The Washington times., 1901-07-21
MEDICINES FOR CHINAMEN.
A Celestial Manufactures POti0ns
From Rattlesnakes.
Thriving Business at an Establish
mcnt ON Four-and-a-Hnlf Street.
Serpent Fat Believed by OrientnIs
to Possess Curative Properties.


Chinese merchant, whose place of
business is on Four-and-a-half Street. Is
engaged in the most unique business car
ried on in Washington. lie is a dealer
in medicines made from rattlesnakes.
The average Washingtonian would con-
slider snakes of this. or. in fact, of any
description, to be among the rarest of
the animal kingdom in the National Capt.
tai, and such is partly true. There are
not many rattlers in the city with the
exception OF those at the National Zoo
and at the various curio stores, but
what few do find their way here are
bought by the Chinese merchant, who
converts them into patent medicines of
more or less virtue.
The medicine is advertised, in the
laundry ticket language, to cure any i'll
to which Celestial man is heir, and many
bottles of salve and poignant, health-in-
ducing elixir are transferred daily from
the enterprising manufacturer to the
sick Chinaman.
Not all of these potions are made from
the rattlesnake, but by far the larger
part of the Chinese ointment is derived
from the health-giving properties of
snake fat Boiled down, this fat pro-
duces a most excellent OIL the properties
of which the superstitious Oriental reveres
with awe. Other medicines, it is true,
are made for Chinese patients. They are
from various roots and herbs, but to the
mind of a son of the Flowery Kingdom,
nothing quite equals, in medical quail
ties, the balm which can be found in the
soft fat of a plump rattler.
The Chinaman does not stand alone in
his faith In the power of ratUesuake OIL
Other peoples have held the same belief
from time immemorial. Foremost among
these are the gypsy tribes. to whom the
secrets OF the virtue of snake oils have
long been known In the trade rattle
snake oil Is recognized as being one of
the most penetrating of oils, and 1t Is no
doubt to this property that the value of
rattlesnake oil in medicine is to be prop
cry ascribed. Remarkable cures are said
to have been made by diligent applica--
tion of this oil to afflicted parts of the
body. But in this the ina gination doubt
less plays no inconsiderable part. The
Chinese claim for snake Oil all of the
curative qualities known to the science
of medicine.
The Chinatown laboratory in which the
rattlers are converted into medicine is
an imposing and mysterious place, dirty,
hung with festooned cobwebs, and litter
ed with strange and curious Chinese jugs
and foreign-looking bottles. AS in every
thing else, the Oriental race win have
naught TO do with up-to-date American
methods, and the manufacture of salve Is
carried on according to the same methods
which have prevailed in China for centu-
ries- The operation which witnesses
the alchemy of the sattlesnake from a
live viper to many imposing bottles of
ointment is a most interesting one.
The physician first gets the snake. The
rattler once in his clutches the work of re-
ducing it to medicine begins. The first
step is the death of the monster. The Chi
naman, after killing the reptile. deity re-
moves the poison fangs, cuts off the head,
skins the snake, and throws the eel-like
body Into kettle. where it SINNERS and
stews the greater part of the day. The
boiling process continues until the oil has
been separated, and is, on a small scale,
much like the 'frying-out process once
in vogue on an old-fashioned whaler. Just
what the next step is in the manufacture
of the saIye the Cinnamon engaged in the
business refuse to say. Dark and hidden
mysteries of Oriental art play an impor-
tant part in the process. Other ingredi-
ents are thrown into the mixture. They
are known only to the Chinese mind, but
one sight of the operation was enough TO
convince a Times reporter that Bret Harte
was not far wrong when he said that for
ways that are dark and tricks that are
vain the heather Chinee is peculiar"
The fat comes out of the boiling pot a
heavy. dark OIL redolent of the Orient
That which is made in Washington for
the local trade is packed in small jars or
sealed with oiled paper or silk. ouanti-
ties of this salve are sold to the laundry
men of the city. The Cinnamon rub it
upon their wrists after a hard days
work at the ironing table. 1t is also
claimed for the oil of rattlesnakes that a
liberal application, repeated frequently.
will cure paralysis In from three to five |
days. rheumatism is said to succumb |
to a treatment of the salve in short or |
der \ large quantity of this oil is used |
regularly by the Cinnamon in Washing |
ton.
Nest of the Chinese medicine used IN |
this country is imported from China, and |
that which is consumed in Washington |
is brought here from San Francisco. The |
Cinnamon in this city suffer bodily pain |
quite as much as other people, but 1t is |
rare for an American physician to have |
a Chinese patient. When a laundryman |
is taken ill he goes to one of the Chinese |
doctors, all of whom are to be found in |
what is known. as Chinatown. and the |
cure is made according to the methods OF
the Chinese school of medicine. Charms |
of all descriptions play an important part
in the cure, but for some ailments the |
Chinese have discovered simple and ex-
cellent remedies. Rattlesnake oil appears
to be one OF these.
only a limited number of snakes find
their way into the Four-and-a-half Street
laboratory, but a larger number is sold
there in the course of year than would
be imagined. Most of the reptiles are
captured at no great distance from Wash
ington. and are brought in by the garden
farmers of the outlying districts. Many
it is said. are still to be
found in the mountains of Virginia.
On the Pacific Slope. where rattlers are
plentiful, the thrifty Chinaman makes
much medicine from these reptiles. The
rattlesnake oil of these Western States
is also sold here and not entirely among
the Chinese population.
In the West also a medicine for which
Is claimed great curative qualities is
made from the horned toads of the arid
deserts. The process for the manufacture
Of this medicine is simple. The Chinaman
procures three or four good-sized toads,
puts them in a large bottle, and sub
merges them with whisky. The concoc-
ton is then set in dark place for sew
aral days. When overworFed, tired, or
from pair in the back the
-hinaman relieves his misery with sips
Of the whisky, to which the toads are