The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-12-13
From Answers.
~ HE following remarkable article
I'd has been compiled from particu-
I lars sent by the ''farthest north"

~>>-~-~
(OD has been compiled from particu-
lars sent by the '.farthest north
doctor in the world-Dr. James b. Rhy-
mer, NJ r. c. s., formerly of Guys nos
pital, London. Before DR.. Rhymer went
voluntarily among them the red man and
the Eskimo in the Great Lake regions en-
dured the most terrible agonies. owing to
their entire ignorance of medical mat
ters; but now their sick and ailing hock
to him, often from places hundreds OF
miles away, and. q willing martyr TO the
bitter hardships of the climate-often 1t
Ia 60 degrees Fahrenheit below zero-he
bestows on them the merciful benefits of
his medical skill
1.-THE medicine man says II you come to
him sick you must give him three skins.
II you want his medicine also, you must
give him three skins also"
This Is a translation of the notice
which, written In strange Chipewyan
characters, have stuck up inside my
little log cabin. for the enlightment OF
the ailing Chipewyans, Yellow Knives
slavis. Dog Ribs, Rabbit Skins and EslSi-
mos-to mention few Of the tribes which
from time to time seek my aid. Before
started for the Slave lake regions was
warned that must not look for fees. The
Canadian government would give me no
grant
When. however, do receive fees for
my medical treatment. these take all sorts
of curious forms. I have been presented
with Jumps OF moose fat, pieces OF deer
skin. muskrats, moccasins, chunks OF
carbon and goose flesh. ornaments, etc
Once was rewarded for my pains with
a human skull The majority Of these
things 1 am able to trade for -four, but
ter and oatmeal, but only in very small
quantities. for such commodities are very
expensive up here.
Br-r-r-r-ri Even as I write the cold
numbs my fingers. A patient has just
been in. accompanied by the interpreter.
I asked him what was the matter. sick
hand. knitie"-medicine mamie told me.
Then he changed his mind. mo, no; sick
stomach" he decided. Finally, he de-
clared, sick leg" 1t is impossible to De
guided by what these people say. They
know they aren't well, but they seem
ouite incapable of locating their maladies.
One has to find out for oneself. None OK
them remembers his age. and I have to
make guess at II.
Red Indians and Eskimo are very fond
of medicines. They are simple. supersu-
tious people, and their unframed adult
minds are like the minds Of little chill
dren. and must be cared for accordingly.
They are easily scared. I happen to have
In my hut a small mirror, and one OF my
patients, suddenly beholding my reflection
in It, Jumped up and cried out that some
body was after him. He must have had
a guilty consciencei Again, many have
a mark tattooed on their wrist to ward
their pockets for the same purpose; but
such things do not prevent them from
coming to me and asking me for medi-
cines. and paying me nothing for them
In the early part Of this year a malig-
nant fever broke out among the Indians,
and large numbers succumbed to the
deadly disease. This kept me very fully
occupied. not only in attending to the
wants Of the dying. but also in alleviating
the scare, which. In its way, was almost
as bad as the disease itself. 1t Is only by
the exercise of the greatest patience that
one Is able to allay scares such as these
Indians are subject to, and to prevent
them from travelling like lightning from
one tribe to another.
Let us take peep into an Indian Fever
log hut" It L. winter, with the tempera-
ture 30 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.
Rolling in agony upon the floor we be-
hold two or three OF the stricken-there
are no beds or articles of furniture-while
the rest Of the space IL occupied by their
relatives and friends. BUSY watching their
writhing. The frst greeting receivedi
takes the form Of continuous noise from
all present. made by drawing the breath
below the larynx and then expelling tho
air forcibly through the partially closed
lips It sounds like wailing ''ahwhoo-
hoo and Is a common practice among
AL Indians.
When the end of sick man is near, all
get up and leave the hut with the excep-
ton Of two or three, who stay on.
crouched down In corner, ready to cast
cloth over the dead mans form the
moment the last breath has been drawn.
Within an hour of death, no matter from
what cause, clothes. pots and pans
everything, in fact. IL carried outside and
burnt The corpse Il speedily buried by
the priest In rough box. In many cases
the hut is burnt down. though sometimes
i It Ii merely deserted.
EVERY year ! take trip q 400 miles