The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-11-28

4HFdIlu IOf lie, as measles may.
One of the ways that people have of
being silly is to be eternally taking
medicine for one thing or another.
A great many people think that
there is something peculiar about
the spring months that makes
it necessary for them to take
medicine, blood sirups, Indian RENE
dies and other things. Now, every
one that has any thing to do with In
dians knows that they have no knowl-
edge of herbs and plants. Any old
negro woman in the South can dis
| count the best Indian doctor" that
ever lived in the knowledge of 'yarbs
| an roots" Some think that a home
made preparation of q plant is more
efticacious than drugstore prepara-
ton, which is as foolish as thinking
that piece of sugar-cane is better
than sugar to sweeten coffee, It's very
unwise for person to be always try
ing to patch up his blood, and ninety
| nine times in q hundred when one
thinks his blood is out of order it is
all right. If one has crop of boils he
thinks he needs blood medicine. The
blood has nothing more to do with a
boil than with corn.
Thousands of people have died from
taking medicine for cancer. If there
is any thing well established in medi-
cine it is that medicine can not cure
cancer, whether taken internally or ap-
piled externally. The only cure for can
Ger is the knife and even this must be
used early. 1t is possible that some
medicine may be found in the future
that will cure this disease, but it has
not been found yet.
One of the strangest beliefs is that
natural doctors" are better than the
doctors that have been through regu-
lar courses of medical study. No one
thinks of taking his watch to ''nat-
urap' matchmaker; one that has had
no experience nor apprenticeship in re-
pairing watches and knows nothing of
the works of watch. How can ''bone-
setter" who never saw the inside of a
joint and knows nothing of anatomy
set a bone or joint better than a sur
geonP Railway companies do not en-
ploy as locomotive engineers men that
don't know the parts of an engine. OF
course, such q man might run an en-
gine successfully for a few miles, but
one would scarcely prefer to travel be-
hind him.
Speaking of cancer, great many
people think it is blood disease, and
you often hear people speak Of diseases
getting into the blood or of diseases
striking in." Diseases don't strike
in. People speak of catarrh going
into consumption. What is ordinarily
called catarrh has nothing to do with
consumption. 1t is q disagreeable
thing to have, but you can't get con-
sumption from it any more than you
can get lock-jaw from gum-drops OF
typhoid fever from collie. But don't
think you can't take consumption from
another person. A healthy person and
certainly sick one should not sleep in
the same room with a consumptive,
When people come to look upon con.
sumption in its true light, as disease
that is distinctly communicable, there
will be less of it.
1t is only silly people that are preju
diced against vaccination. It is safe
thing to say that all the diseases thai
have ever been communicated by vac
cination were due to the use of human
lied virus. There is plenty of COW
virus to be had without running the
risk of getting some disease that viii
stick through life. Don't allow any
one to use a vaccine point that has any
color on the vaccine end, such as yellow
or red; such color is due to pus or blood
and will almost surely give you very
sore arm. Don't be content with being
vaccinated in one place; be vaccinatet
In three or four places. 1t is the rares
thing that one has bad arm from good
vaccine matter.
Avery foolish thing for person to be
lieve is that drink of whisky or othe
alcoholic liquor will warm him up il
cold weather Alcohol lowers the TEN
perature of the body, and if you viii
think a moment you will remembel
that the majority of people found frozeI
to death were under the influence o
alcohol when they died.
A great many people think that sicl
people should not have the food the!
crave. Why not? Doesn't nature, a!
rule, know what she wants?
The voice of nature is the voice o.
God, whether people are sick or well
as a general rule. But there are ex
ceptions; after an attack of typhoid
fever a person should not eat any kint
of coarse food, however much he ma!
crave it. Parents often err in making
| children eat fat meat, especially wheI
they don't like it. Young children car
not digest fat easily; sugar is easily di
gested, and answers the same purpos,
| for children that fat meat does TO
adults. Children's teeth are not in
jured by sugar, nor by eating hard su
gar. The tendency of civilization i
| to soften all kinds of food so that tn