The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-12-06
A Chinese Quack Doctor.

A quack medicine-dealer was Offering
to crowd nOstrums for every complaint.
This gentleman, whose stock-in-trade
consisted of few bottles, had num-
ber of diagrams purporting to repre-
sent the course of illnesses in the hui
man body. AS matter of fact, they
were absolute nonsense, but the good
Chinese who stood with open mouths
around him and listened with wonder
to all he said knew no better, so that
for all practical purposes his pictures
were good enough. Curiously enough,
however, he was most eloquent upon
medicine which l have since found has
just made its appearance in England
under patented name-namely, Men
thol. He declared it would cure all
nervous diseases if rubbed into the skin.
Our chemists and druggists now adver-
tise it as an antidote to neuralgia; so
that, after all, the Chinese quack doctor
was not such rogue as he looked.
The price of his drugs was high. He
had nothing under two-pence, which is
a large sum among the peasants in
China. But be sold great numbers of
packets and did roaring trade for
hours. had presently an opportunity
of seeing how little difference existed
between him and the recognized pro-
fessors OF Chinese medicine, being
taken by the learned DIR. Eitler
to a native hospital. Here, seated
on three little stools at three
tables, sat the 'faculty" waiting for
patients. The INDECENT crowd as it
came in selected its own physician and
went to him. Then ensued species of
treatment which was about as curious
as can well be imagined. The Chinese
have theory that there is different
pulse in every linn. They also hold
that all compla' nts are connected with
either fire, air or water. And they place
immense faith in the benefit to be de-
rived from puncturing any affected part
with n long needle. So it came about
that when q man entered and consulted
one OF the faculty." about pain in his
leg-probably rheumatic in its nature
the learned man, after glaring at him
for some time through an enormous
pair of goggles, proceeded to feel for
his "ankle pulse" which, when found,
to his satisfaction indicated some very
wonderful facts. The man was suffer
ing. he remarked, from '.fi en in the
leg, and must b. punctured; saying
which he stirred up the limb with long
needle, till l, who looked on only, felt
positively ill. This ope alton complet-
ed, he produced q tiny plaster, probably
about an inch and a half square, and
giving it to the man told him to put it
on the leg at night. The patient, who
seemed to have perfect confidence
in the doctor, hobbled off, and
the turn of the next victim then came.
He had pain in his head, probably hav-
ing smoked too much opium or drunk
| quite equal to the occasion. He seized
his victim by the head, and taking n
small iron rod proceeded to rub his neck
| till he made an abrasion at least an inch
square. Then he rubbed at another
spot, and yet another, till the skin wa.
off in three places. This was all. The
patient was told to go. He, too was
suffering from l." fire." Yet there was
evidently was considered a very clever
person. Inside the hospital the wards
seemed to be in excellent condition.
The patients there might have gone to
a European hospital had they SO chosen;
but they preferred the doctoring OF
their own people, who, from all heard,
are certainly very clever at putting
fractures or dislocations right. went
into the pharmacy and found the medi-
cines were nearly all vegetable-one
the rind of oranges, being in great re,
quest. But every thing seemed harmless
enough; and if the patients die 1 should
say they are killed by the disease and
not by the doctors, which is more thar
can be averred of every English hos
pital. One thing Inoted, however, am
it was that the notions of anatomy wer,
very vague at this place of healing, fo
all the diagrams / saw were wofulla
wrong, and could not have existed al
hour had the Chinese surgeons ever ex
amined a dead subject.-Hong Kong
Cor. London Tele0r0ph.