The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1807-06-13
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sMAxfs ~ TIE L,yrR.

SNAKES IN The LIVER.
Ths following letter, writer by an American gen.
s'spian, was aG1rraed 70 phyGciau in London -:
e. certain Da:,el Norwood, well known in this
COUNTY [psnny,vania), who lived far from Indian
kiser, after having been in drunk irolic TO which
he was too much addicted, and having looked very
weak, fsveriih, and yellow, and enacia.ed conf
jcrabie time before, taken morning with
mot violent vomiting, which HI. wife hearing, did
quickly to bis aiiiilance, thinking it only
peniihrlens Of executive drinking; though pity at
Ian prevailed; bat before fhe had reached the bed
hs HAD Vomised up pretty large inaks, on which he
lay Gupd or unable 10 lpeak. The flake, feen BY
Others well his wife, of the kind called here
the red-belled fnakc meaiuring the part of the
rings, which they asrted aniwered its thickues,
found it inches and one-,enth in circumference
the length wa. not given with any exacnels,
bur 1t was we'll proportioned "a the fame fsrs Of
makes its head was broad and large, its belly
red and its back brown. The make lively after
ITS greet effort in forcing It's way light and liberty,
though it knew not well how to fly and hide frcm
fight, yet when touched by brooni-hock, j, clafp-
ed round it, 10 that they carried il away rivule
ct hand, and could give account of it, my
disappointment, as would moa gladly have procur
ed it, to preierve it curioi,y. But poor Nor
wood never recovered it; he died TWO days aiter,r
without acqpantng any phyiician.
&c His example has convinced every body here in
an opinion which, though have been oppo[ug their
twenty years, almoG ready TO adopt, viz. that
men or other creatures bit by fnakes provided the
potion is permitted pats through them all, tho
by medicine reltored TO life, YET all, in procefs of
time, have fnake of the very fame kind, colour.
ipots, lape &C. growing to and fed by its liver
For Mr., Norwood has been bit by red -bellied lnake
exactly Of the very fame fort, between his eyes
when he was little hoy, as he nooping among
the vines, and gathering cueumbers. The potion
hadnot been Well cured; he continued in poor ltate
of health, i'll esoured and as though he had vice
raj o5trudions for year, though taking fon:e pre-
feripticns of Dotor Davies here that time lup-
poe the virtue of the juice of boar hound aud plan
tain were no. then known, which think never fail
in make bites.
"on con,eff long before my time, in SuiTez,
among iome curious old men, among whom were the
Chief JuRice Ryve,, Holt, and VIM. Till, Elqrs.
(tron io;ne of whom had the fory) whether fnaisss
grew on the livers OF animals bitten by them they
Yiiciy rsfolved make the experiment on i dog
They found Old dog, vho was known to kill
inakes, whenever he found them, which notws-
fandng his prudenceand addreis in that art very Of
ten had biz him, and made him very ch, though in
time he would recover again, and like gallant FOL.
der, return TO the charge when he had opportu-
s'ty. To this hardy veteran, on the day appointed
for the experiment, before many witReiYes, they
gave his sue,ui; and, the moi careful exaxina-
ticn, they found fome of almo every fort of inake
known in this part OF the world (as many of each as
t4tSJ i1a sCtus!y Iufpoleu mao DIT MIMI suherIng
by their mouths his liver 70 that all prefent were
fully iatsHed Of the faa. Let the eaufe, manner, or
inllrunent, &c. be defcribed by him who is able
" Whether thefe (and many other difIicultes) will
net tend to weaken the beautiful orary fysm That
is IL nature Of the iemen ferPentium Whether it
does not appear hrange, that e1afPeratci inake
hopld procreate Gnske like tlelf from ito bag of
potion, attensated by madneis, and njected through
its potion faugs, into the wound it H,akss Whistler
at this rate, tbs female is not ulelefs
Whether biting child in the nofe, between the
eyes, is rot odd place to lay flake eggs? orif
there were eggs at ALL how did they reach the liver
Whether, as the 70 poor and en,acated
long before, it had quite up his liver, then
politely hPt round by the da3 into the gall bladder,
which would ioon icken him, and thence, by the
common canal, force its way, with horrid violence,
into the ftonach and thence, attempting to feed on
that very enible part, the poor remains of exhauf-
ed nature Eliminated, attempted, and actually
ejeSfed the enemy But need offer no quetions
the 4& itielf viii excite fpe u!aton, to mind in
qutive afrer Philolophic truths.
Yours, &c. MATHEW WILSON"