AN
ACCOUNT
OF THE MOST EFFECTUAL MEANS OF
PREVENTING THE
DELETERIOUS CONSEQUENCES
OF THE BITE OF THE
CROTALUS HORRIDUS,
OR
RATTLE-SNAKE.
By BENJAMIN SMITH BARTON, M. D.
PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY AND BOTANY IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, &c. &c.
EXTRACTED FROM THE THIRD VOLUME OF THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, HELD AT PHILADELPHIA, FOR
PROMOTING USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.
PHILADELPHIA:
PRINTED BY R. AITKEN & SON, MARKET-STREET.
M.DCC.XCH.






An account of the most effectual means of preventing the de-
leterious consequences of the bite of the CROTALUS HOR-
RIDUS*, or RATTLE-SNAKE. By BENJAMIN SMITH
BARTON, M.D.
Read Aug. 19, 1791. DURING my passage through several of
the western settlements of Pennsylvania, and
the adjoining States, in the year 1785, I made it an ob-
ject of attention to acquire every possible information re-
specting the effects of the poison of the RATTLE-SNAKE,
and the methods of prevention, or of cure, which are com-
monly employed in those parts of our country. A very
considerable number of vegetables were either mentioned,
or shown, to me, all of which, I was assured, were good.
for the bites of Snakes. Without being much of the skep-
tick
* I think it proper to confine my remarks to this species of RATTLE-SNAKE, because it is
that with which I am best acquainted ; because it is the most common species in those parts of
our country which are best known to me, and because I believe it is the most deleterious spe-
cies that has yet been discovered within the limits of the United-States. I have little doubt,
however, that the plan which I have recommended, and the remarks which I have made,
will equally apply to the Crotalusa miliarius, the Crotalus Durissus and the other species of this
formidable family of serpents which are described by Linnæus, and by other writers.


( 5 )
tick in medical matters, I might have doubted either the
veracity of my informers, or the accuracy with which
their experiments and observations were made. It, cer-
tainly, did not require a very extensive acquaintance with
botanical or with medical science to discover, that these
reputed specificks were frequently possessed of proporties
the most opposite; and, consequently, that the effects of
the poison of our venemous serpents, which are so uni-
form in their appearance, were capable of being obviated
or removed, by a number of vegetables, perhaps no less
different in their influence on animal bodies than they are
in family, and in species. I might have doubted, for a
moment, whether the activity of these poisons was so
great, and the effects of their operation so dangerous and
so fatal, as has been generally imagined. I was not ig-
norant that in the seasons of supervening languor and tor-
pidity the RATTLE-SNAKE, in particular, bites with seem-
ing reluctance, and without any, or with but little, ill con-
sequence arising from the wound. I, likewise, well knew,
that even in those seasons when the sun powerfully exerts
its influence, at which times these animals are best quali-
fied to strike and to injure, individuals of the species must
often be found, the cavities of whose venemous fangs are
entirely, or nearly, destitute of their active poison, from
the introduction of which into the body, those alarming
symptoms, which characterise the successful bite of this
animal arise†. I could imagine that, in some instances, the
poison
† Several years since, a gentlemen made the following experiments in Philadelphia.  He
had a large RATTLE-SNAKE brought to him alive, which he so managed by a string that he
could easily lead it into, or out of, a close cage. On the first day, he suffered this Snake to bite
a chicken, which had been allured to the mouth of the cage by crumbs of bread. In a few
hours, the bird " mortified" and died. On the second day, another chicken was bitten in the
same manner, and survived the injury much longer than the first. On the third day, the ex-
periment was made upon a third chicken, which swelled much, but, nevertheless, recovered.
On the fourth day, several chickens were suffered to be bitten, without receiving any injury.
After this, it is said, the Snake grew larger and fatter. M. S. by my father, penes me. The
truth of these experiments seems to be confirmed by the original and very well-written ac-
count of the second volume of the Count de la Cepede's Histoirenaturelle des Serpens, &c. pub-
lished


( 6 )
poison might be thrown into ligamentous or tendinous mat-
ter, from which there would be little probability of an
absorption into the mass of blood. These last mentioned
circumstances enabled me to understand how, in some in-
stances at least, the internal use of the various vegetables
which were employed, might have led my informers to sup-
pose that those vegetables had accomplished a cure.
Upon examining the subject more minutely, I found
that although the principal dependance seemed to be placed
on the internal use of vegetables, yet the employment of ex-
ternal means was evidently the most important part, both
of the prevention and of the cure. In general, the first
thing that was attended to, after a person had been bitten
by the RATTLE-SNAKE, was to throw a tight ligature a-
bove the part into which the poison had been introduced :
at least, this was the practice whenever the situation of the
wounded part admitted of such an application The
wound was next scarified, and a mixture of salt and gun-
powder, sometimes either of these articles separately, was
laid upon the part. Over the whole was applied a piece
of the bark of the White-Walnut*. At the same time,
some one, frequently more than one, of the vegetables
which were mentioned to me, were given internally, ei-
ther in decoction, or infusion, along with large quanti-
ties of milk.
Such is the rude and simple practice of our western set-
tlers for preventing, or for curing, the dangerous effects
of the bite of the RATTLE-SNAKE. They likewise ex-
tend this practice to the bites of several other kinds of ser-
pents, the history of which will form the subject of a me-
moir,
lished in the Appendix to the second volume of the monthly review enlarged : see page 511. The simple
experiments which I have just related deserved to be attended to. They enable us to assign a
reason why persons who have actually been bitten by the RATTLE-SNAKE have sometimes ex-
perienced very inconsiderable, or no bad, consequence from the wound: they enable us to
discover in what manner many vegetables have acquired a reputation for curing the bites of
serpents, without our recurring to the very disagreeable necessity of arraigning the veracity of
those from whom our information is derived : and, lastly, they teach us a physiological fact,
that the poison of the RATTLE-SNAKE is very slowly.
* The Juglans alba of Linnæus.


( 7 )
moir, which I hope to lay before the Society, some time in
the course of the ensuing year. At present, I shall only
remark that there is reason to believe, the practice which
I have described has often been employed for the bites of
serpents which do not belong to our venemous tribes. This I
know to be the case with respect to our Wampum-Snake, the
Coluber sasciatus of Linnæus: for, a careful examination of
this serpent and a curious inquiry into its history, have
convinced me that its bite, like that of many other species of
the extensive genus of Coluber, is really harmless. It
would be uncandid not to observe that Mr. Catesby, who
has given a description and a good figure of the Wampum-
Snake, in his Natural History of Carolina, &c .* was of the
same opinion long before me. I may also remark that
Linnæus, in his Systema Naturæ†, has not annexed to the
Coluber fasciatus that mark by which he designates the ser-
pents which he supposed to be venemous. But the Swedish
naturalist does not seem to have been certain that
his Coluber is that described and figured by Catesby,
under the name of the  Wampum-Snake. From comparing,
however, the animal itself with the descriptions of Catesby
and Linnæus, I am confident that the Wampum-Snake of
Pennsylvania, Carolina, &c. is no other than the Coluber
fasciatus of the System of Nature.
But to return from what is rather a digression. In the
simple practice which I have described, I am disposed to
repose great confidence. Nor can I have any doubt that
the beneficial effects which have been experienced under
the employment of the multifarious means I have menti-
oned, are to be attributed principally to the use of the li-
gature, to the scarification of the wounded part, the appli-
cation of the salt, the gunpowder and the blister. I shall
not deny that some of the vegetables which were exhibit-
ed.
* See Volume 2d, p. 58 and t. 58.
† See Volume 1st, p. 378. Vienna edition of 1767.


( 8 )
ed internally may be of use. Such, perhaps, are the vari-
ous decoctions which are made of the more stimulating vege-
tables, the infusions and expressed juices of vegetables, ac-
companied with the use of large draughts of warm water,
the steam-bath, &c. These, by exciting a most profuse
perspiration, may contribute to the discharge of the poi-
son from the mass of blood. Some of them act powerful-
ly as diuretics, and in this way may also be of service.
The Indians in the State of Jersey, I have been informed,
formerly made use of the expressed juice of the leaves of
the common Garden-Rue * as a remedy for the bite of the
RATTLE-SNAKE. It is well known that this vegetable
possesses very active powers, and in the large doses in
which the Indians prescribed it, it excited a most violent
sweat. They gave to an adult, about two table-spoons
full of the juice every two hours, until this effect was pro-
duced. I think, there can be little doubt, that it has been
of considerable service.
It deserves, however, to be mentioned, in this place,
that during the use of the Rue, and even before this vege-
table was administered, external means were employed, the
principal of which was the application of the ligature.
We see, therefore, that without a knowledge of the
name, much less of the structure and office, of the absor-
bent-system, the rude savages of our continent, from whom
it is probable the white inhabitants derived their experi-
ence on the subject, had learned the propriety of applying
a ligature, in order to prevent the farther introduction of
the poison into the body. From the nature of the savage
life, man in this state of his political existence is more lia-
ble to be injured by the bites of serpents than in the more
polished stages of his improvement. It is fortunate, there-
fore, that even among some of the rudest nations of men,
the mode of treating the bites of these animals is so rational.
If
* Ruta graveolens, Lin.


( 9 )
If, along with the ligature and the application of different
stimulants to the wounded part, they make use of various
internal  means, many  of which are probably impotent,
and some of them, perhaps, pernicious, let us remember
that even among the most polished nations, where medi-
cine is cultivated as a science, physicians are accustomed
to administer many articles whose effect on the system are
known to be inconsiderable or useless.
The salt and gunpowder applied to the scarified part
act powerfully by exciting a discharge of blood, and par-
ticularly of the serous part, from the wound ; whilst the
bark of the White-Walnut, already mentioned, which pos-
sesses the evacuant power of cantharides, in no inconsidera-
ble degree, contributes to the farther discharge of this serum,
and along with it the poison thrown in by the animal.
I do not know that any vegetable substance besides the
bark of the White-Walnut is ever employed in these cases
as a blister. I know, indeed, that both the Indians and the
white inhabitants of this country are acquainted with the
blistering property of other indigenous vegetables: such are
the Common-Wintergreen (Pyrola rotundisolia, Lin.), some
species of the genus Ranunculus, or Crow-foot, &c. In
some parts of Pennsylvania, the roots of the first of these
plants are pounded, and then applied to parts where it is
required to raise a blister. The roots of this Pyrola are,
however, principally used in rheumatick affections, and I
have never heard of their being employed in cases of the
bites of venemous serpents. I have heard of one instance
in which a blister of cantharides was applied to the wound
occasioned by a RATTLE-SNAKE, and was attended with
the best effect*.
If the method of treating the bite of the RATTLE-
SNAKE which I have described, is ever of service, it
O is
* Since I wrote the above, I have read, with no small degree of pleasure, that the bark of
the Daphne Mezereuvm of Linnæus (the Common-Mezereon, or Spurge-Olive) has been applied to the
wound


( 10 )
is obvious that no time should be lost in the employment
of the means that have been mentioned, or of some means
of a similar nature. In those cases where the poison is ap-
plied near to the orifice of an absorbing-vessel we have rea-
son to suppose that it will be conveyed into the mass of
blood with great celerity. The mildest fluids pass along
the lymphatick-vessels with rapidity, but when these vessels
are exposed to the influence of cold, or when they are sti-
mulated by poisons of any kind, their propelling action is
greatly encreased. Even, however, after we are convinc-
ed that a portion of the poison has been absorbed, we
ought not, I think, to omit the use of the ligature, and of
some of the other means which have been mentioned.
As poisons of various kinds in their passage through the
lymphatick-vessels are liable to be detained, for some time,
in the glandular appendages of this system, it would,
perhaps, be of use to scarify these parts, and to apply a
blister to them, in order to promote the discharge of the
poison. Let us suppose, for instance, that the poison of
the RATTLE-SNAKE is thrown into the sole, or end, of the
foot close to the mouths of a number of lymphatick-vessels.
In most cases, the stimulant effects of this singular fluid
are observed to take place in a few minutes. The lympha-
ticks partake of the inflammation which is excited : the poi-
son is quickly propelled along them, but its passage into
the blood-vessels is somewhat retarded by the conglobate-
glands
wound occasioned by the bite of a poisonous serpent, and that the  application was attended
with the happiest effects. See the Flora Suecica of Linnæus, p. 128. It has also been lately
recommended, and its beneficial effects have been experienced, in the same case, and in the
bite of the mad-dog. See what Acrel has said on the subject in the Vet. Acad. Handl. for
the year 1778, p. 104. All the species of the genus Daphne, with which the botanists are ac-
quainted, are indued with the same property. The bark when chewed strongly stimulates
the mouth and sauces, exciting a considerable degree of heat : when applied externally to the
skin, it produces a blister and a considerable discharge of serous matter. Its good effects in
the instances just mentioned, are, therefore, I presume, to be referred to this stimulating pro-
perty. The bark of the White-Walnut, as I have already observed, acts in the same way, though
not so readily, or so powerfully. The Mezereon or the cantharides, perhaps more especially
the Daphne Gnidium, would, I imagine, be very properly substituted for it.


( 11 )
glands, which form an essential part of the absorbent-sys-
tem in man. In a short time, however, if the ligature
has not been very early and very carefully applied, the
glands of the groin are observed to swell, and inflame. In
this state of the complaint, I would advise an extensive
scarification of these glands, and the application of some
powerful blister, the effects of which, at the same time,
are very suddenly exerted. I know of no article of the
materia medica so likely to answer both these intentions as
the Ecorce de Garou of the French, the bark of the Daphne
Gnidium, which I have already mentioned.
It often happens that the poison of the RATTLE-SNAKE,
like that of the mad-dog, being merely thrown into mus-
cular, tendinous, ligamentous or cellular parts, is depo-
sited there some time without being absorbed into the mass
of blood. In these cases the success of the plan which I
have described will, probably, be very great. Whatever
preference may be given to the use of the knife, or of the
caustick over that of scarification, the application of the blist-
er, &c. I think, there can be very little doubt of the pro-
priety of employing the ligature. I am convinced, indeed,
that on the use of this simple application, the success of
our cure, or to speak more properly of our prevention
will, in a great measure, depend.
Hitherto, I  have  proceeded on the supposition, that
the poison of the RATTLE-SNAKE is conveyed into the
blood-vessels through the medium of the absorbent-lym-
phaticks. But, unfortunately, cases sometimes occur in
which this active matter is thrown immediately into a
vein or artery. When this happens, the effects of the
poison will be the more readily propagated to the remotest
parts of the system ; and the powers of medicine will then
be found to be less considerable. I have received an ac-
count of the case of a person who, whilst he was reposing
himself under a tree in a wood, was bit in the neck by a RAT-
O 2  TLE-


( 12 )
TLE-SNAKE: remedies were immediately applied ; but to no
purpose, for the unhappy sufferer expired in a few minutes.
This very sudden operation of the poison will not excite
much wonder, when we consider the proximity of the
wound in this case to the source of circulation. For al-
though experiments are wanted to demonstrate the precise
action of the poison of the RATTLE-SNAKE on the human
and other animal systems, we are already in possession of
facts which warrant us to conclude, that it exerts its prin-
cipal effects on the sanguiserous system, and, as I believe,
immediately on the blood itself. In what manner it affects
this important fluid I am unable to decide with certainty.
That it induces a preternatural tenuity of it cannot, I
think, be doubted.
But whatever may be the particular operation of the
poison of which I am speaking, we are certain that the
introduction of the smallest portion of it into a blood-
vessel is generally attended with the most serious conse-
quences. Mr. Catesby says that, " where a Rattle-Snake
" with full force penetrates with his deadly fangs, and
" pricks a vein or artery, inevitable death ensues ; and
" that, as I have often seen, in less than two minutes.
" The Indians," he continues, " know their destiny the
" minute they are bit ; and, when they perceive it mortal,
" apply no remedy, concluding all efforts in vain*.” Mr.
Catesby is frequently very accurate in relating facts, and
in making observations. What he has here said respec-
ting the fatal consequences of the immediate introduction
of the poison into the blood-vessels perfectly corresponds
with the information which I have received from a variety
of sources. I am unwilling, however, to believe that, in
every case, such an introduction is necessarily mortal. I
cannot but suppose that of the many cases of the bites of
the
* The Natural History of Carolina, &c. vol. 2, p. 41.


( 13 )
the RATTLE-SNAKE which so frequently occur in the less
inhabited parts of our country, the number of those in
which the poison has been immediately applied to a blood-
vessel cannot be inconsiderable. And yet, at present, how
seldom does the bite of this animal prove mortal! What-
ever may be the event of this opinion, I think we ought
not to neglect the application of the ligature, &c. even
after we are confident the poison has been thrown into a
blood-vessel. Perhaps, in this case, the Rue, or some
other powerful sudorifick, may be of service. How far the
use of milk, &c, will tend to the recovery of our patient,
I cannot decide with confidence. I confess, however, I
should be unwilling to place much hopes in the admini-
stration of this fluid, although the practice is very gene-
rally adopted in most of our new settlements.
I have now described the modes of peventing the dan-
gerous consequences of the bite of the RATTLE-SNAKE,
as they are practised in various parts of our country. At
the same time, I have ventured to throw out some conjec-
tures of my own, which I thought would not be impro-
per, nor altogether unacceptable. As my object in present-
ing this paper to the Philosophical Society is more utility
than curiosity, I have avoided mentioning several other
means which are daily employed for the same purpose,
both in the countries to the East and in those to the West
of our mountains. I cannot, however, help observing
that sucking of the wounded part, is very generally prac-
tised by the Creeks, and some other native tribes in the
southern parts of our States, &c. as I have been inform-
ed by my ingenious and worthy friend Mr. William Bar-
tram, who received his information from the traders a-
mong these people. It appears from Mr. Catesby's elegant
work, which I have already quoted, that some of these
tribes have learned the importance of cutting out the wound-
ed


( 14 )
ed  part,  when, from the situation of the  bite, this can
be done*.
When the poison of the RATTLE-SNAKE has actually
been introduced into the general mass of blood, it begins
to exert its most alarming and characteristick effects. A con-
siderable degree of nausea is a very early symptom †. We
now discover an evident alteration in the pulse : it be-
comes full, strong, and greatly agitated. The whole body
begins to swell : the eyes become so entirely suffused, that
it is difficult to discover the smallest portion of the adnata
that is not painted with blood. In many instances, there
is an hemorrhagy of blood from the eyes, and likewise
from the nose and ears : and so great is the change in-
duced in the mass of blood, that large quantities of it are
sometimes thrown out on the surface of the body, in the
form, of sweat. The teeth vacillate in their sockets, whilst
the pains and groans of the unhappy sufferer too plainly
inform us that the extinction of life is near at hand.
In this stage of its action, and even before it has indu-
ced the most alarming of the symptoms which I have men-
tioned, the powers of medicines can do little to check the
rapid and violent progress of this poison. The employ-
ment of the ligature, the use of the blister, and of the o-
ther modes of treatment which I recommended in the lo-
cal stage, it is obvious to remark, will be of very little, if
any, benefit here. When there is no hemorrhagy, how-
ever,
* See vol. 2, p. 41. Mr. Catesby also makes mention of the practice of sucking the wound,
which, he says, " in a slight bite, has sometimes a good effect ; tho' the recovered person
" never fails of having annual pains at the time they were bit.". Vol. 2. p. 41. The Abbé
Clavigero says, the most effectual remedy for the bite of the RATTLE-SNAKE, " is thought to be
" the holding of the wounded part sometime in the earth." The History of Mexico, &c. vol. 1st,
p. 59, English Translation.
† It is remarkable that a nausea, and sometimes a vomiting, is induced in many cases in a
few minutes after the poison has been thrown into a muscular part, and long before it can
possibly have entered the blood-vessels, through the medium of the absorbent-lymphaticks; or, ad-
mitting that it has been introduced directly into a blood-vessel, before this active poison can
have effected in the general mass any charge whatever. Does not this very sudden appearance
of the nausea and vomiting seem to render it probable that the poison of the RATTLE-SNAKE
exerts considerable effects on the nervous matter of animals?


( 15 )
ever, and when the symptoms of a violent action of the
heart and arteries take place, mercy may, perhaps, dic-
tate to us the use of the lancet, with the view to mode-
rate this action. I say nothing of the employment of the
other parts of what is called by physicians the antiphlogis-
tick treatment, as the condition of the unhappy sufferer
will, in most cases, preclude the possibility of it.
I should have been glad to have annexed to this imper-
fed paper, a more accurate account of the effects of the
poison of the RATTLE-SNAKE, on the system of man and
other animals, and, likewise, an analysis of this singular
fluid. The subject is, certainly, a curious one, and one
the minute investigation of which would, probably, throw
some lights on the physiology of animals, whilst it would,
no doubt, ultimately tend to the establishment of a more
certain mode of treating the bite of one of the most formi-
dable serpents that has hitherto been discovered in North-
America. But such an investigation would require much
time and patience, and, perhaps, I may add, a portion of
fortitude. Fully impressed with a sense of the richness of
the field, I mean to undertake the inquiry. Meanwhile,
I shall just observe that the poison of the RATTLE-SNAKE
is generally of a yellowish, somewhat greenish, colour, and
that it changes to a darker hue with the heat of our seasons.
During the period of the animal's amours, the poison is
observed to be of a much darker green than at any other
time, and it is certain that it is now also of a much more active
and deleterious nature. Whether this increase of activity
depends on the procreative passion of the animal, or whether
it is not merely a consequence of the heat of the season, I
shall not decide, at present.
From the facts and observations which I have submitted
to the Society, it appears that, in many cases, the pre-
vention of the deleterious effects of the poison of the
RATTLE-SNAKE, may be accomplished by means which
are


( 16 )
are simple, and within the reach of almost every person.
To this subject anxiously wish to turn the attention of
physicians and of physiologists; because the analogies
which subsist between the effects of this poison and those of
some other animals, both of the same and of different fami-
lies, are numerous and striking. It is highly probable,
therefore, that our researches into this subject, would con-
duct us to the knowledge of means whereby we might
sometimes, perhaps not unfrequently, be enabled to pre-
vent the consequences of the bite of the mad-dog, &c.
Our success in one case ought, at least, to stimulate us to
make the experiment in another. Let us not, any longer,
look for absolute specificks. Let us be content that, in the ful-
nes of her benevolence, nature, ever attentive to our welfare,
has enriched her series of animals, of vegetables, and of
minerals, with beings, with objects, and with means,
which man, in every stage of his improvement, is in-
structed to employ for preventing, for alleviating, or for
curing at least some of those infirmities the whole of which
constitute, as it were, a part of his essence, or nature. The
rage for specificks is, indeed, nearly at an end. I exceed-
ingly regret, however, that it is still, in some measure,
supported by the botanists, who cultivate an useful and
an amiable branch of natural knowledge. Thus, the
Flora of almost every country, and even of a narrow dis-
trict, or of the suburbs of a city, is too frequently crowded
with the most unqualified recommendations of certain ve-
getables in different diseases. But the partiality of the
botanists for remedies for the bites of poisonous serpents
appears to be peculiarly striking. Perhaps, this partiality
may be placed among those errors which disgrace even the
primordia of medicine. It is certain, that we very easily
trace it to a state of society of which credulity, superstition,
and ignorance are the most prominent and distinctive fea-
tures,
Of


( 17 )
Of the many travellers who have visited the countries
of North-America, there are very few, indeed, who have
not recorded in their journals at least one or two specificks
against the bites of serpents. M. le Page du Pratz, who,
in some respects, is a judicious writer, seriously informs
us that the RATTLE-SNAKE " shuns the habitations of
" men, and by a singular providence, wherever it retires
" to, there the herb which cures its bite, is likewise to be
" found *." Had this gentleman observed that wherever
the animal, of which we are speaking, retires, we find
vegetables which the full credulity of the Americans has
led them to imagine are antidotes to its bite, he would not
have exposed himself to the imputation of credulity with
those who are more intimately acquainted with the works
of nature, or with the powers of medicines. But the
truth is, that there is no branch of natural history in the
investigation of which even men of science have more pro-
minently discovered their ignorance and weakness than in
that of the serpents. Here, even a Linnæus, forgetting
the cautious dignity which became the character of him
who was destined to reform the science of nature, seriously
relates those tales which ought to have been confined to
the wigwaum of the savage, or to the cabin of the
most uninformed hunter.
To this account of what I deem to be the most effectual
means of preventing the deleterious conferences of the bite
of the CROTALUS HORRIDUS, or RATTLE-SNAKE, I
shall subjoin a catalogue of a number of vegetables which
have been recommended for the same purpose, either by
the Indians, or by the white inhabitants of our continent.
In enumerating these vegetables, I have thought it proper to
give both the Linnæan, or classical, and the English, or vul-
gar, names. Some of these reputed specificks are used inter-
nally, others are employed externally, whilst others, again,
are
* The History of Louisiana, &c. p. 269. English Translation.


( 18 )
are used both internally and externally. To such as are
used internally I have prefixed this mark † : to such as are
applied externally, I have prefixed the mark*: those which
are employed both internally and externally are designated
by both these marks, whilst to those of which I have not
learned, with certainty, the particular exhibition, I have
prefixed no mark whatever.
Sanguinaria canadensis (*Puccoon, Blood-root, Turmerick),
Hypoxia erecta († Erect-Hypoxis,Star of Bethlehem), Laurus
Sassafras (* Sassafras), Polygala Senega († * Seneca Snake-
root), Prenanthes alba († White Ivy-leaf Dr. Witt’s Snake-
root), Hieracium venosum († Veiny-Hawk-weed), Cuni-
la mariana († Dittany, Wild-Basil) Collinsonia canadensis
( † Horse-weed, Knot-root), Hydrophyllum canadense (†
Scaly-root), Ribes nigrum († Black-Currant), Eryngium
foetidum ( † Fetid-Eryngo), Arctium  Lappa ( * Burdock),
Uvularia persoliata ( * Persoliate-U vularia), Aletris sari-
nosa (Star-grass, Star-root), Asarum—virginicum? (Heart
Snake-roots), Marrubium vulgare († White-Horehound),
Scorzonera hispanica (Garden Vipers-grass), Solidago (*†
Golden-rod. Different species are used.), Aristolochia Serpen-
taria († Virginian Snake-root), Iuglans (* White-
Walnut, Butter-nut), Cynoglossum virginicum ( † Virgi-
nian Hounds-tongue), Convolvulus-arvensis? (* Least-
Bindweed) Actæa racemosa ( † American Bane-berry, Black
Snake-root, Rattle-weed), Sanicula canadensis († Canadi-
an Sanicle), Veratrum luteum (Rattle-Snake-root), Erige-
ron—philadelphicum? († * Robin's Plantain) Lirioden-
dron Tulipisera († Tulip-tree, Poplar §), Crocus sativus
( † Common-
§ Among the Cheerake, and probably among other American tribes, the inner bark of this
tree, after being bruised, is infused in water, and the infufron given to horses which have been
bitten by the RATTLE-SNAKE. It is not improbable that this medicine may sometimes be of
active powers, as a stimulant and sudorifick. I have never heard that this bark has been em-
ployed for the bite of the RATTLE-SNAKE in man.


( 19 )
(t Common-Saffron), Fraxinus—(† White-Ash) Chry-
santhemum ? ( St. Anthony’s cross) Convallaria ( † Solo-
mon's seal. Different species are used.), Ulmus—America-
na? (* †? American Elm) Osmunda virginiana (Virgini-
an Osmunda, Fern-Rattle-Snake-root), Jussiæa ?—( * †
Wood-Plantain,Rattle-Snake-Plantain) Hieracium Kalmii
( * † Rattle-Snake-Plantain, Poor-Robin's Plantain).