The morning news., 1896-12-28
"cURE ron nYDRoPHoBIA.
For which the New York LegisIa-
ture Paid Doctor.

From the New York Mail and Express.
1t seems incredible in this nineteenth
century civilization of ours, and with the
mighty strides made within dozen years
in the study and treatment of maladics
of a mysterious origin that man pre-
sumably afflicted with hydrophobia should
be smothered to death between two feath-
er beds, as peasant in Vladstock, not 200
miles from st. Petersburg, in Russia, was
in early October, and of which incident
the newspapers Of Continental Europe
made but cursory mention.
The man was bitten about eighteen
months ago by a dog, supposed to be
healthy. The animal developed symptoms
of rabies a. full year and a half later The
victim had shown not the slightest lndl-
cations of illness, but such was the super
stition of his friends and relatives that 1t
was deemed the part of wisdom to put
him to death lest he suddenly become mad
and place the little community in which
he lived in danger.
refer to this case because it exemplihes
the tenacity of a most peculiar fallacy
which is not confined to any one race or
nation, and that IS, that the bite OF any
member of the canine family is dangerous
to life even though no hydrophobla virus
be inoculated into the wound at the time
of uneXpiainable process the development
of rabies in the dog at any time theredLter
is Immediately followed by the develop
ment of rabies in the person bitten Inc
terror of the supersutious Russian peas
ants is backed by precedent the worlo
over Indeed, the belief still exists among
fairly intelligent people, that a dog hesu
not necessarily be mad at the tme ne
bites. He may go mad one two OF per
haps half a dozen years later, ana sinful
taneously his victim must succumo.
The dread of ''canine madness IS pfooa-
blv greater than that of any Other trdu-
matte affiiction known to the people OF
civilized countries. excepting, OF course,
the bites Of venomous serpents, out even even
fc a
the very nature of our environment IN ~
large cities. The cry of Mad dog! VIII
produce a greater panic IN town OF Gouae ne
try than the announcement OF a snake OIL
known poisonous powers, ana Simply pc
| cause there are more dogs than snakes.
1t is probably not generally known that
the state of New York, as represented in
it's Legislature, deemed the SUBJECT OF ny
drophobia of such Importance as TO war
rant the massage of an act granting
compensation Of 81 900 for the furnishing
| of a remedy. This was in the early part
of the century and was due to number OF
| exaggerated statements of an epldeInlc OF
hydrophobia which was said to be raging
| along the Atlantic seaboard.
The heirs of DR.. James Thacher OF Ply
mouth Mass, have probably preserved
the text Of the extraordinary. grant, if it
| is not to be found in the archives OF the
| state. Dr. Thacher gave 1t verbatim IN ms
| observations on Hydrophobla, puonsn-
| ed by Joseph Avery in the year or lSlz,
| and it's grave and evidently sincere phras-
eology gives warrant for the production
Just imagine this law being spread on
the statute books to-day.
State of New York, controllers ONCE:
| Pursuant to the direction of an act en-
| titled An act for granting compensation
| to John M Crous for discovering ana pup,
fishing cure for the canine madness, ma 19es
| do hereby certify the said John M. Crous
hath this day deposited of this office a
certain writing pGrP4rtingt TO- be the reme qe
| more than twenty years past for the cure
| of the hydrophobia, or canine madness,
which writing is in the words and hgu{es
| following, to wit: cure Tor the plte OF
II. Take one ounce of the jawbone of
a dog, burned and pulverized, or pounded
~. Take the false tongue of a newly
foaled colt let that be also dried and pull
"'S. Take one scruple of the verdigrise
| which is raised on the surface of old cop
| per by lying moist in earth; the coppers
| Of George l. or II. are the pureSt and best.
Mix these ingredients together, and if the
patient be an adult, or full-grown, take
| the common teaspoonful day, and so in
| proportion for child according to its ase,
| one-half of the copper of the above kind,
| If to be had; IL not then a small increased
quantity of any baser metal of the same
| kind, this to be taken in small quantity
1.-THE next morning, fasting (or before
eating) repeat the same as before. This,
if complied with after the biting of the
| dog, or before the symptoms of madness,
will effectually prevent any appearance of
the disorder; but if any symptoms appear,
| a physician must Immediately be applied,
| to, to administer the following, viz:
Three drachms (or $50 grains) of ver-
digrise, of the kind before mentioned, mix
ed with half an ounce of calomel to be
taken al one dose. This quantity the ply
sician need not fear to administer, as the
reaction of the venom then diffused
through the whole system of the patient
neutralizes considerably the powerful
quality of the medicine.
81" Secondly, if in three hours thereafter
the patient is not completely relieved, ad-
minister four grains of pure opium or 120
drops of liquid laudanum.
:" N. B.-The patient must be careful to
avoid the use of milk for several days af-
ter taking any of the foregoing medicine.
John NJ. Crous.'
fore James Kent, chief justice, and was
attested March % by Elisha jenkins, con-
troller It not only received the official
sanction of Gov. Lewis, but his private
endorsement, given in several letters to
his friends in which he eXtoiled Mr.. Crous
as a benefactor to the human race.
You may imagine the cast-iron quality
of the stomachs in those days when they
could withstand a dose of drachms of
and a half ounce of calomel! 1t was
dose fit for a horse, but legislators are
wise men. and they swallowed it without
a Cualm because of the popular clamor.
And then to think of the sublime faith of
the legislature and the governor in the ef-
icacy Of the false tongue of newly foaled
| colt And of the curative properties of the
pulverzed jawbone of a dog!
Still this did not equal the credulity of
the people a few years later, when a stock
company was formed to buy Snake
stone" which was supposed to possess the
! power of absorbing the poison from anv
wound whether Indicted by a mad dog or
a poisonous snake. DR.. MEOW, of Rich
mond, Va, was the owner of the stone
and a company was capitalized at s.. 600
with 200 shares, and such was the belief
In the virtue of this rocky talisman that In
less than three weeks every share was
sold. The precious catholicon is said TO be-
still In existence, and In the possession OF
the descendants Of DIR. Brockenbough OF