bleeding.—scarification.—use of medicinal herbs amongst the aborigines of australia, south america, africa, etc.
the healing craft of many of the northern tribes of australia is thus described by mr. palmer:—
“among the northern tribes many devices and charms are resorted to in the cases of pains and sickness. the doctors are men who, it is supposed, possess great powers of healing, some of which they obtain from the spirits. they use stones and crystals to put away sickness from any one, and sometimes they bandage the afflicted part with string tightly till no part of the skin is visible. one common plan of alleviating pain is by bleeding, supposing that the pain comes away with the blood. for this minute cuts are made through the skin with pieces of broken flint, or the edge of a broken mussel-shell, over the part affected, and the blood is wiped off with a stick. sometimes the doctor ties a string from the sick place, say the chest, and rubs the end of it across his gums, spitting into a kooliman of water, and passing the string through also; he then points to the blood in the water as evidence of his skill in drawing it from the sick person. stones are sucked out with the mouth, and exhibited as having been taken from the body. a good number of plants are used in sickness as drinks, and for external application. a broken arm is cured with splints made of bark and wound round tightly. snake-bite is cured by scarifying and sucking the wound, and by then using a poultice of box-bark, bruised and heated.”77
mr. e. palmer says that34 “the australian aborigines possessed a considerable knowledge of indigenous plants, and their acquaintance with natural history was very accurate. they could only have obtained this knowledge by close observation and generations of experience. with the extermination of the blacks this information has completely died out, and it can only now be obtained in far-distant places like north queensland, where the aborigines have not been killed off by contact with civilization. they have much experience in the healing virtues and properties of plants, as also of the kinds best suited for poisoning fish.”78 great skill is exhibited by their mode of preparing plants by fire and water and other processes, before using them as food; if partaken of in their natural state, many of them would be very deleterious, if not actually poisonous. the dioscorea sativa, or karro plant, has large tubers, which are first roasted, then broken in water and strained or squeezed through fine bags made of fibre into long bark troughs, then the product is washed in many waters, the sediment is well stirred while the water is poured in; by this means the bitter principle is extracted, and a yellow fecula like hominy is produced. careya australis has a root which is used to poison fish, though its fruit is eaten uncooked by the natives. manna is gathered from eucalyptus terminalis. cymbidium caniculatum is used for dysentery and other bowel disorders. the nuts of the cycas media are very poisonous unless prepared by fire and water, and then they can be used as food. the seeds of entada scandens are only fit for eating after baking and pounding, as is the case with many other plants cleverly manipulated by the blacks. the leaves of ocimum sanctum are infused in water and drunk for sickness. a wash is made from the bruised bark of the gutta-percha tree, exc?caria parviflora. the leaves of loranthus quandong, the mistletoe of the acacia hemalophylla, are infused in water and drunk for fevers, ague, etc.; it is doubtful whether they have any virtue, but mistletoe was once a very highly prized medicine in europe, though now wholly obsolete. the leaves of melaleuca leucadendron are used in infusion for headache, colds, and general sickness. the melaleuca is the cajeput tree, and cajeput oil is undoubtedly a valuable medicine. stillé says, “it is of marked utility in cases of nervous vomiting, nervous dysphagia, dyspn?a, and hiccup.”79 externally it is valuable in nervous headache and neuralgia.
the natives make great use medicinally of the various species of eucalyptus. the leaves of eucalyptus tetradonta are made into a drink for fevers and sickness with headache, etc. the eucalyptus globulus recently introduced into civilized medicine comes from australia. plectranthus congestus, pterocaulon glandulosus, gnaphalium luteo-album (several of this species are used in european medicine in bronchitis and diarrh?a, and one of them is called “life everlasting”), heliotropium ovalifolium, and moschosma polystachium, are all used in the medical practice of these despised aborigines, and are probably quite as valuable as the majority of the herbs recommended in our old herbals and pharmacop?ias.
35
the aborigines of the north-western provinces of south america have long been famous for their extensive knowledge of the properties of medicinal plants, and even now they possess secrets for which we may envy them.80
the arrow-poison used by the indians of the interior is made from a plant of the strychnos family. those of the pacific coast prepare a poison from the secretion exuding from the skin of a small frog; this by a certain process of decomposition they convert into a powerful blood-poison. it is said that when these tribes were preparing poisons for use in time of war, it was their ancient practice to test their efficacy on the old women of the tribe, and not on the lower animals, exhibiting in this respect a superior knowledge of toxicology than is shown by those pharmacologists of our own day who test on animals the drugs they propose administering to man. mr. r.?b. white, in his notes on these aboriginal tribes, says that the indians in the state of antioquia were in the habit of poisoning the salt springs in the time of the spanish invasion; they covered the spring with branches of a tree called the “doncel,” which imparted such venomous properties to the water that after a lapse of three hundred years it still retains its deadly properties; when animals now get at the water, as many as three horses have been known to be killed in one night by drinking it.81
the study of the means of capturing fish by poisoning the water—a practice which is universal amongst savages—must have led to many observations on the properties of poisonous plants. some considerable knowledge of the risks and uses of various leaves and berries must have been acquired in this way. the people of timor-laut intoxicate fish with rice steeped in poisonous climbing plants.82
the aborigines of the river darling, new south wales, feed their very sick and weak patients upon blood drawn from the bodies of their male friends. it is generally taken raw by the invalid, sometimes however it is slightly cooked by putting hot ashes in it.83
the practice is disgusting, but scarcely more so than one which was prescribed a few years ago by the great physicians of paris, who ordered their an?mic patients to drink hot blood from the slaughtered oxen at the abattoirs. mr. bonney says that the aborigines referred to willingly bleed themselves till they are weak and faint to provide the food they consider necessary for the sick person.
the acacias are very abundant in australia, in india, and africa. this order of plants produces gum arabic and gum senegal. the tasmanians use the gum of acacia sophora as a food.
36
the eucalyptus or blue-gum tree grows on the hills of tasmania and in victoria on the mainland of australia; it was introduced into europe in 1856, and has been very extensively used as a remedy for intermittent fever, influenza, and as a powerful disinfectant.
“as in all similar cases,” says stillé, “the discovery of its virtues was accidental. it is alleged that more than forty years ago the crew of a french man-of-war, having lost a number of men with ‘pernicious fever,’ put into botany bay, where the remaining sick were treated with eucalyptus, and rapidly recovered. it is also said that the virtues of the tree were well known to the aboriginal inhabitants.”
a good illustration of the ways in which the properties of plants have been discovered, and of the relation of poisonous to harmless herbs, may be found in the practice of the american indians in their use of the manioc, a large shrub producing roots somewhat like parsnips. they carefully extract the juice, which is a deadly poison, and then grate the dried roots to a fine powder, which they afterwards convert into the cassava bread. how was this treatment of the root discovered? it was simply due to the fact that one species of the shrub is devoid of any poisonous property, and has only to be washed and may then be eaten with impunity. no doubt this non-poisonous root was the first which was used for food; then when the supply ran short they were driven by necessity to find out the way to use the almost identical root of the poisonous variety, which when divested of its juice is even better for food than the harmless root. probably this was only discovered after many experiments and fatalities. “necessity, the mother of invention,” in this as in most other things, ultimately directed the natives to the right way of dealing with this article of diet.
the male fern is a very ancient remedy for tape-worm, and to the present day physicians have found nothing so successful for removing this parasite. the plant is indigenous to canada, mexico, south america, india, africa, and europe. the negroes of south america have long used worm-seed (chenopodium anthelminticum) as a vermifuge for lumbricoid worms. the plant grows wild in the united states, and has been introduced into the pharmacop?ia as a remedy especially adapted for the expulsion of the round-worms of children. kousso (brayera anthelmintica) has been employed from time immemorial in abyssinia for the expulsion of tape-worm. it has been introduced into the british pharmacop?ia.
some tribes of the upper orinoco, rio negro, etc., have been known to subsist for months on no other food than an edible earth, a kind of clay containing oxide of iron, and which is of a reddish-brown colour.
37
m. cortambert, at a meeting of the geographical society in 1862, described this singular food, and said it seemed to be rather a stay for the stomach than a nourishment. some white people in venezuela have imitated the earth-eaters, and do not despise balls of fat earth.84
savages require much larger doses of drugs than civilized people. mr. bonney relates85 that he usually gave the aborigines of new south wales half a pint or more of castor oil for a dose. another man took three drops of croton oil as an ordinary dose.
professor bentley in 1862-63 contributed to the pharmaceutical journal a series of articles on new american remedies which have been introduced into medical practice in consequence of their reputation amongst the indians. yellow-root (xanthorrhiza apiifolia) has long been employed by the various tribes of north american indians as a tonic, and may be compared to quassia or calumba root. it is included in the united states pharmacop?ia. its active principle seems to be berberine.
the blue cohosh plant (caulophyllum thalictroides) has for ages been used by the aborigines of north america as a valuable remedy for female complaints. a tea of the root is employed amongst the chippeway indians on lake superior as an aid to parturition. the earliest colonists obtained their knowledge of the virtues of the blue cohosh from the natives, and it has for many years been a favourite diuretic remedy in the states. its common names are pappoose-root, squaw-root, and blueberry-root. its active principle is called caulophyllin.
twin-leaf (jeffersonia diphylla) is a popular remedy in ohio and other north american states in rheumatism. it is called rheumatism-root. in chemical composition it is similar to senega.
blood-root, or puccoon (sanguinaria canadensis), has been used for centuries by north american indians as a medicine. it has been introduced into the united states pharmacop?ia. it is an alterative, and is useful in certain forms of dyspepsia, bronchitis, croup, and asthma. its physiological action, however, bears no relation to its medicinal uses (stillé and maisch). its active principle is sanguinarina.
sarracenia purpurea, indian cup, or side-saddle plant, is a native of north america, and much used by the indians in dyspepsia, sick headache, etc.
the valuable bitter stomachic and tonic calumba-root comes to us from the forests of eastern africa, between ibo and the zambesi. its38 african name is kalumb; it depends for its therapeutic value on the berberine which it contains, and which is found in several other plants. the natives of tropical africa, the north american indians, and the semi-barbarian tribes of hindostan and china have all been impressed with the medicinal value of berberine. before quinine was commonly used in medicine, this valuable drug was estimated most highly for its very similar properties. there can be no doubt that it was introduced into medicine by savages.
jalap comes to us from mexico. it was named from the city of xalapa.
cinchona bark was used by the savages of peru long before it was introduced into european medicine.
guaiacum, so valuable in chronic rheumatism, was introduced into european medicine from the west india islands and the northern coasts of south america.
the excellent and popular tonic, quassia-wood, reaches us from jamaica.
logwood, a valuable astringent, largely used in diarrh?a, is a native of campeachy and other parts of central america, and grows in the west india islands and india.
copaiba, an oleo-resin from the copaiva tree, comes from the west indies and tropical parts of america, chiefly from the valley of the amazon. it is one of our most valuable remedies in diseases of the genito-urinary organs.
turkey corn, or turkey pea (dicentra, corydalis formosa) grows in canada and as far south as kentucky. it has a reputation as a tonic, diuretic and alterative medicine, and is used in skin diseases, syphilis, etc.
the negroes use the prickly ash, or toothache shrub (xanthoxylum fraxineum), as a blood purifier, especially in the spring. it has long been officinal in the united states pharmacop?ia, and is considered highly serviceable in chronic rheumatism.
the shrubby trefoil (ptelea trifoliata) is a north american shrub, much valued in dyspepsia, and as a stimulant in the typhoid state. its active principle is berberine.
the above are merely a few examples taken at random of the valuable medicinal plants used by savages and primitive peoples.
thus, as might have been expected, the discovery of the americas led to the introduction of many new drugs into medical practice.
savages eat enormously.
wrangel says each of the yakuts ate in a day six times as many fish as he could eat. cochrane describes a five-year-old child of this race39 as devouring three candles, several pounds of sour frozen butter, and a large piece of yellow soap, and adds: “i have repeatedly seen a yakut, or a yongohsi, devour forty pounds of meat in a day.”86
yet the savage is less powerful than the civilized man. “he is unable,” says spencer, “to exert suddenly as great an amount of force, and he is unable to continue the expenditure of force for so long a time.”
