Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1844-07-06
From the Liberater.
From the Liberater.
The Water-Curc I'm Gernnny---Letter from
ii. &. Wright at Preissnitz's.
GRAErFENBERo, Scsia, Austria,
March l3 lSil {

Water-cu:e nine weeks. During that whole
lime, the weather has been extremely cold-so
cold that ice has formed around my BATH into
which plunged twice day and ice, at this
moment hangs around the Douctes, in masses
from ten to fifteen feet in length, and larger
than mans body. During tie whole of the
nine weeks, we have not had more than fifteen
days Of fair weather, put it altogether. Tenn
pests that come bowling down from the Bohe-
mian mountains, which lie to the South some
ID or 20 miles, sweep over Graeilcnberg with
great fury-drvng the snow in clouds before
them, till they are lost on the plains of Prussia,
that arc open bcfore us at the North. The
people say the winter has been uncommonly
severe. 1t requires the constant exercise of
desperate resolution to carry on the cure amid
such SHOWS and ice.
With such temperature, to have our bodies
packed up, twice day, in sheet wrung out of
water, whose temperature is down to freezing
--Oast evening, the sheet in which was pack.
ed, three minutes before I saw spread out on
the snow before my window, frozen stiff as ice)
to lie in that wet sheet till get warm and
then go down into bath room oft full fsnow
and ice and there throw all off, and smoking,
plunge into that dreadful bath, and stay in it
one or two mnutes-then to be rubbed dry,
and have long wet bandugc tied around the
| whole body-then dress, and 60 out and face
those fierce, bowling tempests, the snow all
blowing into your eyes, ears, hair, neck and
bosom and then to have TO sit down in cold
water, and there sit 10 minutes at a time
sure, such fearful process must kill or cure.
Strange to say, not one here seems to have the
least fear of the former. 1t kills no one-it in.
vigorates and strengthens all, and produces
pretty thorough Indignation in each at himself,
that he should ever have subjected his body to
the heating process generally pursued by the
medical faculty. | am certain that the process
though SO fearful that almost catch my
breath and shver all over TO think Of it-has
done me great good.
told Preissnitz, at the outset, that my di-
sease was nmy ungs-that my lungs were ul-
! ceratCd some-and that | had thrown putrd
matter from them-and he at once subjected
me TO this process. | was afraid, at first, how
/ it would 90 but Preissnitz had confidence in
! his prescriptions, and so have !, noW. lie
has not yet put me under the Douche, and will
not till the weather is mlder. Sure | am, that
all the morbid matter, sccrctcd in my SYSTEM
has been put in motcn-not indeed yet routed
out of the system, but routed from any particu-
lar location in the system and sure am that
by the time have gone through the ordeal O.
nough, these morbid secretions will be entirely
expelled from the body. The settled cough
that had seems to be broken up entirely. /
do indeed, now and then, get a lit,lc cold, as do
all the patients, but the cold don't seize upon
my lungs as colds used to do. And, besides,
no one here seems to have the slightest tear of
a cod for the simple reason that every one
feels that there is here certain and speedy re-
mcdy at hand. a few hours break it all up,
and scatter it TO the wind. So of icvcr-no
one here seems to have the least fear OF fever,
because every one feels an entire confidence
in cold water as an antidote.
From what have seen here, can never a.
gain doubt that the fercest of levers are harm
less, being absolutely under human control,
Recently, we had two cases of most malignant
fever. One was a man, taken with nervous
raging fever. In three days the fever was en-
tirely routed, and in a week the man appeared
again in the saloon, eating like ravenous wolf
whatever he liked; ; and though he looked thin
and was weak, yet you might have seen him
out breasting the storms-which, in his weak
ness, would near tip him over at times. -Four
days ago, woman who had taken cold during
the day, and was not aware Of the enemy lurk
ing in her, was seized IN the night with mos
violent fever. | saw her in the morning, ant
she looked exactly like person in scarlet ie
yer. A wet sheet was at once wrapped abou
5 her whole body, and changed and wet agali
5 every thirty minutes. This was pursued abou
I twenty hours, and water was applied in othe
5 ways The next day saw her up and dressed
and looking as well and eating as hearty a
c usual. Not particle of medicine was admin
r istered | do not believe that out of the 30t
s patients now here, or ou. Of several thousan,
i that have been here, there is one who has tn
J. least fear of colds or tevers. Each seems t
feel that so far as ievers and colds are concern
}. cd certain remedy is always at hand. Il
d think that il is the duty Of all who have youn
| Il, AZ, tn annlu tLia rntnalv IIoN