Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1883-08-08
HYDROPHOBIA.
Said to be Cured by a Patent In
dian Drug.
A Subtle Poison Used to NuIify the Deadly
Effects of RabieS-0ur COnsuls in
South America Instructed to
Collect the Drug.

South America Instructed 10
Collect the Drug.
"FOr some time" said prominent
physician of Jersey City yesterday, II
have been investigating the subject of
hydrophobia. l think / shall be able
| to demonstrate that in woorara, drug
prepared by the Indians Of South
America, who have a remedy for that
| disease.
at is popular impression" he con-
tinued, THAT hydrOpLObia almost in-
evitabIy follows the bite of a mad dog.
This is mistake. Perhaps not more
than once in a hundred cases of biting
does the disease ensue.
"FOr many years the practice OF
physicians in treating the bite ola mad
dog has been to cauterize the wound as
soon as possible. Ifthis operation were
| performed early enough, it was be-
| lieved no serious results would eGsue.
| GOuatt, the great writer on the dog,
| was NOIN AuNCNA vi TIC CiAlNAND vi liAo
| treatment. He allowed himself re-
Pc teddy to be bitten 10y mad dogs, and
| Cau teriZed the wound successfully. But
that the remedy is not Infallible is GER
tain. YOuatt permitted himself to be
bitten once too often, and, in spite of
| his caustic, he soon discovered that he
was in the iucipient stages OF hydro
phObia. Despairing of being able TO
hn hlaNr- l,ia hrait,
rather than suffer the agony he antict-
pated.
The Treatment Employed
in cases where the disease had actually
| developed varies. The object to be
gained is to mitigate the paroXysms of
the patient, for in hydrophObia death
results from exhaustion produced by
| the violence of the commissions. Var
ious drugs have been used, but with
| little success. At last, however, we
| have drug which has recently been
| known to cure several authentic cases
| OF hydrOphubia, and which, when its
nature is properly understood, may
| prove Of the greatest value. | mean
| the wOOrarO Of the Perdrach Indians.
! WatCrtCn, writing in 1911, gave an ac-
| count 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
! GLIDING the wOOrara 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 I.abOrian snake. The mix
ture was boiled aud placed in small
| earthern pots to cool. He suggested
| that if this was efficaciOus to cure the
| bit OF snake it might be of use in the
| treatment of hydrophObia. Neverthe-
| less, it was never used for that purpose,
although occasionally referred 10 in
/ scientific works.
"Recently DR.. Gutenberg in Germany
treated successfully hydrOphobia pa
tient with a species of wOOrara, obtain
! ed from Indians in Brazil. What this
woorara is, or how it is manufactured,
we do not know. 1t Is beyond doubt a
vegetable substance. 1t is sold by the
Indians as cure for snake bites, and Is
brought by them packed in leaf covered
Jars into Para, where it finds ready
market, as the reptiles around there are
numerous and venemOus. Ii is a potent
poison, and in its action, when taken
in fatal doses, produces death by para
lysis. 1t relaXes all the muscles, in
which respect it differs from strychine
and the other pOisons that produce con-
vulsiOns.
Il procured some of it, and after re.
ducing it to solution, experimental
with it to try its power. Soon after
these tests l used it in pronounced
case of hydrophObia and it proved en-
tirely successful.
al was called in great haste to visit
Mr.. G. He was evidently in the
IneIpient Stage of Hydrophobis.
| learned that some months before q
young Newfoundland bog bit the ser
want girl, both of Mr.. C.'s children, and
a nephew. When Mr.. c. went to eX-
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 servant
girl died of unmistakable rabies. Mr.:
{. had been low spirited, nervous and
irritable for about ten days before send
ing for me. prescribed One-twelfth OF
a grain of strychnia every three
hours, and sent for DR.. Flint, OF
New York. We decided TO con-
tinue this treatment. On the nth
day he was seized with such violent
paroXySms that if repeated three or four
times they would surely have proved
fatal. He believed he was about to die:
gave him a simultaneous injection OF
ODe-siXteenth of q grain OF woorara. he
had slept very little before, bat twenty
/ minutes after the injection he fell
/ asleep. Three hours later he awoke aud
/ gave him au injection of One-niRth OF
| q grain of wOOrara, which put him TO
| sleep again. In about three hours L
! gave him another injection of one-sixth
Of a grain, which was followed by
natural sleep. Two hours later he was
quiet and rational, declared that he
was feeling perfectly well, and all his
unfavorable symptoms had vanished.
He has never since shown any symp-
tom of the disease.
Now, | am satisfied that If we can
obtain genuine fresh woOrara OF uniform
strength We shall be able to successfully
combat this disease, provided the rem
edy be administered early enough. But
the trouble with wOorara is that It's
strength varies so that it cannot be
safely used until it has been carefully
tested. L am now trying to extract
nom pure woOrara its alkalOid, known
as curarine. If / succeed, the difficulty
arising from the varying strength Of
wOOrara ina given volume will be over
come, for the slkaloid will possess uni
form strength in equal quantities.
With that object in view / entered re-
Gently into correspondence with Secre-
tary OF State Frelinghuysen, and he ia
structed the American Consuls at Para
and other South American ports to for
ward specimens of the drug, with all
the information they can procure about