Chapter 12 

 ABOUT THEIR BURIALS AND FUNERALS. 



Uefore I deal with the method that they employed in their l)urials, 

 it will be convenient to treat first the remedies which they used in their 

 diseases. These Indians did not lack the use of certain crude remedies 

 in their diseases or the knowledge of certain herbs, that is, for external 

 diseases, for in the case of internal ones, such as fevers, no matter 

 what kind they might be, I have not known them to use any remedy at 

 all; just bathing with cold water was all the remedy they had, and 

 therefore when they felt a headache at once the first remedy was to 

 wash the head with cold water. 



In external diseases, such as tumors, swellings, sores, and vagrant 

 pains they used certain herbs such as sage, California Sagebrush, and 

 others, putting them on pounded up, as a poultice ; and if they felt a 

 bellyache, they inhaled the smoke of the above mentioned herbs through 

 the mouth ; but the most frequent and commonest practice, especially 

 when in pain, was to whip the place where the pain was with nettles, 

 and to put them right on the place of the pain, and likewise ants, and 

 these latter especially on sores, and in this manner they cured them- 

 selves. 



In internal diseases such as fevers, pains in the side, burning fevers, 

 I do not know if they may have used special remedies other than 

 bathing; what they did was to lie down naked on top of a pile of sand 

 or ashes, the little fire in front of them being in whatever condition 

 it might be, and a basket or pot of water at the head of the person ; 

 they were also accustomed to set for the person a little basket of acorn 

 mush, but the sick person, if he wanted to eat, ate, and if not, he left it, 

 and without anyone importuning him to take food, and it is to be 

 noted that he always had someone or other at his side day and night, 

 and thus he remained until either nature conquered or the disease 

 conquered. 



When they felt themselves attacked with some kind of fever im- 

 mediately they called their healers, who are the Puplem, of whom we 

 have spoken above, and (into their profession not all entered, but those 

 to whom it fell by succession). These on seeing the sick person gave 

 a great discourse, mentioning to them many kinds of diseases, but in 

 the case of all of these, that they came from foreign substances which 

 they had in their bodies, such as the hairs of certain animals, sticks, 



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