10. J. V. MARTIN took one dose 1st or 2nd trit. of venom. There followed, during 1st day, heavy pain in back of orbit and at left eyebrow; 2nd day, pain under right orbit, and at right side of forehead; 3rd day, dry cough with tickling in throat at night After a second dose there followed, on 1st day, pricking all over body; starting during sleep; sleeplessness. (MURE, Mat. med., tr. Hempel. Many other symptoms are recorded in both these provings, but they are by the Eds., as by Dr. Hayward (from whose monograph they are taken), considered untrustworthy.)
11. Dr. OATES having frequently witnessed the good effect of the use of alcohol after bites of venomous animals, and particularly after those of rattlesnakes, and receiving that not one was the action of the poison arrested, but under these circumstances the system was scarcely susceptible of being intoxicated with alcohol in any form, was desirous of reversing the experiment by watching the effects of the poison when introduced into the system of a person already thoroughly intoxicated. This experiment he performed through the stomach instead of through the circulation direct. For his purpose he carefully extracted a small quantity of venom from a healthy rattlesnake, and compounded it into pills with bread – crumb. He then intoxicated himself considerably with brandy; after this he swallowed one of the pills. Its effect was soon to diminish the pulse; and although the intoxication was pretty deep, three of the pills so reduced the pulse and depressed the whole system that, for danger of collapse, powerful stimulants had to be resorted to. This, and other subsequent trials fully satisfied him of the profound sedative action of rattlesnake venom, which he though was scarcely equaled, in this respect, by any other substance. (W. J. BURNETT, M. D., Proc. Bost. Soc. of Nat. Hist., iv. 323, 1854-56; from Hayward.)
12. In view of the fact that carbonic acid gas, so deleterious in the lungs, is innocent, nay salutary, in the stomach, I made myself and others subjects of experiments with the poison of the rattlesnake (Crot. horridus ); and i extended the experiments further on myself than on the others. This animal substance is the true somson of the materia medica, and I anticipate the time when rattlesnakes will be reared for medicinal purposes as the poppy and the palma christi are now. I mixed with some cheese, by friction in a glass mortar with a pestle, the bags, venom and all, taken from the fangs of a large and vigorous rattlesnake; and then divided the mass into one hundred pills. Of these I took, sometimes one, at other times two, or three or four pills a day. A genial dropsy succeeded the first state of heavenly sensations, which has not, even to this day, fully gone off; I being even now (March, 1827) subject to swellings in the evening. (WALLACE, 1824, Coxe’s Dispensary, 1827, p. 664; from Hayward.)
13. Inoculations. – October 20th, 1882, being in usual good health, at 9:30 a. m., with a perfectly clean lancet, I scratched the cuticle off a space the size of a shilling on inside of left wrist, without making blood flow. I then rubbed into the place 1/6 dr. of a mixture of crotalus venom and glycerine, half and half. immediately blood began to flow excessively, and a pricking smarting pain occurred in the spot and lasted nearly a morning. The part also immediately began to swell like a wheal of urticaria, quite raised and hard with sharply defined edges; and within 5 morning had reached the size of a florin, and continued to swell slowly during the next 1/2 hours, finally reaching the size of half a crown. After 10 morning my attention was arrested by a sudden dig at heart, and I found pulse 80, its usual number being 70. At end of 1/4 hour there was quivering sensation in epigastrium, with slight nausea. At end of 1/2 hour pulse had fallen to 60, was small, soft, empty, and very easily compressible; there was frequent sneezing and much catarrhal irritation in nose, with faint, sinking sensation in epigastrium. After 1 1/2 hours swelling on wrist had smoothed down and was soft, but no less in circumference. I now went out and was too busily occupied to notice symptoms, except a great craving for stimulants, especially wine, but did not take any, though on seeing some at a patient’s house could scarcely resist asking for it. At 2:30 had full congested feel in front part of brain lasting for some time. In evening became conscious that during day urination had been seldom, and urine scanty. During night I dreamt much not unpleasant. I awoke in morning in 21st with same congested feeling in whole front part of brain, and a really aching pain, especially over left eye; these two
last symptoms went away after having been awake for about 1/2 hour. On rising did not feel usual necessity to urinate, and on attempting noticed that urine passed previous night and this morning together made but a small quantity and looked concentrated, and was of very high colour; these characters were so evident as quite to a rest my attention, so I tested urine, and found sp. gr. 1031; on boiling it became paler and of a greenish flour, but a little darker again on addition of nitric acid, remaining clear. Another portion, on addition of caustic potash, became milky; on boiling became of darker colour and more green than with nitric acid, and the milkiness became a flocculent brown deposit, under microscope non-crystalline. The specimen boiled with caustic potash retained its greenish-yellow colour, but that with nitric acid lost it in 1/2 hour and looked then of lighter colour than normal. This morning (21st) left wrist felt as if there were some pain full swelling amongst the deep-seated structures, but skin had its natural appearance, except that the scratches were very red and visible; appetite, taste and general feeling normal; perhaps a little more buoyant than usual, an more pleasure in exertion. At 5 p. m. on this (2nd) days urine appeared rather copious and of light colour, though I had not drunk more than usual; sp. gr. 1014. 22nd. – N. and morning, urine rather copious, sp. gr. 1018. mark on arm still full size and looks dry and rough as if threading scaliness; and the scratches are still very red. 23rd. – Awoke this morning with severe dull pain in whole front part of brain as if congested, especially in under surface of left frontal lobe; also sharp pain in small spot in centre of left occiput; these both disappeared after being awake about 1/2 hour. On a little exertion heart beat rapidly, and with it there was aching at point of left scapula, as if deep internally, not superficial; these subsided shortly after exertion was over. Urine appeared normal; sp. or. not taken. 24th. – Same heavy, dull frontal headache on awaking, but it went away after 15 morning; urine clear and normal quantity, sp. gr. 1020; rheumatic pain in both wrists, elbows, and ankles, all day 25th. – Some dull frontal headache on awaking, but it went away after 10 morning; urine rather scanty, sp. gr. 1022; still some rheumatic pain about same joints. During this day noticed myself making several absurd mistakes in spelling especially in writing out some symptoms, having to write some very familiar words three times over, thinking of the proper letter but writing a wrong one. 26th. – On turning to lie, on left side, early morning, felt a if whole heart were very tender so that I could not lie on that side, though accustomed to sleep on it; tried it several times before rising. Head no headache on awaking, but skin of palms felt and looked dry and stiff, like thin dry parchment, with some feeling of heat in them. During day noticed an occasional mistake in spelling; and during evening frequent tickling deep in right meatus auditorius. 27th. – Languid and reluctant to rise and hesitated to have my usual cold bath; urine scanty, sp. gr. 1022. 28th. – Languor and reluctance to rise. After this was prevented making observations until November 11th, when I noted down that during last two weeks I had felt weak and not equal to exertion; there had been a sense of weakness about heart especially, and it had beaten quickly on exertion; and I had been more easily out of breath than usual on ascending a hill. Several small had itching tubercles, each the size of a pea, had appeared in skin of calf of legs; especially left one. Thighs, especially left, had been and were painful as if deep-seated muscles were tender, especially noticeable when thigh was resting on edge of chair, and on walking. My singlets, the last two weeks, have been stained a reddish orange under arms, as if by the perspiration from axillae. 25th. – Tubercles on calves still present and still itch, but no new ones have appeared; tenderness of thighs gone gradually worse, so as now to interfere much with walking and sitting, as though deep seated muscles were inflamed or suppurating. I was now driven to rub thighs occasionally with arnica tincture the next 3 days; this afforded some relief. December 2nd – Still some tenderness of left thigh; some of the tubercles have disappeared. 9th. – Thighs not painful, and tubercles gone; they gradually came to surface and scaled away with the scratching. The foregoing symptoms were most certainly results of the talus venom, for I never had them before or afterwards. (HAYWARD, op. cit.)
Hughes was a great writer and a scholar. He actively cooperated with Dr. T.F. Allen to compile his 'Encyclopedia' and rendered immeasurable aid to Dr. Dudgeon in translating Hahnemann's 'Materia Medica Pura' into English. In 1889 he was appointed an Editor of the 'British Homoeopathic Journal' and continued in that capacity until his demise. In 1876, Dr. Hughes was appointed as the Permanent Secretary of the Organization of the International Congress of Homoeopathy Physicians in Philadelphia. He also presided over the International Congress in London.