This Savage, Hearing What They Talk'd Of, And Having A Great Love
For The Sick Man, Made This Reply To What He Had Heard.
`Brother, You Have Been A Long Time Sick; And, I Know, You Have
Given Away Your Slaves To Your English Doctors:
What made you do so,
and now become poor?
They do not know how to cure you;
for it is an Indian Distemper, which your People know not the Nature of.
If it had been an English Disease, probably they could have cured you;
and had you come to me at first, I would have cured you for a small matter,
without taking away your Servants that made Corn for you and your Family
to eat; and yet, if you will give me a Blanket to keep me warm,
and some Powder and Shot to kill Deer withal, I will do my best
to make you well still.' The Man was low in Courage and Pocket too,
and made the Indian this Reply. `Jack, my Distemper is past Cure,
and if our English Doctors cannot cure it, I am sure, the Indians cannot.'
But his Wife accosted her Husband in very mild terms, and told him,
he did not know, but God might be pleased to give a Blessing
to that Indian's Undertaking more than he had done to the English;
and farther added; `if you die, I cannot be much more miserable,
by giving this small matter to the Indian; so I pray you, my Dear,
take my Advice, and try him;' to which, by her Persuasions, he consented.
After the Bargain was concluded, the Indian went into the Woods,
and brought in both Herbs and Roots, of which he made a Decoction,
and gave it the Man to drink, and bad him go to bed, saying,
it should not be long, before he came again, which the Patient perform'd
as he had ordered; and the Potion he had administred made him sweat
after the most violent manner that could be, whereby he smell'd
very offensively both to himself, and they that were about him;
but in the Evening, towards Night, Jack came, with a great Rattle-Snake
in his Hand alive, which frightned the People almost out of their Senses;
{Cure by a Snake.} and he told his Patient, that he must take that
to Bed to him; at which the Man was in a great Consternation,
and told the Indian, he was resolv'd, to let no Snake come into his Bed,
for he might as well die of the Distemper he had, as be kill'd
with the Bite of that Serpent. To which the Indian reply'd,
he could not bite him now, nor do him any Harm; for he had taken out
his Poison-teeth, and shew'd him, that they were gone. At last,
with much Persuasion, he admitted the Snake's Company, which the Indian
put about his Middle, and order'd nobody to take him away upon any account,
which was strictly observ'd, although the Snake girded him as hard
for a great while, as if he had been drawn in by a Belt, which one pull'd at,
with all his strength.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 170 of 202
Words from 91421 to 91953
of 110081
