The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1883-12-27
A Chinese Quack Doctor.

A ouack medicine-dealer was offering
to crowd nostrums for every complaint,
says a correspondent in a letter from
Hong Kong. This gentleman whose
stock in trade consisted of few bottles,
had a number of diagrams purporting to
represent the course of illnesses in the
human 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 have since found has just made its
appearance in England under patented
name-namely, Menthol. he declared
it would cure oil nervous diseases II
rubbed into the skin. Our chemists and
druggists now advertise it as an antidote
to neuralgia; so that, after all, the
Chinese ouack doctor was not such a
rogue as he looked. The price of his
drugs was high. He had nothing under
two-pence, which is large sum among
the peasants in China. But he sold
great numbers of packets and did q roar
ing trade for hours. l had presently an
opportunity of seeing how little difference
existed between him and the recognized
professors of Chinese medicine, being
taken by the learned DR.. Eitler to
native hospital. Here, seated on three
little stools at three tables, sat the
Faculty" waiting for patients. The
INDECENT crowd is it came i'll selected
its own physician and went to him.
Then cnsued species of treatment
which was about as curious as can
well be imagined The Chinese have a
theory that there is different pulse in
every limb. They also hold that oil
complaints are connected with either
! fire, air or water. And they place i'm
mense faith in the benefit to be derived
from puncturing any affected part with
long needle. So it came about that
when 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 won
dcrful facts. The man was suffering,
he remarked, from fire" in the leg,
and must be punctured; saying which
he stirred up the limb with a,long nee
die, till |, who looked on only, felt posi-
lively ill. This operation completed, he
produced tiny plaster, probably an inch
and half square, and giving it to the
man told him to put it on the leg nj
night. The patient, who seemed to have
perfect confidence in the doctor, hobblcd
of, and the turn of the next victim then
came. He had pain in the head, prob
ably having smoked too mucn opium or
drank too much samtschu. The doctor
was quite equal to the occasion. He
seized his victim by the head, and taking
small iron rod proceeded to rub his
neck till he made All abrasion at least an
| inch square. Then he rubbed at another
spot, and yet another, till the skin was
off in three places. This was all. The
patient was told to 60. He, too, was
suffering from "tirc.' Yet there wns
no sound of a murmur The operator evil
dcntly was considered very clever per
son. Inside the hospital the wards seemed
to be in excellent condition. The patients
there might have gone to European
hospital had they so chosen; but they
preferred the doctoring of their own
people, who, from all heard, are GER
tainly very clever at putting fractures or
dislocations right. | went into the
pharmacy and found the medicines were
nearly all vcgctablc-one, the rlnd Of
oranges, being in great request. But
everything seemed harmless enough; and
if the patients die | should say they are
killed by the disease and not by the doc
tors, which is more than can lie avcrred
of every English hospital. One thing |
noted, however, and it was that the
notions of anatomy were very vague at
this place of healing, for all the diagrams
| saw were wocfully wrong, and could
not have existed an hour had the Chinese
surgeons ever examined n dead subject.