The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1879-07-08
LIVING ON MEDICINE.
People who Take Everything the
Qoscks offer Them Rigdon, who
Took All ue Could.
From the Philadelphia Times.


From the Philadelphia Times.
The case of John RigdOn, Of this
city, who lives on Long Lane, inst of
Passyunk avenue, probably stands
alone. He has been slave OF patent
medicines for years. He commenced
with ST. -1S60-X., brakes Plantation
Bitters, and every new potion put be-
fore the public and pulled as only the
paragraph praising the pill can puff.
MIR. Rigdon got and swallowed. His
body had doubtless been the recepticle
Of hundreds of pounds Of pills, hun
dreds Of quarts of liquid doses. and
hundreds OF pounds of powders. Every
elixir, cordial, reyivifier, restorative; all
the nerviue, consumption cure, lini-
ments. for Mr.. Rigdon's maladies he
regards as pregnable by internal and
external attack; King Of Pain, and
widely advertised patent articles OF al
legged purgatiye powers that was ever
thrust upon a hypochondriacal public,
Mr.. Rigdon has had. The truth OF
the matter IS Mr.. Rigdon is not the
least sick, except SO much of the out
rageous doses he has inflicted with
udNG lllH Dtb NiOuOAbo
Bright's diseases of the kidneys aud
rheumatism, although he has neither
Now and then he consults a physician,
who asks for symptoms. They are CIV
en-. lyon have no disease at all, has
been the invariable answer, and from
that moment Mr.. Rigdon poised on the
vantage ground OF the self-satisfied
possession looks down upon that doc
tor with scorn and contempt. His last
consultation was with the late Doctor
Maury. The doctor told him he was
sick, hut too much medicine had made
him so. RigdOn is not rich man, but
has Just enough OF market garden on
the Neck 10 assure him a good liyeli-
hood. He lives plainly and has spent
nearly $40, 900 for medicine in twenty
five years. That's what he says, and
the mountains of bottles he has stack
ed mp in his back yard seems to prove
his assertions. A visitor, who didn't
count. estimated their number to be
scarcely less than twenty-five hundred.
This is Rigdon's story. less his own di-
agnosis OF his Affections.
WHAT HE TOOK.
81 took brakes Plantation Bitters
and Ayers Pills irst, and then dis
covered had disease of the liver and
kidneys. i saw the advertisement of
ST. -lSG0-X., and / bought a dozen
right of. Ayers almanac taught me
something about the human frame and
I took Ayers Pills. i spent 5000 on
Helmbold's Buchu, and / took that
with Schenck's Pills and Pulmonic
Syrup, for there was something the
matter with my lungs. | changed off
from Schenck's 10 Jayne's Expectorant
and finally got Pisco's Consumption
Cure. / think il did me good.
wanted to cure my digestion so got
Vinegar Bitters aud Rocky Mountain
Bitters and Snyder's Aromatic Bitters.
and took turn about, one dose OF one
and then of another. can't remem-
Der all ] took. / kept list once, but
lost it. Yes, sir; went for every
thing. I took DIR. Pierce's Pleasant
Purgatiye Pellets, Railways Ready Re
lief, DIR. Wright's Indian Vegetable
Pills, Jayne's Pills, Schenck's Seawced
Tonic, Hamlin's Wizard Oil, that was
for nv rheumatism for which / also
used Gargling Oil and Centaur Lini-
ment, Kunkel's Bitter Wine OF Iron;
Grams Fluid lightning, that's when |
had neuralgia; Holloway's Pills, Hop
Bitters-ohl / can't tell how many
more; Ponds Extract, Sterling's Cam
phorated Ginger, The King of Pain,
Perry Davis Pain Killer, Vegetine,
Filters Rheumatic Remedy and Kid
ney Cordial. / can't think of them all,
aud now I've skin disease, | am using
Cuticura remedies and Chinkalyptus.
| am not taking anything else now ex-
cept dose of podophyllin every Tues
day and Thursday mornings and Satur
day night, and bottle of citrate OF
maguesia next morning. Sometimes !
take blue mass on Monday, but that
only during rainy weather. | forgot TO
say I've worn hver-pad for five years,
and l think I'm ruptured, and | also
wear a truss when I'm moving round
much.
"Is that all that you have taken?"
"Well, l don't remember exactly,
have taken other things, lots Of them.
I don't know how much, but they
never cured me. Some of them did
me good aud some of them harm; but
| guess il i hadn't done as / have, I'd
have been a dead man years ago.
"Did you ever try Mrs. Winslow' s
Soothing syrup
"No, sir; but il you think 1t would
DO any good | amt averse to try It,