New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-11-24
AN INDIAN SNAKE-BITE CURE
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HAS Found AN
,vTTDoTE-TALEs OF THE DESERT

t .rceIes CAL Nov. 7-icrealHr W"o -,
I'M, out nartcs arc formed the demjon" luz ,n1Io ~
,s - ,r,u have 10 be replaced by ou'' =.
oi'e o" =, y rysber an old citizen OF sauna
49,, Who ,s familiar with tho habits OF "o '
t,a indians claims 10 have found OUT 'lci i@",
Cor rattIesnale bites which Is spccieS y, ~
puohorhia Dr. s. Weir Mitchell OF !,
,'. ~,.,ed in an article. which has beon copieo
nv the California press, that no SpeoIhc wa M I,
,go cirrus of tho rattcsnake. Mr.. Fisher Sd" '''''
-, and contradlcted t. saying that the plant
,r,.od tn was a sure cure, and he even goes 50 ia'
=. n state that the snakes themselves, when p''eh'
will mar, Use Of the remedy. This receives corroo
ton from Frank Smith, who lives at "hi'e -,
san Bernardino County, on the cdgo Vi 'no -,
He spealts most Of tho Indian dialects Inc "eeN m
SAYS is a Euphorba and Is common 'hio"e.
forna and Arizona 1t ia vine-like plant, ra"iau"s
- - or.,no close TO the earth the leaf
osh,os tho clover but IS less than half as large
vb.n n stem Is broken milky eXudatioh Ioiiows'
similar IN that of the milkwced' oil thS Fast WI
Smith gives this the method Oh "pp a. 49,,
green weed should be macerated III "''oi' VI" ~
about the bite scarGcd and the puppy mas VI .u
plant placed on IT and rubbed wei hi'o ~ ~ i,
be reneated at intervals for fifteen or twenty n,"''
-, ,,, \ nouItice of the same plant should De Dounu
on ord Iett Mr. Smith holds that Within ior'! 'o's"'
ho,,e all svnDtoms of poison will disappear GU w"
edept & he that I'm 1.-THE Banning hciaI" no ~
10 settle the discussion with Dr. Mltcnoii ~ -
s,vle nv offering TO bot $500 or Siooo '""' 80
Euphorba he can any case Oh .no,.
and he will allow DR.. Weir 10 plcN gu. ,o,ondrnn
The Mexcans know the weed anu 0''' "
-,hor, California owes, perhaps, the msJor po'
t,on of It's prosperity directly and ihdrec"s ~ oo"
sumn,,vcs though the influence OF cilna'o vi ,no Us
oo1o E I'm an unsettled question among the doc'ois'
- CO.. noa-, NJ Health OF California. In It's report
Gov sonterber speaks disparaglngly OF the possiohV
=, ~. curc OF the disease by climate III any vi Is
e,ocs. This has drawn forth rlohdcr iroih III
King a reputable physician who lives a' Da''''e' ~
this state Banning Is situated Oh ''' '0's " W
Colorado Desert IN Bernardino county, DIT Nsil
h,cb altitude and has the reputation ol pchs mus
desirable Mace of residence for persons ~nc'eu WIN
,,,torc,,osIs Dr. King has kept recoiu Vi -oo
ees ~ this disease which he has treated al tanning
~, Ia ,acs came TO him In the last stages of the
sIclncss But TO avoid tho imputation OF seiecuhs
,oyorabIe cases only, he made no eAccpuons' AL
tho cases were advanced beyond the his' s'deo' "'
most advanced be admits, nearly all chu.u i"""'
ot the 200 treated by him. soventy-eght nave ooc"
pronounced cured, forty eight have manc progress
Inward recovery 1fty-ninc have died. SIN nave DC
~ ryorse and eight have shown no change so 1ar.
1be doctor is a regular practitioner, ana mas hop'
con,ous notes of the cases. and offers them ana inc
.aooor,s Of the patients themselves, at least those
- 90 atm alive 10 any ono wishing to investigate
the matter further
,rboro has bcen said rcgariing CALIFORNIA; climate
,,, all that can be snid including The claim that
neopIe do not die but dry up and blow away case
~ recent occurrence illustrates me lac' hd' o"N
neonle do die Il is possible for them 10 ury UP "'e
ward and become 50 light that thry meh' Do ooi,'o
.wav bv n good wind. l.. i. singetay was Oribn'
ro,,nc LAWYER formerly OF Los Angeles, who became
's, ,,o the LAWYER California gold mining craze
brke out about year ago, and started Tor me SAM"
Cro,a d,cc,nrs He attempted 70 cross the COLORADO
ncsert I'm company with two companions. Inc psraS
became panc-srlcken At the heat ana suleIinS hi
had to endure and poor Sngclary was deSerle Dy nv
nomrsdes and fhoiigh they managed to reach wafer
IN safety nothing heard from single'ars u.,5i g.,
few DAYS ago though his disappearance occurrou III
- ast ,reek Two miners arrived in San Diego from
he Cocopah mining district They han cIosse 'no
\ About a mile ard half from water they sa" =,
, No Wing on the ground and reaching 1t II
SAG discovered 10 be that OF the young lawyer az
completely mummihed by the desert ar as il ne t s
lust been dug out Of an Egpusn .oInp' s,d heinz
beyond being tanned dark brown SSI3r natural
,ondiiien 30 life exists in the barren spot where
he intense drvnegs of the air had prevented decompos
ton The body had lain there for SIX months Ih m
M neS buried 10 in the sands, where IL VIII remain u
changed for years to come. II not for centuries
Another story OF general interest comes from the
has been a tradition that fulrggcd ship wa stand,
ing half embedded IN the sands Win vGr ,I,a
some verses the vessel, which, 1t was popplariy
supposed among the miners ana ueSert ira hoIs' au
cen cruising in that region In prehistoric times when
the desert was an ocean hal been caught by sud.
den geological change and stranded as The wafer area
up and tho sea became sands There are many o!d
desert travellers who have asserted that they saw tho
vessel distance, but want of water always pre-
vented thcir reaching H. These stories became so
numerous that a short time ago an expedition was |
about TO be organized 10 find the ship and get at the
secret. An cd resident OF san Diego County. how
ever. exploded the whole story lie used 10 live on
the old overland road from san Diego, 10 Yuma. aud
had station and ferry at Cariso Creek, one OF those
California rivers which begin I'm one sand heap and
cnd IN anOthor. At certain seasons the creeks be
come very high and he had fcTybOat built with a
mast and tackle Ia facilitate the handling of freight.
One spring there unusually heavy rains. ClrT1so
Greek became raging torrent. broke over II. banls
and carried the boat out on and over the desert for
many miles and left IL heir The owner hunted for
the boat and found II half buried in the sand. far
inland that nothing could be done with II. and he left
Il where IL was. This was away back in the hftics.
and the occurrence was forgotten until the recent dis
cuSi0n Of 10 I'm local crcles brought 10 the the
first knowledge he had that his Old ferryhoat had been
the cause Of pretty and romantic legend