VIPER. 



who ufed no unftuous application at all, as he who ufod the 

 fat of the vipers, or the Engliflimaii who depciuled upon oil. 

 The internal medicines given to tiiem all were of much the 

 fame kind ; and all that can be concluded from the whole 

 is, that either tliefe bites would not have proved mortal in 

 themfelves, or that the cordial medicines which they took 

 internally, were the remedies that prevented the mifchief 

 that would have enfued ; and thefc feem to have afted not 

 as fpecifics againft the bite of this animal, but merely as 

 medicines that would itop the fpreading of a gangrene ; the 

 unprevented increafe of which is the thing that proves fatal 

 from the crer.ture's bite. 



The dilTeftions of the animals which had died by the bite 

 of tlie viper, whether they had or had not been rubbed with 

 oil, afforded all the fame appearances. The limb which had 

 received the wound was in all fwelled and livid, and thefe 

 fymptoms were ufually carried along the thigh to the belly, 

 and fometimes up to the bread. Incifions made along thefe 

 parts always difcovered the cellules of the membrana adipofa 

 full of bloody-coloured water, and the membrane itfelf was 

 fwelled, blackifh, and gangrened. And this appeared 

 always more plainly in the belly than in any other part : the 

 membrana adipofa in all other parts of the body was in its 

 natural (late. The injured parts often had a cadaverous 

 fmcU ; the mufcles of the wounded limb were alfo found of 

 abrownifh colour, and their fibres had loft their confidence, 

 and fcemed ready to give way to the approaching gangrene. 

 Nor is this efFecfl confined to the external parts alone : a 

 goofe that had been bitten had three gangrenous fpots on 

 its heart, and all the indications of a beginning gangrene in 

 other parts of it ; the concave fide of the liver was alfo 

 gangrened, and had wholly loft its confiftence ; and the 

 lungs of a fowl, that had been bitten on the wing, were 

 found in part gangrened. The eff^efts, however, were 

 different in degree, from the bite of the feveral vipers ; and 

 there feems no reafon to doubt, but that the bites of differ- 

 ent animals, though of the fame fpecies, under different 

 circumftances, either in regard to the creature wounding, or 

 the creature wounded, may be followed with very different 

 confequenccs ; fo that remedies are not to be depended on 

 from their luccefs in one or two trials. Mem. Acad. 

 Scienc. Par. 1737. 



The poifon of the viper is only noxious when immedi- 

 ately conveyed into the blood. Nor is it mortal to eat the 

 flefh of creatures killed by vipers, or to drink the wine in 

 which they have been drowned, or to fuck the parts they 

 have wounded. On the contrary, fignor Redi fays, fuck- 

 ing the wound is a fovereign lemcdy againft the bite of 

 vipers. This author denies what has been affirmed by 

 Ariftotle and Galen, that the fpittleof a fafting perfon kills 

 vipers. Phil. Tranf. N^y. p. 160. 



The praftice of fucking out poifons is very ancient, and 

 indeed nothing can be more rational. Where the bite 

 cannot be cut out, this is the moft likely way for extraft- 

 ing the poifon. Tiiere can be no danger in performing 

 this office, as tlie poifon does no harm, unlefs it is taken 

 into the body by a wound. The perfon who fucks the 

 wound ought, however, to wafh his mouth frequently with 

 fallad-oil, which will fecure him from the lead incon- 

 venience. 



The Pfylli in Africa, and the Merfi in Italy, were famed 

 for curing the bites of poifonous animals, by fucking the 

 wound ; and we are told that the Indians in North America 

 praftifc the fame at this day. 



When the wound is well fucked, it fhould be afterwards 

 nibbed with warm fallad-oil. A poultice of bread and 

 milk, foftened with fallad-oil, fliould likewife be applied 



to it, and the patient (hould drink freely of vinegar-whey, 



or watei-grucl with vinegar in it, to make him fweat. 

 Vinegar is, indeed, one of the bed: medicines which can be 

 ufed in any kind of poifon, and ought to be taken very 

 liberally. If the patient be fick, he may take a vomit. 

 This courfe, fays Dr. Buciian, will be fnfficient to cure the 

 bite of any of the poifonous animals of this country. 



Dr. Brookes fays, that the following remedy, v/hich was 

 the invention of a negro, who for the dil'covery obtained 

 his freedom and a penfion for life of 100/. per annum, from 

 the general affembly of Carolina, has been found effeftual 

 for the bite of the rattle-fnake. The prefcription is as 

 follows : Take of the roots of plantain and horehound in 

 fummer, roots and branches together, a fufficient quantity ; 

 bruife them in a mortar, and fqueeze out the juice, of which 

 give, as foon as poffible, one large fpoonful ; if the patient 

 be fwelled, force it down his tliroat. This generally will 

 cure : but if he finds no relief an hour after, give liim 

 another fpoonful, which is faid never to fail. If the roots 

 are dried, they muft be moiftened with a httle water. To 

 the wound may be applied a leaf of good tobacco moiftened 

 with rum. 



Meffrs. Juffieu and Le Sage ftrongly recommend the ufe 

 of the volatile fluor alkali as an antidote againft tlie venom 

 of vipers ; but if the proofs alleged by the abbe Fontana, 

 that the poifon of vipers is not of an acid nature, be ad- 

 mitted, the utility of the alkali muft be precluded. The 

 abbe adds, that cantliarides, applied outwardly, always did 

 mifchief by increafing the inflammation ; when given in- 

 wardly, they operated as an emetic, which is fometimes bene- 

 ficial. Scarifications produced the fame effefts with the 

 external application of cantharides: Peruvian bark, theriaca, 

 oils, the fuition of leeches, and of the mouth, were all found 

 ineffeftual. He alio explodes, in this cafe, the boafted 

 virtue of the Piedra de Cobras, as an alexipharmic. Quick- 

 lime alfo, when applied to the wound in pigeons, has fome- 

 times been of ufe, but not fo as to judify any confidence in 

 the remedy. 



Upon the whole this writer infers, that the greateft 

 fecurity we have againll the bite of vipers in one fpecies, is 

 the little probability of its being poifonous to the degree 

 that has been always imagined, and that lias caufed fuch 

 dreadful alarms, which alone are fufficient to irritate a 

 tainted habit. He alfo doubts whether the bite of the 

 rattle-fnake ia adtually fo venomous as is generally imagined. 

 See Fontana fur les Poifons el fur le Corps Animal, &c. in 

 2 vols. 4to. Florence. 



Vipers make a confiderablc article in medicine. Moft 

 authors agree, that there is no part, humour, or excrement, 

 not even the gall itfelf of a viper, but may be f.vallowed 

 without harm. Accordingly the ancients, and, as feveral 

 authors affure us, the Indians, as well as many other 

 people at this day,- both of the Eaft and Weft, eat them as 

 we do eels. 



Caro •viperina, viper's fiefli, cither roafted or boiled, the 

 phyficians have unanimoufly prefcribed as an excellent 

 reftorative ; and it has been particularly recommended in 

 the clephantiafis, incurable confumptions, leprofy, &c. ; and 

 Dr. Mead thinks they might be Itl's I'paring in the quantity 

 than they are : inftc.id of a little viper's ftefti, he recom- 

 mends the broth or jelly of vipers ; or, as the ancients did, 

 to boil and eat them as fi(h, or at lead to drink vinum 

 viperiiium, ;. e. wine in which they have been long intnled. 



Viper's flefh, indeed, appears to be very niilnlious, and 

 therefore an ufeful reftorative ni fomc kinds of weakiieffes 

 and emaciaud habits ; but in fcrophnloiis, leprous, and 

 Other like diftcmpcre, ihc good efl'cds which have been 



afcribed 



