ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 195 



Mazatlan, as to the efficacy of the Euphorbia prostrata, as a 

 remedy for the bite of the rattlesnake and venomous insects : 



Euphorbia, Prostrata as a remedy for the bite of 



venomous animals. 



BY MAJOR EDWARD PREISS. 



Mazatlan, January 7th, 1865. 



******* 



I send you herewith a sample of Gollindrinera, (Spanish,) Euphorbia prostrata, 

 (Linn,) It is found growing in the territories of New Mexico and Arizona, in the 

 United States, and the provinces of Sonora and Sinaloa, in Mexico. In Jalisco 

 this plant is more scarce, and occurs mostly in a poor condition. 



It thrives in hard, sandy or stony soil, and therefore is most frequently found 

 on roadsides, in the streets of villages and in house-yards. In Mazatlan I found a 

 plant with branches, measuring two feet. 



It is a remedy against the bites of snakes and other venomous animals 



During my voyage in New Mexico, I camped on the 5th of June, 1864, at noon, 

 between Cubera and Pawate, near a waterhole. A Pueblo-Indian approached 

 me, and entered into a conversation. He could read and write Spanish, and was 

 very well versed on the map of the country. Noticing a snake in the waterhole, 

 I asked him whether there were many rattlesnakes in those parts, to which he 

 gave an affirmative answer. On questioning him whether Indians frequently 

 died from snake-bites, he answered : " No, as they have an antidote against the 

 poison." At my request, accompauied by a gift of some cigarritos, he brought 

 me a plant, which he gathered from the roadside, and which he called " Gollin- 

 drinera." He told me that nobody ever died, not even from the bite of a rattle- 

 # Bnake, if this plant was applied in time. At the same time he told how it was 

 used. 



In Mexico I also found the country people well acquainted with the property 

 of this plant. They apply ic when their domestic animals are injured by venomous 

 amphibia or insects. 



The branches and roots of this plant contain a quantity of a milky sap. This 

 is obtained by pounding and squeezing the plant, and is given to the patient in 

 doses of about one drachm. The remaining fibres of the pressed-out plant are 

 externally applied on the wound. The dose is repeated every hour, — or in ag- 

 gravated cases, every half hour, — until the patient feels relieved ; which will occur 

 in a few hours. The external application must be frequently renewed. 



I ascertained from reliable authority, that two dogs, being bitten by rattle- 

 snakes, were cured, one after four, and the other after six repetitions of the dose. 

 The poultice was frequently changed. Both dogs were perfectly restored within 

 twenty-four hours. 



Tepic, March 28th, 1865. 



******* 



Myself and companion arrived on the 14th of March, 1865, at 3 o'clock P. M., 



