Ch.V. south AMERICA. 47 



a coarfe fewing thread; and this, according to them, 

 is the cobrilla's head, which they carefully faften to 

 a thread of filk, and wind the other end of it about a 

 H card, rolled up like a cylinder. After this they repeat 

 the fomentation with oil, and the following day con- 

 tinue to wind about the cylindric card the part of this 

 fmall fibre which appears in fight. Thus they pro- 

 ceed till the whole is extradled, and the patient entirely 

 cured. During this operation their chief care is not 

 to break the cobrilla becaufe, they fay, it would then 

 caufe a humour to fpread through the body, and pro- 

 duce a great quantity of fuch little fnakes, as they will 

 have them to be, when the cure would become ex- 

 tremely difficult. It is a current notion among them, 

 that when it has, for want of care in the beginning, 

 compleated the circle, and, according to them, joined 

 its head with its tail, the difeafe generally proves fa- 

 tal. But this is very feldom the cafe ; the pain warn- 

 ing the patient immediately to apply a remedy, which 

 ftiould be accompanied with emollients for difperfing 

 the humour. 



These people firmly believe it to be a real cobrilla 

 or fmall fnake, and accordingly have called it by 

 that name. At its firfb appearance, a fmall flow mo- 

 tion may indeed be perceived ; but this is foon over, 

 and poffibly proceeds from the comprefiion or 

 extenfion of the nervous fibres which compofe it, 

 without its having any anlrual life. I do not, how- 

 ever, pretend to determine abfolutely on this point. 



Besides thefe, another ditlemper com.mon in this 

 country is the fpafm,or convulfion, which always proves 

 mortal, and feldom comes alone. And of thislfliall 

 fpeak when I defcribe other parts of America, where 

 it is equally dangerous, and more common. 



CHAP. 



