POISON OAK 



Berkeley, California. 



In the summer of 1922, while I was attending the seven-day Confer- 

 ence of the Presbyterian Young People at San Anselmo, in the midst of 

 my enjoyment, I contracted a very severe case of Poison Oak. My 

 friends fairly whitewashed me with soda and I tried other remedies 

 without any perceivable effect, as the Poison Oak continued to spread. 

 The pus dripped so copiously from one of my forearms that one of the 

 Conference leaders went to a private home and begged an old sheet 

 with which to bandage me. My face and neck were so bad that I tried 

 to isolate myself from my companions for fear that they might catch it. 



I returned in torment to Berkeley with my face swollen almost 

 beyond recognition and one of my eyes nearly closed. When I entered 

 the house, my mother, who has great faith in the FONG WAN HERB- 

 ALIST, lost no time in phoning him and describing my condition. He 

 sent me a package of white powder by Special Delivery. I wasn't par- 

 tial to Chinese Herbs myself, for I hated the smell of them when they 

 were cooking and I liked their taste less, but as this was an odorless 

 white powder, which neither burned not discolored the skin, and which 

 required only to be mixed with a little water into a thin paste, I was 

 willing to give it a trial. 



Within an hour after the first application, the pus had ceased to 

 drip and the terrible burning and itching were almost gone. Four appli- 

 cations had been made before bedtime, and the inflammation was al- 

 ready beginning to subside. My sleep was undisturbed and when I got 

 up the next morning I scarcely recognized myself in the glass, as the 

 swelling in my face was gone, both eyes were open wide, and the 

 eruption had begun to dry. Within twenty-four hours after the first 

 application it had practically disappeared. Three days later when I 

 went to church with my skin smooth and natural, my friends who had 

 come home with me could hardly believe their eyes. They insisted upon 

 knowing what had wrought the magic. 



My own prejudice against Chinese Herbs had been completely over- 

 come, and in March, 1923, when I came down with a bad case of Flu, 

 accompanied by high fever and bloody urine, I drank the herbs without 

 protest and was back at College within a week. 



In the spring of 1924 my mother heard that a young girl friend out 

 at Danville had planned to come to Berkeley on a certain day to buy 

 her Easter 1 hat, but had been prevented because she was suifering so 



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