The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1856-10-14

a JAPANESE MEDICAL SECRET.

The historian of Commodore Perry's ex-
pedition to Japan concludes that the Japa-
nese arc deficient in knowledge of medicine
and surgery, but he says some of their
medical preparations are very remarkable.
producing mcst singular effect. Of these,
says the writer, there is one spoken Of by
Titsingh, who saw its application and it's
consequences and from some of the officers
of our expedition we have heard of this pre-
paration, of which, we believe, they have
brought home specimens. Titsingh thus
writes: Instead of enclosing the bodies
of the dead in collins of length and breadth
proportionate to the deceased, they place
the body in tub three feet high, two feet
and half in diameter at the top, and two
feet at the bottom. tits difficult to conceive
how the body of grown person can be
compressed into so small a space, when the
limbs rendered rigid by death, cannot be
bent in any way. The japanese to whom
| made this observation, told me that they
produced the result by means of particu-
lar powder called Dosia, which they intro
duce into the cars, nostrils, and mouth of
the deceased; after which the limbs, all at
once, acquire astonishing fexibility. AS
he promised toperfOrm the ceremony in my
presence, could not do otherwise than
suspend my judgment, lest l should con-
denim, as an absurd fiction, fact which, in
deed, surpasses our conceptions, but may
yet be susceptible of plausible explana-
ton, especially by galvanism, the recently
discovered effects of which also appeared
at first to exceed the bounds of crcdulity.
1.-The experiment accordingly took place
in the month of October, 1888, when the
cold was pretty severe. A young Dutch
man having died in our factory at Dezima,
| directed the physician to cause the body
to be washed and left all night exposed to
the air, on a table placed near an open
window, in order that it might become COM
pletely stiff. Next morning several Japa-
nese, some of the officers of our factory,
and myself, went to examine the corpse,
which was hard as piece of wood. One
of the interpreters, named Derby, drew
from his bosom .Santock, or pocket book,
and took out of it all oblong paper, filled
with a coarse powder resembling sand. This
was the famous Dosia powder. He put
pinch into the ears, another pinch into the
nostrils, and third into the mouth pres
emily, whether from the effect of this drug.
or of some trick | could not detect, the arms, |
which had been crossed over the breast, |
dropped of themselves, and in less than
twenty minutes, by the watch, the body
recovered its fcxibility. | attributed this
phenomenon to the action of some subtle
poison, but was assured that the Dosia |
powder, so far from being poisonous, was
most excellent medicine III child bearing
for disease of the eyes, and for other nala- |
dies. An infusion of this powder, taken |
even in perfect health, is said to have vir-
tues which cause it to be in request among
the japanese of all classes. 1t cheers the |
spirits and rcfreshes the body. It is care
fully tied up lin white cloth and dried, after
being used, as it serves a great number of
times without losing its virtues.''