5 J: " TRIGONOCEPHALUS LANCEOLATUS.'^ 



seurs," or medicine men, have a variety of " nostrums " by 

 which they profess to cure serpent bite ; but I believe they 

 nearly all consist of mm in which cockroaches, scorpions, 

 centipedes, and such like have been steeped for some time. 

 My old friend Mr. Joseph de Laubenque, of the Malgretout 

 Estate, near Soufriere, an estate close to the Pitons, and 

 much infested with snakes, has for many j^ears had an enor- 

 mous reputation as a curer of snake bite. His treatment, 

 which has been officially published by the Protector of Im- 

 migrants, has saved many a life ; in fact, when taken in 

 time, has invariably been found successful. It is simply 

 twenty to thirty drops of the strongest solution of ammonia, 

 one dram of theriaque, and a wineglassful of claret, every 

 hour. This is accompanied by several soothing applications 

 to the wound, and a liberal exhibition of any other stimulant 

 that can be had. 



Mr. T. H. Dix, one of the magistrates of the colony, on 

 one occasion called my attention to a plant which had the 

 reputation of keeping the Fer-de-lance at a distance. It was 

 very like woodsorrel in appearance, but its name I forget. 

 Mr. Dix had followed the example of others, and planted it 

 round his house for use as a serpent fence, and he also told 

 me that a tincture made from its leaves was used by many 

 of the panseurs as an antidote.* 



In conclusion, I will mention an incident of which I was 

 personally a witness, to show the amount of liquor that may 

 be imbibed with impunity in cases of serpent poisoning, and 



* I am glad to have this opportunity of recording my obligations 

 both to Mr. de Laubenque and Mr. Dix, not only for much useful 

 information in natural history, but also for their great kindness and 

 hospitality to me on many pleasant occasions. My intercourse with 

 both these gentlemen was the happiest part of my West Indian 

 experience. 



