The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-02-08
DIR. SCHMIrr OF PARIS.
Tho Wonderful Plaut Whose Virtues I'll
Learned from the Javanese Priests.

There Ia now In Paris physician. by birth
u Dutchman. whose miraculous cures are at
traoting the attention of nil casses His
name Ia Schmidt. Tie has taken NJ hia resi-
drnce I'll the Old palace Of the Duchess Of
Riario.Sfotza, where he Ia constantly be-
eieged by callers aud eonsulted about cas,'s
declared iueurabe by the Ieading members OF
tho faculty of Paris. 1t VIVA nj first believed
~ acknowledged that by his discovery Of u
medicinal plant previously unknown to Euro
peaI,s. he has rendered a Rtent service to
medical acleuce. His life reads like a fairy
talo While stil very young he entered
tho navy of his country. and made n
| Voyages to Borneo. IA assistant physl-
elan in n man-of- war Wounded In II sea
light between tho y III. h ileet and n tribe
| of JavRnese. he lay for = long time In Tho hog
pital Mt Java, surrounded by native physt-
clans, who FL quently spoke In his hearing of
tho wonderful healing properties of certain
tropical plants when applied directly or In
directly to dangerous wounds. At ltrst he
| resisted the application uf these remedies In
his own oasa. but ganKrene having set In and
all OBITUARY remedies proving powerless
| against ita advance, he finally consented to
| subj ct himself to the treatment OF the native
physicians. Under their hands he shortly
| recovered Then he decided to resign his
| naval commission aud devote all hla energies
to tho study Of the recipes Of the JAvanese
physicians. who are also tho priests OF Hrah-
ma. But this was no easy task /; these priests
Magt of the East.
Alter three years of continual study and
after coloring his skin with the juice Of VA
lioua plants In order to pass for M Indian no
presented himself To one Of tho leading mem
hers Of tho priesthood He had the good for
tune Ia please the latter. whose slave no be-
came. For seven years he lived In this eondl-
ton, and. as n matter NJ course, was present
at all tho ceremuries and sacrifices Of his
adopted religion. For instance he witnessed
IN I'M M NJ nj If xrj ySh
curdug to the rite. had to follow their hug
bands to the other world. Ilealso saw many
| 'anatics wound themselves mortally for the
sake OF pleasing Brahma, or throw them
aelves beneath the sacred cnr OF TrimuIti, of
which he Was thu driver. Amid these seenas
the learned doctor pursued hs scientific re-
| searches IN tho forest. seeking to wlest from
the mysterious Indian vegetation oil It's se-
treta Ia order to Introduce them into Europe.
His experiments turned particularly toward
n certain plant called guaeo. which WAS val
ued In Java az nn untidote against the bite of
poisonous snakes. From various applications
uf this plant hs discovered that II could hs
most efTectuHlly employed IN curing all kinds
Of cores aud other diseases OF tho skin and the
blood.
At aet the slave. physician and priest grew
tired OF Brnhna and hia worshipers, and ono
fine morning ran away from the temple and
made ha way To Il ship about to sail for Eu-
rope A. soon aS the ship had reached tho
high seas remnrse seized him. and he feared
that he had not learned enough Of the science
to which he had sacrificed everything. lie
longed To return His ship was wrecked, and
went TO the bottom few miles from Hong
Kong After drifting almost two days ut sta
he was taken up NY Japanese bark and car
rieM tn the English colonies In India, where he
made new studea and discoveries. The nd
ventures OF DR.. Schmltt might we'll kindle
tho imagination OF his friend. Alexandra Du-
| mas, whom he cured some time ago nf d eau
Ger on the tongue. The ex-prtest OF Brahma
has followed Il variety Of calIipgs. After
| wandering through all the principal cities of
Europe he has at last settled In Paris, In tho
faubourgs OF which he intends to build IL prl-
yate hospital, where no will continue his mar
vellous cures with guaco. Among the valu-
able qualities OF this medicine Ia its effects Ia
tho treatment d hydrophobn, u use to which
IL has been applied by DR.. Schmitt. His tx
perlments thus far seem to have been most
successful, and permit the hope that Il radical
cure has been found for rabies.