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result (Pyatt and Johns 1999). Typically, slaves would place an axe in a
strategic location to fend off some spirit or medical calamity. For slaves, the
shape of the axe with a sharp edge had symbolic overtones. The association
between the axe and cutting pain was made by Janey Landrum (Texas)
when she stated, The old folks say that if you are having hard pains to git
some one to put an axe in the bed with you because that will cut the pains.
Enslaved African American Non-Herbal Treatments and Materia Medica 131
A popular location for placing an axe was under the bed or near the front
door. Besides placing a pan of water under the bed, Dellie Lewis (Alabama)
remembered, For night sweats Grandmammy would put an axe under de
bed of de sick pusson wid de blade asittin straight up.
Axle Grease
Axle grease found its way into the antebellum South as an universal oint-
ment and general remedy. Whites and African Americans both used grease
as a salve and treatment. In Southern Appalachian folk medicine, axle
grease was used as a treatment for hemorrhoids (piles) (Cavender 2003).
Celia Henderson (Kentucky), who was born in 1849, provided a detailed
description of the use of axle grease as part of a treatment with red flannel:
Ah members ah come to see Mammy here in Lebanon a long time ago, an ah
had a terrible misery; ah was so miserable dat ah was soun asleep a dreamin
bout it an saying Mammy you recon axel grease goin to hep?
Ah woke up des feelin awful, an I went to my Mammy an ol woman
mahself (ah was, about 50 yeahs ol ) but ah went to Mammy an woke her up
an ah says, jes lak ah dream o sayin : Mammy you recon axel grease is goin
to hep me?
What fo is you wantin axel grease to hep? An I told her. She say: Axel
grease hot, put on wid red flannel goin to take it away chile. An out of bed
she climbed in de col night, an get some axel grease out n de yard offa an ol
wagon settin dere she heat it up wid dat red flannel she slap it on me. Den ah
got easy sho was thankful wen dat axel grease n red flannel got wukin on
me! But you gotta have red flannel white stuff won t do. If you gets on o
dem col miseries in de winter try it an see. But go long! Folks is too sma t fo
dem medicines nowadays.
Blue Mass/Moss Pills
Francis Lewis (Clayton 1990: 160) referred to taking blue mass pills: We
didn t get sick much, but when we did old missis gave us blue mass pills
and ipecac and sarsapilla. Former slave Rebecca Fletcher remembered that
taking blue mass pills made folks sick (Clayton 1990: 46). She commented,
Old missis used to give us blue mass pills when we needed medicine. She
then added, It sho did make us sick. We had to get sick to get well, old mis-
sis said.
Brass Buttons/Rings/Copper
People have long associated the wearing of brass to address arthritis or
rheumatism, which continues today. Beard (2003) reported that many of
132 Chapter 6
her patients claim wearing copper helps with arthritic pain and, although
rheumatologists haven t approved this use, some are giving the practice
some support. Southern folk practitioners of the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries used compounds containing copper to topically treat
sores and the eyes (Moss 1999). Ahram Sells (Texas) provided an example
of wearing metal objects to combat rheumatism:
Some r de niggers wo (wore) brass rings to keep off de rheumatiz, n some r
dem punch hole in a penny r dime n wear dis on dey ankle to keep off
dif rent kin s r diseases. I guess it kep it off all right cause dey neber was sick
much in dem day.
Sim Greely (South Carolina), born in 1855, provided another application
for brass, Tie brass buttons around de neck to stop de nose a-bleading.
Mark Oliver (Mississippi) recalled another use, For the heart complaint
they used a brass key or a piece of lead around the neck.
Charms
Charms were a significant feature of voodoo and conjure as well as folk
practice. Charms were made from any number of substances, such as coins,
beads, buttons, rabbit feet, and other items. Victoria Taylor Thompson (Ok-
lahoma) remembered:
For sickness daddy give us tea and herbs. He was a herb doctor, that s how
come he have the name Doc. He made us wear charms. Made out of shiny
buttons and Indian rock beads. They cured lots of things and the misery too.
Chicken/Chicken Gizzards
For slaves, chicken had a variety of medicinal uses in the antebellum
South. Modern research indicates that chicken broth or soup does have
medicinal value (Beard 2003). Postell (1951: 109) noted its use by slaves
as a treatment for thrash. Specifically, Postell found a folk practitioner
who would catch a big rooster, cut off some of its comb, and pour the
blood into a baby s mouth. Ex-slave Jim Davis (Arkansas) shared, And
these here frizzly chicken are good luck. If you have a black frizzly chicken
and enybody put any poison or anything down in your yard, they ll
scratch it up. Works Project Administration respondent Harriet Collins
(Texas) provided the following account of the medical use of chicken,
W en er snake bite er pusson, hits good ter suck de poison out but don t
let er blue gummed nigger do dat, case dey jes ez pizen es er rattler. She
added, Hit be pow ful good ter kill er black chicken an bind hit w ile hits
hot on de bite.
Enslaved African American Non-Herbal Treatments and Materia Medica 133
Works Project Administration respondent Katie Arbony (Arkansas)
claimed that chicken broth and okra had a positive result for her:
And then Dr. Lewis fed me for three weeks steady on okra soup cooked with
chicken. Just give me the broth. Then I commenced gettin better and here
I am.
Folk practitioners also found medical uses for chicken gizzards. South-
ern Appalachian folk practitioners used chicken gizzards to treat indiges-
tion or upset stomach (Cavender 2003). Ex-slave Dulcinda Baker Martin
(Ohio) stated, I was bawn en Winchester, Kaintucky, en 1859. She
added, Chicken gizzard skin was saved fer medicine, en I reckon goose
grease is still used fer lots of things, even en dis day en time. Janey Lan-
drum (Texas) recalled the use of chicken gizzards as a medical remedy for
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