DISEASES.
One of the most common diseases among the natives appeared to be that of worms—originating, probably, from the character of their diet. Their medicinal preparations were but few and simple.
Captain Norton had in his possession a package of wormwood, which he picked up on the shore near the wreck. Though it had been saturated with salt water, yet, from time to time, he administered a strong drink of it for the above disease, with complete success. As proof of their appreciation of his services, they would put a dried crow's head upon his arm. His success went so far, that he had as many crows' heads as could be strung from his wrist to his elbow.
Captain Norton, however, was wisely cautious in one respect, and that was, he would not prescribe in any given case of sickness, unless he was well convinced there was no immediate danger to the patient, or that he could afford some temporary relief.
Their superstitious notions were such that, if any prescription should fail, and the patient should not recover, they would suppose at once that the proposed remedy was the cause of death. It required great prudence, therefore, to manage, not only the sick, but also those who were well.
A case occurred of a very trifling character at first, but finally it proved fatal. The face of a person, a woman, was somewhat swelled; the cause of it, so far as we could ascertain, originated in a defective tooth.
Mr. Osborn acted the part of a physician at this time. He applied a poultice of sea bread, in order to reduce the inflammation, which he supposed it would shortly do.
The woman, however, did not get immediately better; and her friends took the poultice off, and in the place of it they tied a string very tight round her chin, in order, as they believed, to prevent the disease or swelling from going downwards. The string rather increased the inflammation; and then it was taken off, and placed still lower down, until the swelling had very much increased, and had reached her breast. The string was now tied tighter than ever, until it became embedded in the flesh.
Since Mr. Osborn's remedy had failed to benefit her, the natives, from their appearance and gestures, supposed that the poultice was an injury, instead of an advantage, to the woman. They therefore gathered round Mr. Osborn in the most threatening attitude, and he greatly feared they were about to injure or kill him. At any rate, he learned one important lesson—to be more cautious, in future, in prescribing remedies to the sick among the natives. They were superstitious, and therefore unreasonable.
The natives were subject to nose bleeding; the excessively cold weather was doubtless the chief cause of it. The remedy which they employed, and in use among them, was the application of a frosty stone, or piece of ice to the back of the neck.
Sore eyes were quite prevalent among them, more so in some seasons of the year than in others. This disease is caused by the reflection of sunlight upon an almost boundless surface of snow and ice. The simple remedy, in ordinary cases among them, was in making a slight incision with a thorn or some sharp instrument in the flesh, directly between the eyes, so as to draw several drops of blood. The effect of this treatment was to reduce the inflammation, and thus carry off the soreness from the eyes.
In some instances, however, the eyes of the natives had wholly run out.