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2 age of sixty, although he appeared nearer eighty. He allowed
3 himself to be bitten every month by serpents. He was of short
4 stature, and of a cachectical appearance ; his perspiration, which
5 I perceived at some distance, was peculiarly offensive, and was
6 similar to that of serpents. He told me he had been troubled
7 with that malady upwards of thirty years ; that at the commence-
8 ment he permitted himself to be bitten once a year, afterwards
9 twice, but at that time, once in every month, and that the
10 serpents followed him even into the water. He stated that only
11 four days previously he had been bitten on the upper part
12 of his hand, on which I could perceive a cicatrix , and he
13 showed me numerous scars on his hands and feet, so that
14 I could not doubt the truth of his statement. He added,
15 that he had often sucked the venom or poison from the wounds
16 of bitten people. I am of opinion that he, in sucking the poison
17 from others (unless it is neutralized by his saliva) extracts or
18 diminishes it; but, in their own cases, a similar virus being
19 existent in their system, every time they are bitten the fresh
20 virus neutralizes temporarily the other. Query — May not such
21 persons be able to neutralize even hydrophobiac poison ?
22 The before-mentioned learned faqueer and his four adult
23 sons, as also other native hakims, may give a full explanation
24 of the above case, and procure for the English physicians
25 some such patient, so that they may be able to satisfy them-
26 selves of the fact, and investigate the matter. I have seen
27 at least a dozen of them at Lahore, who were all males ; and
28 I am told that the number of such patients in the Punjab is
29 very large. The nature of the disease is, that the patients, at
30 certain periods, have an irresistible inclination to be bitten
31 by serpents ; which they say does them a great deal of
32 good, as for a few days previously they are troubled with
33 fainting and dizziness, nausea, want of appetite, disinclina-
34 tion to work, and heaviness in the limbs. These are the
35 symptoms of the disease in question; and at these times the
36 serpents are attracted towards them by the scent, and the
37 patients, looking upon them as their welcome benefactors,