Word: venoms
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Somberly, the little man with venom in his heart went home. At midnight, his mind was made up. In the way prescribed by the rigid samurai code, Nakano purified himself with cold water, donned a new kimono, knelt on a pillow before a small shrine. With a sure hand, he plunged a dagger into his belly, drew it across, then turned it upwards...
They draw only regular army pay. Their weapons: forked sticks and canvas bags, goggles and a snakebite outfit. The goggles are for protection against the deadly ringhals, which not only bites but spits venom six feet with tobacco-chewer's accuracy. Two of the men have been hit in the eye by ringhals (bathing the eyes with milk is a sure cure); all have been bitten at one time or another. They take lightly the threatening antics of the puff adder, but have plenty of respect for the swift black mamba, most dreaded of Af rican snakes, whose bite...
Once captured, the snakes are taken to patrol headquarters at Komati Poort, where they are forcibly fed with meat and egg flip, milked of their venom at intervals...
...milker grasps the snake firmly behind the jaws to open them, presses its fangs over the edge of a small measuring glass and massages its head gently. The venom dribbles out reluctantly. The snakes don't like it - as many as 40 a month die from this handling - and the snake hunters must keep patrolling constantly for replace ments...
...South African Institute, which processes the dried venom received from snake catchers, produces antivenin, has sent off thousands of doses all over the world. (Puff-adder venom is also used as a coagulant in hemophilia.) A quick injection of serum has saved the life of many a soldier bitten by ugly horned vipers in the West African desert, bush-masters in Central America, kraits and king cobras on the Burma front and mambas in South Africa...