On Dr. MARTIN’s CANCER POWDER. 213 
7 
fhewed me fome of the medicine, which appeared to be 
the powder of a well dried root of fome kind. Anxious 
to fee the fuccefs of this medicine in cancerous fores, I 
prevailed upon the door to admit me to fee him apply it 
in two or three cafes. I obferved in fome inftances, he 
applied a powder to the parts affected, and in others only 
touched them with a feather dipped in a liquid which had 
a white fediment, and which he made me believe was the 
vegetable root diffufed in water. It gave me great plea- 
fure to witnefs the efficacy of the doctor’s applications. 
In feveral cancerous ulcers, the cures he performed were 
complete. Where the cancers were much connected with 
the lymphatic fyftem, or accompanied with a fcrophulous 
habit of body, his medicine always failed, and in fome 
inftances did evident mifchief. 
Anxious to difcover a medicine that promifed relief in 
even a few cafes of cancers, and fuppofing that all the 
cauftic vegetables were nearly alike, I applied the phyto- 
lacca or poke root, the ftramonium, the arum, and one 
or two others, to foul ulcers, in hopes of feeing the fame 
effects from them which I had feen from Dr. Martin’s 
powder, but in thefe I was difappointed. ‘They gave fome 
pain, but performed no cures. At length I was furnifh- 
ed by a gentleman from fort Pitt with a powder which I 
had no doubt, from a variety of circumftances, was of the 
fame kind as that ufed by Dr. Martin. I applied it to a 
fungous ulcer, but without producing the degrees of pain, 
inflammation, or difcharge, which I had been accuftomed 
to fee from the application of Dr. Martin’s powder. After 
this, I fhould have fufpected that the powder was not a 
Jfimple root, had not the door continued upon all occafi- 
ons to aflure me that it was wholly a vegetable preparation. 
In the beginning of the year 1784 the doctor died, and 
it was generally believed that his medicine had died with 
him. A few weeks after his death, I procured from Mr. 
Thomas Lieper, one of his adminiftrators, a few ounces of 
Ke the 
