SwANTON] INDIANS OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 785 



commonly use this to refresh themselves, after they have been fatigu'd v^ith 

 Hunting, Travel, or the like, or else when they are troubl'd with Agues, 

 Aches, or Pains in their Limbs. Their method is thus, the Doctor takes three 

 or four large Stones, which after having heated red hot, he places 'em in the 

 middle of the Stove, laying on them some of the inner Bark of Oak beaten 

 in a Mortar, to keep them from burning. This being done, they creep in 

 six or eight at a time, or as many as the place will hold, and then close up 

 the mouth of the Stove, which is usually made like an oven, in some Bank 

 near the Water side. In the mean while, the Doctor, to raise a Steam, after 

 they have been stewing a little while, pours cold Water on the Stones, and 

 now and then sprinkles the Men to keep them from fainting. After they have 

 .sweat as long as they can well endure it, they sally out, and (tho it be in the 

 depth of Winter) fortwith plunge themselves over Head and Ears in cold 

 Water, which instantly closes up the Pores, and preserves them from taking 

 cold. The heat being thus suddenly driven from the extream parts to the 

 Heart, makes them a little feeble for the present, but their Spirits rally again, 

 and they instantly recover their Strength, and find their Joynts as supple 

 and vigorous as if they never had travell'd, or been indispos'd. So that I 

 may say as Bellonius does in his Observations on the Tn/rkish Bagnio's, All 

 the Crudities contracted in their Bodies are by this means evaporated and 

 carry 'd off. (Beverley, 1705, bk. 3, pp. 49-51.) 



Lawson gives practically all that we know regarding the medical 

 practices of the Siouan tribes, along with material on those of the 

 Tuscarora Indians, which seem to have differed little. His rather 

 naive account is as follows : 



You must know that the doctors or conjurers, to gain a greater credit among 

 these people, tell them that all distempers are the effects of evil spirits, or 

 the bad spirit, which has struck them with this or that malady, therefore 

 none of these physicians undertakes any distemper but that he comes to an 

 exorcism to effect the cure, and acquaints the sick party's friends, that he 

 must converse with the good spirit, to know whether the patient will recover 

 or not, if so, then he will drive out the bad spirit and the patient will become 

 well. Now the general way of their behavior in curing the sick, a great deal 

 of which I have seen, and shall give some account thereof, in as brief a 

 manner as possible, is, when an Indian is sick, if they think there is much 

 danger of life, and that he is a great man or hath good friends, the doctor 

 is sent for. As soon as the doctor comes into the cabin, the sick person is 

 set on a mat or skin stark naked, lying on his back and all uncovered, except 

 some small trifle that covers their nakedness when ripe, otherwise, in very 

 young children, there is nothing about them. In this manner the patient lies, 

 when the conjurer appears, and the king of that nation comes to attend him 

 with a rattle made of a gourd, with peas in it. This the king delivers into 

 the doctor's hand, whilst another brings a bowl of water, and sets it down. 

 Then the doctor begins, and utters some few words very softly ; afterwards he 

 smells of the patient's navel and belly, and sometimes scarifies him a little 

 with a flint or an instrument made of rattle snake's teeth for that purpose; 

 then he sucks the patient and gets out a mouthful of blood and serum, but serum 

 chiefly, which, perhaps, may be a better method in many cases than to take 

 away great quantities of blood, as is commonly practiced, which he spits 

 in the bowl of water. Then he begins to mutter, and talk apace, and at last 

 to cut capers and clap his hands on his breech and sides, till he gets into a 



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