Medicine

It’s Raining eBooks!

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Howdy!  Welcome to a terribly terrific Tuesday!

Okay, so it’s not exactly raining books, but do you remember old pop song, “It’s Raining Men”?  I loved that song and it popped into my head while I was writing this blog.

What I mean by it’s raining books is that I intend to give an ebook to each person who leaves a comment on the blog.  Let me explain:  I plan on having two new books coming out soon (the Good Lord willing).  One is a Historical Romance/Native American, book #5 in The Medicine Man Series.  And the other is a Young Adult story, Novella #2 in The Untaimed West series.  So, to celebrate these two books that I hope will be soon released, I’m giving away either book #1 in the Young Adult series, THE ADVENTURES OF GOOD EAGLE AND MISS STARLING, or book #4 in The Medicine Man series, SHE BRINGS BEAUTY TO ME to each person who leaves a comment…reader’s choice.  This offer expires, by the way, at 11:59 PM on April 8th, 2025.  Also, if you could please let me know on your post which book you would like, I would appreciate it.

So, I should probably tell you a little about each one of these stories, and to do that, I’ll leave a synopsis of each story.

THE ADVENTURES OF GOOD EAGLE AND MISS STARLING

Montana, 1847 

When my life is turned upside down, I have no one to turn to except Uncle Jed, a fur-trader who lives deep in Indian Country; a man I have never met.  I was expecting to be greeted by my Uncle Jed at a place called Fort Union, a fur-trading fort some two thousand miles above St. Louis.  But, when I finally arrive at the fort, I am met, instead, by an eighteen-year-old Indian, Good Eagle, who swears my uncle has sent him to meet me.  Would you trust this boy, a youth only two years older than my sixteen years?  I certainly didn’t and I told him so.  However, although I was polite, he took offense.

As the steamboat continues its way to my uncle’s fur-trading post, Fort Lewis, the Indian boy, Good Eagle, has declared that my heart has panther’s claws around it.  Yet, though he seems to dislike me as much as I do him, because of the promise he gave to my uncle, he has no option but to guard me.

But, when my life is threatened and Good Eagle saves me, I experience a change of heart about this young man; I decide I will “bury the hatchet” and become friends with him.  Imagine my surprise when he refuses my offer of friendship.

Can I ever change Good Eagle’s mind about becoming my friend?  Or will his first impression of me remain to forever haunt us?

 

SHE BRINGS BEAUTY TO ME

 

A woman deserted.  A troubled warrior.  A passion denied.

1855

When eighteen-year-old Czanna Fehér is forced to flee her home in Hungary, she journeys with her younger siblings and her father’s manservant to Montana in search of her cousin. Mourning for her recently deceased parents, she sings a prayer to the grand, Montana mountains.  From the first moment Stands Strong hears Czanna singing, he is transfixed.  When he meets her, he is captivated as much by her dark beauty as he is by her voice.

But, after the family’s hired guide steals their money and runs, her father’s servant leaves Czanna to go and serve justice to the man, leaving Czanna desolate and in charge.  Being of the gentry class in Hungary, Czanna knows she and her siblings cannot survive in this land without help.  When Stands Strong comes to her aid, she realizes she must trust this man.

Lakota born, though raised by the Blackfeet, Stands Strong descends from a long line of medicine men, but this legacy seems to have skipped over him.  Accepting this, he has become an expert scout.  But, when Czanna attempts to hire Stands Strong as their guide, offering him the “evil gold rock” as payment, he suggests marriage to him instead.  Czanna refuses him, even though the flame of love is burning heatedly in her heart.

Can two people from incompatible cultures ever come together?  Or are their star-guided paths meant only to briefly cross?

Warning:  A sensuous romance that might cause a desire to go West in search of love and adventure.

I’ll leave you today with a little bit about the new book which is currently in editing, entitled, SHE BELONGS IN MY WORLD.

 

Coming soon: SHE BELONGS IN MY WORLD

Beauty, treachery, and an untamed wild love

Liliann Varga had been too young the first time she met and fell head-over-heels in love with the Blackfeet Medicine Man, First Rider, the man who saved her father’s life. Besides, he was newly married to a woman of his own tribe. But years later, when Liliann’s husband has committed a terrible aggression against her, it’s First Rider who once again is called upon to put his healing skills to use.

First Rider has come to heal Liliann, not to seduce her. But his reaction to the grown up Liliann, the little girl who used to be his shadow, is entirely masculine and sensual. Though he’d vowed to bring his first wife back after her capture by an enemy tribe, he’d failed and she had died, causing First Rider to nearly lose his mind. Could Liliann be his second chance at love?

Enacting a “scout’s revenge” against Liliann’s cruel husband would leave the man alive but broken, and it would also set Liliann free. But, just as their love deepens, a report emerges: First Rider’s wife is still alive.

To discover the truth or lies of the report, they both embark on a dangerous journey through the Backbone-of-the-world Mountains. But, with little more than a bow and a gun, can they survive the beautiful but treacherous snows to find a world where they both belong?

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Well, that’s all for today.  Hope you enjoyed the blog today and I hope, too, that you’ll leave a commit.

 

 

 

A New Book Soon to be Released — and a Give-away

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Welcome to another sensational Tuesday!

What am I giving away this month?  I’ll be doing a drawing for the mass market paperback (this is the original edition of this book) of RED HAWK’S WOMAN.

This is book #3 in THE LOST CLAN series.  Though all the books are related, they are all different stories and are all a stand alone book.  Originally published by Berkley in the early 2000’s, it is a solid historical book with a strong mystery connected to it, as well as a paranormal element.

But, please allow me to give you a synopsis of the book

RED HAWK’S WOMAN

Their passion is thunder and lightning.  Their fate could be a flood of sorrow.

THE LOST CLAN, BOOK 3

Red Hawk’s most precious childhood memory is of a single morning with a girl whose beauty seemed lit from within with magic.  Now, years later, she could very well hold the key to a centuries-old curse – but when his visions lead him to her again, no recognition lights her eyes.

At age twenty-five, Effie Rutledge has missed her chance for marriage, but the daughter of a renowned archaeologist would rather get her hands dirty on a dig than cleaning up after some man.

She is determined to finish her father’s quest to recover four precious artifacts that could free a lost clan from a half life in the mists, but with her expedition reported as jinxed, there are no guides to be had.  Except one tall, enigmatic native who draws her as naturally as water flows to the sea.

Even when memories reconnect, they struggle to trust each other.  Worse, their once-in-a-lifetime passion risks the Thunder god’s wrath – and the future of the entire Lost Clan.

Warning:  Within the pages of this book is an all-consuming passion, so deep, so sensuous, it might cause you to want to spend the night in a loved one’s arms.

To enter into the drawing for this book, just leave a comment.

And then, on another note, I thought I’d let you know that my latest effort, entitled, SHE BELONGS IN MY WORLD, is in editing right now and I hope to have the book published and out for sale in early April.

And so I thought I’d give you an inside glance at the cover for the book.  This is book #5 in The Medicine Man series.  As you can see, this is a winter scene and the hero of the book is wearing a capote, an item of clothing worn by many of the Northwestern tribes in the winter.

But, what is a capote?  The capote in these days of the past was a blanket made into a coat.  Usually it was white and might have strips on it or other decorations.  These commonly had a hood, were very warm and were preferred by the men of the tribes because of it’s white color, which blended in with the countryside and made it a little easier when they were hunting.

Nowadays, capotes are still in style in the northern regions of this country, but they are also a little fancier.  But, they are still made in the style of the original, which was a blanket made into a coat.  I’ll post some pictures here so you can see them as they were worn in the late 1800’s.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the time because it shows the style of the capote, the hair style worn at this time by many of the northern tribes and also shows the style of the white man’s clothing.  These two young men were obviously friends.  Note the beautifully beaded gun case our Blackfeet (Pikuni band) young man carries.  The coat the young Blackfeet man is wearing is a capote.

To the right here are a couple of Blackfeet (Pikuni band) men wearing capotes.  Notice also the style of the two women’s clothing in the photo.  All are wearing moccasins.
This is another Blackfeet young man, although he is of the blood band of the tribe, which resides in Canada.  He is holding some kind of weapon, perhaps a tomahawk or something similar to it.
This picture was posed in front of a tepee or lodge (as they were often called).  And note the hairstyle and moccasins.  The Blackfeet wore three braids.  One on each side of the face and one in back.
And this last picture is a painting by Karl Bodmer (the artist who accompanied Prince Maximillian in 1832 to Fort McKensie)  It is of special interest to me because the blanket he is wearing is one which could have been made into a capote.
Notice the difference in hairstyle between the 1830’s northern style and the later style abive (1850-1890).
Well, so much for men’s fashion in coats and the blankets they wore during the winter while hunting or attending to other chores.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little excursion into the past.
If you’d like to enter the drawing, just leave a comment
Have a beautiful and a blessed day as well as for rest of the week.

Where Do You Think Early Cars Got Gas?

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Surprisingly, if you said a pharmacy, you’d be right. Before gas stations, pharmacies sold gasoline.

It seems car inventors didn’t give much thought to where a person with a new auto would buy the very thing it took to make it run. He kinda put the cart before the horse so it seems the neighborhood pharmacy stepped in and sold fuel in addition to medicines, made soda pop, cut hair in some towns without a barbershop, performed surgeries, and pulled teeth.

The gasoline they sold was not pumped or put directly into a vehicle. The car owners brought cans into the pharmacies to be filled and they in turn, put it into their auto.

While there’s some disagreement about where the first drive-up service stations were, most think it was in downtown Pittsburg and the company was Gulf Refining in 1913. The cost was 27 cents per gallon. With the U.S. inflation rate, that would’ve been $8.60 in today’s prices.

Pretty crazy, huh?

I admit I never really gave it much thought but if I had, I would not have said a pharmacy. But, if you’d considered that pharmacies also sold kerosene for lamps, it would make sense. I have no idea how it was kept but seeing how strong gasoline and kerosene smelled, I only hope they kept it far away from the medicines they prepared or any surgeries they performed. Good heavens. I just can’t imagine. I wish I had a photo of this.

I love these little tidbits like this that I find on HistoryFacts.com. Some of this stuff is so amazing.

Today, it’s much the same. Electric cars came way before the charging stations. Thank goodness they’re not in pharmacies though! My car is one of the regular kind that takes gas but my niece and her husband have an electric car. They get stranded sometimes when their battery goes dead and forces them to to sit for two hours while the battery recharges. Not for me!

What is your opinion of electric cars? Do you want one? Or what do you think about buying fuel from a pharmacy? I’m giving away a copy (paperback or ebook) of LOVE’S FIRST LIGHT to one commenter.

This book came out in July and readers seem to like it. At least, we don’t have to go to a pharmacy to buy it! 

Here’s the blurb:

After suffering a devastating accident, Rachel Malloy wakens with a stranger. He bears no resemblance to her perception of God, nor does he have a halo so she must not be dead. Regardless, after taking her entire family and leaving her, she and God are not exactly on speaking terms.

Rancher Heath Lassiter has prayed fervently and long for a wife. Is she the one? The appearance of a rare white dove shortly afterward seems to be a sign.

Despite Heath’s unwavering faith and kindness, Rachel refuses to marry him. Dark secrets haunt, secrets that blacken her name, making marriage to anyone impossible. Though disappointed, Heath rebuilds her burned-out house. There, her world again shifts with the discovery of a newborn near her family’s graves and a white dove perching nearby.
Love grows as Heath becomes a constant in her life. Yet Rachel lives in fear of losing this baby. When the infant becomes very ill, she desperately promises God she’ll return to her forsaken faith if He’ll heal the child. But first light brings uncertainty. Will the dove return as a symbol of divine mercy, or will Rachel’s fragile faith be shattered once more?

This book is on sale for $3.99 and it’s also on Kindle Unlimited for free if you have a membership. CLICK HERE to buy.
I also have another book, WINNING MAURA’S HEART, on sale for $1.99 until the end of the month. This is a sweet romance about a woman who’s father is a hangman. The town shuns Maura and her sister and banishes them from their midst. They take the town’s orphans and go to an abandoned Spanish mission. CLICK HERE for more.

Turpentine as a Medicine–Yes, Really

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When I was in 4-H many years ago, I took a Veterinary Science project. As part of the project, I had to write about the way various equine ailments were treated. I had a great source–or so I thought. It was my great-grandmother’s old veterinary book, published in the late 1800s. I found out that I could cure almost anything by using turpentine, castor oil, pine tar, or kerosene. Sometimes these materials were used externally as wound dressings and at other times mixed with other ingredients for oral treatment. After finishing my paper and giving it to my mom to read, she gently informed me that veterinary science had moved beyond turpentine, pine tar and kerosene. I found a new source in the library and wrote a new paper, but I’ve always been fascinated by the use of turpentine as a medicine.

Turpentine is made from pine trees and has a long history of use as a solvent, paint thinner and water repellent, as well as a medicine. We now know that turpentine should NOT be ingested, as it causes kidney and lung damage, but before the side effects were understood, it was used routinely in medical treatments. Romans used it  to treat depression. Doctors used it both internally and externally throughout history to treat wounds, infections and to kill internal parasites such as tape worms. It was a widely used component in the snake oil treatments sold in medicine shows in the late 1800s, and during Prohibition, turpentine was used to make fake gin. Also, many folk remedies contained turpentine and  when ingested, it will make urine smell like violets.

Turpentine does have some medicinal benefits. It is an antiseptic and it burns enough to make one feel like the germs are indeed being killed. It will help stop heavy bleeding. It is also still an ingredient in Vick’s Vapor-Rub, although it’s listed as an inactive ingredient. (Can you recall the feel  of PJs stuck to your chest as Mom used Vicks to fight cold symptoms? I sure can.)

Do any of you have home remedies that you still use? I don’t use turpentine, but I’m totally onboard with ginger tea and mint tea for nausea, as well as baking soda paste on bee stings.

 

Recent Interview & Give-Away

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Howdy!

Welcome to a Thunderous Thursday — Thunderous because we’ve been having so many, many thunder storms where we live.

Anyway, Welcome!

Thought I’d share a recent interview that was done with me by Written Word Media.  My newest book — still considered a new release — was the subject of the interview and I thought I’d share it with you today and also offer you the book as a give-away today for one of you wonderful bloggers.

So, without further ado, here is the interview:

 

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?

This is book #4 in The Medicine Man Series, and the hero in this story was a young boy in book #3.  In book #3 (She Paints My Soul), this young boy of seven showed such courage and knowledge for his age that I wanted him to have his own book…of course he is grown up in this story.

 

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of your book, what would they be?

It would be my inspiration for the plot of this story: Pie Jesu.  The song  is so beautiful I had to have a story to go with the song.  In my mind it is this song that the heroine is singing when the hero, Stands Strong first meets her.

 

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

It’s the Romance genre in general, although I do prefer Historical Romance.  But I also love to read historical accounts.  And yes, Historical Romance is my favorite genre to write in.  In truth, I am lost in the world of today, not only its lingo, but its mores, I think.  I really do prefer to write about a calmer time, when men were everyday heroes and women were beautiful, kind and had nothing but the enhancement and enriching the lives of their families in mind.

 

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Mostly I have research books by James Willard Schultz on my list to read.  I find it difficult to read other romance books when I’m writing, and so I content myself with reading historical research books which are not dull in the least.  They are usually full of true life adventure.  Right now I’m reading a Public Domain book by James Willard Schultz entitled RED CROW’S BROTHER — a true story at the turn of the 19th Century (the early 1800’s).  Full of adventure and romance, it keeps me reading when I really should be writing.  I’m also reading An Indian Winter by James Willard Schultz

 

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

There are several scenes that I loved because they made me giggle, as the hero teases the heroine.  But, probably my favorite scene is the one where Stands Strong (the hero) first meets Czanna (the heroine).  There’s another one, too. This scene, a little further on in the book, has to do to the proposition the heroine gives to the hero of the story, seeking to sway him to her cause of keeping her family safe.  I expected the hero’s reaction to be completely different from what his reaction really was.  I love it when the characters do things I don’t expect.

 

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

Well, I write with music in the background and usually the songs that inspire me are the songs for that particular book.  Also, my feet need to be warm when I write…unfortunately, even in summer.

 

Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?

I think it would be that kindness to another is more important than anything else in a relationship, be it one’s marriage partner or a friend.  Kindness and generosity are probably more important than any of us realize, I think.

 

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

That people truly in love can work out almost anything if they really want to and if they keep trying.  And also, again, kindness is important.  It was once said by a wise man that it takes real strength of character to be kind.  He who seeks to dominate, who pretends friendship, but who cannot or will not feel the real emotion of empathy and kindness, is not a man at all.  Regardless of his wealth, regardless of his influence, he is a spiritual weakling among real men who have the betterment of his family, his tribe, his nation all humanity and all life always at the forefront of his mind.

Well, that’s all for today.  I’m hoping you’ll leave a comment about one of the questions asked of me…Do you have a mitto, quote or philosophy you life by?

I’ll be giving away an e-book copy of my newest release, SHE BRINGS BEAUTY TO ME.  Although this is a sensuous romance, it is in many aspects a sweet romance.

You can pick up your copy here:

https://tinyurl.com/She-Brings-Beauty-To-Me

Covid & Cough Drops by Pam Crooks

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After our parents passed away in 2017, Christmas as we’d always known it drastically changed.  Three of my siblings live out-of-state, and it’s understandable that visiting our parents during the holidays was their priority.  However, after their passing, the sibs made the decision to come to Nebraska every other year instead.

The four of us in Omaha still get together on the off-years, but we celebrate on a lower scale.  However, in the BIG Christmas year when all seven of us, including nieces and nephews, come together, Christmas planning explodes, and we celebrate from Christmas Eve until the 29th.  It’s a lot of cooking, groceries, cleaning, etc., but it’s great fun and makes for some great memories.  Did I mention there are 63 of us?  🙂

This year was the BIG Christmas, and the event started out with pizza and a super fun game of Spoons at my sister’s house on the 26th.  Then, there was my nephew’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor on the 27th, and the day-long cooking it entailed for the dinner that night – my grandmother’s meatballs, guiteruni (no one knows how to spell it), made-from-scratch spaghetti sauce, homemade Italian sausage, and so on, enough to feed the crowd in attendance.  If that wasn’t fun enough, we also celebrated my youngest sister’s 50th birthday that night.

We were off to a roaring start for the week, until my Texas niece called the next day to tell me her husband tested positive for Covid.

Oh, boy.

Evidently, their Texas grandmother had tested positive after they spent Christmas Eve with her, and yep, Covid spread like wildfire here in Nebraska.  If family members weren’t sick, they were afraid they would be, and with little ones to think of, our numbers dropped a bunch.

But the rest of us defied the virus and celebrated.  There were a few who took the virus home with them after the festivities ended, including my husband.  He didn’t officially test, but he had all the symptoms, and I’d be surprised if he wasn’t suffering from the virus.

As I write this, he is on his fifth day of coughing.  (I have somehow managed to elude capture by Covid.)  He’s not one to run to the doctor, and I think since it’s viral, you just have to tough it out anyway, especially when he’s had all the shots and boosters.

So how did our ancestors treat their coughs?

Amazingly, cough drops have been around since 1000 B.C..  Egyptian confectioners developed the first hard candies to soothe that coughing reflex, using honey and various herbs, citrus fruits, and spices to make them palatable.  Recipes evolved throughout the centuries, but it was in the 1800’s that physicians discovered that opiates depressed the brain’s cough reflex, and since they worked well, and were readily available, patients bought them in droves.  Physicians became aware of the dangers of addiction by their patients (um, yeah!) and the opiate varieties were relegated to the super-sick.

Enter the Smith Brothers, sons of a candy maker in New York in the mid-1800s.  When a customer in need of cash offered what he claimed was an effective cough remedy to their father, James Smith, he was paid $5, and the elder went home, made use of his candy-making skills, and produced a sweet, hard piece of medicine candy, which he generously dispersed to friends and family afflicted with coughs and colds.  Word spread of the lozenges’ effectiveness. The brothers, William and Andrew, advertised their trademark images at first on large glass bowls on drugstore counters where the lozenges were distributed, and later to the cardboard boxes we all know today.  By the way, the man on the left with the short beard and nicknamed “Trade” is William, the long-bearded brother, “Mark,” is Andrew.  Their father died in 1866, and the brothers grew the cough drop business from sales of five pounds a day to five TONS a day.

I love fun stories like this, don’t you?

Not long after, in 1881, William Luden developed the first menthol cough drop. To help his marketing, he passed out samples of his cough drops to workers on the Reading Railroad, where they spread word of his product throughout the network.  In another show of marketing genius, retailers displayed and sold his boxed lozenges directly in their stores, saving Luden from selling door-to-door as was the norm at the time.  He developed a new way of packaging his lozenges by lining the handy boxes with wax paper to extend their shelf life.

Luden’s Wild Cherry cough drops were my favorite as a little girl.  I totally remember those little boxes lined in wax paper, don’t you?  And that narrow strip of red that helped open the package!

Have you had Covid?  (Who hasn’t, right?) 

What’s your best remedy for a cold or a sore throat?

Kaitlene Dee Tells About Traveling Food, Covered Wagons, and Romance!

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Get ready for a fun time. This week, the Fillies are entertaining Kaitlene Dee aka Tina Dee and she’ll talk about covered wagons, the food they prepared on the trail, and some romance. She mentions a giveaway so don’t miss that.

In my new story, Grace, which is part of the Prairie Roses Collection, nineteen-year-old Grace loses her best friend and inherits her three-year-old daughter, Emma. It was her friend’s dying wish that Grace would raise Emma because the little girl is without any other family.

Adam begrudgingly comes to the rescue of Grace and Emma with a marriage of convenience proposal—and together, they set out to help an elderly couple of sisters move their tea shop business from one town to another in a covered wagon to carry the sisters’ precious bone china and heirloom cabinet. They head from northern California to southern California. What should only take two to three weeks travel time turns out to be a much longer trip, ripe with danger and disaster. In all this, Grace and Adam find out how much they must trust in God as He guides them into discovering that they truly need one another.

Personally, I love outdoor cooking, and writing this story was fun with all the cooking that goes on in it. I enjoyed researching foods pioneers packed and ate for their journeys. Guidebooks made suggestions to hopeful travelers on things to pack in their provisions.

But most interesting to me, was the spices. Some were used for medicinal purposes, as well as for flavoring. Some curatives that were packed were: Cinnamon bark for the relief of diarrhea and nausea and to aid against digestive issues, cloves for its antiseptic and anti-parasitic properties, and nutmeg or mace, which were used for tonics. (FoodTimeline.org –an awesome and fun resource! They refer to Randolph B. Marcy’s A Handbook for Overland Expeditions, a valuable resource manual for those traveling west).

Some folks also packed potable meat (cooked meat packed tightly into a jar, then covered with some sort of fat such as butter, lard, or maybe tallow and then sealed), and portable soups, desiccated dried or canned vegetables, powdered pumpkin, and dried fruits. These were a surprise to me since, prior to research, I pretty much thought their only options were beans, cornmeal mush, biscuits, bacon, flour, milk if they had a cow, and eggs.

On their journey, Adam used oxen to pull the covered wagon because they were strong, dependable, and able to do well on less abundant food sources. It was fun researching about wagons as well. I didn’t know the wagons carried a pail of pitch under the wagon bed. But discussing covered wagons is for a future post.

The story of Grace is a Christian marriage of convenience, pioneer romance set in the western frontier and is part of the multi-author Prairie Roses Collection. All books in the series are stand-alone stories and can be read in any order. Not all of the stories are set on the Oregon Trail, some travel across state or from one state to another, but all of the stories are romances that occur while on their covered wagon journeys. They are in Kindle Unlimited and are also available for ebook purchase on Amazon.

Next spring, I’ll be contributing two more stories to the Prairie Rose Collection. The stories will be ripe with adventure, romance, and food and I’ll make sure they satisfy your Old West reading cravings.

What kind of food would you pack to bring on a journey like this? Anything special?

Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for an ebook copy of GRACE

Kaitlene Dee lives on the west coast, enjoys outings along the coast and in the nearby mountains, hiking, supporting dog rescues and outdoor cooking and camping. She also writes contemporary western Christian romances as Tina Dee. Kaitlene and Tina’s books can be found on Amazon.

Please feel invited to join my newsletter at and receive a free story: Kaitlene & Tina Dee’s Newsletter

Please follow me on Bookbub at Kaitlene Dee: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kaitlene-dee

Home Remedies

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I’ve had a bit of time this week. Just as I was getting over a bad cold, I fell down, and as many of you know, after a certain age, you don’t bounce like you used to. Long story short, I ended up with a badly sprained ankle. (Imagine a purple and blue ankle at least twice the size of a normal ankle.)

When I got home with my rapidly swelling ankle, I looked up what I was supposed to do to treat it and came up with RICE—Rest, Ice Compression and Elevation. I ended up doing RIE, because I didn’t have an Ace bandage for the C component.

Thankfully, I have lots of ice, but I started thinking about how people treated sprains and other maladies before ice was readily available. I discovered that if I sprained my ankle in the 19th century, I should take mud from a mud dauber nest, mix it with vinegar, place the mixture on my sprain and cover it with a stocking.

Here’s the thing–I do have remnant mud dauber nests on my house, but I couldn’t bring myself to try this. Why ruin a good nest when I have ice? But there was probably some science behind this cure, as there was behind a lot of 19th century medicine that did not involve superstitions such as tying knots in dishrags and burying them at midnight (my aunt’s cure for warts). I became curious and looked up a few more cures for common maladies, which I will list below:

Sore throat–rub outside of throat with a mixture of kerosene and butter.

Cuts–apply a spider web. Also, you can treat a cut by packing it with axle grease.

Rashes-treat with urine (I thought this was fascinating because urine is a form of acid which would burn like crazy. Ouch.)

Earache–blow tobacco smoke in the ear canal

Pneumonia–treat with a poultice of tansy weed

Dandruff–mix sulfur with water and apply to head daily

Lice–wash your head with kerosene

Poison ivy–treat with a paste of Fels Naptha soap. (I still use this stuff for laundry. It’s great.)

Bee sting–mix honey and mud from a mud dauber’s nest. (As a kid we used a paste of baking soda and water.)

Burns–put fresh calf manure in a flour sack and cover the burn for 24 hours.

There are so many more but I’ll leave you with these and ask what are some home remedies that you’ve heard of? Or used? I still put soda and water paste on my bee stings, but having read this, I may try honey and mud dauber nest the nest time I have a bad bee encounter.

 

 

 

SHE STEALS MY BREATH — Still on sale, but only for a short while longer

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Howdy!

And here we are gathering together again on another terrific Tuesday.

This series of The Medicine Men is really opening my eyes to many things.  And, I thought I’d share of few of those with you today.

Am reading the book FOOLS CROW by Thomas E. Mails and I have to admit to having to leave behind many misconceptions I’ve had about the American Indian medicine man.  I had really thought that the medicine men helped their people heal using herbs and driving out the evil spirits with their songs and drumbeats.

Sometimes they did this.  They certainly used herbs and drumming and other rituals to help another become well.  Here is what Fools Crow said about some of the healings he did:

“You know that it is not our custom to talk about healings.  Instead, our words and hearts are sent up to God in prayerful thanksgiving for them.  We tell Him this in our private prayers and in our ceremonies.  No medicine man or patient makes a big thing of it when a healing takes place.  This is why sick people do not come to me or to other medicine men in greater numbers….”

What I’m learning is that the true medicine man from the long ago did not, himself, heal.  Only God did, working through the medicine man, as though the medicine man were a hollow bone, and was there only so God could work through him.

Wow!  I mean, think of it.  God was never divorced from the healing of the sick because the medicine man realized fully and completely that God was healing the person, not he, the medicine man.  This is why Fools Crow devotes an entire chapter in this book about the medicine man and the strict and narrow path such a man had to walk.

Now, since we know that it was God doing the healing, Fools Crow goes on to say that every person he ever did a ceremony for in order for the person to get well — they did get well…and without exception.

Another medicine man — a very handsome man, Black Elk — is once noted as saying that the life of a medicine man is a hard one, because a man must never step foot off the very narrow and ethical path laid out by God, The Creator.  No alcohol, no drugs, no womanizing, no swearing and a medicine man must keep in mind always that the person seeking help may never be able to repay him.  He goes on to say a medicine man has to understand this, and, if necessary be content to never be repaid for the service he rendered.

Black Elk is noted as saying, also, (I heard this online) that the path of a medicine man is so rough to keep to, that one should not seek to become a medicine man, but should wait to be asked and then make his decision.

However, Fools Crow often points to his complete happiness in being able to help and lead his fellow Lakota Indians.  He may not have been rich in material goods, but he was rich in friendships and in the knowledge that he was helping his fellow man.

In the words of Fools Crow:  “Even the medicine men are jealous of one another today.  And that is very bad.  Years ago all of the holy men and medicine men worked together, and as a result accomplished great things.  The medicine men shared their power in the healing rites and in the other ceremonies.  Even when they paid homage to God they did so in such a way as to help one another.  There was unity of purpose.”

 

In the book, SHE STEALS MY BREATH, I don’t actually go into much of the healing ceremonies because I don’t know them.  But what I would like to do is share with you a little bit from the book that I think really defines the American Indian’s point of view of the world.

And so, I hope you will enjoy this excerpt from the book, SHE STEALS MY BREATH.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

One day turned into another.  In the mornings, Eagle Heart left their simple home to hunt, and, when she asked him why he always traveled so far away on his quest for game, he told her a man never looks for or kills animals for food close to where he lives.  To do so could make a man’s home very dangerous, indeed.

During the afternoons, Laylah made it a point to help Eagle Heart skin the animals he brought home.  She also aided him in preparing their meat for roasting, learning this skill gradually.  But, Laylah noticed a few aspects about skinning an animal she had never witnessed before, and it made her curious.

Always, Eagle Heart said prayers over the beast he had killed, and Laylah, under his influence, had begun doing much the same.  Laylah noticed, also, that Eagle Heart gave away much of their food to the Little People and to any of their other animal friends who came to visit.

Once, she had questioned him about this practice of giving away a good deal of their food, and she’d asked, “Do you think it wise to share so much of the meat we have?”

“We have plenty, more than we need, and the hunting here is good because so few predators come to this valley.”

“Of course,” she said.  “Still, wouldn’t it be wise to preserve some of it?  I remember during the snowstorm you had a good supply of dried meat.  Could you show me how to prepare meat this way?”

“Áa,” he signed.  “I will show you how to smoke the meat, and your suggestion is a good one.  We should make meat for hard times.  But, an honorable man gives away as much food as he consumes.  It is his duty to ensure his friends are as well fed as he is.  If he has to hunt more often, so be it.”

“No wonder the animals love you so much.”

His simple smile at her gave her much pleasure, as though he bestowed a little bit of heaven on her.

The evenings were all she could have ever wanted, for she had this man entirely to herself, and, after their supper, they made love throughout most the night, both of them catching up on their sleep between lovemaking.

Sometimes Eagle Heart even slept in late, delaying his hunting until the afternoon.  Indeed, the days and evenings were romantic in so many different ways, and Laylah couldn’t remember ever being so happy.

One afternoon, as she was assisting Eagle Heart in skinning the deer he had brought into their camp, she asked, “What is the yellow powder you sprinkle over the animal you have killed?  I hear your prayers, and I understand why you pray over the animals, but what is the yellow dust for?”

“I will show you,” he signed.

She nodded.

“Hunting is and should always be a prayer,” signed Eagle Heart, “for a man must take the life of another in order to ensure his own family does not starve.  Being so close to the animals one needs to kill in order to survive, a man becomes aware of the creation of life all around him.  It is why we pray over the animals we have killed.  But, we do more.

“It is possible I might be able to show you how we try to help the animal we have killed.  I think I could do this with this deer, because the living spirit of this animal has not yet left its body.  If you watch closely, you might be able to see the spirit of the animal as it departs its body.”

Laylah frowned.  “I thought animals didn’t possess a spirit.”

“There are white trappers who have told me they believe this, also, and they are welcome to think this if they choose.  But, my tribe and all the tribes around us, even our enemies, know that all of creation is alive; all things are made up of the same rocks, stones and dirt of the earth and all are alive.  But, you must decide this matter for yourself.  Watch.”

Eagle Heart began to sing and pray over the animal as he usually did, and, taking some of the powder from the small bag he always wore around his neck, he sprinkled the yellow dust over the animal, the color of the dust catching hold of and reflecting the rays of the afternoon sun.

“Do you see it?” he asked in sign.  “Look for the aliveness of the animal rising up out of its body.  It is not physical, but if you pay close attention, you might see it because you, too, are spiritual.  Here comes the spirit as it rises out of its dead body.  Do you perceive that it follows the path of the dust I have sprinkled, its path guiding it up toward the sky and the Creator of all, Sun?”

Laylah had looked on and at first had seen nothing.  But then, glancing all around the animal, she became aware of something rising up and departing from the body of the animal.

Not really sure what she was looking at, she yet watched as an invisible something left this animal’s body—she even watched it as it followed the yellow path upward toward the sky.  With what must have been large eyes, she turned her head to stare at Eagle Heart.

She whispered, “I didn’t know animals had a soul.”

He signed, “Have you not now seen one leave the body of this poor deer?”

“I did see it.”

“We are all connected,” he told her in sign, bringing his two hands together, linking them as though in brotherhood.  “We all live and enjoy the thrill of life, and we all die.  All life must depend upon animal or plant life, or sometimes both, to become food so all may live.  Plants do the same, taking what they need from our Mother, the Earth.  All life must do the same as we do.  Simply because we must eat does not mean we must divorce ourselves from the life that is all around us and pretend it is not also alive and lives much the same as we do.”

Still feeling as if her eyes were mirroring her incredulity, she remarked, “Should I not eat meat, then?  Perhaps I should change my diet so I am eating no meat at all?”

“Do you ask this question because you think plants do not have a spirit that, like us, desires to live?”

“Of course a plant doesn’t have a spirit.  It is only a plant, after all.”

He smiled at her and reached out to take her hand in his, bringing it to his lips.  Then, releasing her hand, he signed, “Come, let us finish skinning this deer and putting its meat over the fire, and I will introduce you to the plants, for all things are connected and all things on this earth are alive.  And, if it is alive and if it is on this earth, it is, like us, spiritual. When the body dies, that which makes the plant or animal aware it lives, is released.  We of the Blackfoot Nation at least try to guide its spirit up to the sky and to Sun, the Creator.”

Laylah frowned.  Even though she had “seen” the spiritual entity leave its body and float upward, this was too new and too different a viewpoint for her to readily accept as true.  But, it did cause her to wonder if she had really been truly living before she’d met this man.  Wolves who, when asked, came to her aid; a deer as a spiritual being; the love of the Little People and now plants, too?  They, like human beings, were alive and possessed a spiritual quality about them?  She swallowed hard before asking, “What is the yellow dust you sprinkle over the animal?”

“Pollen.”

She nodded.

“Come,” he signed, “let us finish this task and then, if you will follow me, we should go and talk to the plants.”

And, Laylah did, indeed, help him finish the task, knowing they would do exactly as he said they might do.  And, before they sat down to enjoy their supper, she found herself silently conversing with the flowers that graced a beautiful and colorful meadow….

By the way, I love the picture to the right, taken by James Willard Schultz at the turn of the last century.  On the left in the picture is Black Bull and on the right is Stabs-by-mistake, both from the Pikuni Nation (the Blackfeet).  They are looking out upon Glacier National Park.

SHE STEALS MY BREATH

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Train Doctors (Reprised)

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Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here. I apologize for reprising a previous post but I’m knee deep in tax filing prep right now. And since I have nineteenth century railroads on the brain (I’m part of the Love Train series author group some others have mentioned here) I thought this post from back in 2009 would be fun to look at again. So here we go.

There are articles and headlines aplenty to be found around the topic of health care, but would it surprise you to learn that one of the early adopters of employer-based health care was the railroads?

While the vast majority of nineteenth century workers had to find and pay for their own medical care, the railroads were developing a unique and valuable benefit for their employees.

Because the nature of railway work and travel conditions led to a higher-than-normal likelihood of injuries not only to railway workers but also passengers and bystanders, some form of available medical services became a necessity.  The problem was only exacerbated when the transcontinental railroad opened, greatly expanding long distance overland travel opportunities.  As an ever increasing number of people traveled the rails across unsettled territory, territory that never seen trained physicians or even the most rudimentary of medical facilities, the railroad companies had no choice but to hire their own physicians and create medical facilities along their routes.

Thus was born the era of train doctors.  Most of the physicians who answered this call were actually general practitioners who could also perform surgery. And because of the unique dangers railroad workers faced, the so-called train doctors found themselves dealing with types of injuries which few had dealt with before.  They were pioneers in the development of trauma care under primitive conditions, developing techniques and treatments that eventually found their way into routine medical practice.

From the outset, most of these practitioners expressed concern over the conditions and equipment they had to work with, as well as the ability to see their patients in a timely manner when minutes could literally mean the difference between life and death.

One tool that resulted from the drive to get stop-gap care to workers who sustained injuries in remote areas, were special packs devised by railway surgeons to be carried on all trains.  These packs were stocked with basic emergency supplies such as medicines, sterile dressings and basic implements. These were, in fact, the precursors of the modern day first aid kit.  Train doctors also promoted training key railroad workers in the use of these materials so that the injured party could be given appropriate first line aide until a proper physician could be reached.

As for facilities, early on railroad doctors tried using hotel rooms, spare rooms in private homes or even back porches for emergency medical care, but such rooms not only lacked the necessary equipment, their use also resulted in a large expense for the railroads who not only paid for the use of the room but also faced cleaning and replacement costs for bloodstained linens and furniture.  As an alternative, the train doctors pushed for the development and use of hospital cars which could serve both as properly equipped surgical stations and as the actual transportation for seriously ill or injured patients.

As could be predicted, the adoption of such cars greatly improved the survival rate of the seriously injured railroad worker and eventually evolved into highly sophisticated facilities.  They had room enough to handle the care of three to four patients at one time as well as house a fully equipped operating room.  They were scrupulously maintained in order to provide a clean environment in which the surgeon could effectively perform his duties, stabilizing his patients before sending him or her on to a regular hospital.

Speaking of hospitals, the railroads were also very influential in establishing such facilities along their routes.  In mid-century it was remarked that a person traveling from St. Louis to El Paso would traverse 1300 miles without passing a single hospital.  And this was only one of numerous such stretches in the country.  The first railroad to respond to this glaring need was the Central Pacific Railroad which opened its own hospital in Sacramento in 1869.  Other railroads quickly followed suit, establishing their own hospitals along well traveled routes.

Dr. C.W.P. Brock, President of the National Association of Railway Surgeons, was quoted as saying: Mr. Greeley’s advice to the young man to “go west” may be followed with great benefit by railway surgeons from the older sections of our country; and when they have seen the superb hospitals and the practical workings of the system they will say, as the Queen of Sheba said after seeing the splendors of King Solomon, “that the half had not been told.”

On a more practical front, another surgeon was heard to estimate that “the daily cost per patient at a railway hospital runs from 40 to 60 cents, compared to $1.00 to $1.50 at a city or contract hospital.”

Train doctors for the most part were  very progressive in the medical field.  They endorsed the emphasis on sterilization and overall cleanliness in patient care well before such thinking was met with universal acceptance.  They were also progressive in their attitude toward embracing women into their profession.

In addition to surgery dealing with railroad-related injuries and general trauma care, railway surgeons also took on the role of an overall health care provider.  They treated a wide range of illnesses, performed routine checkups, delivered babies and advised on safety, health and sanitation issues.

Alas, the train doctors are no more.  There were a number of factors that contributed to the eventual demise of the once highly effective and indispensable system.  Key among them was the change in government regulations and the explosion of medical advances in the 1950s.  The last of the railroad hospitals were sold or closed in the 1970s and the remaining train doctors retired, joined other practices or set up private practices of their own.

But these dedicated men and women left an enduring legacy. Their trade journal, The Railway Surgeon, though it reinvented itself a number of times, remains in print today under the name Occupational Health and Safety

The modern day specialty of occupational medicine can trace its roots to these surgeons.  They also helped to shape modern medical practice, especially in the area of trauma study and care.  They were pioneers in front line field care, in the stabilization and transport of the seriously injured, in overall trauma care and in the development and use of the modern day first aid kit.

All but forgotten by the vagaries of our national memory, train doctors nevertheless played a major, but largely unsung, role in making the settlement of the western frontier a safer proposition for all who travelled through or eventually settled in the surrounding areas.

Thanks for your patience in allowing me to reprise an older post. As a reward I’d like to offer a chaoice of any book from my backlist to on (or more!) of the people who leave a comment here.