Part 11 (2/2)

”I asked ere the antidotes used for snake bites in Australia?

”To this our host replied that there were various ways of counteracting the effects of a snake bite One was to cut out the wound and take away the flesh from each side of it for half an inch or so Another was to s large quantities of brandy and whiskey, and the third and most common as to use a hypoderarded as alreat many people, such as stockmen, wood-cutters, fare, charged and ready for use

”'On that subject I can tell you an interesting story,' said our host

'There was at one time a man named Underwood, who discovered a positive antidote for the bite of the ave several exhibitions in which he permitted himself to be bitten by snakes in full possession of all their venomous powers, a fact which was established by the is, chickens, and other small animals, which were bitten by the snakes after they had tried their fangs on Underwood

He carried a supply of his antidote about him, and used it whenever he was thus bitten'

”'Underwood's re to sell it to the govern tolife One day Underwood gave an exhibition in which he allowed himself, as usual, to be bitten by a venomous snake He was intoxicated at the time, and in consequence of his intoxication was unable to find his antidote; the result was that he died within an hour, and carried away the secret of his antidote forever'

”Newly arrived ereat fear of snakes For the first feeeks they are startled whenever they hear the least rustling in the bushes, but after a tiet accustomed to it, and think no reat difference in what part of Australia you are There are soreat precautions are necessary Loampy districts are said to be the worst, and men alk around in such localities are very careful of their steps

”Some of the snakes of Australia have an unpleasant habit of co around the houses, and this is particularly the case with the tiger snake, which in this respect seems to possess the same characteristics as his relative the 'cobra,' of India Our host told us a story which he said he knew to be a true one, the incident having occurred in a fahter in the fa in a ha of so cold, and moist, and heavy near her neck She raised her hand and happened to grasp the neck of a snake just back of the head In her paroxysm of terror, she clutched it with terrific force to tear it away

”She gave a piercing cry that summoned her father and other members of the family, and immediately after the cry she fainted But she still continued to clutch at the snake's neck, and although she was utterly unconscious of anything surrounding her, she grasped it with such force that the reptile was fairly strangled by her fingers Her father realized that it would be impossible to free her hand until consciousness returned, and the indications were that it would not be speedy in coers one by one, with a piece of the hammock cord, and removed the dead body of the snake so that it should be out of sight when she revived Luckily, the creature had not bitten her before she grasped it

”It is not at all unusual for a , that a serpent has crawled in by his side, or curled itself up on his breast for the sake of the warmth that his body supplies I have heard a story of athe night while lying flat on his back, and felt so heavy and cold on his chest He moved a little as he waked, and hison hiht of the camp fire the man saw his predicament His hair stood on end, and he could feel the blood stiffening in his veins He kneould be soht, and felt that he would lose his , or perhaps die of fear He carried a knife in his belt, and decided, after careful consideration, that his best plan was to reach for the weapon and kill the snake where it lay

”Slowly, very slowly, he worked his hand to his waist and drew his knife He could not avoidso, and at each movement the snake raised its head to ascertain the cause of the disturbance; then the ain

”After the lapse of what seeot his knife and arm in readiness for action Then hethe serpent to lift its head once more As it did so, the man made a quick movement of his hand, and he declares that he never made a quicker one in all his life The snake's head was severed by the blow; it fell to one side and the writhing body of the creature followed it

At the same instant the man was on his feet, and he says that he danced for a few round in a fainting fit, caused by the sudden reaction in his feelings The snake that he killed was of a poisonous kind,--the tiger snake, which has already been th, it measured very nearly five feet

”They have scorpions and centipedes in Australia, and their bite is just as deadly as that of the sae as a pea,--black all over except a red spot on its back,--which is found in decaying logs, and, unhappily, has a fondness for living in houses It is aggressive in its nature, as it does not wait to be disturbed beforean attack, and it has been known to cross a roo in order to bite him

Its bite is as bad as that of the scorpion or centipede Sometimes its victims are permanently paralyzed for the rest of their lives, or become hopeless lunatics, and, not infrequently, death results froentleman told me hoas once bitten by one of these spiders on the calf of the leg He immediately cut out the wound and injected some ammonia close by the side of it, but in spite of these precautions he suffered intense pains in the leg for several days The limb swelled to twice its natural size, and became as soft as putty At the spot where the wound was a suppurating sore fored for several months He fully expected that amputation would be necessary, and the doctor whom he called to attend hi altogether Greatly to his and the doctor's surprise and delight, he ed to save it, but for fully a year after the wound had healed the limb did not resume its normal size, and he suffered frequent pains like rheumatism

”'You will naturally conclude,' said our friend, 'that as we have spiders here we ought to have flies, and we have the monotonous They are worse in the interior than on the coast; in the latter region they are only troubleso the autumn months, while for the rest of the year they are not at all nuether; but in the interior they are always bad, the only difference being that they are worse at some times than at others In parts of the interior everybody wears a veil when going about the country, and it is often necessary to do so while in the house On some of the interior plains you can see a ht put it You see in the distance a s just over the road It is a cloud of flies around the head of so on horseback They stick to hioes If another traveler happens to be going in the opposite direction, the clouds about their heads le as the individuals meet, and when they separate the flies move on with them, as before'

”Flies in the houses are very troubleso about the table, just like flies in America and other countries They are a nuisance to which nobody ever gets accustomed, and in some localities they almost render the country uninhabitable Mosquitoes abound inthe rivers and lakes and in swaht carries a mosquito net with him”

Froh other parks and along so several public buildings, all of which were spacious and attractive The town hall, post-office, government house, and other public structures of Melbourne would do honor to any city and evince the taste and good judgment of those who planned and erected thereat orna space for the people Our young friends were loud in their praise of what they saw, and their comments ell received by their host The people of Melbourne are fond of hearing their city commended, and their pride in it is certainly well justified

CHAPTER X

THE HARBOR OF MELBOURNE--CONVICT HULKS AND BUSHRANGERS

In the afternoon the party visited Port Melbourne, for, this is the harbor of Melbourne, and it is situated near the mouth of the Yarra, where that strea an arm of Port Philip Bay It is a busy place and contains the usual sights of a harbor shi+ps were discharging or receiving their cargoes, some at the piers which jut out into the water, while so the sahters On the other side of Hobson's Bay is Williareat deal of shi+pping business is done there, and Willia yards wherethe coast have been constructed The gentleman who accompanied our friends called their attention to the railhich connect Williae with the city, and reold rush in the early fifties