The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1886-08-14
CHAPTER ON QUACKS.
THE IMMORTAL REPRESENTATIVES,
OF The HUMAN FLEA.

Thriving In the Sixteenth Century-"Lo,
the Poor's" system of Nedicine-Ncarly
Million Recorded Preparations-Wan-
dering into New Fields.
The homo Americans enjoys the posses
sion of many parasites. Like his faithful
companion, the dog and his household friend,
the cat, he is regularly attacked and pune
tured by tho merry flea. AT times the pedi-
Culus humaHus drops from unknown lmboeS
and makes life a burden. The tick, burra-
shuta, black fly, cimex and bichu OCCASION
ally do their best to deplete him of his blood
and to transform his existence into an actual
nightmare. In respect to these insect pests
man is on a Level with the brute creation
Both he and they are attacked alike, suffer
alike and alike employ the means to rid
themselves of disagreeable intimates. But
even as to parasites man rises far above the
animal. Just as he speaks while his brute
relatives are silent just as he drops into
verse while his simian cousins content them
selves with yawps and howls just as he
cooks while the rest of creation eats his food
raw So man has discovered and developed
the quack-a parasite unknown to all other
animals The natural history of the quack is
long and interesting. Like the tapeworm
and other low types of life he assumes diff
ferent forms at different periods. Among In
dians he is known as a medicine man; among
negroes MS n voodou y au obi among Italians
AS jettaturist; among Americans us the
"llon. -, manufacturer of tho
Golden Salve of Immortality" etc
THE QCACK Is IMMORTAL.
Though quacks die, the quack is immortal
Old books show him to have thrivcd in the
Sixteenth century, when, for douboon, he
dispensed healing balm composed of monkey
fat, the hair Of a black dog white zinc and
rosemary. The cheerful preparation de
scribed by Shakespeare, in the witch scene of
Macbeth" is n good satire upon the quackery
of that period. In the Eighteenth century
tho Quack took advantage of the Indian wars
of this country, to rush into tho root and
yarb" business Indian doctors Indian
remedies and Indian panaceas sprouted out
all over America and Europe. Happily for
humanity but little harm was done $40, the
poor" has a simple system Of medicine, When
cut or bruised he chews up the first leaves he
can find into Il green pulp and slaps this
upon wound. When bilious or feverish he
chews and swallows leaves until ho runs
across something with drastic tendencies and
cures tho disease from which he suffers 10y
substituting dysentery or collie
From 1910 to 1880, the quack did business
upon tho patent mo licine basis. In that
period no less than S5l, 500 recorded prepara-
tons have been put upon the markets of
Europe and America, OF these, 10 per cent.
have brought wealth TO their makers and
per cent. have produced fortunes. Strange
TO say, most of these are made by neither
physicians nor chemists, but by business men
with little or no knowledge of medicine or
science. One New York manufacturer, who
probably is representative of the trade at
large, produces q cough remedy, a lozenge, q
cholagogue, 4 sedativo and nervine, all of
which contain powerful or poisonous drugs.
He himself reads and writes, but cannot keep
his own books nor read the formulas on
which his goods are made.