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Wednesday, September 23, 2015

CURE IT ALL: BARBED WIRE & BAT DROPPINGS


CURE IT ALL: BARBED WIRE & BAT DROPPINGS by Shayna Matthews



Have you ever wished to be a doctor? Maybe the thought appeals, but years and years of schooling don't. Well, do me a favor. Repeat the following aloud: "I am a doctor." Go ahead, say it, you know you want to. Great! You're done! That's it. You are now a certified physician capable of treating all manners of sickness, ailments, and injuries. There now, wasn't that easy?

You don't believe me, do you? No, of course you don't. Obviously, there is far more to one's medical training than the mere act of stating so aloud. But, throughout the course of history, this was not often the case. We might well complain about our health, and the care received. However, broadening our scope of treatments might reveal a bit of insight into just how far we've come. In the rural communities of the American Frontier, anyone could be a physician, if he wanted to be. No prior medical training? No problem! Who's to know? What's so hard about administering stomach bitters, vegetable anodynes, and rock candy soothers, anyway? What you don't know, you can always observe from a fellow physician, who probably learned his skills from the local animal doctor. (i.e. rancher/farmer).

Cure-alls were popular in the Victorian era, and used for everything between unclogging those stubborn stovepipes to your prized hogs who came down with a vicious case of the runs. This was the claim on one brand of painkillers, which I presume worked for many an ailment. Not because it cured anything, but because the patient, after a few shots--err, I mean doses of the miracle medicine, forgot about their complaints. With 47 percent alcohol in each bottle, (equaling 94 proof), not to mention opium as an added ingredient, who cared a fig about ailments? Stomach bitters, a popular cure all for, well, what's your complaint?--during the Civil War, was shipped by train to the Union troops. Lets face it, no one had more ailment to face than soldiers in camp, on the march, or in battle. With 44.3 percent alcohol content, it probably pickled the livers of most every soldier on the field. A popular recipe for stomach bitters proves my theory: where ground herbs such as gentian root, coriander seed, and cinchona bark are used from between 1/3 to 1/2 of an ounce, a pint of alcohol is added. Prescribed dosage? A swallow, or a wine-glass full before each meal, and before bed. This will ensure proper digestion and guard against malaria, colds and chills. Needless to say, these self-proclaimed doctors of medicine made a mint.

Alcohol played a key role in keeping our Country's fore mothers and fathers alive. (How anyone ever survived is anyone's guess). But, alcohol was not the only ingredient used in common cures of the day. We all know herbs have been used heavily throughout the history of mankind; but here's a few other ingredients found in remedies that just might horrify you.

PILL FORM. Something to consider with pills vs. bottled cure-alls? Pills were often coated with mercury, gold or silver. Chances are, they also contained barbed wire and horseshoe nails. Little pieces of barbed wire and iron nails were cut and ground down, striving for the purest form of iron available. The result was added to pills and tonics for various uses.

CROUP- Combat the cough with skunk grease!

GENERAL PAIN - Opium, paregoric, laudanum.

GUANO - Bat crap. You heard me. Since petrified bat poop's a natural source of potassium nitrate, it was mixed into a paste. The cure? Apply it to your hollow teeth to alleviate the pain of decay.

GUNSHOTS - A bit of that which 'bit' you. Grind grains of gunpowder to dust, scrape off a bit of lint from your clothing and fill it with the powder and apply to the wound.

MALARIA - Quinine, or a bottle of specialized Anti-Malarial Pills. (Remember those stomach bitters?)

SNAKEBITE - This one has a plethora of attempted cures - some of them successful, others, well...not so much. Alcohol administered to the bitten to the point of dizzying intoxication was, of course, a common cure. One method used in 1853 Texas intrigued me: in addition to the alcohol, a poultice of mashed Indigo was used over the punctures. The indigo turned white, was removed, and the process repeated until the plant ceased to change color. The cure in this instance was a success. Raw beef or chicken flesh was also thought to draw out poison.

SORE THROAT - Have a gift for gab, or are otherwise subdued by a sore throat? Pure crystallized sugar, (Rock Candy) has been in use for this treatment since the 1200s. A little lemon juice and a liberal dose of moonshine mixed into your rock candy will fix you right up! Of course, if you don't have the ingredients to make your own rock candy, you can always wrap your throat in kerosene soaked red flannel. A fried onion poultice should also do the trick.

So tell me, what ails you??


The American West is the embodiment of human spirit, the freedom to survive on land as harsh as it is beautiful. Shayna Matthews weaves stories of historical fiction, illuminating epic tales of the era with a flair for characters who represent the fighting spirit of the men and women who have come before us.

14 comments:

  1. It's a wonder anyone survived the cure-alls of the day. There certainly was no need for a drug cartel back in those days when highly addictive narcotics were so readily available and alcohol was as good as a prescription drug.
    A very interesting article, Shayna.

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    1. Thank you, Sarah. What they used for medicines back in the day simply amazes me. Horrifies me a bit, too, lol. I often drift into believing I was born in the wrong era. Then I start thinking about barbed wire pills and alcoholic-bat-dung-curealls, and I think I'm good. ;-)

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  2. Medicine is an endlessly fascinating subject. While some of the cures make one wonder, others were actually quite effetive.Mercury (calomel) was the drug of choice for Lewis and Clark. It must have worked, almost all made it through. Fascinating post. Thank you. Doris

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    1. Hi Doris! I think that is what makes it all so fascinating...I especially love the lore of herbal remedies. So many of them are still used today, but I love to read instances where an off-the-wall remedy worked...well.

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  3. Great post. A few thoughts: Back in the day, women drinking alcohol was frowned on by nice society, but many women got around that by taking a shot or two of their favorite cure-all for energy, etc. They had no idea they had become addicted to the alcohol and/or opium in the product. Many "doctors" on the frontier were self-taught and earned the title "doc" because they had picked up on some of the known cures and knew how to treat different ailments better than most. I shake my head when I read all these historical novels where the great, wonderful MALE doctor is called in to deliver a baby when I know women relied on midwifes who, yes, were not taught in a school, but who usually learned their craft over the years at the hands of a female relative (mother) or other local mentor. The bat guano thing was enough reason to hold out for the midwife.

    Robyn Echols w/a Zina Abbott

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    1. Fascinating, isn't it? Yes, I believe I too would rather have held out for the mid-wife back in the day. I don't know how anyone escaped addiction, even if they were relatively healthy - as you said, alcohol and drugs were used in pretty much everything, masquerading for tonics to make one feel lighter, happier, healthier. Thank you for commenting! :-)

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  4. It's a wonder anyone survived the cure! As for me, Dr. Shayna, I'm feeling just fine and dandy, thank you very much, so you can peddle, um, use your cures for others. :)

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    1. Hahaha Diana! Well, if you're certain you feel fine. If anything changes, and you need a tonic for warped floor boards, a free spirit, a headache or just to breeze through life with flair and radiance, you just let me know. ;-)

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    1. Hi Kristy! Thank you so much, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the read! :-)

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    2. Terrific post, Shayna, and so helpful for historical writers. Even in the 20th century, when my mom told me Coca Cola had cocaine in it originally, I didn t believe her lol. Thanks!!

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    3. Thank you so much, Tanya! I am completely fascinated by anything pertaining to the Old West / Victorian era. So much to learn! Ahh, yes...Coca Cola. That brings up a good point on addiction. We may not battle addiction via cure-alls as they did then, but most people cannot live without their coffee. For me? Coke. Just what do they put in that drink nowadays, anyway? ;-)

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  6. Interesting article, Shayna. I do think a lot of the cures persisted because they did have some real value -- others, as has been pointed out, simply addicted those who partook. I would imagine that a great many of our current medicines and cures will be seen as absurd when viewed from the perspective of a hundred years from now. For me, the nurses like Clara Barton and Florence Nightingale were the real healers -- light years ahead of their time, they realized the value of cleanliness and fresh air.

    While I'm here -- a little self-promotion, if you please. Would love it if y'all would check out my one little story, Miracle River! Thanks!

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  7. Shayna, I so enjoyed your blog with all that info. I can never get enough of the old medicine and cures. Being a nurse for MANY years and mostly in homecare, I saw several old fashioned type remedies resurface--oh we now sterilize seaweed and manufacture cobwebs, stuff like that, but mankind is rethinking some of those past remedies and now is using more herbs, etc.. It is scary to think of the quacks back then who professed they knew what they were doing. SHIVERS! So thanks for a enjoyable and informative lesson. How's this one? I love this one---In Medieval times women used dried donkey dung (any dung for that matter) as a diaphragm--yep, that's right. Just insert into the vagina and before ya know it, you didn't have to worry about pregnancy--ya had a wholloping vaginal infection that most likely did you in. Horrors. Thanks again for a great time on the blog.

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