A 
SUPPLEMENT 
TO 
Physical Enquiries, 
LATELY PUBLISHED: 
In a LETTER to the 
RIGHT HONOURABLE 
WILLIAM PULTENEY, Esq; 
Judge we by Nature: Habits can efface,
Int'rest o'ercome, or Policy take Place, 
POPE. 
By JOHN TENNENT, M.D. 
LONDON: 
Printed by T. GARDNER, near Temple Bar, and 
sold by Andrew Millar, Bookseller, opposite St. 
Clement's Church in the Strand, and John Millan, 
near Wills's Coffee House, Charing Cross.
MDCC XLII.



A 
SUPPLEMENT, &c. 
TO THE
RIGHT HONOURABLE 
WILLIAM PULTENEY, Esq; 
SIR,
WHEN I presumed to dedicate to 
you my Physical Enquiries, my sole 
View was to obtain your Authority and 
Countenance to recommend them to the World, 
according as you found them connected with 
the Public Good and the Honour of Literature;
and I endeavoured to put my Arguments in 
such a Light, as to be understood by every 
one of good Sense, tho’ not conversant with 
Physical Subjects, and I am well persuaded 
that no unprejudiced Person will dispute 
their Validity. 
I heartily with that there never had been 
such a melancholy Occasion, so to treat the 
Opinion and Advice of the College of Physi- 
cians; for tho’ my Conduct on that account 
may meet with Approbation from Men of 
B Worth

2 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
Worth, yet the Reflections that naturally arise
in my Mind on the loss of so many Lives 
which might have been saved, damp in a 
great measure that Pleasure consequent to ob- 
taining so valuable a Point; and besides, it is 
my natural Aversion to have Differences sub- 
sisting with any Man. 
But, Sir, where a Cause is of a public na- 
ture, I humbly conceive that all Thoughts of 
a good Understanding are to be shaken off 
with those who are Enemies to it, whether 
from Self-Interest, Envy, Prejudice of Edu- 
cation, or other Reasons; and on the other 
hand, a Friendship ought to commence so 
soon as these Enemies perfectly change their 
Measures. 
Hence I was led to declare openly against 
those of my own Profession, and rather than 
quit the pursuit of my Design, which I flatter 
myself will be esteem’d by’after Ages and greatly 
serve the World, tho’ it may be stifled for a time, 
I preferred suffering the effects of the Resent- 
ment of some of the principal Physicians in Lon-
don; for the Cause I have emharqued in is sup- 
ported with the solid Foundation of Truth, to 
serve Mankind in a Point of near concern, which 
may be done to a great degree if they will not 
suffer themselves to be blindly led into Enmi- 
ty against a well-meaning Friend by their real 
Enemies,

Physical Enquiries. 
3 
Enemies, under the Masque of Friendship to 
disguise their Self-interested Purposes. 
As these are daily instances of diversity of 
Constructions put on a Conduct which is out 
of the common Road, proceeding from a 
Spirit of Envy and Detraction that is epide- 
mic in the World, and which infringes 
upon the Principles of Honour and Equity 
with many; and as the fairest Cause is very 
often cruelly misrepresented, and things quite 
foreign are blended with it, whether true or 
false, to elude its real worth and due claim; 
I think it absolutely necessary to disclose to 
you the primary Sources of the Hardships I am 
drawn into, by a true State of my Public Ser- 
vice done to his Majesty’s Plantations in 
America, and how the learned Physicians in 
London have behaved therein. 
The British Colonies in America are Year- 
ly attacked with an Epidemic Disease, which 
before the Discovery and Publication, as far- 
ther appears, was so mortal, that in a Coun- 
ty consisting of eight or nine hundred Peo- 
ple, one fourth part were cut off in the course 
of the Season when it invades, which is from 
October to April, and some Years to May; 
every Year it was not quite so mortal, yet gene- 
ally speaking this was the havock it made. 
This Disease appears under different Symp- 
toms according to the State of the human 
B2 Body

4 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
Body and Climate, antecedent to and present 
at its Invasion, which occasioned many 
Notions concerning its Nature and Cause, a- 
mong the numerous Practitioners of Physic 
in Virginia; and according to their various 
Opinions, so were their Methods of Cure, but 
the Success with all much alike, being the Loss 
of about two Thirds of their Patients. 
The Inhabitants improperly stile this 
Disease a Pleurisy; for tho’ it is analagous to 
a Pleurisy, it cannot strictly fall under that 
Denomination, being as much a Peripneu- 
mony. By all the Accounts I have been able 
to collect, it appears to be nearly related to 
that Disease in Turkey called the Plague; 
and when the Latitudes of Turkey, and other 
Circumstances on which Diseases in all Pro- 
bability depend, are compared with those of 
America, there appears a great Equality, and 
consequently there is Reason to think that 
the annual Epidemic Disease of America, and 
the Plague in Turkey, are analogous. 
The Observations I had made upon the 
Dispensations of Providence, induced me to 
believe that all Countries were provided with 
Remedies for their Diseases, and to bend my 
Searches after a Cure for this mortal Disease, 
as well as others of America; and I found 
that there grew a Plant plentifully through- 
out the Continent, call’d Rattle-Snake Root,
which

Physical Enquiries. 
5 
which if taken immediately after the Rattle- 
Snake's Bite, prevents Death, which follows 
often in fifteen Minutes, sometimes much 
sooner, and in some Cases the Patient may 
live two or three Days: The Reasons of these 
Differences in the Time of Death are various, 
such as the Season of the Year, Constitution 
of the Patient, and the Part bit. 
They that travel, or hunt, in the Woods, 
carry this Root powdered in their Shot-Bags, 
to chew and swallow so soon as they are bit 
by that Snake, the Blood’s Stagnation being 
prevented by its peculiar Activity. 
A Nation of Northern Indians, called the 
Senekkas, were the Discoverers of the Efficacy 
of the Root of this Plant, who observing that 
the Root and Flowers resembled the Rattles 
of the Snake, concluded that Providence had 
impressed that Characterstic to point out its Use. 
And though, this is the Philosophy of An- 
tiquity, and inconsistent with the modern 
System, yet in this Case a great Purpose was 
answered by it; though it must: be confessed 
that it is not a sure way of deducing the Effi- 
cacy of Vegetables*. 
This Root from that Nation of Indians, is 
stiled Senekka Rattle-Snake Root, as the cer-
B3 tain
* In this however is seen, with glaring Evidence, that 
there is an innate Idea in every rational Mind of the Exis 
tence and Goodness of the supreme Being of the Universe.

6 
SUPPLEMENT to 
tain Root to prevent Death following the 
Bite of that most venemous Viper, those other 
Plants being much inferior in Efficacy, and 
often fail in saving Life in that Case. 
These Indians returning from a War with 
a Southern Nation of Indians called the Ca- 
tawbaes, in the Year 1712, communicated 
the Efficacy of this Root to one William 
Caniko, a Planter in the Frontiers of Virgi- 
nia, which he imparted to, the Country about 
him, and so was soon known throughout 
America. And tho’ the Efficacy of the 
Root of this Plant was familiarly known for 
many Years, in the Case of the Rattle Snake's 
Bite, yet no Inference was drawn from that 
remarkable Phænomenon: My Reasoning
there upon was as follows: 
It is obvious in all Nature’s Operations that 
a multiplicity of Effects are produced from 
Causes of a small Number and simple Nature; 
whence appears the Power, Wisdom, and 
Goodness of God, her great Author: Hence 
1 inferred that the Root of a Plant of such 
powerful Efficacy, as to prevent Death suc- 
ceeding the Blood’s Stagnation after a Rattle 
Snake's Bite, must answer other great Purposes: 
Qualis est Causa, talis est Effectus, All the 
difficulty which arose was, What other Pur-
poses

Physical Enquiries. 
7
poses would this Root answer? The Solution 
was made by the reasoning as follows: 
It is a Maxim in Physic, that Nature acts 
by the most simple means: It is well known 
that a Stagnation of the Blood is the ultimate 
effect of those Diseases which terminate in 
Death; and it is also well known, that many 
Diseases proceed from a Tendency to a Stag- 
nation, or a Viscidity in the Blood: For, if 
Diseases did not proceed from such a state of 
the Blood, they could not terminate therein: 
Qualis est Effectus, talis est Causa. 
Now from Nature’s Simplicity in Operati- 
on, Stagnations, or Viscidities of the Blood, must 
be analogous; consequently that Stagnation, 
or Viscidity of the Blood, which is the Cause 
of several Diseases, may have some Analogy 
to that Stagnation produced from the Rattle 
Snake's Venom, which is the Cause of Death: 
And the nearer the Analogy is, the better will 
the Rattle-Snake Root answer the Cure of the 
Disease. 
And tho’ a Stagnation, or Viscidity of the 
Blood, may be produced from different Causes, 
such as the Rattle Snake's Venom, an Obstruc-
tion of Perspiration, a Laxity, or great Tensity 
of the Solids; yet there may be a very near 
relation between the States of Stagnation and 
Viscidity of the Blood, tho' produced from 
B4 Causes

8 
A SUPPLEMENT to
Causes so different; for different Causes will 
produce like Effects, under several Circumstan- 
ces of Nature; add to this, Nature's Simplicity 
in Operation. 
These Arguments are sufficient to shew 
that this Root must be very powerful, in seve- 
ral Modes of Viscidity and Coagulation in the 
Blood: And the Arguments which enabled 
me to deduce its Efficacy in particular Dis- 
eases, such as Pleuritic and Peripneumonic 
Fevers, &c. appear at large in Sect III. of 
my Dissertations soon to be published. 
After many Trials of the Efficacy of this 
Root, from December 10, 1734, when I 
made the first Trial*, I saw the great Service 
which would arise to Mankind in general, 
particularly those of America, to publish
speedily and in the most open manner so use- 
full a Discovery; therefore in August 1736, 
I had a brief Essay on the Pleurisy printed, 
setting forth plain and easy Directions how to 
administer it in that Epidemic Disease; and 
afterwards I published Directions in the 
Gazettee, still more plain, for I found that 
my Essay was not in Terms explicit enough 
to all the Public; by which means my Dis- 
covery and Directions were understood clear- 
ly, and communicated throughout America. 
And
* See Sect VIII. of my Physical Dissertations. Case 1.

Physical Enquiries. 
9 
And that as little Time as possible should 
be lost, in reaping so great a Benefit, I bought 
as much of the Root as cost me upwards of 
seventy Pounds, distributed a great part of it 
out of my own Hands gratis; for had I sold it, 
tho’ for no greater Price than I gave, such is 
the Bent of some Men’s Thoughts, as to give 
an ill-natured Construction to the best de- 
figned Actions. 
Thus to conduct myself, I apprehended, 
the Ties of Humanity and Christianity requi- 
red; for had I kept such a valuable Disco- 
very secret, till I had secured my private In- 
terest, by making Agreements with the 
Assemblies of the several American Colonies,
which would have required some Years, 
Thousands of Lives, which now are yearly 
saved, would have been lost: Indeed some 
Part of Virginia could have had this Medi- 
cine from me, but all that Colony could not, 
far less the neighbouring Colonies, whose Ex- 
tent from North to South is above a Thou- 
sand Miles. Therefore, what Man who 
had any Pretensions to Humanity, or Sym- 
pathy with the Miseries of his Fellow-Crea- 
tures, could have kept such a general Benefit 
secret, tho’ by doing so he would have made 
sure of a Sum of Money?
But

10 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
But by the Measures I observed, I had the 
Pleasure to see the most mortal and epidemic 
Disease of America reduced to such Certainty 
of Cure, that not above three or four Patients 
in one hundred died, and this public Service 
done with the Root of a Plant, which could 
be had either for gathering, or one Shilling 
per Pound. 
This I judged proper to communicate to 
the Physicians of the first Rank in London, 
and accordingly sent from Virginia thirty-six 
Copies of my Essay on the Pleurisy, for their 
Perusal, and Judgment on the Subject, to 
whom they were delivered. 
In the Year 1737, my Health being much 
impaired by means of the American Climate 
and great Fatigues, I resolved to go to my 
native Country, in order to recover my Health 
and Constitution, hurt by ten Years Resi- 
dence abroad; accordingly I furnished my- 
self with several Recommendations and Cre- 
dentials, embarked for London, June 26, and 
arrived the Beginning of August. 
Amongst my Credentials, I had Letters to 
the Right Hon. the Lord Ilay, Sir Hans Sloan, 
Bart. M.D. Richard Mead, M.D. and one 
from tbc Hon. William Gooch, Esq; Governor 
of Virginia, to Dr. Mead, and one to each 
of these three Persons from the Hon. William
Byrd,

Physical Enquiries. 
11 
Byrd, Esq; one of his Majesty’s Council; 
that to the Lord Ilay, as concerned in Af- 
fairs of the Government, that he might use his 
Interest to have Justice done me; and those 
to these two Physicians, as at the Head of the 
Republick of Learning in Physic, that they 
might be my Abettors with Persons of Influ- 
ence in the Government, for acting agreeable 
to the Honour of my Profession, and doing 
such a general Good. 
I cannot give a Copy of these Letters, but 
that a Judgment may be formed of their Im- 
port, shall give a Copy of a General Testimo- 
nial given by the Hon. Alexander Spotswood, 
Esq; who was Governor of Virginia twelve 
Years; which is as follows: 
THE Bearer, Doctor John Tennent, 
having, during the Course of his Prac- 
tice of Physic in Virginia, made a Discovery 
of a most valuable Benefit to this Country; and 
be having generously communicated the same 
to the Public, by his late printed Essay on the 
Pleurisy; I judge it incumbent upon all Men 
that know the Success which his Medicine has 
had in this Part of the World, to give their 
Testimony thereof, in order to satisfy the College 
of Physicians, or any other Persons, concerning 
the experienced Efficacy of the Rattle-Snake 
Root,

12 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
Root administred in a Pleurisy, according to the 
said Dr. Tennent's Prescription. Wherefore now 
upon his intended Voyage to Great-Britain, I give 
these to certify, that I have lately had the Ex- 
perience in my Family of the said Rattle- 
Snake Root curing some of my Negroes when 
affected with dangerous Pleurisies or violent
Colds; and that I have heard of several In- 
stances among my Neighbours and Tenants, 
when such Patients, after taking the Rattle- 
Snake Root, have been surprisingly relieved 
and recovered. 
Sic subscribitur. 
A. SPOTSWOOD.
Given under my Hand at Germanna, 
in Virginia, June 4, 1737. 
The Letters before-mentioned I delivered 
in a few Days after my Arrival, and then 
waited upon several Physicians of the first 
Rank, represented to them the experienced 
Efficacy of this Root in America, and endea- 
voured to convince them that it must answer 
great Purposes in the Cure of Diseases in 
Great Britain, which no Medicine in the 
Materia Medica could effect. 
These Measures were taken to introduce an 
efficacious Medicine in the learned and polite
World,

Physical Enquiries. 
13 
World, that the Physicians might improve 
it by their superior Genius, and recommend it 
by their Authority; that I might raise my 
Reputation, and consequently advance my 
Interest, consistent with the public Good, 
which should always share with private In- 
terest; and that in Case my Circumstances 
ever required Assistance by means of Inci- 
dents, to which human Affairs are subject, I 
would have a claim upon the Equity of the 
British Legislature,as well as the Assembly of 
Virginia, which would be corroborated by 
the Evidence of the Physicians in London. 
Thus was my Scheme formed for the public 
Good, and Honour of my Profession, exclu- 
sive of any collateral Views but what must re- 
sult from Equity in the most strict Sense: I 
never looked for a Reward, and was determi- 
ned not to accept of any, unless my Circum- 
stances became narrow, which could not rea- 
sonably be supposed ever to happen, because 
of the good Consequences that seemed natu- 
ral to my Measures. And from the Encou- 
ragement at first given me, I had no reason to 
suspect that I had embarked in a Chimerical 
Scheme: The Lord Ilay told me that I ought 
to be rewarded for such a public Service;
and Dr. Mead wrote an Answer to the Gover- 
nor of Virginia, a Copy of which follows:
Sir,

14 
A SUPPLEMENT to
SIR, 
I HAVE the Honour of yours, by the 
Hands of Mr.Tennent: It gives me very 
great Pleasure to find that he has done so much 
Service to Mankind, particularly those of your 
Country, by discovering the medicinal Virtues 
of the Rattle-Snake Root, which, as he in- 
forms, has not only been experienced effectual 
after the Bite of that terrible Creature, but 
also is a successful Medicine in that malignant 
Pleurisy which is very fatal, and in a manner 
epidemic in Virginia, and indeed in many other 
Parts of the West-Indies; I have frequently 
conversed with this Gentleman, and do really 
think him to he an ingenious and industrious 
Man, not only skillful in Surgery, but well im- 
proved in the Knowledge of Physic; I shall be 
very glad to do him what Service is in my 
Power, and it is really my Opinion that as no 
Discovery made for the Benefit of the Public 
ought to go without its Reward, so it would be 
very right immediately to give the Author of 
this such an handsome Encouragement, as 
might excite others to apply themselves in search
after the medicinal Virtues of those Plants,
which

Physical Enquiries. 
15
which the poor Natives, by long Practice,
have found to be serviceable in the Cure of many 
Diseases. 
I am, SIR, 
with very great Respect
Your most obedient 
and most humble Servant, 
Sic subscribitur. 
R. MEAD. 
By the following Testimonial (of which I 
have the Original in Dr. Mead’s Hand-wri- 
ting) it appears that I had also the Honour to 
be well thought of by two other Physicians 
at the Head of Physical Learning. 
“ We whose Names are underwritten do 
“ certify, that having conversed with Mr. John 
“ Tennent, and having enquired into his Cha- 
“ racter, of which he has good Testimonials 
“ from Gentlemen in Virginia, where he 
“ has lived and practised Physic for more 
“ than ten Years; we do think him well 
“ qualified for the Degree of a Doctor in 
“ Physic, and do therefore recommend
“ him

16 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
“ him to the Professors of the University of 
“ Edinburgh, that he may be admitted to 
“ that Degree. 
THO. PELLET, M.D. 
R. MEAD, M.D. 
JA. MONRO, M.D. 
Dr. Monro's Indisposition that was re- 
moved by the Senekka Rattle-Snake Root, 
seemed to be a favourable Incident to for- 
ward its Introduction in common Practice:
This Gentleman had laboured under a chro- 
nical Illness for many Months, tried divers 
Advices and Methods of Cure to no purpose,
and was recovered in less than one Month by 
my Prescription; which was, first the Decoc- 
tion, and next the Powder of this Root at 
stated times. The following is a Copy of 
his Letter to me when my Patient, the Ori- 
ginal of which I have carefully laid up. 
SIR, 
I AM greatly obliged to you, and should
think myself much more so, could I have the 
Pleasure of asking you a few Questions; as 
what Regimen or Diet the Person must keep 
that takes this Medicine, whether he may go 
abroad

Physical Enquiries. 
17 
abroad or not, &c. Please to let me know by a 
Line where I may wait on you. 
I am, SIR, 
Your very humble Servant, 
JA. MONRO. 
From these Things regarding this Medi- 
cine, it would seem that the People of Ame- 
rica and the Learned Physicians in London, 
were bound by the Ties of Honour, Grati- 
tude, and Equity, to the Discoverer; and 
from the several extraordinary Instances of its 
superior Efficacy to any other Medicine, 
which can be produced in London as well as 
America, every honest Man surely would 
expect the Physicians to practice with it. But 
it appears in Sect V. and VI. of my Phy- 
sical Dissertations, that Ingratitude, Envy, 
Ignorance, and Self-Interest, have cancell'd
these three important Duties. 
The Particulars relating to my ill Usage 
appear in these two Sections, and are of too 
great a length to be stated here; so that I 
shall only observe in Answer to many People 
who have laid to my own Fault the bad Effects 
of my Publication, as proceeding from my 
not making a Secret of my Discovery, that
C its

18 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
its whole Merit consists in freely publishing 
it. But it is a just tho’ melancholy Remark, 
that a fair and open Conduct can never suc- 
ceed with the bulk of Mankind; that it is the 
Artful Man, he who only regards his own 
Interest, Health, and Ease, and forms his 
Schemes towards his Fellow Creatures under 
fallacious Pretences of serving them, has the 
best Success in getting that which is due to 
the Person who deals fairly with them. 
This Remark will be amply justified, on a 
Retrospect to many Things that have greatly 
pleased and raised the Imagination of both 
Sexes: How many Instances can there be 
produced of Quacks, Impostures, and High 
German Doctors, killing and imposing on the 
Public with their Arcana, and inconsistent 
Harangues? 
Since Experience cannot warn against such 
Evils, the World seems to be under an Ignis 
Fatuus; therefore the Terms Error and Mis- 
apprehension, cannot be applied in that Case: 
But I shall wave expatiating on such a dis- 
mal appearance of Things, and proceed to 
observe upon the Inconsistency of the Phy-
sicians, with respect to those Things that I
am persuaded, Sir, you will think to be their
strict Duty.
Notwith-

Physical Enquiries. 
19 
Notwithstanding the Disappointment and 
ill Usage I met with, I had great Hopes to 
recover some broken Affairs of mine on oc- 
casion of the Government sending Troops to 
the West-Indies, under the Command of the 
Right Hon. the Lord Cathcart, to carry on the 
Operations of War against Spain; for, I hum- 
bly presume, it will be judged, that a Physi- 
cian who had Experience of the Diseases 
of the American Climate, must have been of 
great Use to the Sailors and Troops: There- 
fore, as I had practiced several Years there, 
and had done a public Service, for which, 
instead of having received the due Effects, I 
had been vilely abused, the public Good and 
Equity, two strong Ties, called upon the 
Physicians to recommend me. 
Many Instances prove that Armies sufFer 
as much, or more, from going out of their 
natural temperate into hot sultry Climates, 
than from a Rencounter and Defeat with an 
Enemy: The Expedition to the West-Indies 
under Admiral Hosier, it would seem, was 
a sufficient Warning to regard, in a particu- 
lar manner, Measures to prevent or cure the 
mortal and epidemic Disease of that Cli- 
mate: And indeed it appears, that the Right 
Honourable the Lords of the Admiralty did 
not overlook that Affair, for they wrote to 
C2

20 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
the College of Physicians upon it, as appears in 
Sect I. of my Physical Enquiries. 
Whatever Advice may be supposed that 
learned Body were capable of giving, the 
greatest good that could be done must have 
been by a Physician to attend the Expedi- 
tion, who was well acquainted with the 
American Diseases; for, let Men be ever so 
learned or successful in their Practice in Great 
Britain, they’ll find the Case quite different 
in the West-lndies for some time; it is Expe- 
rience that is the only Guide in Physic, 
without which, Learning is but of very little 
Use. 
But however reasonable these Things may 
appear, a Physician was nominated to the 
Expedition, who neither had long Practice
nor great Success in Britain, and never had 
been in the American Climate; he had in- 
deed the Character of being a learned Man; 
but as it must be obvious to every one of good 
Sense, that knowing Languages cannot make 
a Physician, as appears in Sect I. of my Physi- 
cal Dissertations, he was in no wise fit for such 
a Post: And if we are to judge from Facts,
what happened in the West Indies puts it be- 
yond all Dispute, that he had no Right to 
that Station.

Physical Enquiries. 
21 
I hope these Remarks will not be ascribed 
to Envy, or Ill-nature, because I expected
that Post; I think that the Subject well de- 
serves Consideration, from every Man endued 
with Compassion: Let us put ourselves in 
the Case of those who went to the West- 
Indies, and then we will think it a cruel 
Hardship, that our Lives should be sacrificed, 
through the Want of that which could have 
been easily got*. After my Disappointment, 
the following Publications were made. 
From the Daily Advertiser, May 23, 1740. 
To many of the Physicians in London. 
‘ Dr. John Tennent, from Virginia, gives 
‘ notice, that no longer can he be silent 
‘ upon their Conduct towards his Discovery 
‘ and Publishing it, since by Experience an 
‘ extraordinary Benefit is proved to Mankind 
‘ thereby, and a farther Advantage is pro- 
‘ mised upon reasoning from such Experience. 
‘ That he has strictly complied with their 
‘ declared Sentiments against Quacks in every 
C3 ‘ Piece
* See Sect I. of my Physical Enquiries, for my Method of 
Cure proposed in the mortal epidemic Fever of the West-In- 
dies. which has deprived many of Friends and the nearest Re- 
tions, and our Country of Honour and Interest. 

22 
A SUPPLEMENT to
‘ Piece of his Conduct, the Practice of such
‘ being counter to the Honour and Improve- 
‘ ment of the Art of Physic, and generally 
‘ speaking, very inconsistent with Humanity. 
‘ That he concluded they would become 
‘ his strenuous Abettors and Mediators with 
‘ the British Legislature, for such his Disco- 
‘ very and Conduct, having done a great 
‘ Service to the American Plantations, which 
‘ is authentically documented to the Board of 
‘ Trade and Plantations from Virginia; but 
‘ on the contrary finds, in the whole Course 
‘ of his Affair since 1736, when he made 
‘ his first Publication, that he was under a 
‘ very great Mistake in concluding, that evi- 
‘ dent Truths were the Basis of the Senti- 
‘ ments of every one of the Learned in Phy- 
‘ sic; and from what hath passed among 
‘ them, and been neglected touching this 
‘ Matter, he is bold to say, that they have re- 
‘ duced themselves to a severe Dilemma, viz. 
‘ that either Self-Interest, Envy, or Ignorance, 
‘ was the Source. 
‘ And therefore, as he is now about pub- 
‘ lishing his Case, in order that the impartial 
‘ and discerning World may see his Hardship, 
‘ he gives this notice as a fair Adversary, that 
‘ the Physicians may prepare to defend them-
‘ selves

Physical Enquiries. 
23
‘ selves against a Charge, which, if proved 
‘ just, must set their Names in no reputable 
‘ Light. 
JOHN TENNENT.
From the Daily Advertiser, July 10, 1741. 
To the Learned College of Physicians in 
London. 
The MEMORIAL of Dr. JOHN TENNENT. 
‘ THOSE concerned in the Affairs of 
‘ Government confiding in you for 
‘ Advice, in the Health and Life of his Ma- 
‘ jesty’s Forces in the West-Indies; and as I 
‘ have good Evidence firmly to believe, that 
‘ hundreds of brave Men there would have 
‘ been saved, had the experienced Efficacy of 
‘ the Senekka Rattle-Snake Root, in viscid and 
‘ coagulated States of the Blood, been regarded;
‘ I have thought this open Method the most 
‘ proper of redoubling my Efforts to serve the 
‘ Public, because of what has been already 
‘ transacted in this Affair; which Method I 
‘ hope will be acceptable, as I shall only ob- 
‘ serve what is Truth, and that Decorum 
‘ which is due to so learned a Body of Men. 
‘ Wherefore I now offer to your Consideration 
C4 ‘ this

24 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
‘ this Root, as much more powerful in curing 
‘ Distempers owing to, or attended with a 
‘ Viscidity and Coagulation of the Blood, 
‘ than any other Medicine; ample Proofs of 
‘ which I am ready to adduce when required.
‘ And I offer my Service in the Post of Phy- 
‘ sician to his Majesty’s Forces in the West-In- 
‘ dies, grounded upon the Concessions of some 
‘ of the Members of your learned College 
‘ touching my Fitness for it, who are at the 
‘ Head of Physical Learning; this Offer is 
‘ also grounded upon my long Experience of 
‘ the American Diseases: But if it can be 
‘ proved that another Person has a better 
‘ Right to it, founded on the Public Good, I 
‘ shall cheerfully wave this Application, for 
‘ every private Interest should give way to a 
‘ general Good. 
‘ Experience being the only sure Founda- 
‘ tion in the Practice of Physic, there is some 
‘ Reason to believe, that if a Physician, ac- 
‘ quainted with the American Diseases, had 
‘ been sent with the Expedition under Lord 
‘ Catheart, that this General, experienced in 
‘ War, several brave Officers, and many others, 
‘ might have been saved; in which Case, 
‘ what might have been done at Carthagena?
‘ Let a Man’s warlike Genius be ever so great, 
‘ Experience greatly improves it: In the Art
‘ of

Physical Enquiries. 
25 
‘ of Physic the Case is the same. Therefore, 
‘ granting this General’s Physician, who is 
‘ also dead, to have had the greatest Genius 
‘ and Learning, he was unfit for that Post, 
‘ being deficient in the main Point, Experi- 
‘ ence in the American Distempers: Whence 
‘ also was to be questioned his Life, not being 
‘ innured to that Climate, admitting his spe- 
‘ culative Works to have been a sufficient 
‘ Proof of his Success where he never practi- 
‘ ced. Hence it appears, that a proper Phy- 
‘ sician to the late Expedition was a conse- 
‘ quential Point, a Point that should not have 
‘ been determined through Favour; it was 
‘ an Expedition nearly touching the Honour 
‘ and Interest of Great-Britain. 
‘ If my public Service done to the Ameri- 
‘ can Plantations being treated inconsistent 
‘ with Humanity, Gratitude, and Equity, 
‘ inconsistent with your Arguments and De- 
‘ clarations against Quacks and secret Medi- 
‘ cines, has drawn from me warm Expres- 
‘ sions which gave Offence, I ask, who under 
‘ my Treatment for my public Service could 
‘ have suppressed their Sentiments, and would 
‘ not have published as much to the World 
‘ as I have done? Was I to appeal to the 
‘ Tribunal of the whole impartial World, 
‘ after a fair State of my public Service, and 
‘ the

26 
A SUPPLEMENT to
‘ the Consequences thereof to me, lam sure 
‘ that not one but would say, I was egregiously 
‘ abused, and that such Usage was a Tarnish 
‘ upon the Principles of Christianity, and 
‘ every other laudable Principle: But I have 
‘ yet some Hopes, that a Body of so learned 
‘ Men as the Colledge of Physicians in London, 
‘ who no doubt would also be thought ho- 
‘ nourable and consciencous, will not let my 
‘ Resentment of ill Usage be the Hinderance 
‘ of a general Good, which may be obtained 
‘ by giving due Attention to the experienced 
‘ Efficacy of the Senekka Rattle-Snake Root. 
I am,
With all Deference due, 
Your most obedient humble Servant, 
JOHN TENNENT. 
Such a Rancour, Sir, was generated against 
me for the first of these Publications, that 
the different Address in the second could not 
alleviate it; and so little Regard was paid to 
the Death of Lord Cathcart and the great 
Mortality before Cartagena, that a second
Physician

Physical Enquiries. 
27 
Physician was sent to the Forces in the West- 
Indies, in no respect better qualified than the 
first. 
Such an extraordinary Omission of a Point 
of Duty, wherein Compassion and Huma- 
nity were concerned, renders it more than 
probable that Self-Interest is the principal 
Cause of Men’s exerting themselves: Let it 
be well observed, that I mean not all Men, 
but the general Part: Numerous Observations 
have drawn me into this Way of thinking. 
What I have set forth in my Physical Enqui- 
ries, as well as eminently in my Dissertations 
in the Press, being joined with the following 
Observations, I am apt to believe, will convince 
every discerning Man, that I am in no Error 
in thinking so of the Physicians. 
By the loud Exclamations and virulent 
Censures of the Physicians against Mr .Ward; 
by the great Pains taken by Mr. Clutton, to 
collect sixty eight Cases with so many Cir- 
cumstances, and to make ten Experiments, 
to discover the component Principles of the 
Pill, and to Print and Publish them in his 
Book mentioned in Sect II. of my Physical 
Enquiries; it would seem that some consi- 
derable Point was in view: The Question
then naturally arises, What was the Point in 
view? The Answer appears in the Preface of 
the

28 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
the said Book, viz. The Good of Mankind. 
But surely that Allegation will bear no Cre- 
dit with Men of good Sense, after the wilful 
Omission of the Regard due to the Measures I 
observed to the Physicians in general, in my 
Discovery, and after the Enmity shewn by 
several of them to me*. 
No Mathematical Demonstration is clearer 
than that the Physicians ought to have been 
my Friends,  in proportion to their Enmity to 
Mr. Ward, from the same Reasons and Prin- 
ciples. For I flatter myself that every think- 
ing Person will say, I have in every respect 
conformed to the Honour of my Profession, 
and Humanity, in discovering and freely 
publishing a Medicine, which is proved to 
do more Service in America than all the Chy- 
mical and Galenical Preparations of the 
Shops. 
And is it not a safe as well as efficacious 
Medicine? Is there any Medicine in or out 
of the Materia Medica, of such extensive 
use? Is there any Medicine, or any Compo- 
sition that can produce the same Effects, not 
only in the most acute and mortal Diseases, 
but also in chronic Cases? 
If these Questions are answer’d in the Af- 
firmative, I join Issue, and am ready for Trial 
in a fair and proper manner. 
I
* See Sect III and IV. of my Physical Dissertations.

Physical Enquiries. 
29
I fear that this melancholy Remark can be 
too well warranted, that the Art of Physic is 
a Trade of Interest, and will reconcile the 
same Behaviour of the Physicians, to two 
Conducts of a quite different Nature. 
It was the Apprehension of an universal 
Medicine that produced the Opposition to 
Mr. Ward's Pill and Drop, which was thought 
would affect private Interest; not the Good of 
Mankind. But had it been considered that 
the Omnipotent Being has so ordered Things 
in Nature, that there can be no Universal 
Medicine, nor no Medicine but must do some 
Harm, if not properly adapted to the Disease, 
the Fears of Self-Interest would have been 
dissipated.
For to make a proper Application of a 
Medicine, entirely depends on a Physician's 
Judgment who knows Nature; yet there is 
not such an essential Difference between Dis- 
eases, but that a few safe and efficacious Medi- 
cines will answer the Cure much better than 
the vast Numbers in practice, which are quite 
inconsistent with Nature’s Simplicity in Ope- 
ration*. 
Every Man learned in Physic can expa- 
tiate amply upon the Absurdities arising from
the 
* See Sect IX of my Physical Dissertations, wherein I have 
endeavoured to set Nature’s Simplicity in a clear Light. 

30 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
the Arguments in favour of an Universal 
Medicine, and can demonstrate the Necessity 
of a Variation in Practice as the Disease trans- 
lates; but the Mistake consists in this: 
Tho’ a Disease exhibits different Symp- 
toms at different times in the same Persons, 
or different Symptoms in different Constitu- 
tions, yet the primary Cause may still be 
the same; for the different Phænomena, whe- 
ther in the same Person, or different Persons, 
often depend on adjunct Causes owing to 
many Incidents in Life, which often come 
within the reach of an accurate Observer of 
Nature; and when they do not come within 
his reach, ’tis not to be concluded that the 
Change of Symptoms is always a Transla- 
tion of the Disease. 
However, it is readily believed, that Dis- 
eases require different Medicines as the Symp- 
toms change, because the Physician and 
Apothecary have both an Interest in it; the 
first in often prescribing, and the second in 
sending to the unhappy Patient a Multipli- 
city of Juleps, Bolus's, Cordials, Draughts, 
&c. &c. &c. 
Indeed I have observed the Prescriptions of 
several Physicians throughout all the Stages 
of Mortal Fevers, to order things of no grea- 
ter Efficacy than a mixture of Water, Spirit,
and

Physical Enquiries. 
31 
and Sugar; such as Juleps of Mint, Baum and 
strong Cinnamon Water, with a little Syrup; 
or Emulsions, Apozems, Powder of Crabs Eyes,
Crabs Claws, Lapis Contrayerva, and the like; 
yet the Patient was visited at least once every 
Day, and a Prescription wrote every time, the 
Sum of which was, Repetatur ejusdem; and 
thus, the poor Patient had fair Play, having 
neither received Hurt nor Good from the 
learned Physician: But then, the Relations 
or Friends had this to alleviate their Grief for 
the Death of their Friend, that it was by the 
Advice of a regular Physician. 
The Fear of the extensive use of Mr.
Ward’s Pill and Drop, was more in the bot- 
tom of the Opposition made, than the Hu- 
manity pretended, because of the Conduct 
of the Physicians and Apothecaries in my 
Affair, which is of a quite different Nature 
from all Quackery. His Pill and Drop, 
whatever Harm it appears they have done, 
cannot be called Poison; they have mortal 
Effects only relatively, not absolutely: The 
same thing may be said of several Medicines 
in the Materia Medica. 
Liquid Laudanum, if given in a certain 
Stage of a Pleuritic Fever, will kill in eight 
Hours, yet in some Cases, it answers good
Purposes,

32 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
Purposes, tho' given in much larger Quan- 
tities*. 
So it is the same with all other efficacious 
Medicines; they either produce salutary or 
deadly Effects as they are properly or impro- 
perly applied; and there are several power- 
ful Medicines which can answer more Pur- 
poses than others, et vice versa: Success, in 
the Practice of Physic, depends entirely on 
a Physician’s Degree of Knowledge in the 
Laws of Nature. 
Therefore, as Mr. Ward acknowledged, 
when he came from Paris to London, that 
he was not conversant with the material Points 
which constitute a true Physician, the Phy- 
sicians and Apothecaries had no reason to ap- 
prehend that his Pill and Drop would prove 
so universal a Medicine as to hurt their In- 
terest. 
But
* I gave Laudanum lately to a Patient, to the quantity of 
half an Ounce in four Hours, in an Inversion of the peristaltic 
Motion of the Guts, and his Life was thereby saved, at least I 
believe so; there the Case admitted of its Effects. 
This Patient was Mr. Philip Phillis, Merchant, in Arundel 
Street in the Strand, who lay ill at Bryan's Coffee House in 
Charles Street, Convent-Garden, being a Wine Merchant, and 
having Business there: His Case required my Attendance all 
Night, under such particular Administration. 

Physical Enquiries. 
33
But that Thing called Self, often raiseth 
Fears and Jealousies without any Reason, and 
is productive of Disasters that are a Shame 
and Iniquity to Christians.
It appears to me from several Cases in Mr. 
Clutton's Book, as well as from others that 
have accidentally fallen under my Cognizance, 
that the Pill and Drop, from their violent 
Effects in some Cases, may answer great Pur- 
poses in others; but to say that they can safe- 
ly be used in the Hands of every Person, is 
quite absurd; and it was equally absurd to 
affirm that they could cure all Diseases: 
And it seems that Mr. Ward himself is now 
satisfied that they fail in many Cases, 
whatever he believed when he came from 
Paris to London; for it is well known, that 
since then he has got several other Medicines 
and Secrets, as I observed in Sect II. of my 
Physical Enquiries. 
Upon the whole it appears, that Mankind 
are very ill served in the Art of Physic; on 
the one Side, the Physicians argue for the Ne- 
cessity of a Variation in the Method of Cure 
as the Symptoms change, beyond what con- 
sists with Nature; and on the other Side, 
Quacks plead in favour of an universal Medi- 
cine, both which Arguments are equally ab- 
surd, and tend to the same Point viz. Self- 
Interest. 
D To

34 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
To conclude: If a Comparison is made be- 
tween the general Good arising from the Pub- 
lication of my Discovery, and the Public Ser- 
vice done by the Publication of Mrs. Stephens's 
Medicines, as a Dissolvent for the Stone, for 
which the British Parliament thought it 
equitable to give Five Thousand Pounds; I 
humbly think it will be judged that I deserve 
a much greater Sum, which I wave naming, 
that no one should conclude I want at 
least as much as was given for a Service of 
far less Consequence to the World. Or, if 
any one will reflect on the Agreements I 
might have insisted upon with the Assem- 
blies of the American Colonies, before my 
Publication, ’tis not to be questioned that I 
could have got four Times as much as was 
given for Mrs. Stephens's Medicines. 
But as I observed, page 13, I never looked 
for a Reward unless unfortunate Events, to 
which every Man is liable, should affect my 
Circumstances; and if ever that should be the 
Case, I concluded myself intitled to a Re- 
ward, from the Laws of Gratitude and Equity: 
And tho’ no worse Events have occurred to 
me, than what a tenth Part of the Sum I 
could have got by insisting on a Bargain be- 
fore hand would have removed, yet that 
could not be obtained, tho’ Thousands of Lives 
were

Physical Enquiries. 
35 
were saved by my speedy Publication; which, 
from what I have of late Years observed, is 
thus to be accounted for. 
The general Part of Mankind will not com- 
ply with Equity without being led by Self-In- 
terest of some kind or other. 
Nevertheless, I humbly conceive, that it is 
the Duty of Legislators, who represent the 
Inhabitants of a Country, to comply with 
Honour, Gratitude, and Equity; and that 
these three Terms, and Legislature, ought to be 
understood Synonymous with respect to the 
Members which constitute a Legislature, 
whether in their single Station or collective 
Body: For, such a Compliance is consistent 
with Conscience and Views to a future Life, 
and is an exemplary Conduct in this. 
But, Sir, these Duties have not been obser- 
ved in my Case, by the Representatives of 
the Country where I published such an use- 
ful Discovery; and seeing the Physicians in 
London on whom I depended for Mediation, 
from their avowed Declarations against Quacks
and Arcana, have shewn what properly may 
be stiled a Persidious Neglect towards me: It 
is humbly submitted to your Opinion, whe- 
ther the Legislature of the Mother Country 
of the American Plantations, have any Call 
D2 from

36 
A SUPPLEMENT to 
from the Principles of Honour, to redress a 
Subject of Great Britain, egregiously abused 
and injured in fairly serving his King and 
Country? 
I am, SIR,
Your most devoted, 
most humble, and 
most obedient Servant, 
JOHN TENNENT.