Rattlesnake Venim Like Warfarin

It is remarkable that our prairie ancestors, nor their 12 children, nor their innumerable off spring, ever were bitten by rattlesnakes on that northwest South Dakota prairie.  The immigrant father made the children moccasins which were not protection for the fangs of a snake, and not much better for the cactus on the flats.  Ranching was close to the ground work and no hole, outcrop of rock, nor patch of brush was off limits.

A home town son, grown man now, was bitten by a rattlesnake recently and was so near death the ER doctors did not think he would live.  His loss of blood was startling and the antivenin and transfusions were nearly non stop for the first days.  The snake got him in the ankle and right into an artery, he went unconscious immediately.  A heroin found him just when he was bitten and called 911.