The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1881-06-11

The Russian peasant has q great dis
like TO doctors and will rather suffer
anything from village quack than put
himself under the treatment of a med
ical man. Among the laboring class the
treatment OF diseases and affections of
all kinds is confined chiefly to o a
women, who not infrequently are looked
upon as witches. and. as recent terri
BILE example has shown, are occasional
ly treated as such. 1t cannot be denied
that these old crones possess certain
knowledge of the virtues of herbs.
drugs, ETC., and many cases are on rec
ord where they succeeded in curing
IDyeterate affections that for years had
resisted the Doctors skill. Feyers of
all kinds. ague and malaria, are among
the most prevalent diseases in Russia =
diseases which it is currently believed
haunt the country in the shape of invis-
lbie women. who go, from village to
village and from house to house in
search OF some human being. in whom
they may conveniently take up their
abode. There are said to be twelve
such women, or sisters as they are some
times called--that is, kinds of fever
who visit the patient separately. The
first visitors are as rule, only trouble
some, not dangerous; but those that
come later weaken him considerably,
and the twelfth sister" almost inva-
riably takes the patients life. BY the
latter name the peasants call the
fever and night-sweats which are
the usual symptoms of advanced
consumption. Each of these twelve
sisters is supposed to have a great dis
like to some special mode of treatment,
and will at once leave the patient if it
should be resorted to. Thus. for ex-
ample, sister No. 1 is afraid of cutting
instruments and sharp tools, and it. is
strongly recommended TO surround the
patients bed with knives. axes, scythes.
spades, saws. etc., which must be laid
with their sharp edges turned toward
the door. A specific against sister No.
is an alcoholic extract of twelve kinds
of wood, and sister No. can be ex-
PEELED by swallowing a large dose of
gunpowder. The ninth sister breads
cold water above all things aud win inn
mediately leave patient who takes a
cold bath.
There are several other remedies
against fever, but they lose their power
If employed by the uninitiated. The
following is rather curious specimen:
The village wizard or witch takes the
patient by the hand and leads him into
the open fields. Here they look about
for an ash-tree which must be little
taller than the patient. The wizard then
produces his knife, cleaves the tree in
two from top to the root. Both halves
of the top are then tied together with
the patients belt. and the quack holds
the two lower parts of the trunk apart
so as to form an opening. through which
the patient creeps, having meanwhile
Invested himself of his clothing. His
clothes are then handed to him one by
one through the same opening; he
dresses himself and is now considered
TO be cured of bis ague. During the
whole operation the wizard mutters GER
tain mysterious words, which are sup
posed to possess some miraculous pow
er. Other popular remedies against
fever and malaria are tobacco, tar and
verdigris, and of late years the peas
ants have taken largely to use quinine.
Chambers journal.