Memoirs of a Captivity Among the Indians of North America, by John Dunn Hunter; 3rd edition (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Ohme, Brown, & Green, 1824)
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CHAP. XVIII.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE INDIAN PRACTICE OF SURGERY AND MEDICINE.
The Indians are aware that both respiration and the circulation of the blood are essential to life; they also know that the former is performed by the lungs, and the latter through the heart and blood vessels; though they do not understand the peculiar manner in which these organs perform those functions. And what is of much practical importance to their success in taking game, and aiming at their enemies, they are well acquainted with their situation, and with parts which, if wounded, are likely to prove mortal. They know that the brain is essential to life, and believe that it is the organ of thought. They seldom have any call for the exercise of surgical skill, and when they do, they in general display great want of experience; though I have known them to stop hemorrhages which I am persuaded would otherwise have proved fatal. Spitting of blood is a frequent occurrence in long marches, and more especially when they are pursued by enemies, and their retreat is over districts of country badly supplied with water. In such cases they chew the astringent root and swallow its juice as they run. The warriors usually carry it with them, but when without, they are compelled to seek it. It is an excellent remedy, and generally succeeds in stopping the discharge.
They sometimes experience troublesome bleedings from wounds and other causes, which they manage to
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arrest with the fleshy scrapings obtained in dressing skins, moss, or the hair of various animals bandaged to the parts affected. They understand the importance of blood-letting in cases of local pains, fevers, and inflammations; and perform the operation in the arm and foot with flint-stones, pointed bones, or knives, having previously applied a ligature, as is the common practice amongst the surgeons of the schools. They seldom let blood in any considerable quantity, and never, that I know of, until fainting is induced; when they stop the blood, they secure the orifice with a piece of soft skin, and bind up the part by a bandage. In wounds where matter is collected they suck and spirt water into them with the mouth; and I believe with very great benefit. They seldom have troublesome or difficult ulcers to heal, except where their constitutions are impaired by intemperance and debauchery; misfortunes which do sometimes occur, since the introduction of ardent spirits among them. They remove the fungous parts either by escharotics or cautery. They say "that a burn will get well of itself, while an old sore is exceedingly difficult to cure."
They are acquainted with the advantage of relaxing the muscles in dislocations; for in cases where they do not readily succeed, they nauseate the patient to a most distressing degree, and then find very little difficulty in replacing a luxated bone.
When a ball simply lodges beneath the integuments, they extract it with the point of the scalping-knife or the handle of their bullet-moulds, which, from its shape, is the better qualified of the two.
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When, however, the ball is lodged more deeply, or has penetrated in a circuitous direction, it is permitted to come out by the slower process of suppuration; or to remain within a sac naturally formed by the surrounding muscular integuments. When it is desirable to extract a ball, they introduce a piece of the slippery elm-bark as far into the wound as is practicable, which is suffered to remain till the sought-for object is obtained, or no danger is likely to result by suffering it to remain. They also make incisions with the knife on the surface, whenever it heals too fast for the more deep-seated parts of the wound. The slippery elm-bark, beaten to a pulp and applied to the wounded part, is the usual remedy among the Osages for the extraction of a ball, thorn, &c.; they sometimes apply the pounded roots of the gall of the earth-plant to wounds; inflammation generally follows, and the foreign body is easily extracted.
Plasters of the resin of the sap-pine are applied to frosted members, with decided advantage.
They sometimes relieve inward pains by settling a piece of touch-wood on fire, and permitting it to produce a blister over the pained part. They say, "that such treatment draws the enemy from his lurking-place, and exposes him to a direct attack."
I have known several who died from wounds received in battle: they complain of continual thirst; one in particular, a brave warrior of the Osage tribe, named Pau-ton-ga, or the Great Snow, had received a wound in his thigh, in an engagement with the Pawnees; he suffered every symptom of what I now understand by
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the locked jaw, and expired about the seventh day. The attack was slight at first, and excited, as well as I can recollect, very little uneasiness at the time. The physicians applied ley and skins of warm wet laurel ashes to the part, but were not able to procure much discharge, which they looked upon as essential to effect a cure; other cases of the kind may have occurred among them, but not within my knowledge. Having no favourite theories to support, they depend chiefly on experience in the application of their remedies; this being exhausted without procuring the desired relief, they dispute every inch of ground with the grim monster, by resorting to experiments, incantations, charms, dreams, &c.
I once saw an Indian choked. This was from swallowing a plum, which was brought back by efforts to vomit, produced by thrusting a turkey's feather down his throat; a considerable quantity of frothy mucus, tinged with blood, was brought up with it, and the person recovered.
The Indians are not very liable to swellings, tumors, or boils; when they do occur they are generally suffered to come to a crisis, without any application to them; when very much inflamed, they apply cooling plasters of bruised herbs, or fomenting warm poultices. When the colour of the parts changes, and the collection of matter is evident, they make an incision, and continue the poultice, to promote a discharge.
Among the Osages I have known two cases of what I now suppose to have been white swellings, neither
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subject was more than fifteen years of age. One was of the knee, and the other on the ancle joint. They were treated with poultices.
Affections of the eyes sometimes occur, but I have never known them to attempt cures by any manual operations. When highly inflamed, they blow decrepitated salt into them, but whether this treatment is productive of any benefit I am unable to say. The more mild cases readily yield to their simple applications.
The Indians commence the cure of most of their acute diseases by an emetic, by bleeding, purging, and sweating, the last of which is by far the most common.
In their treatment of fevers, they puke the patient at first, and then, while it is on, give him freely of sweating teas, and warm drinks; and when the fever is perfectly off, and at no other time, they give bitters, and other tonic medicines, in considerable quantities, to prevent its return.
Pleurisy.--They bleed in pleurisy, fill skins with hot ashes, and apply them over the pained parts, and sweat most violently. Whenever the patient begins to sweat freely, the hard breathing and pain in the side abate, and when the discharge of mucus from the mouth commences, they say he is out of danger.
Cholera morbus.--In this disease, they resort to the steam- bath and cathartics, after which they give copiously of a gruel made from wild rice, and wild liquorice tea. They also apply fomentations to the stomach.
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Dropsy.--The Indians are more subject to this disease since at introduction of ardent spirits amongst them than they formerly were, and also have more remedies for it than for any other disease, probably, from the uncertainty which attends their operation. An infusion of the white flowering vine (Chee-za-hau) is among their most valuable and active remedies. A combination of wild-cherry bark, sumach roots and leaves, black haw, sour-wood leaves, and a mineral substance collected from the banks of rivers in decoction, gives in cold large doses three or four times a day, is also a remedy in high repute amongst them. Powdered shells and burnt bones, mixed with bitter barks and herbs, is another remedy. They also apply the leaves of tobacco, steeped in a strong decoction of the chips of water oak (Quercus lyrata), warm to the patient, and keep them moist by the infusion. The effects are nausea, vomiting, and great prostration of strength.
Rheumatism.--This disease from its frequency and violence has induced the Indians to seek a great variety of remedies, the principal of which are bleeding, steam-bathing, warm infusions, fomentings, sweating, frictions, unctions, &c.
They are generally successful in relieving acute cases, and even the chronic ones sometimes yield to their remedies, but they are very liable to return.
Diarrhœa.--For this disease they puke, sweat, and give astringents: when long continuance has induced great debility, they give frequent and large draughts of bitter infusions. I have frequently known them to cure it by chewing the inner bark of the burr oak.
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Consumption.--This disease but rarely occurs. They generally attempt its cure by giving warm infusions of Indian physic, assisted by large draughts of warm water and herb teas, and not unfrequently by the sweat or steam-house bath, their object being to induce sweating and nausea. The cough root or Indian balsam is among their most valuable remedies. Local applications for pain in the breast are also resorted to, as well as many other remedies which are rather harmless than useful. They abstain from animal food, subsisting principally on a gruel prepared from parched corn meal. In fact, abstinence is the Indian's sheet-anchor in the management of this as well as in their febrile diseases; for, say they, "while ever the fever is on, to give food is feeding it." They adopt this saying from observing the facts, that eating during the fever increases its violence.
I have known only a few instances of this complain amongst the Indians, brought on by exposure. Intemperance is the principal cause of its prevalence amongst them.