The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-06-18
DOCTORlNG IN MANY LANDS.
FINDING NEW REMEDIES AMONG
SAVAGE TRIBES.
Experiences OF Medical Missionary
Treating Turkish WOman-WOk In
q Plague Stricken City-New Treat
ment for Neural gia-Hawaiian Cure

-
| . Plague Stricken City-New Treat-
1 ment for Neural gia-Hawaiian Cure
[ DR., LYMAN b. Brown, now retired as
one of the wealthy men of Boston. has prac-
tised and studied medicine in twelve parts
! OF the world and adapted from native prac-
tises OF the tribes with which he has been
thrown SCORES Of new ideas as to the treat
ment Of the sick and the injured.
His home in the Back Bay district just
| of Commonwealth avenue, says the
Chicago Tribune, is a museum OF strange
medicines and stranger surgical instrn-
ments that he has collected during his
. long life among the queer peoples OF the
world, among the savage, the semi-ciNil-
tied and the Bostonese.
Il was first sent into Turkey as a medical
missionary" said DR.. Brown, THAT was
In 1885, at the beginning OF the missionary
attempt to Christanize the Ottoman en-
pire. | practised medicine there under diff
fioultles. contsnding with superstitions, GUS
toms and habits that were enough to
discourage any young man. Civilized
medicine and surgery were too new tangled
for those people. l remember well my
first obstetrio case The mother was not
doing we'll and was working hard to save
her life when suddenly learned that my
methods were not at all ethical. The mother
insisted on calling In local physician for
consultation. His methods were unique.
First he started fire under brazier, and
when it was red hot he dropped Glove
into 1t ard the Glove burst open. That, 1
learned, indicated that the 'hazar,' or evil
eye, had been averted and the mother
| oil 7 continued NV trpa ms
however. The native physician, having
discovered that the danger was passed.
proceeded to discover cure. He cut
wisp OF hair from the head OF the infant
and a lock from the head OF the mother
and burned them together in the brazier.
The woman got well-and we both claimed
the credit.
His treatment may have been the best,
but kept contending with those Turkish
doctors for several years, and l never could
convince them that killing calf in a pub
lie place would not cure measles. They
were hopeless.
Il labOred among the Turks until late in
1871, then was moved over to help cure
and convert the people of Kerbela in the lrak
country. l did well there. They had little
medicine except herbs and ncantations,
but the general health was good until
fence OF my life. In that year the hubonic
pla que broke out in kerbela and the sur
rounding country, brought there, suppose,
by pilgrims who had been down into Persia.
ferers was brutal land effective, for all
who we're treated 10y theAlocal medicine
men died sooner than they Otherwise would
have done They, treated them by burn
ing birthstone and applying the hot mass
to their backs, l tried scientific treat
| mo according n host met lOIS lllt
despite my efforts and those of the native
doctors. 10000 died in five months.
iowa I'D the end l contracted the disease,
! but ged to cure myself, having fortified
| my system for weeks with medicines.
Il was sent into Africa after that, and
! my first experience was with the doctors
! in the Sudan. among the Arabs. They
worked in the Galenic theory, and, | must
confess, with some good results. although
| their system beats homeopathy all hollow
Old Galen would have rejoiced to see them.
| They worked on the theory of opposites
| their medicines being hot, cold. wet and
dry. They give water for fevers and heat
| for colols-and they get some good results.
| They are the best practitioners i have
found outside of civilization.
1T was fine practise down in the Sudan,
despite the fact that they wanted to execute
me as a witch when l cured headaches by
| adm mastering cathartc.
"My next experience was In practising on
! the Apingi-down in central Africa, where
the Church had established a mission sta
ton. They are strange people. and cannl-
balism IL rapidly disappearing. Fine fellows
they are, and performed some great ampu-
/ tations among them. also disco cred down
there leaf juice that il better than cocaine
| for deadening pain and apparently has less
perilous effects. The Apngi pull their two
upper incisor teeth. working them ,oose with
their fingers, and they sharpen all the rest
of their teeth to needle points.
The effect on stranger who knows
their cannibalistic tendency Is immense.
| ! witnessed some interesting surgical and
medical treatments while among them,
| For instance. saw woman who was
suffering from leprosy and lumhago, l
treated the lumhago with some success.
but was displaced by native physician,
| His treatment was heroic He first tied
| the patient down on the ground and then
| back with knife. Then he poured on
cayenne pepper and lime Juice in copous
| quantities and gave her massage rubbing
| In the combined juices. She seemed glad
when l applied cocoa oils-but she died.
There was a sub-chief who was sick with
neuralgia--intercostal neuralgia. supern-
duoed by being kicked over an acre or two
! by an acquaintance. was doing the best
could but he called in rival doctor who
dug up the bones Of his ancestors, burned
| them into chalk and then marked IN his body
with them. After that the doctor lighted
bunch Of grass in the fire and proceeded
| to scorch his body splitting upon his patient
during the process. The treatment did not
appear to be doing any good, 80 the doctor
claimed witches were prosecuting the
patient, and he accused three men In the
tribe OF employing the witches. They all
denied It,. 70 find out whether or not 1t was
| 40 each OF the accused had to drink poison.
They gulped down bowls OF poison, they
sweated and trembled in agony, but finally
reoo vered and proved their innocence.
II will admit that l gave each OF the
three ipecac to help prove their innocence.
The witch doctor then took the poison and
withheld the ipecac-but he got we'll
anyhow. having taken poison before.
II was sent up into Ovampoland, among
the Hereros. and encounte cred scurvy.
Every man In the tribe was suffering from
it. I secured lemon juice and held up a
Port uguese steamer for peck of potatoes
and cured them all. It was n strange form
Of scurvy, for the tribe will eat no salt at
all, and / was forced to squeeze the Juice
from potatoes and mix II with salt to get
them to take any. for argued that the
disease resulted partly from lack of salt
In the systems.
@The following year we moved up into
Nyasaland, among another Of the Bantu
tribes. and had more trouble in pract ising
medicine than faith cylrist would have at
an allopat hic convention. They believe
there that death results from three causes
4 L., ~ LII