Show I TEXAS SNAKE DENTIST r f F p ARMSTRONG FOLLOWS HAZARDOUS HAZ-ARDOUS OCCUPATION I l Makes Good Living by Extracting k Fangs and Poison from Rattlers r Reptiles Then Sold for Fancy Prices Wcathorford TexMen have adopted adopt-ed many strange and hazardous occupations t occu-pations and callings by which to gain f a livelihood but tho stato of Texas r boasts of one whoso choice of occupation occupa-tion Is perhaps tho only ono being followed fol-lowed at any place In the United Statesthat of a snake dentist For nearly 25 years F n Armstrong of tho country near Brownsville Texas has been in this business Ho operates on n choice clientele of customers for ho only handles tho business of his majesty tho diamondback rattler And ho makes a handsome living out of his strange and growsomo occupation In fact ho has grown well off in worldly goods and Is now able to retire comfortably com-fortably from following his more or less hazardous calling Mr Armstrong actually doe dental work on the big snakes that he handles han-dles He extracts their fangs and poison sacs and ho docs this to a thousand I of them every year The poison when extracted Is sold to chemists and phy slclnns who find it highly useful In medicine nnd ho also soils many of tho harmless snakes which are In much demand also BO that ho does n good business without advertising and always has moro orders than ho can nn Armstrongs method of handling tho snakes and extracting tho poison from tho llttlo sacs which Ho at tho base of tho fangs Is unique and original From each rattler he extracts from one to two tnblespoonfuh of tho yokon whl hIs h-Is a green syrup llko liquid and has a distinctly sweetish taste The poison poi-son Is comparatively harmless when taken internally though Armstrong would not advise anyone to make a habit of swallowing much of It credo For tho purpose of extracting and saving the liquid poison tho captor uses a specially constructed box which has a sliding gloss top This box is so constructed that Armstrong can hold the snake securely while operating operat-ing on him and at tho same time keep an eye on the snakes movements in the box The snake Is hauled out of the box In which it had been placed vhon taken from tho fattening pen where It has been kept for weeks and orlms months and Is then induced to enter the operating trod which Armstrong Arm-strong facetiously calls his dental hair By their united efforts Armstrong and his Mexican helper then press the rattlers head backward over the sliding top which forces the snakes mouth open Tho lid is then pressed tightly against the protruding neck Dy this time the snake has become furiously angry at his undignified treatment and is ready to strike at anything and strike deep and hard At the opportune moment Armstrong places the rim of a small glass In the snakes mouth tho Mexican helper releases re-leases the head of the reptile for an Instant and It immediately clamps its fangs on the rim of the glass Tho terrible fangs dart forth they aro shaped exactly llko thq claws of a cat when they are unsheathed and the poison Is quickly emptied Into the glass In its ferocious state tho snake drains Its glands of all tho poison they contain nnd for a long tlmo It remains harmless so far as danger from Its poison is concerned Mr Armstrong then has little difficulty in removing the fangs with a pair of ordinary dentists forceps From six to eight of these fangs are grown by tho rattlesnake In the course of his lifetime and they are from onequarter to a half Inch In length are curved and as sharp as needles The snakes from which tho fangs have been extracted find ready sale at fancy prices Armstrong keeps a largo lot on hand all the time however how-ever in order to supply the demand for the poison |