The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1909-10-21
DOCTOR MA AIM Pike.
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There are isolated rural districts
In the West in which the "doctorin' q"
is largely in the hands of old women
who, by virtue of their years, are sun
posed to be possessed of some occult
power of healing. They are sun
posed to have secret knowledge of
where certain rare YARDS" grow and
OF how to compound these YARDS"
into medicine. These old women are
versed in all kinds of signs, and OF
some of them it is believed that they
can charm away disease without the
use Of medicine.
The writer remembers one of these
old women who lived in the West a
good many years ago. A higher de-
gree Of intelligence has been devel-
oped in that part of the State. and
consequently Ma'am Pike, as she was
called, had fallen a good deal into
disfavor. This had not sweetened
her temper, and she was very severe
on the regular and really intelligent
physicians who had moved into her
realm from the East
What do them young snipes know
bout med'cine?" Ma'am Pike would
say, scornfully. 'I was heaIin' sick
folks fore they was born. l kin learn
'em more bout curin' the sick than
they ever heerd in all their fine
schools. Folks round here had bet
ter look out how they take up with
sich ignerant' young things as them
or they'll have fun'rals to pay fer"
1t was a marvel that there were
not more funerals resulting from
Ma'am Pixies methods of healing the
SICK. Nothing but naturally strong
constitutions and the healthfulness of
the climate could have saved some of
her patients after the heroic treat
ment she imposed upon them.
An uncle of mine was one day rid
ing over the prairie when he came to
the log cabin of an early settler
named Lewis. Three or four men.
neighbors and friends of Lewis, were
in the bare little yard in front of the
cabin when my uncle rode up.
Hello!" said my uncle, in the
usual salutation of the West. Whats
the matter here?"
Hi Lewis is turrible bad off with
a sudden spell of sickness. He was
taken down while he was plowing in
the field. He's in awful mis'ry."
Groans from within the cabin gave
proof OF the sick mans ''mis'ry."
Has he had doctor or any medi-
cine?"
''Ma'am Pike is with him now.
She's bled him and blistered him and
put one of her purgatory poultices
all over his back, ebut-it hasn't done
him any good yet
My uncle had heard of Ma'am
Pixies 'purgatory poultices." In
deed, he had seen and carefully ex-
amined one of them, and it was his
conviction that they would never do
any one any good
No one could determine the exact
ingredients of one of these poultices
but there was something in them that
fairly burned the skin from ones
body worn for a short time. Poor
Hiram Lewis was writhing and groan-
ing from the effects of one of these
"purgatory poultices" when my uncle
entered the gloomy little cabin.
Ma'am Pike was about to administer
half a teacupful of some greenish
liquid with a vile odor.
What is that you are giving him?"
asked my uncle
IT'S somethin' that nobody but me
knows how to make, an nobody but
me knows where the ingrejents of II
air to be found" replied Ma'am Pike
The sick man swallowed the green
ish mixture with the utmost difficulty.
ana Immediately grew worse. which
was NOT 70 be wondered at.
'Ye got any black rooster tan
feetheysE' asked Ma'ar Pike.
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