Snake's Advocate

Plot

Excerpt from Chapter I on the Prevention of Snakebite: The greatest cause of snakebite is the careless handling of poisonous snakes. A poisonous snake should never be handled except by experts, and even then I warn you about the death of the nationally known snakebite expert, Dr. Fred Shannon. A great deal of misinformation is prevalent about a snake wantonly attacking. Of snakes in North America, this can be answered in one short sentence. They will not. If you should happen to walk within the length of any of our poisonous snakes and see it, merely back up or detour to a safe distance. This applies to our formidable seven or eight foot rattlesnakes as well as to the diminutive pigmy rattler or coral snake. They want not trouble. Their greatest desire is to avoid a conflict. Another thing that should be emphasized is never to pick up the decapitated head of a dangerous snake. I know of a case of the severed head of a moccasin biting fifteen minutes after it had been separated from the body. The trunk, itself, and the organs retain their muscular reaction much longer than a warm-blooded animal. Not long ago a nurse at a local hospital excitedly called my attention to the opened body of a copperhead. Five hours after it had been killed, the snake’s heart was beating, It was still beating half an hour later when I left the hospital