First Aid Rule 1.—Make the wound bleed. Cut slit through the wound, lengthwise of limb, two inches long and half an inch deep. Squeeze tissues. Do not suck the wound.
Rule 2.—Keep poison out of general circulation. Tie large cord or bandage tightly about part between wound and heart. Loosen in fifteen minutes.
Rule 3.—Use antidote. Wash wound and cut with fresh solution of chloride of lime (one part to sixty parts of water). Inject anti-venene with hypodermic syringe, ten cubic centimeters, as on label. Or, inject with hypodermic syringe thirty minims of solution of permanganate of potash (five grains to two ounces of water), three times in different places. If no syringe at hand, pour permanganate solution into wound.
Rule 4.—Support heart if weak. Inject with hypodermic syringe one-thirtieth grain of sulphate of strychnine into leg. Repeat as needed every thirty minutes with caution.
Rule 5.—Give no whisky or other liquor. Do not burn the wound.
SNAKE BITE.—There are many different species of poisonous snakes in the United States. The more common are the rattlesnake, the moccasin, the copperhead, and the common viper.
All the venomous snakes have certain characteristics by which they may be distinguished from their harmless brethren. The head is generally broad and flat and of a triangular shape, the wide, heavy jaws tapering to a point at the lips. There is a depression or pit between the nostril and eye on the upper lip, hence the name "pit vipers" given to poisonous snakes. The pupil of the eye is long and vertical, of an oval or elliptical shape.
Venomous snakes are thicker in proportion to their length than harmless snakes, the surface of their bodies is rougher, and their tails are blunt or club-shaped. Conversely, harmless snakes possess long narrow heads, the pupils of their eyes are round, not vertical slits, and their bodies are not thick for their length, but long and slim with pointed tails. The bite of vipers of all kinds is much more poisonous in tropical regions, and in the North fatal snake bite is a rare occurrence.
If there is a doubt whether a snake is poisonous, the neck may be pressed down against the ground between the jaws of a forked stick, and the poison fangs looked for without danger. These hang directly down from the front part of the upper jaw, or are thrust horizontally forward just in front of the upper lip, and may drip saliva and venom.
In Cuba and Porto Rico there is a viper called Juba, or Boaquira, which is a counterpart of the Northern rattlesnake, and the most poisonous of the many species in that region. Among venomous species of the Philippines are two boas and also a viper from nine to ten feet long, which exceptionally pursues and attacks man. This snake is easily killed by a blow on the neck. Another small viper with a club-shaped tail, inhabiting these islands, is nocturnal in its habits, and may get into boots at night. Boots, therefore, should always be inspected before one puts them on in the morning.