New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-01-03
THE CREOLE DOCTOR.
o,rr CIJRIOSITIES OF MEDICINE IN
0'1 LOUISIANA.

PH,-, op,pAxs Dec 2S.-Tbe Northerner who
=. "a settle IN New-Orleans will find
af,sr the experience of a few summers In
No. Iouisiana climate that he has become
- or loss physioloRically changed by the strns-
10 If his system with those novel atmospheric con-
s,,;ons 70 which it vas Obliged to adapt itself Ac-
eordinc to the con, ttutional pccularitics OF the
,iivdual the effects of decentralization may vary
while some persons suffer considerably. others
.odpre very little positive discomfort; hut all arc
sub,.cted to u certain physical tran information A
may complexion invariably fades out; the blood
no,tlv loses its Elasticity. tho proportion OF red
n0rnnscles greatly dmin,shrs; aud susceptibility
4. hon .es of heat and cold becomes sineularly IN
.o,s,se3 For Southern Louisiana is an especially
-,oysnic region; the conditions are fchrio; the
o.r,i ospect of the healtEiest natives is that OF
oooval,scents as compared with tho ruddy look OF
Northern peopo; and the well-known ivJrne pallor
of the Creole suggests 10 inexperienced eyes recent
ATTACK of malaria. The changes in the hood ac-
ccmpanying acclimatizatiOn necessarily involve cor
rcsponding changes in regard to dict and habits OF
life. but while tho appetite may be maintained by
+be u,e of acdulatcd drinks or Such gentle stimn-
lauts rs caret-and-wter ones capacity Tor intense
or prolonged cXcrtion steadily dimin'sheS, ond
finally passes away. Nothing resembling the cleo
tricai ym-the lmoStfuriOpSenergy-oi the NOrth-
western American VIII endure under this sun, and
vet the physical angGOr which supervcGes may he
eventually compensated by increased capacity lor
rapid mental work.
During thus process of enervatiOn tho stranger is
necul,lry liable to fever aud of feveTs (which in
endemic wears all seem to lose their special char
aeteristics and to nterblend with the dominant
evil there is surprising variety. SOne. Ike the
desgue S, Elm to bray the muscles as with fingers OF
iron: in others. the victim may SILVER with cold
under the heat of July sun there are different
kinds of remittent intermittent and other malarial
affections which are easy of treatment, AZ Il slow
torpid fevers which tho power of quinlne and
so sap the nervous energy as to leave the victim
prostrato for months. The accmated citizen rarely
suffers from these malIdies; but woe to the noau-
tous and energetic stranger who attempts 10 live iii
this sub-topical and pyrogenic region. Indifferent
to the danger of excessive fatigue or the perils OF
selC-cxposure to Sudden changes of temperature!
Even in view of the fact that the city is but few
fit above the level of the sea, and TO a large
extent below that Of the river the humidity of the
air is remarkable. Unless constructed with
precaut OF inspired by thorough knowledge or at
nioSAeric conditions, brick houses are apt to prove
damp AMI undesirable residences. Frame buildings
are much more healthy, being little affected by
those sudden changes of temperature which often
represent more than thirty degrees in twenty-four
hours and Will cause cold sweat to start from
every square inch Of hastily built brick dwelling.
Ii is not easy TO accuStom ones self to these atos-
pherc variations: the natives suffer from the
irregularities OF heat and cold and If there DO any
specially Creole disease it is consumption Flannel
underwear becomes necessity OF lie III TINS region
OF bord OF warfare between the winds of the North
and the winds of the tropics. 1t is not. however
until tho blood has been thunel the recnperativo
vitality essened 10y the first summers sOourn that
The settler in Louisiana finds the South also has its
winter-Snowless here, but severe on those particu
larry sensitive to ampnesS for the humid chill
Seems to penetrate to tho bones. Even the cool
nights of fall and spring have breezes that seem to
blow from region of thawing SHOWS
That the thermometer in Southern Louisiana
rarely mounts so high during the torrid months as
it does in the Northwestern Northeastern states
is sometimes appealed to as an evidences that our
summers less oppressive. But this Inference IS
erroneous A heat Of $50 or 800 here is more diff
cult to endure than much higher temperatures in
dryer air; for tho moist atmosphere sometimes has
the weight of the vapor-lllen OF IA Russian bath.
ANY protractel elevation Of the temperature to the
figure 1909 in the shade wOuld prove fatal here To
hundreds and if suns.rokes are less common in
Nov-Orlcans than sewhere il must he re'nem 'ered
that sumner IS a dead season here, that there IS
comparalyely little work done in the and that
all vino can comfortably afford it leave the city.
Oar sumner nights arc cooler tan III the North,
but not really refreshln2,-fOr the GOODNESS Is
a humid one the rooluess of heavy dcws aud some
tines ot mara ulal emsnatons -signalled III spring
and fal. by visible white vapoTs. Much of the IN
healthue,s OF the night air has beon attributed to
the ubiquitous Spanish moss li,aId,ia aeaoiics)
which lends 81 Ia phantasInal beauty TO the Lousl-
apln aud Floiidian wOods-In aspect as u some
vas, AMI nvsterious mourning Tor vanished gods
hut which Ieay ahsOrbs ozonc in quantities so enor-
mons as 10 affect the atmosphere.
Other sngullr facts connected with the climatic
conditions in Southern Louisiana might bo ciIed
hut enough has been already stated to show that
tie question of salnbrity or inSaluIrty Of the
region for strangers can bc fully answered by no
who has raised through the cxr erieuces of
thorough accumulation, involving sundry cOnsti
tutionai changes. II was during my own struggles
with sub novel conditions of climate that first
became interested in the subject of Creole licne
"A nat1ra art rapidly becoming obsolDto-whose
traditions have never been collected, much less
published and whose secret, are being buried every
year wi:b some one belonging to the old French
speaking generations Of colored nurses and do
mostcs.
Every people possesses it's particular domestic
medicines; aud many of the best domestic
renelie, for trhnx ailments are common to al,
ciSiilel countries; but where the conditions OF
life "A, climate are more or less exceptional. home
medicines proportionately peculiar IL is this
fact which lends some real importance 10 the study
Of Creole mrdirnc: aud it is worthy Of remark
that in tho cd slave-days Physicians we're far less
often sum noncd 10 prcAcIihe for tr,a,ng ailmcnts,
int-much every household was skilled in the use
oil renslic, ut once natural and simple. How the
knowledge of these FIRST acquired ! caInOt
prelenl 10 explain; bnt it is not unreasonable 10
believe that in many cases the African slave was
able - te1ch'his master. Any one who attempts To
study the evolution OF Creole negro folklore.
piios. negro melody, those strange pIact crs
generally classod under tho haIne VOudooism might
caILLInIu .LnI. lLa fnnta La, r1ru1i.-l