This is Bob Myers from the Historical Society of Michigan with a Michigan history moment. In the carefree days before the Pure Food and Drug act of 1906, bottles of patent medicines lined store shelves in Saginaw, Michigan. Sufferers could avail themselves of a favorite nostrum, Hinckley's Bone Liniment. Check. James Hinckley first concocted the stuff in 1856. He sold it in lumber camps and in drug stores across Mid America. What was in it? Well, Hinckley's Bone Liniment contained some active ingredients. A few drops of wormwood oil worked as a laxative. A quarter ounce of hemlock oil cured respiratory problems and muscle aches. Another quarter ounce of thyme oil killed germs and relieved coughing. And a half ounce of turpentine oil helped with joint pain, toothache and lung congestion. Capsicum fluid extract from hot peppers gave it a kick. Ah, but the best part was hinckley's main ingredient, 87% pure grain alcohol. What did Hinckley's Bone Liniment cure? According to the advertising, it cured cholera, rheumatism, dysentery, asthma, chills, ague, internal pain, sore eyes, headaches, earaches, colic, diarrhea, coughs, hemorrhoids, weak lungs, lameness, frozen feet, canker, sore throat, bronchitis, malaria, dyspepsia and influenza. Lumberjacks bought Hinckley's bone liniment in 25 cent, 50 cent and $1 bottles. It was good for internal and external use, the label said so. Given the thumping dose of alcohol, one suspects that the usage was mostly internal. In 1864, D.F. foster of East Saginaw bought out James Hinckley. He marketed Hinckley's Liniment with a catchy little ditty. Remember then this Paine's Great Master is made alone by D.F. foster, who far and near spread its renown from Jefferson Street, East Saginaw town, declared Foster of his wonderful cure All. It heads off serious sickness, carries youth into old age and makes advanced years pain free. Hinckley's Bone Liniment somehow escaped the restrictions of the Pure Food and Drug Act. The government did, however, force the makers to drop most of their medicinal claims, lower the alcohol content from 87 to 47%, and remove the word bone from its name. Renamed Old Hinckley's Liniment, the cure all was still produced as late as 1960, more than a century after its introduction. This Michigan history moment was brought to you by michiganhistorymagazine.org.