Miscellanea Curiosa, Vol. 3: containing a collection of curious travels, voyages, and natural histories of countries as they have been delivered in to the Royal SocietyRoyal Society (Great Britain)
History
Miscellanea Curiosa, Vol. 3: containing a collection of curious travels, voyages, and natural histories of countries as they have been delivered in to the Royal Society
Royal Society (Great Britain)
Natural history; Science -- Early works to 1800; Voyages and travels -- Early works to 1800
they became extream sick, and purged within half an hour, and the next
morning all their Flesh was turned green to a wonder, nevertheless
they recovered by degrees. The manner of the Application was only
by laying on the Stone, and by two cross-bits of a very sticking
_Diaculum_ Plaister binding it on, which he let not lie on past an
hour or two, but I think not so long, took the Stone off, and put it
into Milk for some time; some Stones were of much stronger Vertue than
others. I proposed a piece of unquench'd Lime-stone to be apply'd
to see whether it might not prove as powerful, but know not whether
ever it was tried. But here one telling Mr. _Boyle_ the Story of this
_Indian_, he approved the method of Cure, and said, an actual Cautery
was the most certain Cure. The Poison, both of Viper and Mad-Dog (as I
conceive) kill by thickning of the Blood, after the manner that Runnet
congeals Milk when they make Cheese. Vipers, and all the Viperous
Brood, as Rattle-Snakes, _&c._ that are deadly, have I believe their
Poisonous Teeth Fistulous, for so I have observed that Vipers Teeth
are, and the Rattle-Snakes very remarkable, and therefore they kill so
very speedily by injecting the Poison through those Fistulous Teeth
into the very Mass of Blood; but the bite of Mad-Dogs is oft of long
continuance before it get into and corrupt the Mass of Blood, being
it sticks only to the out-sides of the Teeth, and therefore when they
bite thro' any thickness of Cloaths, it rarely proves Mortal, the
Cloaths wiping the Poison off before it come to the Flesh. A Girl that
was bit about _New-Years Day_, continued well till _Whitsontide_, when
coming to see certain Friends in our Parts, she fell very ill, and
being a Poor Girl, they came to me; it pleased God I recovered her.
Sometime after she returned to give me thanks for saving her Life,
being two Persons that were bit with the same Dog, were dead, whilst
she remained under Cure, and therefore she was the fullier convinc'd
she owed her life to me; but of this I shall give a more particular
Instance by and by. But the Poisons of Vipers seems to be like the
injecting of Liquors into the Veins of Creatures; Dr. _Moulin_ and I
made many Experiments of this Nature together, and I have made many
more by my self. We once, I remember, injected half a Dram of Allom
into the Jugalar-Vein of a Dog before the _Royal Society_, (the Allom
being only dissolved in a little Water) which within something less
than one Minutes time was so absolutely dead, as not to have the least
Convulsive Motion; and I have done the like with many other things
besides Allom, but with some things it is more curdled and broken, than
with others; and will differ much both as to colour and consistence.
Salt-Petre kills much as quickly as Allom, but then the Blood in the
Heart looks very florid, smooth, and even. I wish some Person of
Observation and Leisure would prosecute these sort of Experiments,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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