Treatment of sickness in pioneer days

[LincolnMan]

I found this passage in Citizen of New Salem by Paul Horgan about how ills were treated during Lincoln's era:

"Medical care was largely home-made, though Doctor Allen might be at hand with his Dartmouth learning. Wives treated cold and sore-throat with a piece of peppered fat meat fastened about the neck. To break a fever they set a bag of pounded slippery elm over the eye. If an eruptive disease was slow to break out, they fed a dose of "nanny tea," which was compounded of sheep dung. Stomach ache they reduced with internal doses of Monongahela and external rubs of cayenne pepper dissolved in spirits."

[RJNorton]

Bill, thank you for posting this. I have that book, too. I like the author's writing style. I think it's my second favorite New Salem book after the one by Benjamin Thomas.

[LincolnMan]

I enjoy the book very much too, including the illustrations. If I may quote another few lines from a book addressing pioneer treatment and prevention of ills, I found this passage from The Old Northwest Pioneer Period 1815- 1840 by R. Carlyle Buley (Vol. 1, page 304):

"The lowly tomato rapidly rose from its position as a doubtful comestible to that of a sort of dietary and medicinal panacea. Doctors began to promote it vigorously. Dr. Bennett, Professor of Midwifery, Hygiene, and Acclimatement at the Medical College of Lake Erie, was no more enthusiastic than many others when he stated that the tomato was one of the most powerful deobstruents of the materia medica, and in certain liver affections probably the most effective and least harmful agent known. It would prevent bilious attacks, serve as a remedy for dyspepsia, was successful in treating diarrhea, and would render one less liable to cholera. It should be eaten daily, raw or cooked."

Wow, the "lowly tomato"- who knew?!

[Gene C]

Dr. Bennett, Professor of Midwifery, Hygiene, and Acclimatement at the Medical College of Lake Erie, was no more enthusiastic than many others when he stated that the tomato was one of the most powerful deobstruents of the materia medica, and in certain liver affections probably the Mose effective and least harmful agent known. It would prevent bilious attacks, serve as a remedy for dyspepsia, was successful in treating diarrhea, and would render one less liable to cholera.

And it's good in a sandwich or in a salad too!

And thanks for the recommendation on the book. I have been wondering whether or not to get a copy of Citizen of New Salem.
http://www.amazon.com/Citizen-New-Salem-...B00005VLTT

[Wild Bill]

When people ate off of pewter plates, tomatoes were poisonous. The pewter had a chemical reaction with the tomato acids and became poisonous. There was a story, the Plot to kill George Washington, that had that theme. A British spy was to kill GW by feeding him tomatoes. The next day there was GW as fit as a fiddle. The spy reported to his CO that he could not understand what had happened. GW ate every last tomato on his plate. The joke is of course that GW ate off of fine China and there was no chemical reaction.

That's the tale. I also sell swamp land in Arizona and from my front porch you can see the sea. BTW students loved my lectures in history class.

[LincolnMan]

Wild Bill: cool story! Imagine such a thing killing GW.

[Gene C]

When people ate off of pewter plates, tomatoes were poisonous. The pewter had a chemical reaction with the tomato acids and became poisonous.

Just so no one gets any crazy ideas, that's not covered under your homeowners insurance, unless of course it's to a guest (like a rich uncle)and it's an accident.

Gosh officer, I had no idea

[LincolnMan]

Gene, did you have to post this? I had some ideas...just kidding

[L Verge]

I learned at an early age that cooking spaghetti sauce in my mother's cast iron skillet was a no-no because it destroyed the "seasoning" process that one puts a new such skillet through to get it acceptable for cooking. I also learned that it is best to put a touch of sugar in your tomato sauce in order to relieve the acidity. I put salt and pepper on my raw tomatoes, but I have friends who put sugar on them instead.

[LincolnMan]

We were waiting for your cooking wisdom Laurie!

[Gene C]

They say the fastest way to a man's heart...
is a 9 inch butcher knife through the back

[Eva Elisabeth]

Wow, the "lowly tomato"- who knew?!

Tomatoes like potatoes, pepper, and eggplants are nightshades, solanaceae, which are all known for containing a variety of alkaloids that can be more or less active or poisonous. Alkaloids can be desirable as well, and many have invaluable pharmaceutical properties.
Psychotropic solanaceae are tobacco, atropia belladonna (used to dilate pupils), physalis, hyoscyamus niger, datura, mandrake, and brugmansia.

[LincolnMan]

Eva: how do you know all this???

[Eva Elisabeth]

Bill, I studied biology (and English and North American culture and literature), and the topic of my degree dissertation was herbal drugs and their cultural meaning and influence (also on writers and literature).

Now then allow me this aside: One of my "favorite" were fly agarics (or fly amanitas). A similar idiom to "to go Berserk" in German is to be "as strong as a Berserk". Berserks, as you may know, were Germanic warriors, primarily mentioned in Scandinavian literature, who faught in an uncontrollable fury ("mad as hounds or wolves, they slew men, but neither fire nor iron had effect upon them"). But why were the Berserks like this? An unproven legend says because they ate fly agarics. (North American tribes and Mayas consumed them, too.) Fly agarics cause uncontrollable aggression, but, depending on the level of the active agent and way of preparation another effect is a perceived distorsion in the size of objects with which Lewis Carroll obviously was familiar: The caterpillar offers Alice to eat a piece of fly agaric to make herself bigger and smaller. (To prevent a self-suggesting question: NO, I have never tried any drugs! BTW, to be correct: biologically mushrooms are a kingdom of their own, they are no plants!)

[LincolnMan]

You're awesome Eva!