.r.i. times be of
   i'< rvice ir. tli'tf* ci.i\?5, as it is certain that the b:irk of the .QmciHCjn I.h'nl^ion poffefles-vcry
   »ciive rowers, p.safiimuknt and fui'oriflck.  I have never.heard that this bark fcas been em-
   p!oj^d for the bite of the Rattle-^nake in man. 
                      (   '9  )
(t Common-Saffron),  Fraxinus——(\White-AJh)  Chry-
santhemum?  (St. Anthony9 s  crofs)  Convallaria ( t Solo-
mon's feaL Different fpecies are ufed.), Ulmus—America-
na?  (* f? American Elm)  Ofmunda  virginiana [Virgini-
an  Ofmunda,  Fer?i-Rattle-Snake-root),   Jufliaea?—( *'f
Wood-Plantain,Rattle-Snake-Plantain)  Hieracium Kalmii
( * f Rattle-Snake-Plantain, Poor-Robin's Plantain),