The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-03-01
THE BITE OF A# SNAKE
EVERY LAND HAS ITS CHARMS AND
CURES FOR 1T.
A Boer Snake Stone That II Said to
Have the Power OF Drawing tho
Poison From Bites-A Scotch Snake
Stone With Tragic History.


Stone With n Tragic History.
In every land the natives have cure.
or dozen, to which they trust, besides
charms It is probable that the great
majority of these have never been test
ed, and persons who have not looked
into the matter naturally blame the
government and the doctors for neg
lecting an inquiry of such profound i'm
portance But investigation so far
has not been encouraging. Nearly al
ways it proves that the healing herb is
chosen under the influence Of the max
i'm that '.like cures like. Our forefa
theirs held it as strongly as any modern
savages a few hundred years ago, and
it is rot extinct among US to this day.
Various plants resemble snake in
flower or mode of growth, and for no
better reason they are accounted RENE
dies for it's bite 4 root which curls
and twists proclaims its own virtue, as
one may say, and if it be mottled there
is no further room for doubt Some of
these resemblanccs are so strong, in
deed, that the fancy Of the savage be-
comes quite ineligible.
Messrs. Sander introduced new
aroid from the Malay countries some
years ago, the bloom Of which is so
strangely like cobra in the act of
striking that the idea of a connection
between the plant and the snake sug-
gests itself to even the unlearned OBJ
server. It is called Aris@ma fmbriata.
We have not heard that the natives use
it as an anlidote to the venom of the
cobra, but savart inclined to bet
would offer long odds that they do.
Upon the same reasoning the Indians
of, Peru use the root of Polyanthus
tuberosa and creeper which they call
huaco Credible persons have borne
testimony to the good effect of both,
but neither could sustain trial at the
hands of scientific men in Lima. In the
successful cases reported, either the
poison had not been imbibed or else
the snake did not really belong to
poisonous species.
The famous markhor Of the Himala-
yas. which young sportsmen dream
about-and old ones, too. for that mat
ter-is said to eat snakes-in fact, that
is the meaning of the word markhor.
The statement is not improbable, if it
be true, as highland shepherds allege
that goats wage war on the adders. But
in the entrails Of any old markhor that
mystic substance bezoar is found some
times.
It may be suspected indeed that most
of the .'stones' used as charms, which
puzzle European observers by thei,:
singular formation, would be recognized
at sight by Chinese doctor as bezoa-.
The latest testimony which we have
noticed to the merit of 'snaEe stones
is that of Mr. Selous He describes one
from his own observation and expert
ence as light, porous. polished on the
upper surface, which had blackish and
grayish mottlings, rough below. The
latter was applied to the wound, and it
sucked up the poison like a sponge, CIV
ing it off sin thin white thread"
when plunged in ammonia. This stone
belonged to Boer, in whose family it
had remained for several generations.
Mr.. Selous gives some examples of its
efficacy from his own knowledge. But
he did not personally witness any OF
them.
Such stories are innumerable, and
many of them rest upon good authori-
ty. One of the best will be found in
Frank Buckland's 'Curiosities of Nat
ural History. In this instance the
.stone" was submitted to analysis at
the College of Surgeons, and readers
who have q healthy love for the marvel
Gus will be delighted to learn that Mr..
Quekett, the chemist of that institu-
tion, could make nothing of it. He sat-
isied himself that it was a vegetable
substance, but the resources of science
could not go beyond that. 1t seems
curious that so little should be known
about these things when Il score at least
are in the hands of rich and charitable
Hindoos, who lend them in case of need
Some of those gentlemen would not OBJ
iect to an examination probably. But
doctors are hard worked in India, and
they commonly despise all treatment
which is not regular. There is no regu-
lar treatment for snake bite, however,
so they might allow themselves an ex-
cursion into unauthorized realms.
Much has been done of late years,
indeed, and it may be hoped that real
cure. with no mystery about it, will be
discovered soon That is beyond our
theme. But we need not travel to In
dia for a snake stone. There is speci-
men in Scotland older probably than
any of these foreigners and more re-
nowned-the Lee penny, now, by latest
report, in the hands of Lockhart Of
Lee. 1t must be admitted that this VEN
erable object is rather too much Of a
panacca. One might feel more conf
dence in it's efficacy against snake bite
if it did not also profess to cure hydro
phobia, burns and the cattle plague.
Yet the evidences is equally strong and
equally abundant in its favor for all
these cases. And that evidence extends
over many centuries. It was Simon.
Lockhart of Lee, 6le same who carried
Brucc's heart in the train of Douglas,
that brought the precious relic home
from paganry; for proof, it is mounted
in Il silver coin of Edward |. And from
that time until the ages of faith had
quite vanished-say, the middle of the
last century-the stone was in contin-