Medicines in Gold Rush Times: A Dose of Deception and a Swig of Swamp Root or Snake Oil

The westward movement in the United States started in the mid-1800's at the same time as the rise of mass advertising and the marketing of patent medicines. Many pioneers, concerned about the challenges they would face on a long difficult journey, eagerly bought into the idea that certain magic mixtures of snake oil or swamp root might help preserve their health.

Pioneers leaving civilized society where they might  not have access to a medical doctor (even one of dubious credentials) craved some assurance that they could preserve their health with various prescriptions.

Certain medicines that claimed to cure anything from dandruff to cancer, and sometimes both, became very popular.

Potions, powders and pills of the 19th Century changed the definition of of "medicine" from an artful skill, to a bottle of miracle cure. Here are a few infamous examples.

Swamp Root, perhaps because of it's name, seems to fall into the same category as Snake Oil. It appears to suggest something exotic, mysterious, and not easily attainable.

According to a reference on Native American healing and herbal remedies there is a plant called in Spanish, yerba del Manzo (herb of the swamp), whose scientific name is anemopis Californica, though it grows mostly in Arizona.

The root was used as an antiseptic and sometimes as a tea recommended for soothing ulcer pain.

It is not known if this is the same "swamp root" referenced by Dr. Kilmer, but as in many cases, the purported ingredients of any particular patent medicine were sometimes not included at all.

The image of Dr. S. Andral Kilmer M.D., appeared on all packages, labels, books and promotions. The distribution of his products was so widespread that his face was more recognizable than that of the president in many parts of the country.

Swamp Root, in it's many forms and variations was by far Dr. Kilmer's most famous product, however he also lent his face to the promotion of Dr. Kilmer's Ocean Weed Heart Remedy, Dr. Kilmer's Indian Cough Cure, Dr. Kilmer's Female Remedy, described as "The great Blood Purifier and System Regulator" as well as "The only Herbal Alterative and Depurative Ever Discovered, Specifically Adapted to female Constitutions....") and Dr.Kilmer's Prompt Parilla Liver Pills

Kilmer's enterprises were so successful that he inspired imitators...perhaps even counterfeiters, who produced products which cannot be found in any of the company's official advertising, such as: "Dr. Kilmer's Wild Indian Female Cancer Injection", and "Dr. Kilmer's Wild Indian Female Secret".

In 1882, after fire destroyed the first Kilmer factory, the new plant in Binghamton New York, was capable of filling over 2000 bottles an hour. The economic impact on the area was significant, since their Swamp Root remained the primary product and the factory employed hundreds of people. It's label retained Kilmer's visage long after the Dr. had relinquished control of the company.

One of the more intriguingly named medications is "Pierce's Pleasant Purgative Pellets". Though charmingly alliterative, it could be a "kill or cure "remedy. These tiny white pills are described as "sugar coated concentrated root and herbal extract laxative grains".

They contained such components as "May Apple (podophyllin), Jalap, Aloin, and extracts of Nux Vomica and Stramonium in minute quantities," proving that mysterious and unpronounceable ingredients have been around for some time.

It is probably a good thing that these "pellets" are tiny because their ingredients are questionable. May Apple derivative is today used for wart removal.

It is considered caustic and extremely toxic, not recommended for internal use. Jalap and Aloin are purgative and cathartic resins from plant secretions and Stramonium comes from poisonous Jimson Weed.

Nux Vomicais the poisonous seed of an Asian tree of the genus strychnos. It was considered a stimulant to the gastro-intestinal tract and had the effect of raising the pulse and blood pressure.

It was sometimes used as an antidote to cardiac failure. The potent effects of this ingredient were well known, but it's use required considerable discretion. According to the Mirriam-Webster Medical dictionary it contains the alkaloids strychnine and brucine.

There may be some logic in the idea that a small dose of poison efectively relieves constipation, but the poetic name of this product makes it sound more gentle and agreeable than it probably was.

Widely distributed and imitated, the very popular Paine's Celery Compound,contained a list of ingredients almost as long as the list of ailments it was supposed to relieve.

The fact that information was printed in French and German as well as English reinforces the fact that it was widely used and distributed.

"A reliable medicine for general debility and diseases arising from a debilitated nervous system", its label proclaims. It also purports to be "a powerful alterative; a valuable remedy for Dyspepsia, Neuralgia, Rheumatism; also female complaints".

It further asserts that it will "act at the same time as a tonic reviving the energies and spirits, making it one of the best medicines in existence for aged people". As if this were not enough, "it strengthens the nerves, gives tone to the stomach, produces a healthy appetite, sound digestion, clear skin and a vigorous body.

"At 8 oz. for $1.00, it probably afforded as many promises per dollar as any other popular cure.

This product was produced by Wells and Richardson Co. of Burlington Vermont. One sample contains the notation "pkg. adopted Jan 2, 1907", so we know that this particular formula dates from after that time. "No 2002 guaranteed under the Food and Drugs Act June 30, 1906", also appears on the label therefore a disclosure of the ingredients is included on this product.

And what were those ingredients? As listed, they are: Celery seed, Calisia bark, Sagrada, Cascara, Senna leaves, Prickly Ash bark, Sarsaparilla root, Hops,Ginger root, Dandelion root, Mandrake root, Blackhaw,Chamomile flowers, Black Cohosh root, Yellow Dock root, Potassium nitrate (a strong oxidizing agent with diruretic effects), glycerin, sugar and water.

Many of these ingredients seem unfamiliar to us, yet a few are still seen in health food stores as herbal supplements and teas. Celery seed is listed first, (though at this time, ingredients were not usually listed in order of their predominance) and it was often considered to be a digestive aid.

Several of its ingredients -- Cascara,Senna, Sagrada and Ash bark among them -- are primarily laxatives. Black Cohosh had been traditionally used for centuries by Native American women to soothe menopausal hot flashes.

Another ingredient, mandrake root, was formerly supposed to have aphrodisiac properties and sometimes used as a narcotic. Dandelion root was often used in patent medicines. It was sometimes considered to be especially beneficial for liver ailments, because it's flower was the color of bile. If any medicine were made today with similar ingredients it would undoubtedly need a very long list of warnings about interactions and side effects.

Oh yes, one more ingredient is mentioned. Paine's Celery Compound" contains 19.85% percent of alcohol", making it nearly equivalent to a 40 proof after dinner liqueur. Recommended dosage for the compound was one Tablespoonful four times a day or about 2 fl. oz total.

This was another enormously popular medication often used to relieve the distress of teething infants. It was first produced in 1849 and continued to be sold for well over 60 years. It was packaged with information in at least six languages, indicating wide distribution.

Unfortunately, it is strongly believed that overuse of this product caused the death of several children, as it contained morphine. This was another of the products which was called into question when attempts were first made to regulate patent medicines. Mrs. Charlotte N. Winslow's formula was widely imitated by other companies.

A Winslow's label of the early 1900's was replete with typical of turn of the century graphics. It featured allegorical figures of goddess-like women in elegantdraperies, a chubby cherub with fingers in his mouth, and baroque style borders around the ornate type styles.

The company apparently moved it's main operation to Australia about this time, perhaps in response to the tightening restrictions in the U.S. A contemporary product called Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup is still produced in Australia, though the formulation is now entirely different. It contains no opiates, and lists it's active ingredients as Chamomile, Catmint, Dill, and Fennel.

By the time that "Hair Vigor" was being widely advertised, people had just begun to learn of the "germ theory of disease" established by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch in 1870. Though the theory was not yet well accepted or understood, it seems that many medicine promoters were quick to use this new scientific discovery to promote their wares, by attributing almost any symptom to "germs".

For instance, Hair Vigor includes :

"Makes hair grow because it increases circulation of blood in the scalp and directly nourishes hair bulbs. But it will not do impossible things. It will not work contrary to any law of nature. We wish we could honestly say that Ayer's Hair Vigor will grow hair on a bald head. But we cannot so state. No power in the world can make hair grow on an old thin shiny scalp. But if there is any life left in the hair bulbs it will stimulate them to do all they possibly can. Therefore we can only say that Ayer's Hair Vigor will sometimes, but not always, make hair grow on bald heads. The only way to know is to try."

Ayer claimed to be a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, but there is no record of him earning a degree from that institution. Somehow he seems to have gained membership in a number of prestigious groups, including The Society Of Arts And Sciences, Chemical Institute, the College of Pharmacology, and The U.S. Medical Association and The College Of Physicians And Surgeons in the 1860's.

By that time he had become a very wealthy man and even helped finance a railroad from Boston to his home town of Lowell, Mass. He retired a multi-millionaire in the early 1870's and gave over management of his patent medicine empire to a Mr. A. G. Cook, who continued to build the fortune for many years to come. Ayer died in 1878 and his brother Frederick assumed control. His widow became very prominent in society and later spent most of the Ayer fortune in Europe.