1 42 ANTIDOTES AND REMEDIES. 



the Snake-charmers do not possess some means of rendering themselves comparatively 

 proof against the Serpent's bite ; for it is reasonable to conclude that, just as a secre- 

 tion of a cow will, when it has been suffered to pervade the system, render it proof 

 against the poison of the small-pox, there may be some substance which, by a kind of 

 inoculation, can guard the recipient againt the poison of the Cobra. In the last cen- 

 tury, the one was quite as irremediable as the other. 



Another fact is yet to be mentioned. In almost every instance where a poison, 

 vegetable or animal, is likely to gain access to human beings, Nature supplies a remedy 

 at no great distance, just as, to take a familiar instance, the dock is always to be found 

 near the nettle. There certainly are many poisons for which no sure remedy has been 

 discovered, and, until lately, the venom of the Cobra ranked among that number. 

 Recently, however, some important discoveries have been made, which seem to prove 

 that the bite of the Cobra may be cured in two methods, viz. the external application 

 of certain substances to the wound, and the internal -administration of others. As the 

 general character of the Cobra is almost precisely the same as that of many other 

 venomous Serpents, and has long been familiar to the public, I shall devote the greater 

 portion of the space, not to the creature itself, but to the remedies for its bite. 



The first of these remedies is a plant belonging to the group of birth-worts, and 

 known to botanists by the name of Aristolochia Indica, 



This plant has long been considered as a valuable remedy for the bite of the Cobra, 

 but the accounts of its use and mode of operation have mostly been vague and scarcely 

 trustworthy. I have, however, been fortunate enough to obtain much valuable informa- 

 tion on this subject from R. Lowther, Esq., formerly Commissioner in India, who was 

 accustomed to employ this plant very largely in cases of Cobra-bites, and has kindly 

 forwarded the following communication on the subject : 



" According to your request I have the pleasure of inclosing a statement of one out 

 of at least twenty cases of Snake-bites, in which the exhibition of the Aristolochia Indica 

 was attended with complete success, or patients who were brought to my house on a 

 litter, in a perfect state of coma from the bites of venomous Snakes. 



The Aristolochia Indica is noticed by medical writers as a powerful stimulant, much 

 extolled as a remedy for Snake-bites, in support of which I need only refer you to my 

 detailed statement, as also to the circumstances under which the plant was transferred 

 to my garden at Allahabad. The gentleman from whom I received it (Mr. Breton, 

 Deputy Collector of Customs) gave me the following account of it. 



A Cobra, to the great alarm of his servants, had taken up its abode in a mound of 

 earth, formed by white ants, in the vicinity of his house. A party of Snake-catchers having 

 one day made their appearance in the village, Mr. Breton was afforded the opportunity 

 of getting rid of the reptile by having it dug out of its lodgment. After having reached 

 a considerable depth, the man at work used his finger for the purpose of ascertaining 

 the direction of the hole. This seemed to have been its termination, or nearly so, as 

 the Snake caught hold of his finger. His companion immediately ran off to the bank 

 of a stream near at hand, and brought back some leaves, which, having bruised with a 

 stone, he administered to his friend's relief. Mr. Breton requested the man to take 

 him to the plant, which he forthwith removed to his own garden. The Snake-catcher 

 informed him the plant was a specific, that they usually carried the dried root about 

 with them in case of need. 



Mr. Breton, having been subsequently appointed to Allahabad, brought the plant 

 away, and was successful in the treatment of numerous cases. On being removed to 

 a distant station, he transferred the plant to me. The plant is a creeper, and sheds its 

 leaves at that season when Snakes, for the most part, are lying inert in their 

 holes. I should have mentioned, that the Cobra above referred to was killed in the 

 hole. 



There are several species of Aristolochia, all of them I believe stimulant ; but the Indica 

 is that which I refer to ; it is intensely bitter and strongly aromatic. 



In one bad case which came under my treatment, in which large doses had been 

 exhibited, I gave an additional leaf to the patient to take home, but to be used only in case 



