Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-10-30
QUEER REMEDIES.

some Peculiar Ideas OF Cincinnati Eco
ple-How Boys are Kept Well, Tooth
ache Cured and Bleeding Stopped-And
How SMALL Pox Is Kept from Binding
the Baby.
from ne Cincinnati Enquirer.
Eyes" said prominent physician over
the Rhine, as he puffed his long pipe the
other evening. There is a vast amount
Of superstition among many people in this
city that, no matter how hard you combat
il, seems ineradicably beaten into their
composition. l run across it every day in
my practice, and while it generally is OF
"a harmless sort that does not count much
for good or evil yet sometimes it is SO su.
premelv ridiculous that l cannot help
laughing outright"
''What do these superstltiOns relate top
''What don't they relate to? you had
better ask. Why, these old women, her
bammes, and fortune tellers, dealers in
herbs and SIGH have sovereign cures for
everything, from a sore finger up TO con-
sumption and from incurable epilepsy
down 10 tOOthache."
And they believe in them?
Most assuredly. Frequently when the
physician is called in he will find that
some old granny has been before him, do
ing some sort Of mummery. l shall never
forget broken arm that l was once call
ed IN TO set for party on PendletOn
street. lt was a terrible case. The bones
nad grown crooked and would not link
together, and in every way the patient
Was badly of. He mad broken his arm
near the hand, and some old granny,
fOrtune-teller, had undertaken 10 set it by
saying charms and burning some sort Of
lll-smelling stuff in the room. Why, it
took me six times as long to cure that
fracture as it would have done had been
called in at the outset, and the fellow new
er did have Il straight arm.
Il recall young lad who had weak
lungs. His parents were very anxious 10
consult a sympathetic doctor. lie did so,
and afterward, when he came under my
care, he described the course Of sprouts the
doctor put him through. He made him
strip and sit on q stool which
STOOD IN A TUB HALF FULL OF WATER.
] n the bottom of the tub were two plates,
one OF copper, the other Of zinc. On these
ne placed his feet. Then ne held a live
rooster tn his breast, and two wires were
passed from the plates to the rooster 5
mouth"
Are charms and amulets used a good
dealT'
yes, they are frequently worn By peo-
PIE i ne dEteke ana Romans uSeQ anu
let's They act first through the medica-
ments they contain, such as musk, cam
phor and assaf9tida, but their main ac-
ton is through the quietude of mind that
the faith OF the sufferer in them produces.
They are worn about the neck under the
clothing. and sometimes the cord is made
long enough for them to reach the region
Of the heart, which Is faVorite region for
medicine TO exercise potent charms. They
are composed Of medical substances in
closed in small bags of silk or parchment
or medical gums made up into the shape
OF beads, which are strung around the
neck, or pieces of parchment on which
sentences or formulB are written. Here
is an instance, the following which is TO
prevent the invasion of the eyes by small
poX:
Smallpox from the eye drop out,
AS the water from the spout.
"Amulets are sometimes used to pre-
vent diseases in cattle. Here is a charm
/ against the cholera: Take drachms OF
| dried Florentine violets, pulverized, Z
/ drachms of carroway seed, l drachm OF
/ oil OF bergamut, | drachm of ON Der, and a
/ drachm and half Of balsam of Peru. Add
\ acacia mucilage sufficient to make Of the
| consistence so that beads or pearls may
/ be formed. These are dried and hung on
/ a silken cord and are worn about the
neck. Here is another one, if anything,
more ingenious than any: The following
| diagram is to be written on parchment
| and worn about the neck: