in my life!"

Smith shook hands heartily. "Don't say a word, Johnson; the best of us
are often deceived, and the more pure our motives are the easier it is
to fool us."

"That's so."

They walked on in silence for a short distance.

"Smith."

"Hallo."

"Pity they stopped it; it was a lovely scrap while it lasted."

"That's what it was," said Smith.

THE TRAGEDY OF THE WHITE TANKS.

"I do not believe," said the curiosity dealer, "that the bite of the
gila monster is fatal. It is poisonous, no doubt, and there have been
one or two cases of death where persons have been bitten by it, but it
is always well to remember that the teeth themselves may be in a
condition to produce blood-poisoning, which might cause death without
the assistance of any particular toxic venom. The rattlesnake, however,
which is rather too common in the desert, is a different sort of a chap.
If he strikes you, you may just as well make your will, and chirp your
death song, as to monkey with physicians, and squander some of the good
wealth which may be useful to your family."

I asked him if he did not believe in the efficacy of some of the
so-called Indian snake cures.

"There are lots of Indian remedies," he continued, "and snake charmers'
cures for rattlesnake bites, which are, in my opinion, all poppy-cock.
It is claimed that the Moquai Indians, during their Snake Dance, allow
rattlesnakes to bite them, and after applying the juice of a certain
herb suffer no ill effects from the poison. This may be all right, but
the antidote is considerable of a secret, and you cannot buy it at your
druggist's.

"There was a chap over in France who claimed to have produced an
anti-venomous serum which was a sure cure for the poison of a
rattlesnake, or any other old snake which you might want to have bite
you. I squandered five dollars of my hard-earned wealth in sending for
a bottle. This chap lives at Lille, France, and manufactures his serum
at the Pasteur Institute at that place. He gives careful directions as
to how much to use, and just how to use it, and it may be all right with
some snakes which have the reputation of being bad, but it don't go with
our rattlers. I tried it in all sorts of ways. I tried to get a Mexican
to experiment on, but couldn't. None of them had much faith in the
cure--not enough to let a healthy snake bite 'em for five dollars.

"Then I tried dogs. I got three curs, all in robust health. The first
one d