The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-03-01
THE BITE OF 4 SNAKE
EVERY LAND HAS ITS CHARMS AND
CURES FOR 1T.
A Boer Snake Stone That Is snid to
Have the Power OF Drawing tho
Poison From Bitrs-A scotch Snake
Stone with ~ Tragic History.

fotson From bftrs-A scotch Snake
stone with ~ Tragic History.
In every land the natives have a curc
or Il dozen. to which they trust. besides
charms 1t is prolabl. that the great
majority of these have never been test
ed. and persons who have not looked
into tho matter naturally blame the
government and the doctors for neg.
Letting 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 furrfa
theirs held it as strongly as any modern
savages few hundred years ago and
it is not extinct among us to this dny.
Various plants resemble snake in
flower or mode OF growth, and for nu
better reason they are accounted RENE
dies for its bite. a root which curls
and twists proclaims its own virtue. as
one may say. and if it bo mottled there
is no further room for doubt. Some of
these resemblances arc so strong. in
deed. that tho fancy Of the savage be-
comes quite intclligible.
Messrs. Sander introduced a new
aroid from the Malay countries some
years ago. the bloom Of which is 30
strangely like IL cobra in tho act of
striking that tho idea of connection
between the plant and the snake sug-
gests itself to even the unlearned OBJ
server. 1t is called Aris;rma timbriata.
We have not heard that the natives use
1T rs an antidOtc to the venom of tho
cobra, but savant inclined to bet
would offer long odds that they do
Upon the same reasoning tho Indians
of. Peru use the root of Polyanthus
tnberOsn and crecpcr 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 tho
successful cases reported. either the
poison had not been imbibed or else
the snake did not really belong to a
poisonous species.
The famous mnrkhor Of the Himala
yas. which yonng sportsncn dream
aiDut-and old ones too for that mat
tcr-is said to eat snnkcs-in fact. that
IL the meaning of the word markhor
The statement is not improbable. if it
he true. as highland shepherds allege
that goats wage war ON the adders. But
i'll the entrails Of any old narkhor that
mystic substance bezoar is found some
times.
1t may be suspected indeed that most
OF the "stOnes used as charms, which
puzzle European observers by their
singular formation. would he recognized
at sight by - Chinese doctor us bezoar.
The latest testimony which we have
noticed to the merit Of .snake stones"
is that of Mr. Selous He describes one
from his own observation and expert
ence rs light. porous. polished on the
upper surface. which had blnckish and
grayish lnottlings. rough below. The
latter WAS applied to the wound, and it
sucked up the poison like IL sponge, Civ
ing it off ''in IL thin white thread"
when plunged in ammonia This stone
belonged to Bocr. in whose family it
had remained for several generations
Mr.. Sel0us gives some examples of its
efficacy from his own knowledge. But
he did not personally witness any Of
them.
Snch stories are innulnerab,e, and
many of them rest upon good nnthori-
ty One of tho best will ,e found in
Frank Buckland' 'Curiosities Of Nat
ural History In this instance tho
''stOne' was submitted to ANALYSIS at
the College of Surgeons. and readers
who have IL 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
isfied himself that it was Il vegetable
substance. but the resources Of science
conld not 20 beyond that. 1t seems
curious that so little should be known
about these things when Il score Mt least
are in the hands OF rich and charitable
Hindoos. who lend them in case of need
Some Of those gentlemen would not OBJ
ject 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 snake stone. There is n 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. Itmust be admitted that this ven
erable object is rather too much of a
panacea One might feel moro conf
dence in its efficacy against snake bite
If it did not also profess to cure hydro
phobia. burns and the cattle plague.
Yet the evidence is equally strong and
equally abundant in its favor for all
these cases. And that evidence extends
over many centuries. 1t was Simon
Lockhart Of Lee. 6ic 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 silver coin of Edward l. And from
that time until the ages of faith had
quite yanished-say the middle of the