Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-23
CHINESE MEDICINE.
Connections Made From the Toad by
California Celestials.

From the Los Angeles Dispatch.
Ordinary existence Is a perllous under
taking for horned toads in California, for
not only are they captured by thousands
each year. mounted on cards and sold as
souvenirs Of the Golden State. but they
constitute the principal ingredient in
popular Chinese medicine, which is guaran-
teed to cure rheumatism and various other
ills. If one peeks into any of the hundreds
of Chinese shanties of Los Angeles or San
Francisco he will discover what at first
glance appears to be a collection of pre-
served fruit, but which on close inspection
proves to be horned toads, snakes. cent?
pedes worms, scorpions and bugs. No
Celestial is without such a medicine cab
met, and as there are thousands of Chinese
in California the gathering of venomous
creatures sufficient to supply the oriental
pharmacists Is becoming a profitable in
dustry among the lower classes.
l.. A. Fown, a well educated Chinese in
terpreter of No. 80 Apablasa street says
that horned toad and rattlesnake prepara-
tons. taken internally or externally, are
used to treat rheumatism. Hop Lee. a
figure in the streets of Los Angeles during
his peddling days. often varies his work
by going on bug hunt. Hop is a medical
wizard and the decoctions he manufactures
in his old shanty are a marvel.
A party of tourists recently came upon
the pastoral home of Hop and caught him
marching up dusty path with basketful
of toads. In response to EXPLANATIONS OF
amazement from the visitors he said: II
ketchum heap horned toads." Then twist
ing his cue more tightly to the back of his
head, he continued: What for you likee
see? I no gotee time; lain come heap
quick" By moneyed persuasion he was
induced to abandon his inhospitable ideas
and allow the tourists to go inside the
laboratory.
Horned toads are prepared in various
ways for various purposes. They are
garded as an excellent antidote for the itch
the theory being that like kills like. In pre-
pairing for the cure of this ailment Hop puts
the toads in a small crematory; usually
alive. so that none Of the medicinal quail
dissolve into powder. which he serves In
homeopathic doses. For curing collie Hop
boils the toads until they are tender after
which he mashes and strains them and
seals them In glass or earthen jars. If not
convenient to preserve them on trays in
the sunshine. where they remain till dry
and crisp, he then stores them away in
sacks. Just as he does his surplus potatoes.
and uses them at odd times according to
the requirements of the patients.
Rheumatic sufferers have the utmost faith
in the horned toad cure. AS remedy for
this disease Hop puts the toads in glass
jars of whisky, the most expensive to be
obtained. and let's them soak for at least
year and half. This preparation is taken
internally in prescribed doses. or is rubbed
over the afflicted parts. Though horned
toads are more extensively used for medi-
cine by the working Chinese in California.
the medicinal qualities of rattleSnakes,
scorpions, centipedes and worms are
garded with favor. Snakes are prepared in
other bugs" though sometimes preserved,
are more frequently dried.