The fiction of the cup of rhinoceros horn, which caused all poisonous drink to effervesce and bubble over, is so firmly believed, that we have known a Cape trader offer to drink any poison we could give him out of such a cup; but we declined the experiment.
A preparation of the guaco plant is highly esteemed on the Spanish main as an antidote against bites of snakes of all kinds.
Acetic acid rubbed on the wound caused by the bite of scorpions or centipedes is very efficacious. In the absence of this, chewed tobacco is often made use of; but the natives are of opinion that the scorpion inflicting the wound crushed between two stones and laid on the injured part is a certain remedy, and, from what we have been enabled to learn from them on the subject, there seems to be some foundation for the belief.
Imaginary ailments of natives.
The imaginary ailments of natives are neither few nor far between; but it is not at all times wise to disregard them. We have known our followers come, night after night, with small sicknesses, when we had but a few doses of fever mixture left, and, by some chance or other, a little currie powder. Now, had we sent away a man with his “little sickness,” he would have been really ill next morning. We therefore looked as wise as possible, felt his pulse, looked at his tongue, read a paragraph or two, and sent him to boil some water and bring it to us; we then carefully measured out a spoonful of currie powder, mixed it, saw him drink it off, and sent him to make himself as warm as he could till next morning.
Horse Medicines and Farrier’s Stores.
If an expedition is about to be undertaken where the services of many horses or mules are required, a list of medicine stores should be furnished for them, which may be approximately as follows, the quantities being arranged for twenty animals for six months:—
- Raw linseed oil, 4 galls.
- Olive oil, 2 galls.
- Spirits of nitre, ether, 4lb.
- Nitrate of potash, 6lb.
- Barbadoes aloes, 2lb.
- Potassio tartrate of antimony, 1lb.
- Camphor, 1lb.
- Ginger, in powder, 6lb.
- Palm oil, 6lb.
- Tincture of opium, 4lb.
- Spirits of ammonia, 4lb.
- Spirits of turpentine, 1 gall.
- Cantharides, in powder, 1lb.
- Lard, 6lb.
- Linseed meal, 8lb.
- Compound tincture of myrrh and aloes, 2lb.
- Calomel, 1oz.
- Nitrate of silver, ½oz.
- Sulphate of copper, 2lb.
- Alum, 2lb.
- Sugar of lead, 1lb.
- Sulphate of iron, 2lb.
- Powdered gentian, 4lb.
- Prepared chalk, 6lb.
- Stockholm tar, 10lb.
- Tow, 6lb.
Old flannel and sheeting for bandages, two or three sponges, a packet of pins, a hank of fine twine, six pieces of coarse tape, a pestle and mortar, set of scales and weights, palate knife, graduated measure, a quire of whitey-brown paper, two pairs of scissors, one straight and the other curved; a drenching-horn, phleam, lancet (horse size), glyster syringe (quart size), and blood can. Hoof picker, searcher, drawing knife, buffer, pincers, shoeing hammer, hoof rasp, and set of hobbles. The use of these matters will be treated on under the head of “[Veterinary Surgery].”