The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-01
TURKISH HEALERs OF THE SICK.
The Doctors of COnstantinOp1e, and How
They Treat Their Patients.

with filth that often comes above shoe-tops and
the stencil that rises is than the air in the
underground passages of a Chinatown Yet the
people live, and eat, and sleep here and when
they get sick-as they invariably do-they doc
tor themselves after the most approved quack
cry in the Turkish pharmacy. The priests are
the chief physicians, but men sell patent medi-
clnes on the Turkish street corners with much
the same volubility as in New York They are
very conservative, these Turkish DOCTORS resist
ing sturdily the new and clinging tenaciously to
old opinions. Most of their practice is mere
fetichism, and they lug astrology or divine in
reference into the smallest cases of collie and
toothace. For a nation of fatalists the Turks
have more faith than two-thirds the Christians
living Nine cases out of ten where they are
cured at all, it is their faith and not the remedy
that cures them.
Sickness, they believe, is the result of offend
ing some deity or spirit, and, reversing the pro
cess, they endeavor to placate the deity through
the priests, and thus coax him INTO removing the
plague from them. The dervishes, being the
most holy men among the priests are esteemed
the most celebrated doctors. Each Thursday.
after their peculiar rites, towels and the clothes
OF SICK persons too weak to come personally, are
brought to them in the temple and laid on the
floor before the altar. A bottle of water is then
carried round the circle of dervishes and rem
dered holy by being breathed upon by each one
in turn. The high priest is the last to do this,
and then taking the bottle, he bears it above his
head to the altar. where after sundry salaams
and mutterings, he walks back and forward sew
e1al JllneS over tne clothes, ana then SpfnkleS
them with water from the bottle. This is sup
posed to endow both towels and cloths with mi
raculous curative properties, and they are taken
away by the sick mems friends at great cost for
rubbing purposes, or to be worn as a cure. For
the ''trampling' cure, those who are able to
come to the temple in person.
A woman brought in baby not more than
twelve months old 1t was weak and pinched,
and not knowing what allied it, she had brought
it to the priest in hope of cure. A mat was
spread before the altar and the child laid on it,
face downward, on the floor. Then the high
priest, leaning hand on the shoulder of an at
tendant on each side, so as not to press too
heavily, put his foot on the chlds loins, settled
it to get firm foothold, and then raising him
self stood upright on the poor little body.
Then he stepped back, and lifting the child,
soothed and caressed it with a tenderness that
showed him utterly unconscious OF any brutal
ty, and also his assurance in the efficacy and
necessity for the remedy. Two other babies re-
ceived the same treatment and then five young
girls ran in and lay down side by side on the
mat. There was apparently nothing the matter
with them, but their friends were afraid there
might be, and so brought them to forestall con
tingencies.
The priest sprinIled them with water from the
holy bottle, and then, dlScardng the help of his
attendants, stepped up onto the nearest girl and
walked several times across the row. At every
step his feet sank into the soft flesh, but he kept
below the waist, and only an occasional grunt
showed that they felt it at ALL Some of them
appeared to think it very funny, and when the
priest had finished they all got up laughing
kissed his hand with great show of reverence,
and ran nimbly out The only patient not en-
tirely stoical was an old Turkish officer, with
rheumatism in his limbs. They brought him in
on crutches with his legs all bent and stiff, and
like the others he was laid out on the mat
Then the priest mounted him. beginning at the
waist and inside of two minutes his legs were
Strengthened out as limp as carpet-rags, and the
old priest was WALKING up and down him as
cheerfully as If there was no such thing as feel
ing in him. The officers face turned white as his
shirt, and once or twice he yelled inyoluntaPily
but the prestp paid no attention. and in the end the
effect seemed to be good, for when it was over
and they raised him to his feet, although he APP
| peared rather wilted, he stood alone and walked
| away without his crutches.
| Another popular cure is the ''sweating-stone
| so called, in the mosque of st. Sophia. 1t is
! large pillar near the left hand entrance, or
| sort of greenish-white stone. In this, about the
| height of d mans head, is a small hole hardly
| large enough to contain the entire frgers.
| Through some peculiar natural property of tine
! stone, the inside of this hole is always covered
| with salty moster No matter how often this
| is wiped away, it instantly returns, and this
| sweat of the stone the Turks credit with mir
aculous curative properties. Hundreds come
| here, it is said TO rub their diseased members
| with the healing moisture. The graves OF many
of the dead dervshes. too, who in life had extra
| luck as ''tramplers," have been converted into
| shrines to which sick persons make plgrimages,
| in hope of cure. They tie on the gratings be-
fore these tombs long strips of flannel and wool
| black, yellow and red-torn from their Clothes
and do not forget to leave plaster or so in
the money basin before departing This
is the cure for fevers and colds
and also protective against the ''evil eye"
| This fear of the 'evil eye" is as strong among
the Turks as among the Italians and in point of
civilization much more becoming. Like the
Italians, they consider coral protection against
its i'll effects, and every Turk carries piece of
it about with him as a charm. Not only this
flac dc 4O
duets.
The donkeys and horses have necklaces of red
coral and strings of trquoises twisted into their
tails. Pendants of coral hang from the grape
and vegetable baskets and if a Turk gets
swearing mad at his donkey and wants to say
the worst thing he can to him, he threatens to
take away his jewelry, that being the shortest
way of utterly conSgning him to the devil The
Turks are very much afraid of dying themselves
and never like to think of dying in any way AS
a consequence they appear peculiarly heartless
about their funerals. The body, in a coffin or
on board, as the case may be, is covered with
yellow cloth and laid in ALTER Then four brawny
Turks lift up the corners and set off as fast as
they go to the mosque, the friends following
as best they can. Nobody makes way for the
procession in the crowded streets, and it often
goes hard with the bearers to dodge in and out
among the horses and carriages. In front of the
mosques are slanting stones on which the bodies
are rested while the priests and mourners go in
to pray. This finished the march is resumed
until the grave is reached All except the
mourners laugh and gossip and poke fun at the
bearers for their awkwardness in lowering the
corpse One of the latter jumps into the grave
and arranges the body. and when he has scram-
bled out the diggers began filing in the dirt
and the party goes away. There is no further
show of sentiment, and, after the erection of a
headstone, little care is there whether the worms
or the dogs lunch on the departed. Being fatal
lists, they know he is either in torment or in
glory, and while certain that the same fate must
come to them in time, they don't want to be
bothered with the thought before it comes. and
so endeavor to forget the dead and death as
quickly and completely as possible.
Story of a Spendthrift.
Denver Republican.
The suicide of George II. Fryer, ex-millionaire