LOCKJAW CURED BY TOBACCO

Southland Times, Issue 1243, 26 April 1870, Page 4

LOCKJAW CURED BY TOBACCO

• • The Scientific American of August 28tl contains the following : — " Beading in the late papers an accoum of the recent melancholy death of th< Engineer Eoehling from tetanus, or lockjaw, reminded me of an incident in the military campaigns of a friend of mine, a Major in the Indiana Cavalry during the war, and which he only a short time age related to me among other events of his soldier-life. " Tn view of the late unhappy event, 1 deem it worthy of being generally known, as his remedy is very simple, quick, efficacious, and obtainable almost anywhere. It. would, in the above case, have certainly saved the life of a very useful man. Hia command was then (Christmas, 1864) in middle Tennessee, near, tie Alabama line. One. of his men was wounded slightly in the foot, hardly serious enough to go back a few miles to the nearest hospital, and as the command was, after a short march oi so, going into winter, quarters, and not wishing to leave it, he concluded to press on with it. .'. The consequence was he toofe cold in his wounded foot, and tetanus ensued before they . reached their wintei quarters. All their surgeons and assistants had been left at various hospitals, and the hospital steward knowing nothing bettei to do, had made arrangements to abandon the man, as hopeless, to die on a plantation. The major casually learned his concondition, as it was a case of life or death anyhow (or rather certain death) he resolved to try an experiment and save him if possible. The man had the lockjaw more than forty hours, they had no medicines along with them (useless if they had) and the major's only resource was a plug of navy tobacco. He cut off a square of it (about three inches square) put it in a mess-pan with boiling water, until it was hot through, and saturated with the water ; taking it out he allowed it to cool so as not to blister, then flattening it out, he placed it on the pit of th 6 man's stomach. In about five minutes the patient turned white around the lips, which also began to twiteh — the man was getting very &ick— and in nine or ten minutes the rigid muscles relaxed, and his jaws fell open. Indeed it seemed as if the patient would fall apart and go to {ieces, so utterly was his entire muscular system relaxed. The tobacco was immediately removed and some whisky gruel given to stimulate him. Next day the man was taken along in ambulance, and in a few days mounted his horse all right, as bold a ' soger boy' as any. So much for a dead man. "It seems necessary in this disease to produce nausea, or sickness of the stomach, to cause the rigid muscles to relax. It is very difficult, or almost impossible to administer internal medicines, and some external application becomes necessary to produce nausea, and this is furnished by the tobacco. The major found afterwards that damp tobacco applied to any part of the body would produce sickness, but much more quickly of course when applied to the stomachs