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Grace Wiley
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by APRIL on October 6, 2000
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Any one have any information about Grace Wiley? She was a venoumous snake handler in the 1940's, and died of a cobra bite, I think. Any info would be great, thanks!
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RE: Grace Wiley
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by Buzztail1 on October 6, 2000
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Grace Olive Wiley nee Gough - 1884 - 1948
did indeed die of an Indian Cobra bite on July 20th 1948. Grace graduated from college after studying at the University of Kansas in 1922. She is credited with the first captive propagation of Rattlesnakes in the US. She worked for the Minneapolis Public Library's museum, the Brookfield Zoo (in Chicago), and as a reptile consultant on Hollywood films. At the time of her death, she had a snake display near Cypress California (near Long Beach). All of this information is paraphrased from Christie Miller's excellent feature about the life of Grace Wiley in the March/April 1997 edition of Reptile & Amphibian magazine. I have the edition with the article which is five pages long (pictures included). How else can I help you? Karl
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RE: Grace Wiley
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by DerekK on October 19, 2000
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Karl
Would you please elaborate with regard to the events/circumstances, that lead to this fatal Naja naja envenomization.
Thanks,
Derek
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RE: Grace Wiley
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by Buzztail1 on October 19, 2000
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Please bear in mind that I am mostly paraphrasing or, at times, actually straight copying from an article by Christie Miller in the Mar/Apr 1997 edition of Reptile & Amphibian magazine. None of the research or writing credit is my own. With all that said:
On July 20, 1948 Grace Wiley had invited a writer/photographer named Daniel Mannix along with his wife to photograph her collection. Grace removed her eyeglasses, which she wore for nearsightedness, for the photoshoot. Mannix requested a pose of a cobra with a spread hood. Grace explained that her King Cobras were too tame to do a "spread hood" display. She had just received some "Indian Cobras from Siam. One of them has markings that form a complete "G" on the back of his hood." The snake refused to hood and Grace teased it but it still wouldn't hood although it did hiss angrily. The snake seized and chewed her middle finger. She calmly and gently forced its jaws open and replaced it in its cage. She had no antivenom. The photographer applied a handkerchief tourniquet to her wrist and injected some strychnine from a 20 year old snake-bite kit. She was placed in an Iron Lung and provided stimulants at a Long Beach hospital but her heart stopped 90 minutes after the bite.
Again, my poor paraphrasing does not do this article justice but, hopefully this provides the information you are looking for. With due respect to the original author, Karl.
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RE: Grace Wiley
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by DerekK on October 19, 2000
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Karl,
It seems amazing to me that anyone with that much venomous experience, could make so many foolish mistakes, especially not maintainng antivenom on hand. Since the fatal envenomization occured in1948,
I wonder if antivenom for Naja naja and others were available or perhaps not readly available Addtionally,
in 1948 the age of 64 yrs was considered old, therefore, I would assume that this could have been one of
major contributing factors along with a very potent venom that was injected for a considerable period of time. Finally, it is always truly sad, when someone who has contributed to this work for so long, pays the ultimate price for their endeavor.
Thanks,
Derek
P.S. Have a great time at the Columbia Show(Like to know how things went) !
NOTE:" Dah" What's up with the format spacing in my response(all out of kilter)
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RE: Grace Wiley
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by Buzztail1 on October 19, 2000
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Derek,
Amazingly, Grace Wylie believed in "taming" and freehandling all her snakes and she was quite good at it. She was well known for her "tame" King Cobras which Hollywood used on several occasions. She free handled with impunity for decades before the Law Of Averages caught up with her. She had been bitten by a "Black Diamondback Rattlesnake" (direct quote there...not sure what it really was), a Timber Rattlesnake and lost two fingers to a Komodo Dragon. Another quote which amazed me (follow this one closely!):
"Before tackling cobras, she had tamed more than 300 other venomous serpents: rattlesnakes, water moccasins, coral snakes, Fer-de-lance, kraits, mambas, Ringhals, and copperheads."
Can you imagine freehandling some of these? Not pin and grab. Not tube. Reach in and calmly pick up like a kingsnake! This woman was amazing!
Karl
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RE: Grace Wiley
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by DerekK on October 20, 2000
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Karl,
"Wow" messing with mambas before cobras; I would think most cobras(excluding N. melanoleuca) would be preferable to dealing with D. polylepis. "Tamed", I am somewhat skeptical of this terminology, when one is dealing with dangerous predators such as Jaguars(my favorite), Lions, Tigers, MAMBAS, TRUE-FER-DE-LANCE (B. lanceolatus,occurs only on Antillles,ile de La Martinique) ,KOMODO DRAGONS(Ouch!) ect.
"FREEHANDLING", Quite SCARY; I would imagine its loads of fun if you survive.
"AMAZING", Yes, she apparently was exactly that, considering the fact that she survived as long as she did, under such hazardous conditions.
GREAT STORY,
Derek
P.S. LIke the Common Name (Black Diamondback Rattlesnake)
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RE: Grace Wiley (Did she ever live in Caldwell, Ka
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by Caldwell_Turtle on May 11, 2001
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I just finished reading the information in regard to Grace Olive Wiley. Also, I have the March/April issue of REPTILE & AMPHIBIAN MAGAZINE. I am looking for the following additional information.
Several years ago I was told that Grace married a man from the Caldwell, Kansas area and may have lived in the area for a short time. They were not married very long according to what I was told.
I was living in Caldwell at the time, and I attempted to research this using the local newspaper. I wrote a short article and asked for help from the locals. Several people thought they had heard of her, but I never got any information that I could confirm. I also attempted to research old county records, but had no success.
Can anyone confirm anything about the life of Grace Olive Wiley when (if) she lived in Caldwell, Kansas and/or married someone from the area? Caldwell is located about 50 miles southwest of Wichita on the Oklahoma line.
Thanks in advance for any help that anyone can provide.
- Larry
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RE: Grace Wiley
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by doolittle on October 4, 2001
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I have just recently read for the first time about Grace Wiley in J. Allen Boone's book KINSHIP WITH ALL LIFE. He describes in great detail exactly how she "gentles" a diamondback rattlesnake at her LongBeach zoo. I ordered the book thru Amazon several weeks ago for $12. It's well worth reading and was recommended to me by my vet.
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RE: Grace Wiley (Did she ever live in Caldwell, Ka
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by j9cp on May 1, 2009
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Grace Olive Koontz was born Feb. 18, 1883, in Chanute, Kansas
She was the daughter of William H. H. Koontz and his wife Mary Ann Donaldson and was named Grace after her grandfather, Joel Grayson Koontz, according to her sister Elsie Emmett [called Peggy] Koontz, b. July 9, 1878, who was my great-grandmother.
Grace's father (who was named for his uncle, William H. H. Koontz, I mention because it's confusing) died May 14, 1890, of "quick consumption" at The Dalles, Oregon, three months after Grace turned seven.
Her widowed mother, Mary Ann Donaldson Koontz, later married A. Gough. She outlived him by many years, so it's easy to see how the errors in the California Death Index occurred where it says that Grace's mother's maiden name was Koontz and her father's last name was Gough.
Grace Olive Koontz married Bert Wiley, and divorced, but kept the Wiley name. I don't know the years. In pictures they appear to be about the same age. They did not have children.
I am looking now at a little picture of Bert Wiley on his hands and knees butting or rubbing heads with a little goat, or maybe it's a sheep. Its little legs are about the length of his hand from fingertips to wrist.
I'm sorry to say that I don't know anything about Bert Wiley, where he was from or where they lived while they were married. I have the idea they went together onto the desert for a work assignment of his and that this is when she began her affection for reptiles. I don't know what his work was. If you discover there is a Caldwell, Kansas connection, I'd be very interested in details.
My brother discovered that new information had appeared online and I'm very excited to see all the sources cited here. I had no idea Aunt Grace had been honored in Long Beach. She and her immediate family would have been so pleased, and we who didn't know her personally are pleased, too.
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