bitten man was brought to Underwood, the latter proceeded to apply his
remedy, stimulated by the pleasing threat of a severe flogging, should his
treatment be of no avail. He appears to have been a man of great firmness
of purpose, for he never could be betrayed into divulging his secret,
though many unworthy means were resorted to for that end. The utmost that
he would acknowledge was that the antidote was common, and that Australians
trampled it under-foot every day of their lives. The way he became
acquainted with the remedy was by accidentally witnessing a fight between a
snake and an iguana. The latter was frequently bitten, and in every case
ran to a certain plant and ate it before renewing the contest, in which it
was ultimately victorious, leaving the serpent dead upon the plain.
Underwood demanded his pardon and liberty as the price of his precious
knowledge, and I believe a mixed commission of military men and civilians
deliberated on the case at Sydney, and decided not to grant the convict's
request. In due time he died, and with him perished his invaluable secret.
It is to be presumed the commission knew what they were about, but
undoubtedly their adverse decision has been a real misfortune to all those
whose lives are passed in a country inhabited by venomous reptiles. We are
much indebted to Doctor Fagren for the exhaustive researches he has made
into the action of snake-poison and its remedy -- the result of which the
reader can find in his elaborately got-up volume, entitled "The
Thanatophidia of India" -- and on looking over the concise directions given
by him for immediate use in the event of such an accident, I do not see
that we could possibly have done more than we did, considering the limited
material we had at our command. Perhaps, had it been a white man, with a
strong constitution, he would have pulled through; for the settled
conviction that he was doomed, doubtless accelerated the death of the black
boy; but the action of the poison is so rapid, that most cases terminate
fatally. Two instances I know of, in which the patient recovered. The
first was an Irish labourer, who whilst reaping took up a snake, which bit