Because medical doctors were scarce in mining towns and the government did not regulate what could be sold in a bottle, all sorts of liquids, salves and pills were marketed claiming to cure all sorts of maladies. Sometimes the makers obtained a patent for their mixes so the generic name was “patent” medicines. (Think of the modern day “supplements” market.)
All sorts of these unregulated “cures” were for sale in Silver Reef and the bottles they came in are rather common artifacts from that time.
One bottle on display at the Silver Reef Museum contained “Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup” and an old newspaper ad claiming its great ability to calm fussy, teething babies. The syrup was a popular concoction – and apparently really worked!! (This may have been because it contained morphine.)
