Home remedies

[gary]

"Take a peck of green garden snails, wash them in Bear (beer) put them in an oven and let them stay till they've done crying; then with a knife and fork pr ick the green from them, and beat the snail shells and all in a stone mortar. Then take a quart of green earth-worms, slice them and beat them, the pot being first put into the still with two handulls of angelico, a quart of rosemary flowers, then the snails and worms, the egrimoney, bears feet, red dock roots, barbery rue tumerick and one ounce of saffron, well dried and beaten. Then power (pour) in three gallons of milk. Wait till morning, then put in three ounces of cloves (well beaten), hartshorn, grated. Keep the still covered all night. This done, stir it not. Distill with a moderate fire. The patient must take two spoonfuls at all times."

18th Century medicine is a wonderful thing, is it not?

[sockknitter]

Barf, ralph and ewwww.
I know of at least one ancestor who died of consumption (in 1892). Assuming he was desperate for any cure, now I feel even sorrier for him. But then, maybe he died because he didn't come across your lovely formula.

[ole]

Sockknitter:
Or he did.
Ole

[lrd89]

I just got the CW pension files on 2 ancestors. It is amazing what little bits of family history is in a Civil War pension file if you really study them! My ggg grandfather, James Lester Co. C, 38th Indiana, enlisted in February 1864 and was discharged when the unit disbanded in July 1865. He was only fit for duty about 2 months, July and August 1864, and was hospitalized most of the rest of the time. According to his pension file he suffered from chronic diarreah (sp?) and kidney disease for the rest of his life. His wife stated in an affadavit that his mother told her that watermelon seed tea helped him. The wife began serving him this on a regular basis.

I've never heard of a family recipe for watermelon seed tea. I didn't even know such a thing existed.

[gary]

OK, I'm reading about Tom Tobin who was one of the mountainmen scouts of the Nineteenth Century. Apparently besides being adept at tracking, farming, hunting (game & people), he also picked up skills as a frontier doctor. Here's somethings out of the book (which I bought from the Pueblo Historical Society):

:"...powdered sagebrush leaves were a remedy for diaper rash and any moist area chafing. Boil the sagebrush leaves in water and you have a strong disinfectant and body cleaning wash. A tea made from the twigs, bark and pods of the mesquite plant will inhibit diarrhea and other gastrointestinal tract inflammation, including ulcers and hemmorhoids. Boil just the mesquite pods for an eyewash that helps any conjunctivitis of any type and will cure pink eye in children or livestock. Then there is silver sage, which is not a true sage but a small wormwood that grows everywhere in the San Luis Valley. Grind up some silver sage leaves and twigs, place in a glass jar with enough Taos Lightning to cover, shake the jar every few days, and in about a week you have a tincture which, when diluted with twenty to thirty drops of cold water, will effectively retard acid indigestion. Make a simple tea from the silver sage leaves and the result is a strong diuretic and a mild laxative. And, always, there is the marveloous yerba mansa plant which can be used to treat infection of the mouth, lungs, and urinary tract. It is also an astringent and a diuretic, and is aspirin-like in its anti-inflammatory effects, which makes it effective for the treatment of arthritis. It is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal as well as an excellent first aid for abrasions, contusions; also yerba mansa will heal boils, cure athlete's foot and other fungus-type infections, including vaginitis. It is effective against gout, reduces fever, and makes a good enema or douche solution. This versatile herb is virtually a medicine chest in itself."

I don't vouch for any of the above, but it's fun to read.