Identifier: practiceofmedici00harr (find matches)
Title: Practice of medicine and surgery by the Canadian tribes in Champlain's time
Year: 1915 (1910s)
Authors: Harris, William Richard, 1847-1923
Subjects: Indians of North America
Publisher: (Toronto) : (s.n.)
Contributing Library: ASC - York University Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Ontario Council of University Libraries and Member Libraries

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among the Indians. Our Algonc;uin and HuronIndians were not often or grieviously afflicted with swellings, tumors, or boils,which were generally allowed to reach a crisis and disa)>pr;ired without the aid ofrp)tIications of any kind. In )>1curisy the patient was freely bled ami sweated, and bagM of hot ashes(ipplied to his body. I-rom the hardsbi)is of their lives when on the hunt, and■exposures on the water in all kinds of weather, the liulians sulfered more perhapsfrom rhenmatisni and consiuiii»tion than from all other diseases known \o civilizedman. Rheumati.-m. from its )iain and frequent visitations. dro\e the Indiansto seek amelioration and help in many remedies, but chiefly in hot unctions ofbears oil, warm infusi(»ns, rubbing with skins taken from beavers just trajiped-irid in sleam-sweatp. Tin; \ai()i:-s\vkat. Among all the liulian lril)os ol America sweating and fasting were believedto lie most etlu-aeions remedies and to he endowed with great curative properties.
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Indian Vapor Bath. They resorted to many methods to produce a sweat, such as heavy blanketing,warm infusions, etc., but the common and most higlily prized was the steam-sweat.To produce a steam-sweat they Iniilt around eight or ten collected stones as largeOS ordinary pails a small room of skins or l)ark and as near airtight as they could 18 make it. This tent was, when possible, thrown up near a lake or river, preferablyon a sloping hillside. Before closing the entrance to the tent they sank an excava-tion in the ground, in which they built a strong fire of cedar, spruce or balsam, andinto this fire they cast the stones. Meanwhile a friend of the patient brought inpots of water and retired, closing tightly the entrance after him. When the fireiiad heated the stones to a white heat the patient, entirely nude, slowly emptiedthe pots of water on the stones till the tent was filled with steam. Within thisinferno the Indian sat and sweated while the steam retained its heat. Callingto his

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