Stirring scenes in savage lands

by James Greenwood

“Any ignorant idler who takes it into his head to become a doctor gives notice of it to the Pawnee world, by assuming a solemn deportment, wearing his robe with the hair outwards, and learning to make a noise in the throat, which is distinctive of his profession and which resembles the sound made by a person who is gargling for the relaxed uvula. Here his medical studies and accomplishments end; and his reputation depends entirely upon the result of his first attempts, and must evidently be altogether fortuitous.”

This is the evidence of the traveller Murray, and he further goes on to back his opinion by quoting two instances of surgical practice that came under his personal observation.

“In great cases, such as a broken leg or mortal disease of a chief, the medicine-men are called in to assist with their mummery, but the treatment of ordinary diseases by these practitioners will be understood by my noting down accurately what took place at the daily and nightly visit of the doctor who attended our chief’s lodge. The patient was one of the children gradually and certainly dying from shameful maltreatment under the hooping-cough. It should however be remembered in exculpation of the Galen, that the parents fed the child three or four times a day with enormous meals of half boiled maize or buffalo meat, each of which acting as an emetic enabled the wretched little sufferer to swallow its successor.

“The learned doctor stalked into the lodge with all the dignified importance of the most practised pulse-feeler, rarely deigning to salute the parents or other inhabitants. He then stooped down over the child, took a little earth in his hand which he moistened with saliva, and with the precious mixture thus formed, he anointed the shoulders, the forehead, and other parts of the child, especially the pit of the stomach; then approaching his mouth, to this last, and covering with his robe his own head and the person of his patient, he commenced the gargling operation, to which I have before alluded. This I have known him frequently to continue for three or four hours at the time, when he left the unfortunate sufferer as he found him without having used friction or embrocation, or administering medicine of any kind whatever.

“It only remains to add respecting the disciples of Æsculapius, that if the patient recovers, their fame is blazed abroad, and they receive in horses, meat, blankets, etc., a fee much higher in proportion to the wealth of any of the parties than was ever given to Sir Astley Cooper, or Sir Henry Halford. If the patient dies, the doctor is considered “bad medicine,” and generally leaves the profession for a year or two, during which time he pursues the ordinary avocations of stealing, hunting, or fighting, until his ill name is forgotten or some fortunate incident has obtained for him a whitewashed reputation.

“I learned that in a hunt a good many Indians had been bruised or wounded, and several horses killed. Among those who were hurt was a chief of some distinction; he had a few ribs and one of his arms broken. The setting of this last, together with the completion of his wound-dressing, was to be accompanied with much ceremony, so I determined to be a spectator. I went accordingly to his lodge where a great crowd was already assembled and with some difficulty made my way through to the inner circle. Not being quite sure that I was permitted to see these mysteries, and being fully aware of the danger of breaking even unintentionally any of their medicine rules, I kept myself as quiet and unobserved as possible. Before the lodge, and in the centre of the semi-circle, sat or rather reclined the wounded man, supported by one or two packs of skins. On each side of him were a row of his kindred; the elder warriors occupied the front, the younger the second places, and behind them, close to the lodge, the boys, squaws, etc. A profound silence was observed, and when all the medicine men and relatives had arrived and taken their seats, a great medicine pipe was brought and passed round with the usual ceremonial observance of a certain number of whiffs to the earth, the buffalo-spirit, and the Great Spirit. The pipe was not handed to the wounded man, probably because he was supposed to be for the time under the influence of a bad spirit, and therefore not entitled to the privileges of the medicine. When this smoking ceremony was concluded, three or four of the doctors or conjurors and a few of the great medicine-men assembled round him; the former proceeded to feel his side and apply some remedy to it, while one of them set the arm, and bound it very strongly round with leather thongs. During this operation the medicine-men stooped over him and went through sundry mummeries which I could not accurately distinguish.

As soon as the bandages and dressings were completed they began a medicine dance around him. At first the movement was slow, and accompanied by a low ordinary chant, but gradually both acquired violence and rapidity, till at length they reached the height of fury and frenzy. They swung their tomahawks round the head of the wounded man, rushed upon him with the most dreadful yells, shook their weapons violently in his face, jumped repeatedly over him, pretending each time to give him the fatal blow, then checking it as it descended, and while once or twice I saw them push and kick his limbs, one of the most excited struck him several severe blows on the breast. On inquiry, I learned that all these gesticulations were intended to threaten and banish the evil spirit which was supposed to have possessed him. While this was going on a complete silence reigned throughout the crowd, none being permitted to dance or yell, except those actually engaged in the medicine ceremonies.

What, however, may be regarded as the Indian’s universal remedy for all ailments is the sweating bath and sudatory; these sudatories are always near the village, above or below it, on the bank of the river. They are generally built of skins, in the form of a Crow or Sioux lodge, covered with buffalo skins sewed tight together, with a kind of furnace in the centre; or, in other words, in the centre of the lodge are two walls of stone about six feet long, and two and a half apart, and about three feet high; across and over this space between the two walls are laid a number of round sticks, on which the bathing crib is placed. Contiguous to the lodge, and outside of it is a little furnace, something similar in the side of the bank, where the woman kindles a hot fire and heats to a red heat a number of large stones, which are kept at these places for this particular purpose; and having them all in readiness, she goes home or sends word to inform her husband or other one who is waiting that all is ready, when he makes his appearance entirely naked, though with a large buffalo robe wrapped around him. He then enters the lodge, and places himself in the basket with his back towards the door of the lodge, when the squaw brings in a large stone red-hot, between two sticks lashed together somewhat in the form of a pair of tongs, and, placing it under him, throws cold water upon it, which raises a profusion of vapour about him. He is at once enveloped in a cloud of steam, and a woman or child will sit at a little distance and continue to dash water upon the stone, whilst the matron of the lodge is out, and preparing to make her appearance with another heated stone; or he will sit and dip from a wooden bowl with a ladle made of the mountain-sheep’s horn, and throw upon the heated stone, with his own hands, the water which he is drawing through his lungs and pores the next moment, in the delectable and exhilarating vapour, as it distils through the mat of wild sage and other medical and aromatic herbs which he had strewed over the bottom of his basket, and on which he reclines.

During all this time the lodge is shut perfectly tight, and he quaffs this delicious and renovating draught to his lungs with deep-drawn sighs, until he is drenched in the most profuse degree of perspiration that can be produced; when he makes a signal, at which the lodge is opened, and he darts forth with the speed of a frightened deer, and plunges headlong into the river, from which he instantly escapes again, wraps his robe around him, and makes as fast as possible for home. Here his limbs are wiped dry and wrapped close and tight within the fur of the buffalo robes, in which he takes his nap, with his feet to the fire, then oils his limbs and hair with bear’s-grease, dresses and plumes himself for a visit, a feast, a parade, or a council.

During Mr. Bruce’s travels through Abyssinia, and while he was sojourning in the dominions of her Majesty of Sennaar, one afternoon he was sent for to the palace, when the king told him that several of his wives were ill, and desired that he would give them his advice, which he promised to do. He was admitted into a large square apartment, very ill-lighted, in which were about fifty women, all perfectly black, without any covering but a very narrow piece of cotton rag about their waist. While he was musing whether or not all these might be queens, or whether there was any queen among them, one of them seized him by the hand and led him into another apartment; this was much better lighted than the first. Upon a large bench, or sofa, covered with blue Surat cloth, sat three persons clothed from the neck to the feet with blue cotton shirts.