Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1889-06-06
RHEUMATISM AND BEE srINGs.
There's a Wasp in Mexico Built Es.
pecially tor the Purpose.

81 read the other day an account of
French physician who hes discovered that
he can cure rheumatism by the stings of
bees," said New York railroad man re-
Gently returned from trip to Mexico to
reporter. THE doctor says he has met
with great success IN treating the obstinate
disease with bees, the only difficulty with
the treatment being that he has to use
such large number of bees before he can
introduce sufficient counter-irritation, or
whatever it may be, to the afflicted spot.
1 want to give the French doctor a pointer
thaG will let him out of that trouble at
once if he will follow it. He don't want 10
fool with the ordinary, every day sort OF
bee any longer. All he has to do is to get
An invoice of cheerful wash that makes
Mexico its home and hunting ground, and
he won't need more than one of them to
knock out the worst case Of rheumatism
any man ever struggled with, if there is
really any virtue in the bee-sting treat
ment.
"The Mexican wasp is built entirely for
business. He is over two inches long WHIT n
he is OF age, and is about the color OF bay
horse. His plunger is full inch long, and
IS as fine as spiders web. Unlike the
stinger of the common bee, the stinger of
the Mexican wasp is nOn-fOrfeitable. He
doesn't give it up after making one plunge,
but has it in readiness for an all-day's job
if necessary. The mission of the Mexican
wasp seems to be merely to hunt up peO-
pie and run that singer of his into them.
The natives say he will 60 ten miles out of
his way to get whack at person. The
natives seem to get fat on snake bites, cent
ipede bites and scorpion stings, but If they
discover one of these wasps in the neigh
bOrhood they hunt for cover without de-
lay.
II had the pleasure of personal contact
with Mexican wasp one day. 1t sampled
me or the cheek. l have been actively in
the passenger business for many years but
that wasp foyed my cheek. The stinger
went clear through it and about quarter
of an inch into the side OF my tongue. In
stantly that whole side of my head and
face felt like foot asleep. 1 didn't know
what hit me. The cheerful numbness
lasted for a minute, then / turned as cold
as an icicle. l thought 1 was dying. l
pinched my face, but there was no feeling
in it. l bit my tongue and it didn't hurt.
There was some feeling minute later,
though, for such pang as no mortal man
ever felt, unless ne was hit by one of these
base burning insects, shot to the top of my
head and then back again. Then it grabbed
me in the throat, tackled the roof Of my
mouth, and dallied with my palate If you
can imagine how it would feel to have
wires drawn into the most sensitive parts
of your person, and then have the wires
heated to a white heat and left there to
simmer, you can have some idea how felt.
A native told me, then, what allied me. l
would willingly have lain down and died,
and felt sorry when they told me that the
Mexican wasp was so cruel that it never
killed persons with it's sting, but just
dipped them and let them enjoy the after
math. That most agonizing pain remained
with me two hours, which is the regulation
time for it to torture its recipients. When
it passed away my cheeks and tongue were
as sore as two stone bruises, and they re-
mained so for two days. But, strange to
say, they didn't swell.
LET that French doctor get a few of
these Mexican wasps, and if there is any
good in the bee sting cure for rheumatism
he will have every one of his patients out
of bed before he has used up one wasp"