The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1883-09-19
CURE FOR ADREADDISEASE
HYDRoPHoBTA SAID TO BE CURED
BX a POTENT INDIAN DRUG.

America Instructed to Collect the Drug.
"For some time," said a prominent
physician of Jersey City yesterday, al
have been investigating the subject
of hydrophobia. L think 1 shall be
able to demonstrate that in woorara, a
drug prepared by the Indians of South
America, we have a remedy for that
disease.
at is a popular impression" he
continued, "that hydrophobia almost
inevitably follows the bite of a mai
dog. This is mistake. Perhaps not
more than once in a hundred cases OF
biting does that disease ensue.
For many years the practice of
physicians in treating the bite of a
mad dog has been to cauterize the
wound as soon as possible. If this
operation were performed early enough,
it was believed that no serious results
would ensue. Youatt, the greatIwriter
on th1 dog, was convinced Of the eff
cacy of this treatment. He allowed
himself epeatedly to be litten by mad
dogs, and cauterized the wounds sue
cessfully. But that the remedy is not
infallible is certain. Youatt per-
mitted himself to be bitten once too
often, and. in spite of MS caustic, he
soon discovered that he was in the in
cipient stages Of hydrophobia. De
spairing of being able to recover, he
blew his brains out rather than suffer
the agony he anticipated.
"The treatment employed in cases
where the disease had actually deve,-
oped varies. The object to be gained
is to mitigate the paroxysms of the pa
tient, for in hydrophobia death results
from exhaustion produced by the vio-
lence of the convulsions. Various
drugs have been used, but with lit e
success. At last, however, we have n
drug which has recently been known
to cure several authentic cases of hy-
drophobia, and which, when its ma
ture is properly understood, may prove
of the greatest value. 1 mean the WOO
rara of the Perdrach Indians. Water
ton, writing in 1911, gave an account
of kind of woorara which he found
among the natives of Demerara for
curing snake bites. He said it was
made Of many curious ingredients, in
cluding the woorali vine, two kinds of
dubious plants, the names of which he
did not know, two species of ants, the
strongest Indian pepper, and powdered
fangs of the Laborian snake. The
mixture was boiled and then placed in
small earthen pots to cool. He sug-
gested that if this was efficacious to
cure the bite of a snake it might be of
use in the treatment of hydrophobia.
Nevertheless, it was never used for
that purpose, although occasionally re-
ferred to in scientific works.
"Recently DR.. Gutenberg in Ger
many treated successfully hydropho-
bia patient with a species of woorara,
obtained from Indians in Brazil. What
this woorara is, or how it is manufac-
tured, we do not know. 1t is beyond
doubt a vegetable substance. 1t is
sold by the Indians as a cure for snake
bites, and is brought by them packed
in leaf-covered jars into Para, where
it finds a ready market, as the Ieptiles
around there are numerous and vene-
nous. 1t is a potent poison, and in its
action, when taken in fatal doses, pro-
duces death by paralysis. 1t relaxes
all the muscles, in which respect it
differs from strychnine and the other
posons that produce convulsions.
Il procured some of it, and, after
reducing it to solution, experimental
with it to try its power. Soon after
these tests, used it in pronounced
case Of hydrophobia and it proved en-
tirely successful.
81 was called in great haste to visit
Fir. c. He was evidently in the in
cipient stage of fhydrophobia. 1 learned
that some months before a young
Newfoundland dog bit the servant
girl, both of Mrs. C.'s children and a
nephew. When Mr.. c. went to ey-
anime the dog the animal bit him
through the index finger of the right
hand. The dog was drowned. Mr..
C.'s wound readily healed. The ser
want girl died of unmstakable rabies.
Mr.. c. ha been low-spirited, nervous
end irritable for about ten days before
sending for me. l prescribed one
twelfth of grain of strychnia every
three hours, and sent for Doctor Flint,
of New York. We decided to con-
tinue this treatnl4 4nt. On the fifth day
he was seized with such violent paroX-
ysms that if repeated three or four
times they would surely have proved
fatal. He believed he was about to
die. | gave him subcutaneous in
je tion of one sixteenth of a grain of
wOorara. He had slept very little be.
fore, but twenty minutes after the in
lection he fell asleep. Three hours
later he awoke and l gave him an in
icctiCn Of one-ninth Of a grain of /
wOorara, which Put him to sleep again.
In about three hours l gave him an
other in lection of one-sixth of a grain, /
which was followed by a natural sic -p. T
rwO hours later he was quiet and .
declared that he was feeling
well, and all his unfavOrable .