The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1891-11-07
OF NATIVE MEDICINES.
In tanccs in Which Barbar ous Poop
Have Added t. Our knowledge.

nave Ruueu our knDwieu.c.
We have almost forgotten the herb
medicines OF our ancestors. A very
few of their ingredients have been az
mittted into the pharmacopaia OF
science; in some old gardens, dimin-
ishing every year, the ancient herb
bed still produces unknown "worts"
which divert the children by eccentric
favors But the use OF them has
passei out Of memory.
To distrust familiar and easy RENE
dies appears to be instructive with
mankind. Another development OF
the same feeling, 20 doubt assisted
witches anu wizards OF old in making
their cures. Ii also ,e4 TO the employ
ment of powdered mummy flesh, crcco
dile's gall, Be oar stones. and so
forth. or by doctors, TO the pretence
thereof
But the witches were certainly nc.
quaiuted with secrets unknown TO the
professors of their tlme-that is not
saying much, indeed. Some o. these
We been accepted. and are still in
oally use but others are lost. NJ.
Michelet looked into this sub .ect for
his famous work La Sorciere and
proved that the virtues OF the Solau-
acer. or tubers. that most powerful
and most dangerous family OF Euro
pean herbs. were discovered by the
witches; hitherto their mischievous
effects only had been understood.
Every observant traveller in savage
realms probably. says the Saturday
Evening Post, inquiries with interest
whether Caucasian science has looked
into native medicines-and, If not why
not? In such deadly countries as the
West Coast Of Africa he remarks that
old women use preparations scarcely
10 be called secret which. as residents
declare will save n man in the last
agonies OF dysentary, or even in that
hopeless stage OF fever when the vio-
tim has become comatose-
Elsewhere in the East there are
Glasses and even tribes, which devote
themselves to medicine or TO surgery
with results well worth attention.
Everyone has heard of the Khangars
who from time immemorial have prao-
ticed the art OF restoring and improv-
ing the human nose Their inventions
have been gladly accepted throughout
the world.
Palgrave tells of a Bedouin tribe,
the Solibah. doctors to man. who
traverse Arabia. performing the most
wonderful cures. In surgery also they
practice 'lithotomy. paracutisis. and
still more difficult operations and
seldom fail. Palgrave was as little
inclined 10 credulitY as man could be,
but the evidence of his own eyes con-
vinced him that the secrets of the So
Hbah are we'll worth investigation.
The ''Bezoar stone" plays a great
part in the native doctoring through
out those countries where 1t is found.
In Europe it was highly esteemed
during the middle ages that is.
some substance is so often mentioned
under that name that most people
recognize the word. We may safely
assume that the BeZoar OF our remote
forefathers was not as that which
Oriental practitioners are SO fond OF
administering. but it was probably
amin w AA-aA lLitluul utDOSll Vi
some animal. The true variety es-
teemed in these days is found so far
as we know, in Borneo alone. where
the collection and export CT it is a
valuable business with the Jungle
tribes; as will be understood when a
single stone may fetch 5000 to $500.
Ordinary Bezoar is extracted IN
monkeys, but from what part q
body does not.yet seem assured.
natives allege that they find it n
the stomach. others in the inte1S
MIR. Hart Everett was told IA
grows in the head and also iifs. I'll
hands, while many say that they eI-
pect in any part OF the body. This
seems most probable under the cir
cumstances, though somewhat op-
posed to our notions The stones vary
much in size the largest commonly
reaching the dimensions OF filbert;
but vastly bigger specimens have been
found. The surface, though contorted,
is smooth and shining, OF pale olive
green color.