Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1857-04-16
A New and Certain Mode Of Curing the
aShakesD

ShakeS.D
y stranger, in passing through the lower
counties of North Carolina and Virginia. will
be struck by the sickly, cadayerous complex
| ion of many of the inhabitants thereof this
is occasioned by their proximity to the swamps
and pocosins, whose poisonous exhalations they
are constantly breathing, and which forms u
fruitful source for that scourge Of the lowlands,
chills and fever
| \ few months ago. while riding with d
/ friend, we halted for q few moments at the ca
bin of a shingle-cutter, for the purpose of OBJ
tanning some water for ourselves and horse
while there we entered into conversation with
the proprietor of the premises Onr first in
quiry, as to the health of himself and family.
was answered, as his appearance indicated,
" the chis and fever troubled them occasion
ally" On further conversation, we advised
him to procure the medicine we named, one
that had been patented by some physician and
was strongly puifed by some papers, as an in
falfble cure for the ague, and great renova-
tor of the system. The man shook his head
incredulously,
Stranger doctors may invent and pay
editors to write and print about their medi-
cnes to cure the ague and other diseases
by 80 doing they have taken many hard ear
ed dollar from poor men like myself-but they
won't get another dollar from me in a hurry I.
for, sir, | have tried them and their medicines
they won't do down here in the bottoms
Now, sir, you see that boy there, (pointiug to
white headed pumpkin colored lad, whose
age ranged somewhere between twelve and
twenty j well, that boy, a month ago, was
taken by the swamp shakes, and Je-hu they
gin him gosS Bless your heart, you people
who live in town don't know what the real
shakes are ; but here's the place to see, as well
as to feel them Why, sir, the very first day,
Bill shook himself right out of bed and into
the ashes, AID kept up such racket that the
old woman hustled me off after a doctor. I
found one in town, and he came out with me-
/ BIZ, however, was better when we came back
bat the doctor stayed with US, for, he said, he
wanted to have fair chance to keep off the
next attack. Well, he went to work on the
boy, he dosed and lie drenched him. as | would
have done ~ a horse with the cholic, Lut it
did him no good-for the next day the boy
was down again this time he shook himself
not only ont Of bed bat clean out of his breech-
cs, and came nigh burning his skin, for he get
into the fire. The doctor worked away like
b!aZes, sometimes tuSsling with the boy, all
over the room, knocking over the pans, table
and benches, trying to keep him in bcd-but
no sooner did he git him there, than out he
would come again, with his teeth chattering
and hair on end. The doctor fout the var
mint his darndest all day, but he couldn't face
hiul-he was badly whipped certain--I told
him he might go. Now, thinks | to myself,
FL try ny hand to morrow, and see how my
medicine will act so as soon as / got up 1
went to that chinquapin bush over yondcr, and
cut me about the all-frcdcst long switch you
ever laid eyes on. When I got back, Ipoked
up Bill, who was rolled up in bed and says |,
Sonny, sonny how do you feel yourself
this morning ~
"Why, daddy" says he, rubbing his eyes,
| feel bad cnongh that blasted old shakes
is comm on, and its agoiu to give me fits agin"
"Git up, sonny" says /, land come out
here into the yard, | want you to help me
drive out the Old SOW, for she's making awful
work in our tatcr patch"
In few minutes Bill came out, with moth
ing on but his shirt. As soon as he got well
out of the honse, I gave him such wipe
around his naked legs, that he jumped about
ten feet, yelling like an lnjun.
Now, then, my boy" says !, 'raar and
away he went around the field Ike steam in
gine. Every time he began to sackcn his
pace, applied the chinquapin medicine to his
hide. l kept him travelling, You may be surc;
every time we came towards the house / push
! ed him the harder to keep him from eittin in
! Bill would only have time to sing out Oh
Nanny = when he would dart by out of hear
in. Now, the old woman was cittin breakfast
at the time of the rumpus, and on looking ont
got her mater considerably riled at seeing Bill
catching it so fast-and the racket he was
making, led her to thitk he had nearly give
ont. On our approaching the house for the
fourth heat, she could stand it no longcr-for
grabbing mp the long handled frying pan that
was on the fire, full of herrings, out she came,
crying-
Blast your picter fight me awhile and
let the boy rest"
With that she brought down the burned old
pan, herrings and all, on the top of my cocoa
nut, so hard that it capsized me fiat into the
hog trough. | didn't care so much for the
lick, although it made my head ache for week
afterwards, but one of them hot herrings got
inside of my shirt, and, Jeru-sa-lcm how it
burnt 1t actually branded me before | get
it out. ierrings is mighty good generally
but they amt comfortable as a pOultice, no
how. When [ got up Bill had gone into the
house, sweating like Il stage horse in July
tie hasn't been troubled with the shakes since
That's the way | cured him. Stranger, give
us chaw tobacco"
FoUND At IAsT-Tom Kirkman used TO tell