Folk Medicine

In the early days of our country, only the cities and larger towns were likely to have doctors. In rural, remote areas, families often had to take care of their own health issues. Sometimes there might be a healer in the area that people would go to if the problem became serious. The healers would gather herbs, make medicines, and dispense them as they saw the need.

This was true in my novels in the Appalachian Roots Series. In Cleared for Planting, Emma learned healing herbs from her time with the Cherokee. Here is an excerpt from that time:

       One morning a distraught mother brought a baby for Lily to see. The baby looked to be a couple of months old and wailed until it almost lost its breath. Lily took the baby, looked at Emma, and said, “Sick.” She pulled what looked like dried apples with the peel still on them from a pouch, added something else to it, handed them to Emma, and said, “Make tea.”
       Emma followed instructions and made about a cup of tea. Lily cooled the drink and began giving it to the infant. She chanted to the baby while she gave it the tea. In about ten minutes, the infant
had quieted. She handed the baby back to the mother. The grateful woman said something, and Lily replied. Lily gave the woman some of the tea ingredients, and she left with them and her baby.
       “You can help the sick?” Emma asked.
       “Sometimes. Father used to be medicine man. I help small problems. Medicine man do more.”
       “Will you teach me?”
       “Why?”
       “I had a younger sister, who died with a high fever and tightness in her chest. I wished I’d known how to help her.”
       Lily stared at her, much as Hawk did when it seemed he was reading her very thoughts. “I teach,” Lily finally said.
       That began her instruction. Lily showed Emma her medicines and explained their uses in her chopped speech. She said the names of the things in English, if she knew them, and in Cherokee if she didn’t. The Cherokee sounds were difficult for Emma to make, so she did like she had with the names of people, and made up a name of her own.

In Sown in Dark Soil, the second book, Leah had also learned medicines. When she and Granny Em got together, they shared their knowledge.

            Leah saw Luke waiting outside the inn when they pulled up. He stood beside a covered wagon.

            He and Jasper loaded the trunks from the carriage to the wagon. “I thought I said one trunk each.”

            “Ivy said she had a hard time limiting it to just two. She’s taking only a fraction of her newest clothes.”

            Luke shook his head in disbelief. “I guess I’m ignorant when it comes to well-brought-up young women At least you managed with one trunk. You do have just one, don’t you?”

            “Just one trunk, but I brought my medicine chest, too. I hope that’s okay. It’s small, and the vials fit in special slots, so they won’t break. I hate to leave most of my herbs behind, but I guess I can collect more when we get to your place.”

            “You’ll have different ones there, too. Some of them are really useful, like ginseng. Granny can help you learn the new ones. She’s good with herbs and healing. I think she’s the reason my father became a doctor.”

            “That’s good to know. I won’t feel so bad about leaving my herbs behind, then.”

            He smiled at her. “I think Granny will really like you.”

In Uprooted by War to be released soon, Leah continues helping the neighbors. The Civil War has caused shortages for everyone. Not only are those in the South required to give ten percent of what they raise to the Confederacy, but in the Appalachians scavengers, bushwackers, and raiders threatened to take what the families had.

            Someone knocked on the front door early the next day, too early for anyone to make it up the mountain. When Leah opened the door, Raymond Blankenship stood there with his hat in his hand. He and Polly lived up the mountain a few miles away.

            “Mornin’, Mrs. Moretz,” he said.

            “Come in,” Leah told the man. “It’s too cold to be standing outside this morning.”

            “I truly hated to come, but hit’s Polly. She hain’t feelin’ too good, and I wuz awonderin’ iffin y’all had somethan’ ’sides meat ya could spare. Ya see, weuns wuz raided a while back, and they’ve took ’bout everthang we had to et and tore up the rest. I’ve been huntin’, but I ‘spect Polly’s needin’ somethan ‘sides jist meat.”

            Leah sent Patrick to the root cellar. She packed the Blackenships a bag with carrots, potatoes, onions, and dried beans. They might run short if they were raided again, but these were her neighbors needing help, and God expected her to give it. Leah also knew the situation would probably be worse than Raymond had indicated for him to come asking for help.

            “I put a bottle of tonic in too,” Leah told him. “Have Polly take three tablespoons a day. Tell her it’s Granny Em’s recipe.”

            “I shore do thank ye kindly,” Raymond said, as he left with his bag.   

(All profits from my books go to a scholarship fund for missionary children.)

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