On the Treatment and Management of the More Common West-India Diseases, 1750-1802

On the Treatment and Management of the More Common West-India Diseases, 1750–1802



This work brings together, in one volume, a number of monographs from the mid to late eighteenth century (the period known as the Age of Reason) on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of African and Creole slaves in the English-speaking Caribbean. Included here are James Grainger’s Essay on the More Common WestIndia Diseases (1764) and Book IV of The Sugar-Cane (1764); Book II of the Reverend Griffith Hughes’s Natural History of the Island of Barbados (1750); and Benjamin Moseley’s Miscellaneous Medical Observations (1789). These monographs have been all but forgotten; however, they are of importance to scholars. Dr Hutson provides a fully annotated text that explains archaic terminology, makes medical, botanical and Latin terminology accessible to non-specialists in those fields, and provides useful explanations of eighteenth-century medical concepts. This fascinating collection has much to offer historians and health-care professionals, as well as general readers with an interest in the West Indies.

“This volume will provide a treasury of source material for the study of medical history in the Caribbean. It comes 250 years after Hughes, Moseley and Grainger were first published, yet so much of their writing resonates today. We in the University of the West Indies, and students of medical history everywhere, must be grateful to Dr Hutson, who, like Dr Grainger before him, has taken ‘liberal pains in the Notes . . . to enlarge knowledge of the medicinal . . . plants of the West Indies’.” – Henry S. Fraser, University of the West Indies, Barbados

J. Edward Hutson is Antiguan by birth, Barbadian by descent and Canadian by choice. A graduate of the University of Liverpool, he has practised medicine in England, Barbados and Canada. Following retirement he has indulged his interest in West Indian history and previously produced three annotated versions of ancient texts: Richard Ligon’s 1657 True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes; The English Civil War in Barbados, 1650–1652; and The Voyage of Sir Henry Colt to the Islands of Barbados and St Christopher, May–August 1631, all published by the Barbados National Trust. Dr Hutson lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. ISBN 978-976-640-235-8

University of the West Indies Press Jamaica • Barbados • Trinidad and Tobago www.uwipress.com



On the Treatment and Management of the More Common West-India Diseases (1750–1802)



On the Treatment and Management of the More Common West-India Diseases (1750–1802) Works by James Grainger, MD, 1764 (with additional notes by William Wright, MD, FRS, 1802) Griffith Hughes, MA, FRS, 1750 Benjamin Moseley, MD, 1789

Edited and annotated by

J. Edward Hutson MB, ChB, DA

University of the West Indies Press Jamaica • Barbados • Trinidad and Tobago

University of the West Indies Press 1A Aqueduct Flats Mona Kingston 7 Jamaica www.uwipress.com © 2005, 2010 by J. Edward Hutson All rights reserved. Published 2005 Paperback edition published 2010

CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA On the treatment and management of the more common West-India diseases (1750–1802): works by James Grainger, MD, 1764, with additional notes by William Wright, MD, FRS, 1802; Griffith Hughes, MA, FRS, 1750; Benjamin Moseley, MD, 1789 / edited and annotated by J. Edward Hutson p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN: 978-976-640-235-8 (paper) 1. Medicine – West Indies, British – History – 18th century. 2. Medicine – West Indies, British – History – 19th century. 3. Slaves – Diseases – West Indies, British – History. 4. Slaves – Medical care – West Indies, British – History. 5. Diseases and history. 6. Grainger, James, 1721?–1766. 7. Wright, William, 1735–1819. 8. Hughes, Griffith, 1708?–1758?. 9. Moseley, Benjamin, 1742–1819. I. Hutson, J. Edward. II. Title. R473.067 2010

614.594

Cover illustration: William Clark, The Mill Yard, from Ten Views in the Island of Antigua (London, 1823). Reproduced by permission of the British Library. Cover illustration copyright British Library 1786.c.9. Book and cover design by Robert Harris. Set in Adobe Garamond 11/14 x 24 Printed in the United States of America.



This work is dedicated to the memory of the multitude of men, women and children who endured the era of slavery and indentured servitude in the West Indies.



Contents Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv Notes on Editorial Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases, James Grainger, MD (1764), with additional notes by William Wright, MD, FRS (1802) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Advertisement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 An Essay on the Management and Diseases of Negroes, Part I . . . . . . . . . 9 An Essay on the Management and Diseases of Negroes, Part II . . . . . . . . 13 An Essay on the Management and Diseases of Negroes, Part III . . . . . . . 41 An Essay on the Management and Diseases of Negroes, Part IV . . . . . . . 51 Linnæan Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 The Sugar-Cane, James Grainger, MD (1764): Book IV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 The Natural History of the Island of Barbados, The Reverend Griffith Hughes, MA, FRS (1750): Book II, Of Diseases peculiar to this and the neighbouring Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Miscellaneous Medical Observations, Benjamin Moseley, MD (1789, revised 1800) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170



Foreword

C

onsidering the economic importance of the former British West Indian colonies to England, and later Great Britain, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it is surprising that there is not wider recognition of the considerable scientific and medical contributions made by physicians and others in the Caribbean during the Age of Enlightenment. Dr Edward Hutson’s annotated compilation of “ancient West Indian medical writings” will go a long way towards filling this gap in medical and historical awareness of today’s scholars and general readers. He has brought together essays and chapters from several eighteenth-century writers, some of which are virtually inaccessible to scholars. Only the work of the Reverend Griffith Hughes – The Natural History of the Island of Barbados – has been republished within the past century. The West Indian colonies attracted many types – the adventurous and curious; those who wanted to get rich quickly; and those who came, fortunately, almost by a curious quirk of fate. Two interesting examples of the latter, whose writings include observations on illness and health, diseases and cures, were Richard Ligon and Joshua Steele. Ligon, a scholar and Royalist supporter of Charles I, fled to Barbados in 1647 to escape debtors’ prison. He advocated the use of “hot rum” for its medicinal value, and the “pounded pisle of a green sea turtle” as a cure for kidney stones – he himself was the patient! Joshua Steele inherited two estates in Barbados – Kendal and Guinea in the parish of St John – from his wife, and at the venerable age of eighty decided to go to Barbados to see them. Steele was a musical scholar, humanitarian and entrepreneur, and a wonderful letter writer. His letters to friends in the Society of the Arts in London contain a wealth of fascinating observations, including accounts of the healthy climate of Barbados and details of people living there to ages in excess of one hundred years. But the Caribbean is of particular importance in the history of medicine: ix

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it was not only the theatre of European battles for wealth and power, and of a massive, dehumanising experience of human enslavement; it was also the site of a clash of cultures of a different kind – an exchange of infectious diseases between the Old and New Worlds. Europeans brought the agents of smallpox, measles, influenza and typhus to the New World, and in the conquest of Latin America and the Caribbean by the first waves of Spanish conquistadores, germs proved to be more deadly than firearms. With transportation of African slaves came mosquitoes carrying malaria and yellow fever, in addition to parasitic diseases. In the opposite direction, into the ports of the Mediterranean, went syphilis. It was noted by early physicians that African slaves survived yellow-fever epidemics far better than Europeans, an observation that undoubtedly contributed to expansion of the slave trade. The result of this “Columbian exchange” of germs and parasites was an extremely rich spectrum of diseases, many of which were foreign to European physicians. At the same time there was a clash of cultures between African traditions of disease interpretation and treatment, and European medical views. The two had one general principle in common, and that was a strong belief in the efficacy of plants and plant extracts as remedies and cures. Europeans brought their time-honoured herbal recipes while Africans brought their practices and some of their plants; the rich tropical flora provided many innovative ideas and therapeutic opportunities. The authors Dr Hutson has selected demonstrate an intense curiosity concerning local diseases, and they concentrate on the differences and, often, the need for different approaches to treatment. The Reverend Griffith Hughes, not himself a physician but the curate of St Lucy’s Parish Church, Barbados (who mysteriously disappeared some years after publication of his book), nevertheless gave an accurate, detailed description of “dry belly-ach”. This was the syndrome of acute-on-chronic lead poisoning, characterized by abdominal colic without diarrhoea. It was described around the same time in Jamaica by Sir Hans Sloane. Dry belly-ach was epidemic in the West Indies when rum was distilled through lead pipes. The first lengthy treatise in English on diseases of the tropics was William Hillary’s Observations on the Changes of the Air and the Concomitant Epidemical Diseases, in the Island of Barbadoes. To which is added a Treatise on the putrid Bilious Fever, commonly called the Yellow Fever; and such other Diseases as are indigenous or endemial, in the West India Islands, or in the Torrid Zone. It was first published in London by L. Hawes and W. Clarke in 1759,

Foreword 

following Dr Hillary’s return from Barbados, where he had lived, practised medicine and pursued his research for twelve years. James Grainger’s An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases followed soon after in 1764. Grainger was a Scot who trained at Edinburgh University and went to St Kitts in 1759, the same year Hillary returned to England. Grainger married a Kittitian, and in his writings demonstrated enormous empathy for slaves. For example, he wrote, on the “seasoning” or acclimatization of newly arrived slaves, that “new Negroes, in particular, must be managed with the utmost humanity . . . The African must be familiarised to labour by gentle degrees . . . No Negroe can be said to be seasoned to a West-India climate till he has resided therein for at least a twelvemonth.” Another of Grainger’s observations, remarkable for its time, is his emphasis on the importance of medical research, or, as he termed it, “inquiry” and “discoveries in Materia Medica”. He speculated that many cures, including a cure for leprosy, would be found among the plants of the “Torrid Zone”. Moreover, he complained: Premiums are daily bestowed for improvements in agriculture, but no rewards have ever been offered for discoveries in Materia Medica; as if every art was more necessary than physic, and every object more considerable than the health of the community. And yet such discoveries would not, like many others, be confined in their influence to one nation only: The world would reap the advantage of them, for the world is interested in the improvement of medicine . . .

There are many fascinating treasures to be discovered in these pages, and many common threads and interests. It is worth noting that both William Hillary and Benjamin Moseley studied at the University of Leyden, Holland, which in the first half of the eighteenth century was the most prestigious medical school in Europe. Its fame rested to a great extent upon the brilliance of Dr Herman Boerhaave, Professor of Anatomy and Medicine there for most of his professional life. Boerhaave was famous for his book of aphorisms published in 1709 and his lectures, but mostly for emphasizing the importance of “learning from the patient”. His philosophy and practice of bedside teaching were carried on in Edinburgh, making Edinburgh University (at which James Grainger studied) the leading medical school in Britain. It is of interest that these two universities prepared these three physicians for their Caribbean work (Hillary actually trained under Boerhaave), and that many of the sons of West Indian planters, for the next two hundred years, underwent their medical training in Edinburgh. This

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tradition continued until the 1960s, by which time the University of the West Indies was well established. This volume will provide a treasury of source material for the study of medical history in the Caribbean. It comes 250 years after Hughes, Hillary, Moseley and Grainger were first published, yet so much of their writing resonates today. We at the University of the West Indies, and students of medical history everywhere, must be grateful to Dr Hutson, who, like Dr Grainger before him, has taken “liberal pains in the Notes . . . to enlarge knowledge of the medicinal . . . plants of the West Indies”.

Henry S. Fraser Professor of Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology, School of Clinical Medicine and Research, and Director, Chronic Disease Research Centre, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados



Acknowledgements

D

uring the compilation of this work I received help, advice and muchneeded direction from several individuals and organizations that I wish to acknowledge publicly. I am particularly indebted to: The Syndics of Cambridge University Library, who granted me permission to reproduce James Grainger’s An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases. Senator Keith Laurie of Barbados, who introduced me to the works of James Grainger and permitted me to photocopy Book IV of his 1764 version of The Sugar-Cane. Richard B. Goddard of Barbados, who graciously allowed me access to his library at Burnt House Plantation, wherein I encountered Benjamin Moseley’s Treatise on Sugar and photocopied its contained Miscellaneous Medical Observations. Professor Sean Carrington, Department of Biological and Chemical Studies, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados, who made identification of the many Caribbean plant varieties possible. Carmen Herrgott of Austria, who read and reread my script and made many suggestions regarding its content. Her help in compiling this work was invaluable. Early in the nineteenth century Dr Thomas Percy, Bishop of Dromore, County Down, Northern Ireland, “an intimate friend of Dr Grainger’s”, expressed the wish that An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases should be published in conjunction with Dr Grainger’s poetical works “as a valuable Appendix to The Sugar-Cane”. It gives me particular pleasure that Dr Percy’s hope for simultaneous publication of those particular works of Dr Grainger’s is realized, if only in part, with the present volume. J. Edward Hutson Edmonton, Alberta, Canada xiii



Introduction

De Englishmens did find de sun did hot enuff fu true, Dey cool-out in de palm-tree shade an’ say, “Wha’ we goin’ do? In Englan’ all we skin dus white, we cheeks dus nice an’ pink, Bu’ lookah how we blista-up, an’ getting black as ink.” Sum person say, “De very t’ing, we’ll sen’ across de sea, An’ get sum Africans tu come an’ work de lan’ fu we.” Su Mr. Hawkins tie we up, an’ pack we in he ship, An’ Massa we did pack su tite, yu couldn’t pout yu lip. – Kathleen Catford, 1935

S

ugar and African slavery dominated the English-speaking Caribbean from the third decade of the seventeenth century to that of the nineteenth, and yet, despite provision of medical care to slaves during most of that era, very little was published relative to diagnosis and treatment of diseases of African and Creole slaves. The first physician to publish a manual on the medical treatment of slaves in the British West Indies was James Grainger, MD. Grainger was born in about 1721, in Berwickshire, Scotland. He pursued medical studies at Edinburgh University, served as an army surgeon during the Seven Years War, and graduated MD in 1753. He then removed to London, where he became a member of the Royal College of Physicians, practised medicine and wrote poetry that brought him into close contact with many of the leading literary lights of the time. In London he met, and befriended, several absentee plantation owners from the West Indian island of St Christopher (St Kitts). Grainger experienced difficulties in making an

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adequate living as a London physician and in 1759 agreed to go to St Kitts as tutor to John Bourryau, heir of a sugar estate. On the voyage out Grainger rendered medical aid to Louisa Burt, widow of the late Pym Burt, Chief Justice of St Kitts, in the course of which he became attracted to one of her daughters, Daniel Mathew Burt [sic]; shipboard romance led to engagement and subsequent marriage following the couple’s arrival at St Kitts. In St Kitts Grainger added the avocation of planter to his medical and poetic careers, and in 1764 he published The Sugar-Cane (a Virgil-like West Indian georgic depicting the culture of sugar), of which Book IV deals with “the management and care of slaves”. In that same year Grainger anonymously published An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases, the first of its kind to appear in the English-speaking Caribbean. Grainger’s West Indian writings display his understanding of, and compassion for, the unhappy lot of enslaved peoples, while at the same time achieving their chief purpose, which was imparting medical information to West Indian physicians and slave owners. James Grainger died in 1766, a victim of “West Indian fever”. He is variously reported to have died in St Kitts or Antigua; however, no trace of his final resting place has been discovered. The lack of a tombstone may reflect Grainger’s wishes, for he wrote in verse 654, Book III, The Sugar-Cane, “Though not a stone point out my humble grave.”

The Reverend Griffith Hughes, sometime rector of St Lucy’s Parish, Barbados, made no pretence of being a physician; however, this did not prevent him from writing Of the Diseases peculiar to this and the neighbouring Islands in his 1750 Natural History of the Island of Barbados. Hughes was born in about 1708, in the small coastal town of Towyn, North Wales. After attending Oxford University, he was ordained a Church of England minister at age twenty-five and sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to serve an isolated Welsh community in Pennsylvania. In 1735 he was appointed curate at St Lucy’s Parish Church, Barbados, where he indulged his interest – common among clergymen of the time – in observing and collecting natural history specimens. Hughes was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1748 and subsequently granted a Master of Arts degree from Oxford University. The Natural History of the Island of Barbados was published, by private

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subscription, in 1750, although Hughes conceived the idea of his book some ten years previously. It enjoyed wide acclaim and remains available today in facsimile. Despite being published almost simultaneously with Grainger’s The Sugar-Cane and An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases, it is unlikely that Hughes and Grainger knew, or even knew of, one another. Griffith Hughes is thought to have died in 1758.

Perhaps in unintentional imitation of his West Indian colleague James Grainger, Benjamin Moseley, MD, published his 1789 Treatise on Sugar, wherein he included a section of Miscellaneous Medical Observations. Moseley was born in 1742, in Essex, England. He pursued medical studies at the University of Leyden in the Netherlands, and in 1784 graduated MD from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. In 1768 he immigrated to Jamaica where he practised medicine and amassed a considerable fortune, while simultaneously observing that medical science was “backward, chiefly because acquirement of wealth was the principal goal of the adventurers in physic in the West Indies”. He did not have a high opinion of the writings of physicians who, after short periods of residence in the islands, promoted “new methods of treating existing diseases”, maintaining that “only long residence, great practice, and observation” made it possible to produce a medical publication of practical use in the West Indies. He returned to England in 1788 to assume the position of Physician to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. In addition to his Treatise on Sugar, Moseley published Observations on the Dysentery of the West Indies, with a new and successful Method of treating it (1780), A Treatise on Tropical Diseases and on the Climate of the West Indies (1787), A Treatise concerning the Properties and Effects of Coffee (1792), A Treatise on Lues bovilia, or Cow-pox (1805), A Review of the Report of the Royal College of Physicians of London on Inoculation (1808) and On Hydrophobia, its Prevention and Cure, with a Dissertation on Canine Madness, illustrated with cases (1809). Benjamin Moseley died in 1819 at the age of seventy-seven.



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Following the lead of English physician and naturalist Sir Hans Sloane, William Wright, MD, in an attempt to advance knowledge of both medical

Introduction 



science and natural history, practised medicine for many years in Jamaica (where he served as both surgeon- and physician-general) while at the same time studying and collecting specimens of the island’s flora. Wright was born in the village of Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland, in 1735. He pursued medical studies at Edinburgh University. During the Seven Years War he served as a surgeon’s mate in the West Indies, and in 1763 he returned to Scotland. After obtaining an MD degree, he immigrated to Jamaica where he established his medical practice and acquired a plantation. Unlike many other West Indian physicians of the day, who spoke of yaws only in terms of the loss of slave labour caused by the disease, Wright opined “that humanity and sound policy call aloud on us to alleviate the sufferings and distresses of [slaves] when they are so unfortunate as to be infected with this cruel malady”. While practising in Jamaica, Wright collected more than seven hundred specimens of the island’s flora. In 1778 he read a paper before the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh in which he described his collection according to the method of Linnæus, outlining his pleasure as he “ascertained many hundreds of new plants which had escaped the diligence of former botanists”. Shortly after presentation of his paper, Wright was appointed Fellow of the Royal Society. Wright and Grainger were, in all probability, unknown to one another; still, Wright expressed his desire “to cooperate, however little, with my learned and ingenious countryman, in promoting knowledge of the diseases of Negroes, and the virtues of the indigenous plants of the West Indies” when, in 1802, he agreed to revise Grainger’s “long out of print and much wanted” Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases. William Wright died in 1819 at the age of eighty-four.

As practised during the era of slavery in the English-speaking Caribbean, medicine remained much influenced by the teachings of Aristotle, which held that matter was composed of the four qualities of heat, cold, moistness and dryness, and by those of Galen, who adapted Aristotle’s theory of matter to the human body. Aristotelians assumed the planet Earth to be composed of the four elements of Greek philosophy, earth, water, air and fire, and those elements themselves to be formed from the combination of basic matter with two more pairs of opposite qualities, heat and coldness, moisture and dryness.

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Matter combined with coldness and dryness produced earth; water is cold and wet; air is hot and wet; fire is hot and dry. These four qualities are the foundation of Galenic medical theory: in the human body they combined to form the four humours, blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile; blood, for example, being hot and wet, was regarded as the analogue of air. A tempered balance of the humours was requisite for maintenance of a state of health; a patient distempered by fever, for example, could be returned to a state of health by letting of hot blood or eating cooling foods. References to cooling and heating regimens will be found throughout the texts, as well as many references to letting of blood. However, by 1789 Dr Moseley was prepared to suggest that current medical events in England, particularly the appearance of cowpox, threatened to “kick down all the old gally-pots of Galen”, and even that the theory of contagion, as related to transmission of disease and propounded in the sixteenth century by Girolamo Fracastoro, deserved consideration. Therapeutics revolved about the use of compounds of antimony, mercury, sulphur, iron, tin and magnesium, both alone and in various combinations, with the occasional use of such exotic composites as “tobacco steeped in urine”, “gunpowder taken inwardly with cow-piss”, “soap-medicines with hog lice”, and enemas containing tobacco smoke; medicinal compounds were frequently dissolved in “good old rum” or various wines. A few patent medicines are mentioned in the texts, although Dr Grainger cautions against the use of “empirical compositions” because “Creoles are but too fond of quackery”. All other recommended medications were compounded from various parts of plants, both native and imported, including flowers, seeds, leaves, roots, fruit and bark. Importation of plants from Europe and elsewhere began early in the colonization of the British West Indies. Richard Ligon arrived in Barbados in 1647 carrying seeds of Cæsalpinia pulcherrima (Spanish carnation or Pride of Barbados) that he had collected at São Tiago, Cape Verde Islands, as well as seeds of many English herbs that “grew and prospered well”. Dr Grainger recommended that plantation sick-houses should be planted “round the borders with such herbs as are commonly used in physic”. He would have been familiar with the use of herbs in the treatment of illness because instruction in botany formed an important part of the medical curriculum at European universities. Traditional African medicine, combining poisons with magical rituals and herbal remedies, was brought to the West Indies by imported slaves as part of

Introduction 

their cultural baggage. European physicians, confident of their educational superiority, tended to dismiss traditional African medicine as mere superstition. Over the ensuing era, however, they came to realize that there were slave illnesses that were not amenable to “white medicine”. Notable in this category was the slave who was bewitched or under the spell of obeah. Regarding such a slave, the Reverend Griffith Hughes observed that “[European] medicines seldom availing, he usually lingers till death puts an end to his fears”. In a similar vein, Dr Grainger, with perhaps more than just a hint of condescension, wrote, “as the negroe-magicians can do mischief, so can they do good on a plantation, provided they are kept by the white people in proper subordination”. Dr William Hillary, a physician practising in Barbados, wrote that traditional African treatment “with the caustic juices of certain escharotic plants” was effective in curing yaws; however, the slaves “kept this method of treatment secret from the white people and preserved it among themselves by tradition”. (See Observations on the Changes of the Air and the Concomitant Epidemical Diseases of Barbadoes, William Hillary, MD, 1759.) Belief in the efficacy of traditional African magic has waned in modern Caribbean society, but evidence of its persistence surfaces from time to time, with news items appearing in the popular press of obeah, voodoo or Shango ceremonies being performed in the islands: “In the past six months, more people are coming to see me about being ‘obeahed’,” said Dr____________, “and many colleagues have said they are getting a resurgence of patients whose behaviour is influenced by this belief system” (Barbados Advocate, June 1985). Widespread belief in the efficacy of traditional bush medicines has also persisted, and use of bush teas, derived from herbal or other plant material, is commonplace throughout the Caribbean basin. Despite popular perception that all knowledge of traditional Caribbean bush medicine derives from African sources, I believe that over the years such an agglomeration of traditional African and European folklore relating to bush teas has occurred in the Caribbean that it is today all but impossible to differentiate one from the other. The “West Indian Weed Song” appearing below originated in British Guiana (Guyana); Camp Street and Orange Walk are well-known Georgetown landmarks. The text illustrates the variety of herbs and other plant material offered for sale and used in traditional Caribbean bush teas.

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 Introduction One day I met a’ ole-woman sellin’, an’ I wanted somethin’ tu eat I t’ought I cud put a bite in she way, but I tek-back w’en I meet. I t’ought she had banana, orange or pear, nothin’ dat I need, I ask de ole-woman wha’ she sellin’, she said she did sellin’ weed. She had she coat tie-up ova she waist, an’ did steppin’ along wid grace, She had a pair o’ old clog on she feet, an’ did waddlin’ down de street, Jus’ den she start tu name de different weed, an’ I did really more dan glad, I can’t remember all she call, but dese was a few she had: She had Manpeabber, Womanpeabber, Tan-tan, Fall-back an’ Lemon-grass, Minnie-root, Gully-root, Granny-backbone, Bitter-tally, Lime-leaf an’ Caroon, Coolie-bitters, Cariella-bush, Flat-earth an’ Iron-weed, Sweet-bloom, Fowl-tongue an’ Wild-daisy, Sweet-sage an’ even Tu-you. She had Cat-mint, Pepper-mint, Soldier-rod, Pastee-lena an’ Cow-foot-bush, Milk-weed, Fit-weed, Bird-vine, Bishop-cap-bush an’ Rock-balsam, Suriname-bitters, Wild-green-tree, T’ree-finger an’ Worm-bush, Worm-grass, Z-grass, Man-grass, Carron-crow, Snake-bitters an’ Tisane. She had Cassava-mama, Okra-babba, Jacob-ladder mix wid Finegona, Job-tea, Peter-parsley, John-Belly-parsley an’ White-clary, Bill-bush, White-cane, Duck-weed, Aniseed, War-bitters, an’ Wild-grey-root, She even had a certain bush, in Barbados call’d Puss-in-boots. W’en I hear de names she call, I went down, can’t even talk, She start tu call from Camp Street corner, nevah stop till she reach Orange Walk. De woman had me su surprise, I didn’t know wha’ fu do, Till a girl come-along, one cuff in mu eye an’ I didn’t know who was who. Sweet-broom, Sweet-sage an’ Lemon-grass, I heah dey good fu mekin tea, An’ I heah Dutch-grass an’ Wild-daisy is good tu cool de body, Yes, Woman-tongue did even list, callin’-out all de time, She only had lil’ Congo-eye, de other one lef ’ blin’. She had Tansy-bitters, Pom’granate-bark, Congo-cane, Pear-leaf an’ young Bizzie-bizzie, Young Grape-vine, Back-pain, Stingin’-nettle, Do-rae-me-bush an’ Broad-leafthyme, Mimosa-leaf wid Evergreen-seed, Bitter-fence, bitter jus’ like gall,

Introduction 

Doctor Doodle squashy bitters, Anamus-grass, Snake-bitters, an’ dat didn’t even all. She had Bitter-gumma, Potta-demma, Congo-lalla an’ Crevacot-broom, Stavilla, Wild-samatoo, Porter-bush, White-clary an’ Christmas-bush, Cat-tongue, even Monkey-ladder, an’ dis is de res’ yu may need:



She had Pap-bush, Elder-bush, Black-pepper-bush, French-tu-you an’ Curefu-all, Sapodilla, Tamarind-leaf, Money-bush an’ Soldier-parsley, Pum’kin-blossom, wid Double-do-me, an’ Congo-pump galore, Physic-nut an’ lilly-root is de list o’ she everyday soup.

The slave trade was an iniquity. All the same, every age has its own social context, its own climate, and takes it for granted. To neglect it as if only that was rational which obeyed our rules of reason, only that progressive which pointed to us, is worse than wrong: it is vulgar. (Thomas 1977, 11)

The British slave trade was triangular. Ships departing England, en route to West Africa, were loaded with trade goods. On the African coast these goods were exchanged for slaves, who were subsequently exchanged for sugar in the West Indies. Sugar, at the time considered a luxury product in Europe, was returned to England to complete the triangular trade voyage. An average slaver was a fast, narrow ship that accommodated some three hundred slaves and a crew of thirty-five. The voyage from West Africa to the West Indies was usually completed within less than a month but occasionally took as long as six months. On the voyage slaves were fed a diet of beans, corn, rice, yams and palm oil, with little or no meat. Before 1700, anticipated slave mortality on the Middle Passage ran between 15 and 30 per cent; by 1800 it was reduced to about 5 per cent. Amoebic dysentery was the major cause of death among transported slaves, although smallpox, measles and scurvy contributed to the mortality, particularly on voyages lasting more than a month. Most slaves transported to the West Indies came from tribes living within two hundred miles of the African coast and were named by traders after the ports at which they were originally purchased. As a result, West Indian planters knew little or nothing about the geographic or cultural origins of

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slaves they purchased. Twice as many men as women were enslaved and transported; children (under the age of ten) made up less than 10 per cent of slave cargoes. In the early years of the eighteenth century, a healthy male slave could be purchased for £10 sterling, though by 1780 the price had risen to £25. Seasoning, a process that might continue for as long as three years after a slave’s arrival in the West Indies, was attended by a mortality rate of 15 to 20 per cent, while three of five Creole (island-born) slaves would die before the age of five. On average, slave life expectancy was less than forty years. The high rate of infant mortality, added to the equally high rates of infertility among slave women and overall short life expectancy, led to the belief, common among West Indian slave owners, that so far as maintenance of the slave population was concerned it was “better to buy than breed”. After 1808 (the year in which the English slave trade was abolished) the numbers of Creole slaves increased significantly, doubtless as a result of improved conditions and better food. At its height, the English slave trade was responsible for the transportation of some fifty thousand black Africans to the West Indies annually. From its very onset, opposition to the slave trade was voiced in England, the groundswell eventually finding its voice in the person of William Wilberforce, MP, who led the campaign for abolition in the British Parliament. An Act of Parliament abolished the English slave trade in 1808. Slavery in British colonies was abolished some twenty-six years later, to be followed, in most West Indian colonies, by a four- to six-year period of “apprenticeship”, during which freed slaves were obliged to continue working, on an unpaid basis, for their former owners. I sittin’ down tu recolec’ de days dat pass an’ gone, An’ all mu great-gran’mother say she see befor’ I born, I studyin’ ’bout de times gone by, when all o’ we did slaves, An’ good Victoria mek we free, like blackbirds an’ de waves. – Kathleen Catford, 1935



Notes on Editorial Procedures

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his volume contains both footnotes, numbered consecutively within each text, and endnotes, marked throughout by the superscript symbol †. The footnotes, on the relevant pages, are those provided by, respectively, William Wright, MD, FRS, when, in 1802, he revised Dr James Grainger’s 1764 text of An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases; James Grainger, MD, when he published The Sugar-Cane, Book IV, in 1764; Griffith Hughes, MA, FRS, when he published The Natural History of the Island of Barbados, Book II, in 1750, and Benjamin Moseley, MD, when, in 1800, he revised the 1789 version of his work Miscellaneous Medical Observations. All insertions enclosed in square brackets are my annotations of the notes. The endnotes are mine. My edited and annotated version of Book II of the Reverend Griffith Hughes’s Natural History of the Island of Barbados was originally published in the Journal of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society 46 (December 2000). I have deliberately kept editing to a minimum, and on the few occasions I have added a word or words for the sake of clarity, I have identified them [thus]. Spelling, grammar and syntax remain as in the originals.

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An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases James Grainger, MD (1764) with additional notes by William Wright, MD, FRS (1802)



Advertisement

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he first edition of the following Essay was printed in London, for Becket and De Hondt, booksellers in the Strand, in 1764, without the author’s name; but it is well known to be the production of Dr James Grainger, celebrated author of The Sugar-Cane,† and other ingenious performances,† who settled as a physician in the island of St Christopher’s in 1759, where he acquired great reputation in his profession, and died, universally regretted, in 1767 [sic]. Much praise is due to Dr Grainger for the liberal pains he has taken in the Notes to his admirable West-India Georgic,† to enlarge knowledge of the medicinal virtues of the indigenous plants of the West Indies. The same commendable proofs of his skill and judgment in his profession appear in this short Essay, which, though written in a plain and popular style, has been deservedly very highly esteemed, both in England, where it was printed, and, as might be expected, more particularly in the West Indies. Although it was principally intended for use by owners and managers of slaves in the Sugar Islands, yet I know the physicians and surgeons in that country have profited much by it, both in knowledge of the diseases of Negroes, and of the indigenous remedies; in which respects it is, in my opinion, an excellent model for a more scientific and general treatise on tropical diseases, especially among Blacks. The first edition of this humane and sensible Tract having been long out of print, and a new edition being much wanted, it was recommended by Dr Percy,† the present respectable Bishop of Dromore, an intimate friend of Dr Grainger’s, to be inserted in the collected edition of his poetical works, now printing here in two volumes,† under the superintendence of Dr Robert 3

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 An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases

Anderson,† as a valuable Appendix to The Sugar-Cane. In this recommendation General Melville, † another respectable friend of Dr Grainger’s, concurred; but Dr Anderson hesitated concerning the propriety of associating a medical treatise, of a popular nature, with his poems; and, thinking it would be more extensively useful as a separate publication, devolved upon me the task of superintending the present edition, which I very willingly and disinterestedly undertook, from a desire to oblige Dr Grainger’s friends, and to co-operate, however little, with my learned and ingenious countryman, in promoting knowledge of the diseases of Negroes, and the virtues of the indigenous plants of the West Indies. For that purpose, and with a view to correct some incidental mistakes, and to furnish such additional information as my local knowledge and experience may have enabled me to supply, I have subjoined to the several sections of the Essay a few Practical Notes and Observations, and added a Linnæan Index† of the plants mentioned therein, which I hope will be acceptable to the Public at large, and particularly to gentlemen residing in the West Indies, whether planters or physicians. William Wright.† Edinburgh, 8th February 1802.

To Daniel Mathew, Esq. 

†

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he following Essay, which is written on a subject of the utmost importance to the West Indies, I beg leave, Sir, to address to you; both as it affords me a pleasing opportunity of recommending to others that distinguished humanity wherewith your Negroes have ever been treated, and, in particular, of expressing the high regard with which I am, Sir, Your most obliged, and very humble servant, THE AUTHOR.

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Preface

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t has often been a matter of astonishment to me, that among the many valuable medical tracts which of late years have been offered to the public, none has been purposely written on the method of seasoning† new Negroes, and the treatment of Negroes when sick; and yet the importance, if not the dignity of such a work, must appear obvious to all who are in the least acquainted with the West Indies: For it is a melancholy truth, that hundreds of these useful people are yearly sacrificed to mistakes in these two capital points. To supply this defect, as far as in me lies, and to enable those who are entrusted with the management of Negroes, to treat them in a more scientifical manner than has hitherto been generally practised, is the principal design of the present Essay. It is, therefore, wholly divested of the parade† of learning, being purposely written with as much shortness as was consistent with perspicuity. The more effectively to attain these ends, I have divided the performance into four parts. In the first [part], after giving some hints on choice of new, or salt-water Negroes† as they are called, I briefly expose the preposterous methods made use of by some in seasoning them; and recommend such other methods as experience has taught me will most commonly not disappoint the planter. The second part treats of those diseases whereunto Blacks are most exposed in the islands; and points out such medicines as the country affords for their removal. As this is of the last† importance to owners of Slaves, plantations being often far removed from medical assistance, I have attempted to make the directions in this part so explicit, that a common capacity, with proper attention, will be thereby enabled to save many valuable lives; a circumstance not less profitable to the owner, than pleasing to humanity. This, therefore, if tolerably executed, cannot fail of being eminently useful at this time, when demand for Negroes, on account of our

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Preface 

new acquisitions in America,† must become annually greater. Slaves from Africa already fetch exorbitant prices; but more purchasers must necessarily enhance their value: Of course, upon a principle of profit, they deserve the utmost attention of the master; and, on motives of honesty, that of the manager or overseer. In the third part, such distempers as more peculiarly affect Negroes are taken notice of. Among these, leprosy is the most dreadful, for which no remedy has hitherto been discovered, and which continues to spread its ravages daily, to the disgrace of art,† and detriment of the planter. I am, however, still of opinion, that the Almighty has not left us without a cure for this disease, and persuade myself it is to be found among the vegetables† of the Torrid Zone.† Indeed, too little attention has been hitherto paid to this important branch of medical history. The islands contain many medicines of high efficacy, not known in Europe; and doubtless a much greater number still remain to be investigated by future inquiry.1 Such discoveries, however, are not to be expected from gentlemen of the faculty.† Their time must necessarily be devoted to the calls of their profession, as few of independent fortunes go to practise in the West Indies; and yet physicians are the only persons qualified for this momentous employment. It would therefore, perhaps, well become the wisdom of the Legislature, to enable those gentlemen to devote part of their time to these studies; as whatever means tend to alleviate the maladies of human nature, cannot be too commonly known, or rendered too numerous. Premiums are daily bestowed for improvements in agriculture, but no rewards have ever been offered for discoveries in Materia Medica;† as if every art was more necessary than physic,† and every object more considerable than the health of the community. And yet such discoveries would not, like many others, be confined in their influence to one nation only: The world would reap the advantage of them, for the world is interested in the improvement of medicine; and the palms which might be gathered by Britons in such pursuits, would be more lastingly honourable than the laurels of their conquests.

1. The Writer of the Notes on this Essay [William Wright] has explored almost the whole Island of Jamaica, at his own expence [sic], and made many important discoveries amongst the plants. Such as, Cinchona caribæa, or Jesuit’s Bark of Jamaica,† Croton eluteria, or true Cascarilla-bark tree,† Cabbage-bark tree,† Quassia excelsa,† Quassia of the shops [Quassia amara] and Quassia simaruba [Quassia simarouba].

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 An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases

In the fourth and last division, I make some observations on the food and clothing of Negroes; the sick-houses where they are confined; and mention a few important medicines, for which succedaneums† are not to be found in the islands, and which no plantation ought ever to be without. Upon the whole, I flatter myself, this small tract will be of real service to West-India practitioners, as well as owners and managers of Negroes, since I have recommended no means, whose efficacy I have not experienced. Let it not, however, be imagined, that the precepts therein [contained], will qualify [non-medical] readers to cure their sick Negroes without proper medical assistance. Such pretensions, in any writer, would be the height of empiricism. All I mean is, that those who have management of slaves, and will give themselves the trouble to consult this Essay, will not henceforth be so much at a loss how to treat the diseased, till proper advice can be called in, as they have hitherto been. Yet for want of this knowledge in managers, I have often observed the most fatal consequences ensue. To conclude, if this performance shall produce the salutary effects for which only it was written, I shall think my leisure well employed; for though diseases of Blacks are its primary object, Homo sum et humani nihil a me alienum puto.†



An Essay on the Management and Diseases of Negroes Part I

Of Choice of Negroes

T

he different nations of Guinea† are not only very different in their manners and passions, but from the constitution of their native climates, are subject to a variety of different disorders. Thus Cormantees,† who are a brave and free people at home, cannot submit to the unavoidable severities of bondage; while Minnahs† are too apt to destroy themselves upon the least, and even without any, provocation. Again, Negroes from Mundingo† have worms,† almost all of them; while those from Congo are very liable to dropsical† indispositions. For these reasons, one should be cautious not to purchase natives of those countries; or if planters are under a necessity of buying such, the young only should be purchased. In Ibbo country,† the women chiefly work; they, therefore, are to be preferred to the men of the same country at a Negroe sale: And yet there is a great risk in buying women; for, from their scantiness of clothing in their own country, not to mention other reasons, they often labour under incurable obstructions of the menses, whence proceed barrenness,† and many [other] disorders. It is scarce necessary to observe, that the healthy only should be chosen. The marks of health are a glossy sleekness in the skin, unspotted and without breakings out; their eyes should be clear, tongue red, chest open, and belly 9

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 An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases, Part I

small. They should have free use of all their limbs; and if not much past fifteen, so much the better for boys; but girls should only be twelve years old, or younger. When brought to the plantation, new Negroes should forthwith be clothed, and put under the care of some sober elderly person, if possible from their own country, who must be answerable for having their food regularly given them. Their food should be as little different from what they eat at home as may be; and this must be learnt from their country folks. In general, it is not amiss to have new Negroes blooded;† but the quantity should never exceed six ounces, even from the stoutest. Vomits† of thistleseed,† or rather castor oil purges are more extensively useful; but above all, a decoction of worm-grass,† clarified with lemon juice, or cow-itch† sheathed with melasses [sic], should be administered, and repeated twice a week, for the first six weeks. The dose of worm-grass decoction ought at first to be small. Half an ounce of that plant, if fresh, and six drachms,† if dried, will impregnate a quart of water with its virtues; and of this a gill† is sufficient quantity, at first, for a grown Negroe. The same attention is not required in dosing cow-itch; I never knew it produce any untoward symptoms. Some planters give sweet mercury,† in order to kill worms: But as new Negroes cannot well be restrained from drinking cold water, that practice is dangerous. Block tin† (not pewter) in powder is given for the same disease: It is indeed not noxious, but then it seldom answers the prescriber’s intention. Scrapings of tin are useful. The other remedies for worms will be more fully treated of in the sequel. If the Negroes have brought with them any palm-oil,† they should be permitted to anoint their bodies therewith, after washing them clean in running water. I am persuaded, that anointing and bathing, if more common, would not only render Negroes more sturdy, but preserve them from colds, and many other infirmities. This salutary practice prevailed among the Romans. Many nations in the East use it at this day; as do most Negroes on the coast of Africa. No doubt, sweating is an highly healthful evacuation in warm climates, by preserving the juices from putrefaction, but perspiration there is often too profuse, and of course must weaken the constitution. Anointing would lessen that waste. New Negroes should have a comfortable blanket, or bamboo as it is called, given them to sleep in; and they should never be permitted to sleep on the ground without a mat under them. Not attending to these minute considerations has proved fatal to many Negroes.

James Grainger 

Negroes bought in crop-time are much more likely to do well than those purchased in the rainy months; for Negroes should not only be allowed to drink what quantity of cane juice they think proper, but even obliged to drink it. In case you are under a necessity of purchasing Negroes in the wet months, great care should be taken to restrain them from unripe yams [Discorea sp.] and Guinea corn;† these will infallibly produce Lax,† a serious disorder, to which salt-water Negroes are but too subject. There is seldom much necessity for bleeding, or purging new Negroes in North America; but then their appetites should be moderated: They love animal food;† and too great an indulgence therein will certainly do them mischief. Negroes should at no time be treated with rigour; but new Negroes, in particular, must be managed with the utmost humanity. To put a hoe in the hands of a new Negroe, and oblige him to work with a seasoned gang, is to murder that Negroe. The African must be familiarised to labour by gentle degrees. This precept respects not only the aged, but even the young. No Negroe can be said to be seasoned to a West-India climate, till he has resided therein for at least a twelvemonth: And those who are accustomed to one island, run no small risk of their lives when transported to another, perhaps equally healthy; unless, in their new settlement, they are indulged with every conveniency they enjoyed in their old. In clearing the islands which of late have been ceded to us, many Negroes will inevitably perish: A mournful consideration, especially where the land thus to be cleared, is to be purchased of the government for money. It is, however, in the power of medical science to diminish, and greatly too, the number of those who must otherwise be sacrificed to the pursuit of riches. In order to effect this valuable purpose, the owner of an estate in woods, is first of all to permit his Negroes to clear away as much ground as is requisite for building their huts, and planting Indian provisions.† They should be exposed to the wet as little as possible; and if they choose to smoke tobacco, a pipe should not be refused them. They should wear Edinburghs† in the field; but when they come home, they should have a warm bamboo to put on, in case their coarse linen is wetted. Negroes employed to clear grounds, should never begin their labour with empty stomachs; and perhaps that master would be rewarded for his expence, who should indulge his field Negroes every morning with a glass of the medicine recommended in the chapter on pain of the stomach.

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 An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases, Part I

Besides Indian provisions, Negroes should have a weekly allowance of flour, rice, split English beans, with herrings, or other salt meat: Or if these things were to be had at market, perhaps that master would do better who should give his Negroes a pecuniary consideration in lieu of them. A gang of Creole Negroes, being transported from the place of their birth to another island, most commonly undergo a seasoning: Nay, it has often been observed, that slaves carried from one plantation to another, though on the same island, are apt for some time to droop and be sickly. Wholly to prevent this is impossible: But it is within the limits of art, to render those consequent diseases both less fatal and less frequent. This will be effected, if to the method above recommended, you encourage and treat them with the utmost humanity. Many causes may be assigned, why Negroes purchased in crop-time are more likely to get over the diseases of seasoning, than such as are bought in the rainy months. They are then less apt to catch cold; Indian provisions they then eat are less crude; and above all, cane juice (of which they should be permitted to drink as much as they please) is highly nutrimental and salutary. New Negroes should never be sent to mountain plantations;† for there they are very liable to catch cold, or fall into fluxes,† which always prove troublesome to remove, and sometimes fatal. This precept, in a more particular manner respects the rainy months: The reason is obvious, from what has already been said on the subject.



An Essay on the Management and Diseases of Negroes Part II

Of Treatment of Infants

A

lthough Creole Negroes do in fact cost more money to their owners than salt-water Negroes, yet as they are more healthy, and better for all the purposes of a plantation than these, so too great care cannot be taken either of Negresses when pregnant, and in the month,† or of infants when born. Black women are not so prolific as white women, because they are less chaste, and more liable to incurable obstructions of the monthly discharge; their children more frequently perish, within ten days or a fortnight after birth, than those of white people. The disease which at that time proves fatal to them, is locked-jaw,† or as it is called by West Indians, “jaw-falling”. This proceeds from infants not being kept sufficiently warm, from administration of new spirits,† [and] crude aliment,† but above all, from their not being thoroughly freed from meconium† or black discharge after birth. The remedies of the three first causes are apparent; but how to bring away meconium deserves particular attention. Castor oil,2 and a pessary† of the stalk of common physic nut† are the means commonly made use of; but the latter is not always capable of 2. Castor oil: Take of the dried seeds of Palma Christi [Ricinus communis] freed from husks, any quantity you please; beat them in a deep wooden mortar, with a wooden pestle, into a mass; which throw into a large iron pot, or copper, with water. 13

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 An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases, Part II

procuring such stools as are wanted; and the oil, especially that obtained by coction, is often too rugged in its passage through their tender bowels.3 The following medicine is liable to neither of these objections: Mix ten grains† of the best rhubarb† in a fine powder, with four ounces of water; add ten grains of magnesia alba,† a common spoonful of peppermint water, a teaspoonful of spirit of lavender,† and as much syrup of vervain, or roses,† as will make it palatable. Half a spoonful of this mixture, well shook, should be given every two hours, till stools are procured; and the child’s belly should be frequently rubbed with a warm hand before the fire. This medicine ought to be continued, but in a smaller quantity, for at least a fortnight; I never knew any die of locked-jaw,4 or colic, who took it in the manner prescribed. Newborn Negroes should be forthwith washed in warm spirits,† and clothed in warm flannel. The mother should be well supported with warm nourishing slops,† and the child should suck her as soon as her milk is ready. Mother’s milk is the infant’s best food; it is gently aperient,† and well suited to its tender digestive organs. Every Negress should suckle her own child; and indeed they are, in general, abundantly supplied with milk to do so. Fewer Negresses die in child-bed,5 or of its consequences (not one in three 2. (cont’d.) Boil over a slow fire for three hours, stirring frequently with a large wooden spatula, now and then adding a little boiling water, as the liquor evaporates. Continue the process till the oil separates and swims on the surface. Let this with the froth be skimmed off, and clarified in a small iron pot, over a gentle fire. Lastly, strain the oil through a piece of strong linen cloth. The nuts should not be parched, as this gives the oil an empyreumatic smell and taste [taste or smell of burnt organic matter]. The oil will separate sooner, if towards the end of the boiling, a handful of sea-salt is thrown into the cauldron. 3. See the article Ricinus, in the present Writer’s account of the Medicinal Plants of Jamaica, London Medical Journal, Vol. 8, Part III. 4. Trismus infantum [infantile tetanus], or Locked-jaw, is frequent and fatal in the West Indies. It may be occasioned by too long retention of meconium, but chiefly by keeping the mother and infant too warm, in a small, close confined chamber. Early purging with castor oil is proper; say, a small teaspoonful for a dose. Where there are suspicions of locked-jaw, a single grain of calomel [mercurous chloride, or protochloride of mercury] may be given, and repeated, if need be, at the distance of three hours. 5. Lying-in women ought to be brought to a well-aired room, in the great house, where suitable bedding is provided, and no fires near them. By this means, such women escape puerperal fever [septicæmia following childbirth] and their children locked-jaw.

James Grainger 

hundred) than white women; but children of the latter are less liable to perish within the month than those of Blacks. Black children should be at least six weeks old before they are suffered to taste any other food than milk of the mother. Few Negroe children are born deformed;6 not one in ten thousand. After the [first] month, the diseases which chiefly affect infants, proceed from acid in their bowels, and from teething. Sourness in the intestines7 is always discovered by green watery stools; but swelled gums, hot mouth, frequent slavering, and thrusting its little fingers into its mouth, indicate teething. As far as I have been able to remark,† black children cut their teeth more easily than white children; but when the above-mentioned symptoms are observed, their gums should be forthwith opened with a lancet.† Green stools are to be removed by the rhubarb medicine recommended before, by broths made of animal food, by crabs’ eyes,† or by spirit of hartshorn.† If the child is severely griped, a small quantity of vinous tincture of ipecacuan8 should be administered, and eight or ten drops of laudanum† at bedtime. The mother should abstain from sour fruits or vegetables. The properest time to inoculate Negroe children, is either before teething commences, or after their teeth are complete. Negroe children should not be permitted to suck their mothers longer than twelve or fourteen months: Long nursing diminishes a woman’s fecundity. When young Negroes can run about they should not be allowed to be carried to the field with their mothers,9 but should be entrusted to the

6. Deformity in children would seem to be owing to swathing the infants too tight, and by the preposterous use of stays, and strait clothing. Negroe children are not thus encumbered; and are never deformed except by accidents, such as falls, etc. 7. Many diseases of Negroe children are owing to the ignorance or carelessness of mothers. The children ought to be taught early to feed, and weaned at nine months. On all well-regulated estates, a mess [group meal] of good soup is prepared daily at the overseer’s house, for Negroe children; it is composed of farinaceous [mealy] roots, a little okra [Abelmoschus esculentus] pods, and a piece of fresh meat; this is shared amongst them, and eaten in the Piazza [verandah]. 8. Antimonial wine [sherry containing tartar emetic: tartarated antimony] is preferable to ipecacuan [root of Psychotria ipecacuanha, which possesses emetic, diaphoretic and purgative properties] in doses from ten to twenty drops, or so much as to puke gently. 9. A tent is generally erected near the field where Negroes are at work, and all young children are put there, under the care of a dry nurse.

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management of some ancient and sensible Negress, who will take care to have them properly fed. At eight years of age, they are made to pick grass, carry a small blanket with dung [for fertilizer], and under the direction of those of riper years, to pull up weeds in the cane-piece.

Of Chigres or Chigos10 It is said there are two kinds of chigres, one common, and the other poisonous. My opinion is, that none are ever troubled with the latter insect, but such as are in a bad habit of body. All young, as well as new Negroes, should have their feet and hands examined regularly once a week: For want of this precaution, Negroes often lose many a joint of their toes, and so become less useful upon a plantation. A little snuff, mixed with a small quantity of verdigrease,† is the best powder that can be put into the hole whence a chigre has been extracted.11 Indians† preserve themselves from these, and other troublesome insects, by anointing their feet with a paste made of Rocou† and oil.

Of Itch Negroes of every age and sex are apt to catch Itch.12 This disease requires no description. Sulphur made into an ointment, with salt butter and green pepper, will cure it: A no less effectual remedy is tobacco steeped in urine, and bathing in the sea.

10. The Chigre Pulex penetrans of Linnæus is a species of flea, bred in ashes, or places where quicklime [calcium oxide] has been laid. It burrows under the skin, and occasions intolerable itching, and a small tumour on the part. Every person, of whatever habit, is liable to have chigres. In a day or two the chigre becomes as large as duck-shot, and of yellowish colour. It is the abdomen of the insect that is distended with ova, which, if suffered to burst of itself, the young ones infest the neighbouring parts, and the dead insect occasions a troublesome sore. 11. Negroe women are very dextrous in picking out chigres with a pointed knife, and turn out the insect whole. Tobacco ashes are generally put into the hole, to prevent festering. 12. In all cases of true Psora [scabies], or Itch, the cure is best effected by sulphureous medicines [medicinal preparations containing sulphur]. While the ointment is rubbed externally, a small quantity of flour of brimstone [finely ground sulphur] must be given inwardly, in syrup or melasses.

James Grainger 

There is a species of itch, which Negroes from Guinea often bring with them to the West Indies. This they call Crakras;13 it chiefly infests the ankles, and often, if scratched or neglected, produces inveterate† ulcers. This disorder is not to be cured by external means only; it requires smart purging with salt water, and bathing therein. If these do not remove the eruption, the patient should be dosed every third day, with pills made of the juice of Semprevive† and Conch-shells finely pounded, with about one grain of sweet mercury14 [added] to each half drachm† of the composition. The best external application is weak mercurial ointment,† with a mixture of sulphur.

Of Coughs Coughs are common in the West Indies, from the latter end of October15 to the latter end of February. They are seldom attended with fever, but often with loss of appetite.16 A vomit of thistle-seed should therefore always begin the cure, which syrup made with garden balsam,† sugar and rum, will soon remove. A sweat,† with an infusion of wild sage [Lantana spp.], is also efficacious; but the medicine most to be depended upon, is half an ounce of gum elemi,† dissolved in four pints of good rum. Of this a large spoonful should be given three times a day to adults, and so in proportion. I have also known troublesome coughs removed by drinking a warm infusion of wild liquorice.17 Hooping-Cough [pertussis] is not frequent in the West Indies.18 I do not 13. Crakras is not Itch, but the consequence of yaws, of which hereafter. 14. Sulphur and mercury destroy each other’s action, as is evident in the Æthiops mineral [medicinal powder prepared from mercury and sulphur, so called because of its black colour] therefore they should never be used in conjunction, externally or internally. 15. About the latter end of October, and all the month of November, the wind shifts to the north, and is accompanied by cold wet weather, and thick atmosphere. This occasions colds, coughs, and catarrhal fevers. 16. These disorders are no way different from common catarrh in Britain, and require the same management. 17. Wild Liquorice [Glycyrrhiza glabra]: the leaves are used in pectoral [medication “good” for afflictions of the chest] decoctions, with honey or sugar, and gently acidulated with limejuice. 18. Hooping-Cough [pertussis] is frequent in all the islands, and at times epidemic in Jamaica.

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remember to have seen it there above once or twice; and then the lungs seemed to be touched with a slight degree of inflammation. In that case bleeding, but in small quantities, is indispensably requisite; but then emetics must not be administered. In the cure of Hooping-Cough, I have always found a change of air as necessary as physic.†

Of Worms Worms are scarce more fatal to the young, than they are to those who have attained to manhood in the West Indies. Worms therefore naturally present themselves to be treated of in this place. As in Europe, when uncommon symptoms afflict a patient, venereal disease may be considered the cause; so in the West Indies, worms may always be suspected as the parent of every untoward morbid appearance. The truth is, there is scarce one symptom with which the animal economy† may be affected, which worms are not capable of exciting. The worms common in the West Indies19 are the same as those common in Europe; only the solitary, tape, or jointed worm, as it is called, is oftener seen there than in Britain; and some Creoles are much afflicted with small worms20 in the stomach, which I do not remember to have observed in Europe. Worms kill more people in the West Indies than all other diseases, flux only excepted. 19. Tænia, or Tapeworm [Tænia saginata] is very common amongst Negroes, and sometimes white people are afflicted with them, producing the most acute and violent symptoms, at other times a state of ill health; nor is the cause of those disorders known, until some portions of Tænia are voided by stool. The cure may be begun, by giving a gentle dose of castor oil early in the morning; then the following, which is nearly a specific [medication especially efficacious for a particular ailment]: Take of Gum Gamboge [medicinal gum obtained from the hog-gum tree (Symphonia globulifera)] and Cream of Tartar [bitartrate of potash (acid potassium tartrate)] each six grains; rub them in a stone mortar, into a fine powder, which divide into twelve doses. In acute cases, a powder [a dose] may be given every six hours in a little syrup, but in chronic cases two powders a day is sufficient. 20. A course of limewater [aqueous solution of lime – calcium oxide] is excellent for cure of Ascarides [threadworm (Enterobius vermicularis)] half a pint, with an equal part of sweet milk twice a day. Sea salt may be used plentifully; afterwards the bark [extract of bark of Cascarilla tree (Croton eluteria), used as a tonic] to strengthen the system.

James Grainger 

Both the old and new worlds boast remedies to kill worms; but as this fatal malady is more common in the Torrid Zone than in Europe, so the tropical remedies are more specifical in this complaint than the European. I have tried an almost infinite variety of medicines against worms; but the most efficacious among them have often proved less successful than I could have wished.21 Purgatives are undoubtedly useful in expulsion of worms, and among these the juice of aloes [Aloe vera] justly claims pre-eminence.22 An infusion of roots of stinking weed [Cassia occidentalis] in water, is often a good vermifuge, especially if juice of tansy [Tanacetum vulgare] be added thereto, with a small quantity of garlic [Allium sativum]. Many commend the juice of wild ipecacuan as an antidote to worms.23 It operates with violence, both up and down,† and I have known it sometimes do wonders. But cow-itch24 with melasses, and clarified juice of worm-grass25 are more to be depended upon. I have also known good effects arise from oil and lemon juice. Sugar is commonly supposed to favour worms. This, however, I know from repeated experiment to be a vulgar error; for perhaps no one thing in Materia Medica is more deadly to worms than cane liquor,† unless we except Muscovado† mixed with an equal proportion of sweet oil, especially that made by expression from coconut [Cocos nucifera], or cocoa [Theobroma cacao].

21. It is very difficult to distinguish worm fevers from the ordinary fevers of children; hence the failure of anthelminthics [vermifuges] when given promiscuously. The most certain symptoms of worms are, swelled bellies, fœtid breath [halitosis], swelling of the upper lip, and thickness of the Alæ narium [nostrils]. 22. A teaspoonful of the juice of fresh leaves of common aloes is very good; but as oil is poisonous to all insects [the word insects was formerly used to denote earthworms] especially to Lumbricales or earthworm [roundworm, Ascaris lumbricodies], castor oil is to be preferred. 23. Wild Ipecacuan [Asclepias curassavica], juice of the leaves and tender stalks, from one to three teaspoons for a dose. 24. Cow-itch [Mucuna pruriens]: Dip ripe pods in syrup; scrape off the setæ, or bristles, till the syrup is as thick as honey; from one to three teaspoonfuls for a dose in the morning. It acts mechanically in killing worms. 25. Worm-grass [Chenopodium ambrosoides]: Take a handful of worm-grass, root and all, wash it clean, and boil in two pounds [two pints] of water, over a fire, down to one pound; strain the decoction, sweeten with sugar, and add a spoonful of lime juice. Four ounces to be taken for four mornings, then a dose of castor oil.

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The inner bark of mountain cabbage tree,26 Indian pink,† and milk of wild fig [Ficus sp.], are praised by some for removing this disorder. I have not sufficiently experienced their efficacy. The remote causes of the frequency of worms in the West Indies are: 1. The warmth of the climate; 2. The great use of vegetable food; and lastly, Humidity. Its immediate cause is relaxation.†

Of Fevers Although worms are more fatal in the Torrid Zone than fevers, yet these too often prove more deadly there than in Europe.† Inflammatory fevers, as well as local inflammations, [for example] pleurisies,† are not common in the West Indies: Indeed I do not remember to have seen buffy blood† above twice in that climate, and then the blood was extracted from a newcomer, young and plethoric.† The reasons for this extraordinary exemption from inflammatory diseases are: 1. The warmth and moisture of the climate; 2. Copious perspiration; 3. Acidulated drinks; 4. Impaired appetite; and lastly, Laziness. Excess in eating, drinking, and exercise, between the Tropics, neither corroborate† the solids, nor increase the density of blood. These errors in nonnaturals may render West-India blood acrid;† but they certainly do render the bile peccant,† both in quantity and quality. This is the passport to almost all fevers in the West Indies;27 for it may well be doubted whether ever the blood is the primary seat of fever, unless in newcomers to the Torrid Zone. Of course, the impropriety of frequent bleeding, as always practiced by the French, and too often by us, must be glaring; and the necessity of carrying off the peccant matter by vomit and stool no less apparent.

26. Mountain Cabbage Tree [Andira inermis]: Decoction of cabbage bark: Take two ounces of dried cabbage bark, boil it from three pints of water to two pints, strain, and sweeten with sugar. Two tablespoonfuls for a dose, every morning for a week, then a dose of castor oil. The present Writer has described this tree, in the 67th Volume of the Philosophical Transactions, with a plate. 27. White people in the West Indies are liable to remitting fevers [fevers characterized by periods of abatement and exacerbation]. The fever of Negroes is inflammatory. Bleeding in the first is improper, but necessary in the fevers of Blacks.

James Grainger 

Fevers in the West Indies seldom put on the appearance of inflammation beyond the first twenty-four hours; after that they become putrid,† or malignant,† or nervous.† In the first stage of the disease, blood may be let, but it should be in a small quantity. Vomits (pretty strong in their kind, [such as] tartar emetic†) and acidulated purgatives should then be administered; or rather these should be combined, and repeated till the febrile symptoms disappear. When bilious matter28 has once entered the blood, which it will soon do, if sweats are incautiously used at first, vomits and acid purges become less useful, and the morbid matter must be thrown out on the skin, by means of wild sage [Lantana spp.] tea, silk cotton [Ceiba pentandra] tea, avocato pear [Persea americana] tea, or what I prefer to all of them, sourish weak punch.† In this disorder it often happens that a weak purgative or emetic will produce uncommon evacuations: This should not alarm the prescriber, but should make him support the patient well with Madeira whey,† or well-made punch. This fever often subsides into a remittent, and then an intermittent fever.29 A strong infusion of halbert-weed [Calea jamaicensis] leaves, or Spanish 28. Bilious Remittents: No emetics can be used with safety; gentle laxatives, such as manna [juice of the bark of Manna-ash (Fraxinus ornus)], crème-tartar [crystallized bitartrate of potassium] and castor oil, may be tried. If vomiting continues, repeated small doses of jalap [purgative drug obtained from the roots of Ipomea purga] or calomel [mercurous chloride] alone may be given at proper intervals, till stools are procured. In acute fevers of Negroes, bleed to eight or ten ounces; purge gently with salts [Epsom salts: hydrated magnesium sulphate], then give small doses of antimonial powder [flour of antimony: crystals of antimony trioxide] every three hours, till free and copious perspiration comes on. In all inflammatory fevers, antimonials are indicated after other proper evacuations; such as antimonial wine [see note 8, page 15], or antimonial powder of the shops, or Dr James’s powder [antimony containing febrifuge, patented in 1747 by Robert James, British physician, 1703–76]. The following will answer in febrile cases: Take of calcinated hartshorn [ammoniacal ashes] nine parts, emetic tartar one part; grind them together in a stone mortar, into fine powder; twenty grains of this powder to be divided into six equal parts; a dose to be given every two, four, or six hours. In all obstinate fevers, calomel may be added. 29. It is probable that remittents [remittent fever: fever having periods of abatement and returning], especially intermittents [intermittent fever: absence of symptoms between attacks of fever, as in malaria] are caused by marsh miasma [noxious emanations arising from swampy land] and before cure is attempted, the sick must be removed from the vicinity of swamps, to a dry airy situation.

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carnation [Cæsalpinia pulcherrima: Pride of Barbados], drank constantly, will bring back bile to its natural state, that is, remove the fever. But for this important purpose, the bark30 unquestionably merits the palm.† Nor does it only produce wholesome bile; it invigorates the whole animal economy. In malignant fevers, neither vomits nor purges are essentially indicated, but medicines that operate by the skin† should be administered; and as this fever is contagious (the mass of blood being dissolved and become putrid) recourse should be had to stronger sweats than those lately recommended. Among these, musk,† camphire† and castor,† are most to be depended upon. Then blisters† become advisable; but to apply them when the disease is in the first passages, is only to torture the patient. Wine is eminently serviceable in malignant fever, as also in nervous fever, where the same medicines will save the patient. Only blisters are seldom necessary. In case the lungs are affected, which often happens, in any of the abovementioned fevers, a small quantity of blood may be extracted, even though the pulse is not strong; but then I would prefer cupping,† or rather epispastics.†

Fluxes31 This disorder naturally follows the former. For it is often produced by the same causes: corrupted bile. It also arises from suddenly suppressed perspiration, and too great indulgence in eating watery crude vegetables. 30. The first passages [bowel movements] being cleared, the bark [probably a decoction of Jesuit’s bark (quinine-containing bark of the Peruvian Fever-tree, Cinchona officinalis); however, see also note 1, page 7] may then be given with safety and effect. In obstinate intermittents, calomel becomes necessary, which prevents or removes obstructions. 31. Diarrhœa and dysentery are rife, and often fatal amongst Negroes. Avocado pear [fruit of Persea americana] before it is ripe, will occasion dysentery. Early use of emetics; and purges of neutral salts [substances exhibiting neither acid nor alkaline properties], with decoction of tamarinds [fruit of Tamarindus indica] are proper. If the disorder does not yield to these, give five grains of calomel at bedtime, with an opiate and a dose of castor oil next morning. In fluxes, with fever and symptoms of inflammation, bleed to eight ounces. Where there is little or no fever, the following mixture has done much good: Take lime juice three ounces, as much sea salt as the acid will take up, water twelve ounces, sugar two ounces, rum one ounce. Two tablespoonfuls for a dose, every three or four hours, as the case may require.

James Grainger 

Of course, flux prevails most either in the rainy months, or in autumn. It sometimes is accompanied with fever, and sometimes not. When attended with fever, bleeding may be performed, but profuse discharge of blood by stool is no indication for drawing blood. Flux in the West Indies is either watery with blood, or bilious with blood, and excrement. Both these dysenteries are equally difficult to cure, and equally dangerous, unless medicines are early applied. The intentions then to be pursued, are, first to expel the peccant humours, to soften their acrimony,† and by that means abate the gripes; and lastly, to strengthen the tone of the intestines. To perform the first intention, vomits and purges are requisite;32 but then not all vomits and purges are equally eligible. The class of irritating and heating [purgatives] must always be discarded. Where ipecacuan is not at hand, the following emetic may be depended on: Bruise two drachms† of yellow-thistle [Argemone mexicana] seed, and infuse in half a gill of boiling water; let stand till it cools, then strain and sweeten to the palate. This is a sufficient dose for a grown Negroe. Yellow-thistle seed is not only a safe emetic, but like ipecacuan [Psychotria ipecacuanha] is a strengthener of the intestines. Some use juice of wild ipecacuan [Asclepias curassavica], but it is rough and irritating. Pods of lignum vitæ [Guaiacum officinale] are also administered by some as a vomit, but they also are likewise too surly.† At night, twenty drops of laudanum should be mixed with half a pint of wild sage [Lantana spp.] tea to promote perspiration; and [to] prevent the sick person’s getting up at night, [he] should also be covered with a good warm blanket, and not allowed to lie on the bare floor. On the following morning, a sufficient quantity of castor oil should be given; and to prevent its griping, twenty drops of sal volatile† may be added thereto; by which [means] it will become miscible with peppermint water. Castor oil may be wrought off† by warm water gruel,† or what the Negroes call “hot water”.

32. Where limejuice is not at hand, vinegar with salt does as well. Dysentery requires purging, as in most cases nothing is voided but blood and mucus; and this may be done, as above, by calomel, neutral salts, or castor oil. Chronic dysenteries may be cured by calomel purges twice a week, and an opiate every night at bedtime.

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Their food should be saloop,† with a glass of red Port or Madeira wine in it; they may also be indulged in pepper-pot,† made chiefly of Ochra [Abelmoschus esculentus] and Angola peas [pigeon peas (Cajanus cajan)], with little or no salt, but seasoned with green pepper; if at any time faint, a frequent symptom in this disorder, a small quantity of red wine diluted with water, in which a heated iron hath been extinguished,† and made more grateful† by a little grated nutmeg [Myristica fragrans] or cinnamon [Cinnamomum verum], should be allowed them. One should imagine it would hardly be necessary to advise to cover the bellies of the diseased with warm blankets; and yet, for want of this simple precaution, I have known many Negroes lost. The vomit and purgative should be repeated at least twice each week, at the interval of a day, and the opiate formerly recommended should be given every evening. By this means, the numbers of stools will be diminished, and their quality amended; and then recourse may be had with safety to lubricating, and subastringent† medicines. Of these, many valuable [examples] are to be found in the West Indies; the principals are the rinds of both kinds of pomegranate;† the bark and gum of the acajou;† the seeds of the seaside grape [Coccoloba uvifera]; guava [Psidium guajava] bark and guava jelly; and logwood bark.33 These, either by themselves or combined together, and made into tea or boiled, will seldom disappoint the prescriber. But if any preference can be given to the above remedies, that preference is due to logwood [Hæmatoxylon campechianum] decoction; yet will its virtues even then be improved, by adding a gill of red Port with grated cinnamon, or Canella of the West Indies,† to every quart of the medicine. The dose to a fullgrown person, is a gill three times a day. Glysters† made of the ingredients above mentioned, are also excellent auxiliaries in [the treatment of ] flux, if thrown up† often in small quantities, and not hot; but especially if a little good suet, starch, or the white of an egg, be added thereto.34 A serviceable glyster may also be compounded of 33. In diarrhœa from mere relaxation, the astringent barks here recommended may succeed; but in all dysenteric cases, there is danger of them doing mischief. 34. When fluxes have continued long, the mucus from the intestines is abraded, and tenesmus [continual inclination to void the contents of the bowels] harasses the patient constantly. Glysters of [West] Indian arrowroot [Maranta arundinacea] starch, with laudanum, should be given frequently, and retained as long as possible.

James Grainger 

limewater,† the yolk of an egg, a little starch made of Cassada,† and a spoonful of old rum. At this time, pills made of equal parts of wax, and cashew tree-gum, and given to the quantity of a drachm a day, often effectuate a cure. If the intestines are ulcered, which may be known by fœtidness† of the discharge, and obstinacy of the disorder, recourse should be had to limewater, milk, and the whites of eggs. And if this prescription fails, turpentine should be rendered miscible with forge-water,† by means of the yolk of an egg, and given to the quantity of two drachms a day; opiates will keep it from running off† too speedily. In autumnal putrid flux, after proper evacuations, I have known oranges, lemons, and even limes produce singular advantages.35 They are analogous in their operation to elixir of vitriol.† I have seldom known any recover of flux who had thrush in the mouth,† and through the whole tract of their intestines. Blacks are less subject to apthæ,† than white people. If anything can be serviceable here, it must be change of air, riding [and] sailing, for I never saw any advantage from medicines in dysenteric thrush: No, not [even] from the bark.† I do not approve of flour dumplings, unless the flour be fermented, and then the addition of fresh suet will make it not only nutritive, but medical in [cases of ] flux. Negroes who have recovered of flux, should not be put too soon to hard labour; relapses are almost always dangerous. To strengthen them, bitter infusion36 should be given for a week or two; to which some toasted rhubarb may be added. An infusion of the bark in forge-water is also an excellent restorative. Where worms crawl out of themselves from the mouth or nose† of dysenteric patients, such seldom recover; and as worms are to be found in all Negroes, it is often absolutely necessary to combine worm medicines with the remedies recommended in this chapter.

35. All ripe fruits are serviceable in fluxes, especially oranges; and the sick may be allowed to eat of them at pleasure. 36. Bitter Infusion: Take two drachms lignum quassiæ [extract of wood of Quassia amara or Simarouba amara], orange peel, one drachm, boiling water, a pint: infuse for two hours, then strain, and add two spoonfuls old rum. Give a large glassful three times a day.

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Of Lax or Diarrhœa37 This is a common complaint in the West Indies; here figured stools† are seldomer seen than in Europe. It is never attended with fever, and scarce ever accompanied with gripes; it often arises from obstructed perspiration, and often from crude raw vegetables. Acids will also produce it. Where it is habitual, and upon the slightest error in articles of food or exercise is apt to grow worse, the most exquisite† diet is necessary; but change of air bids fairest for removing it. One half drachm of toasted rhubarb will generally remove it; if one dose is insufficient, two or three most commonly effectuate cure. An opiate should be given every night. Purslaine [Portulaca oleracea] fried with lard or oil, and roasted bananas are useful in this disorder. Simarouba [probably Quassia amara] tea is likewise good.

Dry Belly-Ach Though fluxes are more common in the West Indies than dry belly-ach,38 yet that disorder too often occurs, and is frequently fatal. It requires no description; its cause in general is cold; sometimes improper food and drink. From whatever origin it proceeds, the poor wretch who labours under it, suffers the sharpest torture, and when at worst, the muscles of the belly, and even the intestines themselves, are spasmodically contracted. This, if not speedily removed, soon terminates either in palsy,† or gangrene of the bowels. The indications of cure are first, to alleviate pain, and lastly, to procure free passage through the intestinal canal. Opiates repeated every hour, and administered in large quantities, are the only anodynes I know in nature, and the best medicine to stop the vomiting, which too frequently attends this melancholy disorder. Warm bathing and oils rubbed into the belly, scarce produce any ease; but

37. Diarrhœa and dysentery are modifications of the same disorder. The medicines [described] in the preceding chapter may apply here. 38. Spasmodic belly-ach is the same as colica poictou: It is seldom seen nowadays in the West Indies. The inhabitants live more regular [lives], eat fresh food, and drink good liquors. [As noted elsewhere in this volume, “dry belly-ach” is associated with lead poisoning.]

James Grainger 

bleeding a small quantity at the arm, or rather cupping the abdomen, and scarifying, often alleviate, and sometimes even remove the spasmodic stricture. Yet opiates are chiefly to be relied upon. They even facilitate the operation of purgatives, however opposite that may appear to theory;† and therefore they should always be combined with the oily cathartic formerly recommended, and with oily or balsamic† glysters. Strong purges do not succeed even after anodynes have opened the passage;† they excite spasms; and yet tobacco glysters† often produce the most salutary effects.39 When you have reason to suspect the passage blocked up with curdled milk, crude mercury† with anodynes must be had recourse to. The best glysters are made of a decoction of French [Jatropha multifida] and common physic nut,40 with stinking weed [Cassia occidentalis], of each a handful, to be boiled in a quart of water to a pint; add thereto a spoonful of the juice of aloes, a gill of oil, the yolk of an egg, and a tablespoonful of laudanum, or two drachms of diascordium,† or rather thebaica [Hyphæne thebaica]. The glysters should be in small quantities, and often injected. The warm bath assists their operation; and candle grease† with spirits† may be chased into the belly.† But while injections are attempting to clear the bowels below, purgatives should be taken by mouth, and co-operate with them. Sudden ceasing of pain, with sinking pulse [and] fœtid breath, are infallible symptoms of death, unless blisters applied to the belly, and bark with elixir of vitriol remove those appearances. This disorder leaves great soreness behind it, and like other intestinal ailments produces flatulent symptoms, which bitters† and exercise, with bathing in the sea, are the likeliest means of removing. Blacks are oftener tormented with dry belly-ach than Whites; and amongst

39. In new rum distilled through leaden worms [lead spirals connected to the head of a still, in which vapour is condensed] there is probably part of that metal corroded by, and dissolved in, the spirit. Calomel [mercurous chloride] in large doses is an antidote to the poison of lead in all cases. In obstinate constipation, give five grains of calomel in the evening, and as much in four hours thereafter; next morning a dose of castor oil. 40. Slight decoctions of the leaves of English physic nut [Jatropha curcas] or of the belly-ach bush [Jatropha gossypiifolia] may be useful for common drink. Nothing sits easier on the stomach, and vomitings are soon appeased.

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these, such are oftenest the subject of its torture, who indulge in new fiery spirits,† with little water, and much souring.

Tetanus Dry belly-ach often causes tetanus† and all its symptoms. This is a dreadful disease, because too commonly fatal.41 The speediest assistance is here necessary, and yet with the speediest help the physician is often miserably disappointed in his expectations. Here opiates again are what are chiefly to be depended upon; but warm bathing, blistering† the wrists, the backbone, the stomach, the nape of the neck, should also be used. I have rubbed blue ointment† into the belly, but never saw any good from it. I have fumigated locked-jaw thrice a day, without doing either good or harm; I have cupped and scarified the parts affected, but all to no purpose; I have given antimonial pills† (Ward’s)† which sometimes succeeded with me in [treatment of ] dry belly-ach, but here they proved ineffectual. I have seen spasms mitigated, by tying the poor wretch down upon a board, and rubbing into the members† contracted, sweet-oil [olive oil (Olea europea)] six parts, spirits of turpentine† two, laudanum one. British oil† has likewise done good. Musk, asafœtida,† and alkaline salts, I have administered in great quantities, but I cannot say they ever did much service. Nothing, however, should be neglected which has the least chance of recovering the patient, for with every assistance he too often perishes. I have combined cinnabar† with

41. Patients labouring under locked-jaw, are stripped naked, laid on the ground, and in the height of the spasm, a large bucket of cold water is suddenly dashed on the body. The spasms are instantly removed; the jaws are relaxed and opened, and use of the limbs restored. The patient is dried, shifted [clothed] and put to bed, and some nourishing food and drink provided for him. At bedtime an opiate, and less or more of wine. Some cures are said to have been made with electricity; and Dr Currie [James Currie, MD, Scottish physician, 1756–1805; published Medical Reports on the Effects of Water, Cold and Warm, as a Remedy in Fever and Febrile Diseases, 1797] orders liberal use of wine, with the cold affusion [fever remedy consisting of pouring on the patient a quantity of cold water, as described above]. See the present Writer’s paper on Tetanus, published in the 6th Volume of the London Medical Observations and Inquiries, 1784. Since which time, the nature and cure of locked-jaw is better understood, and more successfully treated, in various quarters of the globe.

James Grainger 

musk, and given them in great quantities, in this disease, but all to no manner of purpose. Opium then is what is chiefly to be relied on, and it is astonishing what quantities of it may be swallowed, without either procuring sleep or affecting the brain.†

Of Dropsy This disease, in all its appearances, is common in the West Indies. Heat and moisture debilitate the solids, and break the tone of the blood in those climates. Hence all ages and sexes there are liable to watery complaints. In children watery tumour† is most commonly occasioned by worms; expel these, and you cure the patient. Obstructions of the menstrual courses will often cause dropsy of the legs,† in young women; make their menses flow, and you reduce their legs, to their healthy standard. I have known water produced in the belly, by a Negroe’s drinking too plentifully of cold water, when he was running down with sweat. If the Negroe was otherwise healthy, medicines that operate by sweat will carry off the swelling.42 Where the disease is the result of profuse bleedings, from whatever cause, or over purgation, generous diet and strengtheners† are the likeliest to remove it. A fowl stuffed with cow-itch [Mucuna pruriens], and made into broth, has sometimes carried off this disorder by stool and urine.43 If the swelling is considerable, and the bowels are sound, the Negroe should be tapped,† and future accumulation of water prevented by aloetic purges† and bitters. This disease has sometimes been cured by gunpowder taken inwardly with cow-piss. I have seen singular good effects from the following medicine: Put into a tin boiler with a cover, an ounce of cinnamon, half an ounce of nutmeg, two drachms of salt of steel,† or even steel filings, a pound and a half† of limejuice, and as much good old rum, and place it in a vessel with boiling water for an hour, then strain, and give near a gill of it morning and 42. Small repeated doses of calomel will effectually obviate the evil effects of this imprudence, and prevent the impending mischief here, as well as in improper bathing. 43. Boiling destroys the spiculæ [setæ or stinging hairs] of cow-itch, and renders it inert.

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evening; it operates chiefly by urine. A handful of scraped horseradish† may occasionally be added.44 The liver is commonly affected in this disease in the West Indies, and therefore deobstruents† are properly mixed with cathartics in dropsical cases.45 In dropsy of the skin, scarifications† and burying in the hot sand at noon are remedies which can be depended on, provided regular exercise and orange bitters lend their assistance.

Cholera Morbus† This disorder is not so common here as in Europe, but when it makes an attack, its effects are, in general, more deadly, unless remedies are speedily applied. Cholera morbus, in this country, seldom proceeds from the too free use of fruits, as in England; with us it arises more commonly from poisoned crabs† and poisonous fish. Fish poison† is peculiar to the West Indies;46 and what is remarkable, the same fish are often salutary or otherwise, in different parts of the same island.

44. Preparations of steel are useful only in dropsy from relaxation and debility, but where there are visceral obstructions, they do harm. The following electuary [medicinal conserve, consisting of powder or other ingredient mixed with honey, preserve, or syrup] is excellent here, as well as in chlorosis [anaemia]: Take conserve of oranges [marmalade], an ounce and a half, prepared steel [iron filings], two drachms, aromatic spices, one and a half drachms, syrup of oranges, enough to make an electuary, the bulk [size] of a nutmeg twice a day. 45. Diseased livers are the most common causes of dropsy in the West Indies. Prudent use of mercury in the beginning is generally successful. Tapping [drainage of accumulated fluid from the abdominal cavity], if proper, should be done early, but much caution is necessary in scarifying the legs of hydropics [patients suffering with dropsy], as there is danger of mortification [infection; necrosis; gangrene]. 46. There is a variety of poisonous fish in the West Indies. The most common is the blacked-back sprat, and yet if such fish are laid one night in a pickle of salt, they may be eaten with safety. In cases of fish poison, emetics must be given immediately, that as much of the fish may be ejected as possible; then a dose of castor oil. The mixture recommended in [note 31, page 22], must be given freely; it stops vomiting, and corrects the contents of the stomach and first passages [first stool passed after administration of medication]. It is strenuously recommended as the most safe and effectual antidote against fish poison whatever. When such accidents happen at sea or where lime juice cannot be got, vinegar saturated with marine salt will do equally well.

James Grainger 

This [condition], though vulgarly imputed to copperas banks,† can only with propriety be ascribed to the submarine vegetables whereon [the fish] feed. For all these poisons, if not immediately mortal, the best antidotes are teas of the flowers of cedar [Cedrela odorata], of sensitive [plant],† of chickweed [Stellaria media or Drymaria cordata], and of yellow prickle wood [Zanthoxylum sp.] [see Hughes 1750]. Indications in cure of cholera morbus, are, first, to check the inordinate discharge47 up and down; secondly, to dilute and cotemperate† the humours; and lastly, to restore the tone of the intestines. Remedies recommended [for treatment of ] flux will check the discharge; water gruel, sage tea, and hot water, will render the humours less acrid; and exercise, bathing in the sea, bitters, and the bark, will invigorate the intestines. Much might be added on the article of fish poison.48 It is a new and curious subject, but this is not a proper place for an ample disquisition.

Vomiting Constant rejection of whatever is taken into the stomach is a more common disease than the former, and often as deadly.49 It always proceeds from some peccant humour irritating the stomach. Salt of wormwood,† mixed with lemon juice and swallowed in the act of effervescence, will sometimes stop it. Opiates have also, not infrequently, produced the same effect. Warm water poured on toasted cassada, or oatmeal made brown, will often stop vomiting. But mint juice mixed with sugar, and warm goat’s milk, will generally succeed, where the former have failed. Purgative glysters should be administered.

47. Elixir of vitriol is excellent in [treatment of ] cholera morbus. Thirty drops may be taken in water and sugar every three hours, till the disorder abates; also the remedy in note 31, page 22. 48. No satisfactory account has yet been given, why certain fish are poisonous at times, and not at others. It is curious, however, that putting fish for a few hours in salt, prevents all accidents, and deprives them of their poisonous qualities. 49. What has been said under cholera will equally apply here.

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Malignant Sore Throat50 This disorder is a malignant fever, principally affecting the throat. How then can mercurials be serviceable in this case? They relax the solids, and destroy the tone of the blood. How then can purgatives be useful? They weaken the habit, and sink the pulse, which is already naturally too low. Nor is bleeding, in this disease, more to be recommended than cathartics and mercury; it thins the blood, and weakens more than either. What then is to be depended on? Gentle diaphoretics; tea made of devil’s bit [Achyranthes indica], wild sage [Lantana spp.] tea, weak sour punch, Madeira sangree† mixed with Seville orange [Citrus aurantium]; a mouth-water [mouthwash] or gargle made of canker-berry [Solanum bahamense], privet,† alum,† [and] honey, is also useful. Steaming the throat with warm vinegar does good. For want of attending to these rules, more Negroes for some years have perished by sore throats, than by any other disease. Elixir of vitriol, tincture of the bark,† and tincture of roses,† sometimes remove malignant angina.† I never saw above two inflammatory sore throats† in the West Indies. Their coming to matter† ought to be prevented by cooling purges; but should suppuration ensue, the tumour must be forthwith opened. A small quantity of nitre† swallowed leisurely twice or thrice a day, will often prevent suppuration of the almonds of the ear.† Negroes, as well as white people, are very subject to tooth-ach, and external swelling of the glands of the neck called mumps. These proceed from 50. There are three kinds of sore throat common in the West Indies, which require different treatment: Cynanche inflammatoria [swelling of the throat causing difficulty of breathing and swallowing; quinsy] in Negroes: bleeding is necessary, gentle laxatives, mild antimonials, and emollient gargles. Cynanche ulcerosa [ulcerated sore throat], with scarlet efflorescences round the sloughs [dead tissue formed on the surface of ulcers]: three grains of the antimonial powder recommended in note 28, page 21, and one grain of calomel every three hours, till perspiration takes place, then to be left off. Cynanche maligna or cynanche putrida [gangrenous pharyngitis; diphtheria]. Putrid sore throat is sometimes epidemic, and always attended with typhoid fever; after gentle laxatives, bark and wine are the most effectual. A gargle made of saturated lemon juice, or vinegar and sea salt, is excellent. The Writer of these notes seldom gave any other medicine.

James Grainger 

their lying with their heads too slightly covered, or from walking to visit their wives at night-time. If the tooth is hollow, it should forthwith be extracted; at this the Negroes are sufficiently expert. Mumps are to be removed by warmth, friction, and sweet [olive] oil; if inflamed, castor oil may be given.

Of the Liver and Spleen preternaturally swelled51 These disorders, which were known to the ancients, but are now infrequent in Europe, are common in the West Indies, both among white people and Blacks. Though at first they are scarce to be distinguished, in process of time the swelling may be felt, and at last becomes visible. It is scarce ever attended with pain or feverishness, but always with loss of appetite, and commonly with adhesion to the surrounding membrane. Negroes do certainly remove this adhesion, by frequent friction with their fingers, by laying the diseased across a hogshead;† in short by putting the body in such an attitude, as to enable them to insert their fingers below the rib cage. I do not remember to have seen any patient with either or both the above disorders, who laboured under jaundice.52 The limejuice medicine recommended in the chapter on dropsy is also sovereign† in these ailments, which are always tedious, but seldom kill. The mercurial pill of the Edinburgh Dispensary,† combined with steel filings, has sometimes been tried with success. If purgatives are ever thought advisable in these obstructions, they should be composed of gum guaiac,† calomel and soap of tartar.† Soap medicines with hog-lice have also done service. 51. There are no disorders so frequent in the West Indies as those of the liver and spleen. Every acute disease, and chronic complaint, occasion visceral obstructions, and especially in the liver. The patients complain of pain in the pit of the stomach, and breathlessness on walking up an ascent (if a Negroe, his colour is pale), the appetite is bad and the belly irregular [constipated]; less or more fever attends, and the patient’s strength is wasted daily. Jaundice and dropsy are the sure consequences, if not speedily remedied. 52. In acute hepatitis, where the habit is full, bleeding to eight or ten ounces is necessary; then small doses of antimonial powder recommended in note 28, page 21, every three hours, till the pores of the skin are opened; should this not be sufficient, add one grain of calomel to two grains of the antimonial powder, and continue the same till resolution of the disorder is brought about. In chronic cases, a single grain of calomel may be given at bedtime for a week, then stop for a few days, and go on as before.

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When the tumour points† externally, and there is reason to apprehend, from preceding symptoms, that matter† is formed, it should be let out by a caustic† and lancet; as some have recovered after this operation.

Pain in the Stomach53 Negroes often complain of pain in the stomach. This, when it does not arise from worms, is always to be remedied by the following prescription: Mix an ounce of soot, half an ounce of stinking weed [Cassia occidentalis], velvet [Cissampelos pareira] roots as much, six drachms of orange, or shaddock [Citrus grandis] rind, and three or four cloves of garlic, with three pints of rum; let the mixture stand in the sun for a few days, then strain and keep it well corked for use. Half a small wineglassful is a dose. A spoonful of the juice of semprevive [Aloe vera] will also remove it; but the elixir proprietatis is a more elegant remedy. This disease proceeds, in general, either from indigestion or worms. The roots of wild indigo [Indigofera suffruticosa], of cow-itch [Mucuna pruriens], and lemon, infused in water, and sweetened with melasses, have often done service, if French authors are to be credited.

Gout, Gravel and Diabetes54 I never saw a Negroe with gout or stone in the urinary passages and bladder;† the truth is, white people are less frequently tormented with these excruciating ailments in the Torrid Zone, than in Europe. Warmth and moisture would therefore appear to be enemies to the production of either of them. 53. ‘Pain in the stomach,’ is a name for any disorder of Negroes, and much caution is necessary to distinguish real from pretended complaints. Where the case is doubtful, we should err on the safe side, and let the Negroe rest a day or two in the infirmary. Pain in the stomach often turns out to be hepatitis, or diseased liver, as I stated at note 51, page 33, and may be successfully treated with very small doses of calomel. If it is merely dyspeptic, aloetics, bitters, and chalybeates [medicines impregnated with iron] are proper. If from dirt-eating [pica; geophagy], mild treatment, warm clothing, generous diet, wine and other fermented liquors, cane juice, or hot liquor from the boilers; these will induce Negroes to desist from such pernicious practice. 54. Free people [manumitted slaves] about the towns in the West Indies, who indulge themselves in the delicacies of the table, and in liquors, have regular fits of gout. Gravel never happens in the West Indies; disorders in the urethra from venereal affections are frequent enough.

James Grainger 

Where the soil is of a clayey nature, and retains humidity so long as to render it putrid,† there gout may rage;55 though even in such soil it is less painful, and the fits not so long lasting as in Europe, especially if proper perspiration is encouraged. But if Creoles† are less afflicted with these maladies, I have seen many wasting away with continual discharge of colourless, almost insipid urine. This preternatural discharge is by some writers of eminence ascribed to a disorder of the liver; but I should rather impute it to a watery poverty of blood, and morbid relaxation of the urinary viscera. This theory of diabetes† seems also to be confirmed by the remedies which cure it.56 These are all of the astringent kind, and may be found in the chapter on fluxes. But no remedy I know in nature is so efficacious, in this and the following disorder, as pills made of gum elemi and pounded niccars.57† Patients labouring under diabetes are always thirsty; but they must counteract their appetite to drink, and rather than swallow large aqueous draughts, only moisten their mouths with tamarind-beverage,† or orange juice. Limewater with milk may be used, as also the waters of the hot bath at Nevis, which is more powerful in all cases of relaxation than that of Bristol.† Where the Nevis-water cannot be had, impregnate good soft water with a red-hot iron.

55. Gout may be hereditary, or brought on by intemperance: It may also be palliated, and even cured, by rigid adherence to diet and exercise. Animal food, spirits, and strong fermented liquors must be avoided. Much benefit has been experienced from daily use of ginger boiled with sweet milk. When gout is attended with inflammation and fever, it will give way to the means proposed in note 52, page 33, or to Dr James’s powder. 56. Diabetes: this disorder has been ably treated of by Dr Rollo [eighteenth-century British Army surgeon: he observed the relationship between metabolism and diabetes mellitus. Following his example, physicians began testing the urine of diabetic patients in order to determine how severely they were affected by the disease], and the reader is referred to his work. A diet of animal food alone is strictly enjoined, and hepar sulphur [mixture of sulphur and potassium carbonate ground to a powder] internally is recommended. Diabetes sometimes attends remitting fevers, and weakly children are very subject to it. The present Writer has cured a number of recent cases, with a mixture of vegetable [ashes of Saltwort: Salosa kali] and marine salt [sea-salt]. (Vide American Philosophical Transactions, Volume II.) The formula is in note 31, page 22. 57. The infusion of quassia in note 36, page 25, drank daily, is extremely useful in diabetes, as it prevents the formation of sugar in the stomach and intestines, from vegetable food.

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Fluor Albus58 Blacks are less subject to this disease than the white inhabitants; among whom I have known infants, not three years old, and women of sixty, wasting away with it. This distemper is not easily cured in Europe, and to tell the truth, European remedies seldom cure it in the West Indies. Astringent injections† are the [remedies] most likely to succeed in [treatment of ] fluor albus;† but the best injections do not always radically remove the disease. The injection most to be depended on, is a strong decoction of pomegranate [Punica granatum] bark, old rum, and elixir of vitriol. This, mixed with an equal proportion of limewater or Nevis-water, should be thrown up,† thrice a day, to the quantity of half a gill at a time. Fomentations† of balaustines,† guava [Psidium guajava] bark, and sea-side grape [Coccoloba uvifera] bark in rum, are also useful. The medicine to be relied upon in [treatment of ] fluor albus is the following: Mix four parts of gum elemi, with two parts of cashew tree gum; add one part of salt of steel, and as much good turpentine; make them into pills of six grains. Give three of these pills three times a day in half a gill of pomegranate tea. Cold bathing, bark, and elixir of vitriol, or tincture of roses, accelerate the cure.59

Rheumatism and Sciatica These diseases are even more common in the Torrid Zone than at home; but they are seldom acute.60 Of course, bleeding and purging (evacuations too frequently used to remove them) are almost always improper in this climate. Discharge by urine is with difficulty excited in this country, and could it 58. There is much difficulty in distinguishing leucorrhœa in Negroe women, from venereal gonorrhœa. 59. Large doses of prepared chalk [carbonate of lime] or crabs’ eyes [seeds of the vine Abrus precatorius], cure this disorder. 60. Acute rheumatism is frequent in the West Indies, and may be treated as other inflammatory diseases. After the necessary evacuations have been made, mild antimonials, and small repeated doses of calomel, may be given.

James Grainger 

be promoted with certainty, would not carry off rheumatism. Warmth, friction, bathing, and oil, are useful in these diseases. But external remedies will not cure them, if they have taken root in the constitution. Dr James’s powder,† when it operates by sweat, is sometimes serviceable in rheumatism and sciatica. Dover’s powder† is more generally useful.61 Tincture of ipecacuan,† sal volatile,† and laudanum, in equal proportions, have also been of service. But the following preparation is the only one to be depended upon: Mix equal parts of gum guaiac, nitre, and foliated earth of tartar [potassium acetate]; add one third of cinnabar, and make them into pills of six grains, with melasses. Of these pills give thrice a day. No curable rheumatism ever resisted this remedy, continued for three weeks. Ward’s pills have been administered in these ailments, but I never knew them produce any signal service. Experience has taught me to think better of [an] infusion of glass of antimony in Madeira.62

Heart-Burn63 This is a very common disease, and though not deadly, is yet troublesome. It arises from too free use of vegetables, a weak stomach, and inert bile. Chalk, crabs’ eyes, or limewater, will always give ease in this distemper; but essence of peppermint,† spirits of hartshorn, or salt of wormwood, are more to be depended on. Vomits are always necessary, but mustard vomit† deserves preference. Negroes are not so subject to this disorder as white people, and yet they live more upon vegetables than their masters; but then their greens are always 61. Chronic rheumatism generally yields to small doses of Dover’s [Thomas Dover, MD, British physician, 1660–1742] powder at bedtime, with one grain of calomel for a few nights. Sciatica is probably rheumatism of the nerve in the hip-joint. No medicine is so effectual as Dover’s powder and calomel, just mentioned. 62. This is no other than antimonial wine of uncertain strength. The vinum antimoniale [sherry containing tartar emetic] of the shops is more eligible, as the dose can be determined accurately. 63. Heart-burn is occasioned by acetous [vinegar-like] acid being formed in the stomach. Bitters, chalybeates, and calcareous [chalk-like] substances, are generally prescribed. Magnesia [hydrated magnesium carbonate] is the safest of these, but it neutralizes only that portion of acid it meets with in the stomach. Sulphureous acid destroys the principle of the acetous and vinous ferment. Elixir of vitriol, in doses of thirty drops in water, removes heart-burn like a charm.

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well seasoned with salt, and green pepper, and they drink little punch and no wine. I have known old rum mixed with water and sprinkled with nutmeg, persisted in as a common drink at meals, remove heart-burn when all other remedies have proved ineffectual. I know a gentleman who is much subject to heart-burn, and whose only relief is a large draught of warm milk. In this person heart-burn probably proceeds from putrid acrimony.

Ringworm This disease is almost as common as Itch, but it is not so easily removed. It affects every part of the body, but especially the joints. It is always attended with violent itching and is highly infectious. Many remedies are used by West Indians for cure [of ringworm]. The chief of these are what follow: Rub the parts with a coarse cloth till they begin to bleed, and then squeeze into them the zest of a Seville orange. Mix two drachms of gunpowder, with as much limejuice as will bring it to the consistence of a thin liniment; this rubbed in morning and evening, after hard friction, often proves effectual. When ringworms are not numerous, an application of salt water and urine will cure them. Bathing the parts with salt water and first runnings† is always of service. But the most certain remedy the West Indies afford for cure of ringworms, is an epithem† made of flowers of brimstone,† and juice of ringworm shrub [Senna (Cassia) alata]. This vegetable is common in the islands, and needs no description. Dr Hillary† has described it in such a manner as a European botanist may [classify] it. But though these applications will remove this ailment, yet the remedies which Europe affords are both more certain and more speedy.64 Among these a strong solution of blue-stone† in limewater, or corrosive sublimate† in the same menstruum,† deserve preference. 64. In old and inveterate cases of ringworm and herpetic sores, a sulphureous plaster [dressing impregnated with an ointment containing sulphur] worn constantly over the parts, will at length cure the complaint, especially if a decoction of sarsaparilla [Smilax spp.] and guaiacum [Guaiacum officinale] is given at the same time.

James Grainger 

Purgatives are scarce ever necessary in this disorder; but sweating, especially in a warm bath, is highly expedient at the close of the distemper.

Of Costiveness† This is a common, and though not fatal, is yet a troublesome disorder. White inhabitants are more subject to it than Blacks, and women more than men. It generally proceeds from inert bile, and relaxation; of course, warm bathing, which is sometimes prescribed for it, is improper; and immersion in cold water will do service, though generally thought hurtful. But cold bathing alone will not do; mild purgatives joined to bitters must be given internally. For this purpose a handful of wild senna [Senna (Cassia) obtusifolia], infused in half a pint of water, and quickened with a spoonful of juice of semprevive, may be given. Or vervain [Stachytarpheta jamaicensis] may be drank every morning as tea, with some halbert-weed [Calea jamaicensis] flowers or those of chamomile [Anthemis spp.]. Or castor oil, sharpened with an infusion of stinking weed [Cassia occidentalis], or velvet [Cissampelos pareira] root, may be used. The following pills are also serviceable: Grind up equal parts of jalap [roots of Ipomea purga], French physic-nut [Jatropha multifida], Castile soap,† and juice of aloes [Aloe vera], and make them into pills of six grains. Two taken at night will generally produce a stool next day. I have also known half a pint of seawater, with twenty or thirty drops of essence of antimony† drank in a morning, produce salutary effects. Sometimes I have combined the bark† with purgatives, and have thus generally succeeded in curing habitual costiveness. Moderate exercise, especially on horseback, is absolutely necessary. A large sponge wetted in seawater, and applied suddenly to the belly, will sometimes do service, and may be used when riding is inconvenient. All strong purgatives, especially those with restringent† properties, are improper; at least till the bile is become healthfully acrid. I am of opinion that Senega rattle-snake root,† mixed with nitre and juice of aloes would do good in this disease; for though combined with an opiate, which effectually hinders it from exciting nausea, it generally produces copious discharge by stool. Half a drachm of gum guaiac dissolved in the yolk of an egg, and mixed with vervain tea, is a good purgative. Two or three guaiac pods† infused in

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warm water will often give a stool; a larger number of them in the same way, act as an emetic. Chocolate is a proper breakfast and supper to such as are habitually costive, and purgatives may be blended therewith, so as totally to disguise their bad taste. In that case the cathartic should be reduced to the finest powder imaginable; and if the chocolate is mixed with water, by means of the yolk of an egg, the taste will more effectually be sheathed. To some people strong coffee is purgative.



An Essay on the Management and Diseases of Negroes Part III

Leprosy65

A

lthough white people in the West Indies are not exempted from this dreadful calamity, yet as Negroes are most subject thereto, I choose to begin the third division with it. I could write a great deal upon this disorder, but little to the purpose; like gout, it is the disgrace of art.† I am doubtful whether it be infectious or not. Children of infected parents are not always seized with leprosy, and I have known wives of the leprous remain free from it for years. It is, however, the part of prudence to remove the distempered from the sound. This disorder frequently arises from being overheated, and suddenly getting too cool. It, however, oftenest breaks out without any visible cause.66 Mercurials† and antimonials† irritate the disease; neither is any good done with sarsa [sarsaparilla (Smilax spp.)], sassafras [Sassafras albidum], lignum vitæ [Guaiacum officinale], or [West Indian] China root [Smilax balbisiana]. 65. In leprosy it generally happens that children escape, but grandchildren are certain of the disease breaking out sooner or later in their lives. Children of white people, who have been suckled by Negresses who have this taint in their constitution, are sometimes affected with leprosy. 66. Nothing will produce leprosy or joint-evil [Elephantiasis Græcorum], but being born of leprous parents, or [suckled by] unclean [leprous] nurses. 41

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I am, notwithstanding, persuaded, that the antidote of leprosy is to be found in the West Indies.† What profit, what pleasure would accrue to the happy discoverer? I once saw a Negroe man whose wool† grew whitish, and whose skin put on a farinaceous appearance.† He was a hideous spectacle. His appetite was good.

Joint-Evil67 This is a frequent complaint, but as far as I know, it is confined to Blacks. It commonly attacks the toes; the joints of which successively drop off almost without pain, and always without fever. It stops when it reaches the foot; and sometimes the last joint of the great toe prevents its progress. The patients are in all other respects healthy, and produce healthy, nay, fine children. I do not remember to have seen this unaccountable disorder demolish the fingers. I can say nothing positive with regard to the cure of joint-evil; physicians are seldom consulted for it. As it appears to be a tropical disorder, might not warm bathing and the bark† suppress it in its rise?† And might not amputation check it in its increment?† When it is at [its] worst, I believe it must take its course.

Elephantiasis68† Some pretend that this enormous swelling of the lower extremities is curable when taken in time. Experience has woefully taught me the contrary. But though it resists all efforts of art, this disorder gives rather

67. Joint-evil [Elephantiasis Græcorum, a tubercular disease often mistakenly identified with leprosy] is another species of leprosy; like it, it is hereditary and incurable. There was a Maroon Negroe [runaway slave] in Jamaica, who cured several leprous Negroes by vegetables [plant material], but he would not discover [reveal] the secret of his art. When this evil [Elephantiasis Græcorum] has eaten off fingers, toes, and even the broad of the feet [the full breadth of the feet], it generally stops, and the mutilated being enjoys good health for many years. 68. This is an African disease, and seems to be hereditary. No remedy has as yet been discovered for it; but when the disorder is confined entirely to one leg, amputation of the diseased limb is advisable.

James Grainger 

inconvenience than pain, and is no way infectious. It is luckily, however, not very common in the islands.

Yaws69 It is lucky this disease attacks Negroes but once; for it is both tedious and difficult to cure. It breaks out in every part of the body, but chiefly about the hips and privities.† The eruption causes little or no pain, and scarce yields any ichor.† It occasions no wasting of the flesh, because the appetite keeps good. Yaws,† however, when repelled,† infallibly ruins the constitution. This is frequently practised by surgeons on board slave ships. The repellents† used for this purpose, are mixtures of iron rust with gunpowder and limejuice. Sea water is also an assistant. This pernicious fraud is with difficulty perceived by the purchaser; and yet it is of consequence that he should detect it. Where there is glossy smoothness of the skin, in those parts where yaws commonly break out, you may almost be certain that repellents have been used. But in case the Negroe has been purchased before such discovery, the sooner the disease is again thrown upon the surface, the better chance has the Negroe to regain his wonted† health. The best method of effectually expelling yaws from the blood is by giving half a drachm of sulphur every night, in a pint of hot sage [Lantana spp.] tea. Burnt niccars are also good for the same purpose. Venice treacle† is equally useful. But with all these, good strengthening food is indispensably requisite. A fortnight’s use of these means commonly throws out all the yawey matter upon the skin. A variety of external applications are recommended by old Negroes; but if aught† is applied to the eruptions, it must not be of a repellent nature. Keep 69. Dr Cullen [William Cullen, MD, Scottish physician and teacher, 1710–90; published Synopsis Nosologiæ Methodicæ, 1769], and other nosologists [specialists in the classification of diseases], have classed yaws amongst the Cachexiae [diseases characterized by cachexia – general ill health and malnutrition], whereas it ought to be amongst the Exanthemata [diseases characterized by exanthema – skin eruptions], immediately after smallpox. Our author [James Grainger] is the first who viewed it in its proper light; as he says it “attacks Negroes but once”. As yaws is highly infectious, a house should be provided for the diseased, a good careful nurse to attend and keep them clean. Warm clothing must be allowed, and a generous diet given them; they should do some easy work the whole time.

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the sores clean, by frequently washing with warm water, or greasy dish washings.70 You are never to open a yaw with a lancet, say the French; indeed it is seldom necessary to perform that operation; but should it be requisite, I can see no danger from the use of steel. There is generally one yaw much larger than the rest; this Negroes call the “master yaw”. When it begins to dry, and no fresh matter has been for some time cast out upon the surface, expelling medicines may then with safety be left off, and recourse had to such as will most effectually secure the habit† from any latent taint. This purpose is best answered by gentle salivation, continued for six weeks to two months.71 The quantity spit in twenty-four hours should never exceed a quart, and the patient should be made to drink an abundance of warm slops, sage tea, water gruel, milk and water, during the salivation. I have tried almost all the preparations of mercury in cure of yaws, and have found them all to succeed; but that on which I have most dependence is mercury seven times sublimed.† I have also great reliance on Plummer’s pill,† especially if camphire be added thereto. The common mercurial pill of the London Dispensatory† will cure yaws; but then it must be prevented from running off by stool,† by addition of opiates. Baron Van Swieten’s solution of corrosive sublimate† has been long known to West-India planters as a remedy for yaws.72 Unction† may repel yawey matter into the habit and therefore quicksilver† should not be used in that form to produce salivation. But by whatever preparation of mercury spitting is excited, the patient must be well supported by warm nourishing drinks. 70. Yawey sores should be gently washed with cold water, but not fretted [chafed; irritated] by wiping with a rag or tow [fibre of flax, hemp or jute]. 71. When the disorder is on the decline, then and only then, mercurial alternatives are safe and useful; but never to raise salivation on any account. In good habits, the eruption will go off by itself, without any medicine. 72. Where yaws have been mismanaged, many evil consequences ensue, [such] as boneachs, nocturnal pains, inveterate ulcers with caries [decay of bones or teeth], ulcerated throat, and erosions of the cartilages of the nose. Happily, however, these are curable by mercurial alternatives, diaphoretic decoctions, and milk diet. The following mercurial tincture seems to be the best, and has been used with success: Take of gum guaiacum ten drachms; Virginia snake-root [Endotheca serpentaria] three drachms; pimento [Guinea pepper (Xylopia æthopica)] two drachms; crude opium one drachm; corrosive sublimate thirty grains; proof spirits two pounds [two pints of rum]. Digest [mature; let stand] the whole for three days, and strain; give the Negroe two teaspoonfuls of this tincture in half a pint of sarsaparilla decoction twice a day. Vide: London Medical Journal, vol. VIII, page 260.

James Grainger 

Decoction of lignum vitæ [Guaiacum officinale], and of turpentine, should also be drank; and if it operate gently by the skin,† so much the better. By these methods relapse is most readily prevented, which is always more difficult to remove than the first disease; and which, if it have corroded the bones, is sometimes not to be cured. When the skin is sufficiently cleared of the eruption, and one or two large yaws remain, spitting may be gradually diminished; and those master yaws, as they are called, should be destroyed by gentle escharotics,† such as bluestone, verdigrease, corrosive sublimate dissolved in limewater, or burnt alum† mixed with lemon juice. When these are thus destroyed, lignum-vitæ decoction, formerly recommended, should still be persisted in for two or three weeks; and now twenty to thirty drops of antimonial wine† should be added to the evening potion. Decoction of China-root [Similax balbisiana] may now also be used. When by bad management73 the natural progress of the disease has been interrupted, and either ugly ulcers ensue, or the bones become diseased, these must be dressed with red precipitate† mixed with yellow basilicon,† or with green balsam† of the Edinburgh Dispensatory. Antomonials and camphire should then also be added to the calomel; little or no spitting should be excited; but the medicines should be permitted to alter the habit by gentle degrees. In that case I would also recommend continued use of Plummer’s pill. When yaws are not able to open a passage through the callous [callused] soles of a Negroe’s foot, the patient can neither walk, nor even stand, without excessive pain, and his feet swell more and more daily. This troublesome symptom the English call “Tubbas”, and the French “les Crapes”. The remedy for Tubbas, is to bathe the parts affected in a decoction of leaves of castor bush [Ricinus communis], and pare the callus to the quick; the pustules will then make their way through the sole, especially if assisted by any emollient poultice or warm cow-dung; and may be destroyed by the escharotics formerly spoken of. No part of the pustule must be left behind, otherwise it will certainly regenerate, and by that means render the Negroe useless, at least for a time.

73. See note 72, page 44.

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Of Nyctalopia† I never saw Hemeralopia† in the West Indies; but night-blindness I have seen there. That, however, is not common in the Leeward Island government;† all those I ever knew affected with this extraordinary malady, were not Creole Negroes, but those brought from Africa. The eyes, to all appearances, are perfectly sound, even when they do not transmit one luminous ray to the retina. Neither do any Nyctalops complain of head-achs; they generally have good appetites. At sun-set their sight becomes dim; and as soon as night prevails, they become absolutely blind; in which unhappy situation they remain till day-light, when they recover the faculty of sight. Some writers have considered night-blindness a kind of ague† in the eye; but then it would excite pain, and be attended with some degree of fever. My own opinion is that it is a periodical palsy† of the proper organ of vision, from whatever cause that palsy may be supposed to arise. But, waving theory, it is a happiness that this disease may be cured, and more speedily than one could imagine. To effectuate this, I generally begin by giving a vomit; and if the patient is costive, a castor oil purge may also be permitted. I then order a seton† to be put in the neck, and as soon as a discharge is established, I have recourse to the bark in water, made more palatable with orange-peel and a little old rum. Two ounces of bark generally restores the patient to vision. At first, I combined snake-root† and valerian† with the cortex;† but I have since found that the bark will do unassisted, even without the seton. All those to whom I have given this specific† have been wrought, either up or down,† pretty smartly, by its first administration. The eyes should be frequently bathed with rum and water, or Hungary water† and that of roses,† or camphorated spirits,† for some weeks after the disease is removed. They should also wear a shade over their eyes in the daytime.

Of Guinea Worm74 This extraordinary worm,† which chooses the cellular membrane of the 74. The gordius, or Guinea-worm, is frequent amongst Negroes in the West Indies, whether new Negroes or those born in the islands.

James Grainger 

human body for its habitation, was first taken notice of by Galen,† but is best described by Arabian physicians. It is native of Arabia, Persia, and Negroeland;† and white people who bathe in certain waters in those countries, are equally liable to it [as] the blacks of Africa. I fancy it is not a disease of the West Indies; for all those I ever saw afflicted therewith brought it with them to the new world from Guinea. It is a tedious, but not dangerous disease, especially if permitted to break through the skin itself, and no harsh means are used to effect its removal. I can see no use of internal medicines to make it sooner quit its nidus,† because I am not convinced [that] it ever gets into the human body by drinking water.75 Yet, sulphur, garlic and pepper, are recommended to be given inwardly; perhaps aloes should be combined with them. As [the worm] is roundish, like a nerve,† the best way [to remove it] is to gently wind it round a small cylinder,† every day, till the whole is extracted. It seldom exceeds two feet in length. If it breaks [during attempted removal] violent inflammations and sinuses ensue, which patience and the knife must remove.

Ruptures† Although white inhabitants are more subject to ruptures of every kind here than in Europe; yet as Negroes are most afflicted with them, I choose to treat of them in this division. Ruptures in the groin,† next to those of the navel,† are most commonly to be met with in the West Indies. [Ruptures in the groin], generally speaking, arise from some sprain or over-exercise; though sometimes the abdominal contents will fall down, without any other visible cause than relaxation. No time should be lost in reducing them into the belly by manual assistance, and of securing them, when there, by a proper bandage: For this purpose, every plantation ought to be furnished with steel trusses from England.76 75. Bathing in ponds and stagnant waters, and drinking impure waters, are justly suspected of causing this malady. 76. Steel trusses should be made strong and elastic. The plantation surgeon should take pains in showing the ruptured Negroe the right mode of applying them; and that at any time the omentum [a fold or duplication of the peritoneum connecting the stomach and other abdominal organs] comes down, to remove the truss till the rupture is reduced. By careful

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In case the rupture cannot be reduced in the common way, some blood should be taken away; for by this evacuation, both the spasm and inflammation, which usually attend an incarcerated rupture,† will be removed. But, should phlebotomy† fail, a smart purgative should be administered, which, with a little assistance from the hand, will often remove the strangulation.† Good effects have also arisen, in this case, from brisk injections,† especially such as are compounded of tobacco [Nicotiana tabacum] and French physic-nut [Jatropha multifida] leaves. Smoke-glysters of tobacco† are no less useful; especially if administered so as to quicken the operation of a purgative taken by mouth. But if all these means prove ineffectual, and the inflammation rather increase, with vomiting, recourse must be had to the knife; for if the gut once mortify,† part of the fæcal discharge must for ever be voided by this sinus, and the patient runs imminent risk of his life. This operation requires a steady hand and dexterity in cutting; therefore I would never advise it [if ] the rupture can be reduced by any other means. I know a Negroe with a very large scrotal hernia,† which increases every full moon, and then becomes uncommonly painful for some days, especially if he does not live very temperately during that time, and not be purged with castor oil. He himself can reduce the gut, but the omentum coheres, so that he is never free from an external swelling. There are some astringent applications, which may strengthen the relaxed parts in a new rupture, so as to prevent [its] return, but even then a truss should not be neglected. A truss should also be worn for years after the operation. The cicatrix† occasioned by a caustic seldom prevents relapse of the intestines.

Of Burns77 Boilers† are very apt to get scalded; especially when they are obliged to continue their labours in the night-time. 76. (cont’d.) attention to confining the parts within the abdomen, the life of a ruptured Negroe is made comfortable, and he himself useful in society. Trusses need be worn only in the day-time. They may be had at Edinburgh, of the best quality, at five shillings and threepence each. 77. There is nothing so common as burns, and scalds, and in general so ill-treated.

James Grainger 

If the skin is raised into blisters, these should be immediately snipped, and the water let out, otherwise [it] will become acrid, and erode the subjacent parts. Banana leaves, or those of castor bush [Ricinus communis], are good applications against burns; so is fire-weed.† But sweet-oil [olive oil] blended with vinegar, or that drawn from lintseed† and mixed with plantane water,† are more to be depended on. White ointment† and Turner’s cerate† may finish the cure. Those who feed the mill with canes are sometime liable to have their hands ground off between the rollers, especially in the night-time. Wouldst thou prevent this horrid accident? Leave off working during the night; or if that cannot be done, at least change those who supply the mill every two hours; by this means their growing sleepy may be prevented.

Of Ulcers about the Ankles78 I shall conclude this part with some few observations on sordid† ulcers, which too frequently infest the ankles of Negroes, especially in islands where the soil

77. (cont’d.) Immediately on such accidents happening, let the parts be soaked with the coldest water. If a scald, apply linen cloths dipped in cold water and common salt, and continue this till the heat and pain are no longer felt. Cold vinegar may be used on the same principle as cold water. By these means inflammation is prevented, and no vesicles are formed. Where the parts are burned, the same cold applications are necessary till the pain abates. Afterwards Carron ointment may be applied daily till the sores are well. This ointment is composed of fresh linseed oil, and limewater. Castor oil will do as well. 78. Of late years, much improvement has been made in the cure of ulcers. If they are owing to a bad habit of body, or yaws, or venereal disease, the means recommended at [note 72, page 44] must be attended to, and a generous diet of fresh animal food. 1. All ulcers should be washed, by gently pouring cold water on the parts, but by no means touch the sores, even with a probe and lint. 2. To foul and fœtid ulcers, the pulp of a Seville orange [Citrus aurantium], roasted, and mixed with a little sugar; this, in a few days, will correct the fœtor [offensive smell], and dispose the ulcer to heal. 3. Where the discharge is large, some dry vegetable powders are useful; they may be either of dried vervain [Stachytarpheta jamaicensis] leaves, or powder of the spurs [prickles] of prickly yellow wood [Zanthoxylum sp.]. 4. Contract the surface of the ulcer, by narrow slips of common plaster, made adhesive with a little rosin [gum-resin], or a thin circular roller bandage, made moderately tight.

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is of a clayey nature. They are difficult to be cured, for I have known six weeks salivation often ineffectual. Runaway Negroes,† and those who are nastily lazy, or who eat dirt,† a perversion of appetite not confined in the West Indies to females,† are most liable to sordid ulcers: They bleed upon the slightest occasion, and generally produce œdematous swelling of the member.† If the ulcer has arisen from any external injury, and the patient is otherwise in a good habit of body, he need only be purged once a week with seawater, and bathed in the same, in order to be cured. The part affected should be dressed twice a day, because matter soon becomes acrid in the West Indies. After washing the ulcer with vitriol water,† and soaking up the pus with scraped lint, French physic-nut [Jatropha mulitfidia] leaves should be pounded and applied fresh to the sore. I have known that application succeed when the most pompous prescriptions of the shops have failed. Exercise is pernicious, and yet if the Negroes do not stir a little, the swellings of their legs will increase. Those who have ulcers about their ankles and toes should have shoes given them to wear till the [ulcers] heal, and should use a bandage [for] a considerable time after the part is cicatrized.† Without these precautions, return of the sores is always to be apprehended. As white inhabitants generally wear shoes and stockings, they are less subject to these sores than Negroes. But when they are afflicted with ulcers, it is a difficult matter to heal them, because such people are but too much addicted to the use of raw, new spirits, than which nothing so effectually contaminates the habit. In that case, recourse must be had to alternative medicines, especially such as were recommended to prevent return of yaws.79

79. White people with sores or scratches should never come near Negroes with yaws. Even the smallest fly from a yawey ulcer, lighting on the sore of a sound person, will infect him with yaws.



An Essay on the Management and Diseases of Negroes Part IV

B

ut it is not enough to take care of Negroes when they are sick; they should also be well clothed and regularly fed. Neglecting either of these important precepts is not only inhuman, it is the worst species of prodigality. One Negroe saved in this manner more than pays the additional expences which owners of slaves by this means incur. But, supposing it did not, it ought seriously to be considered by all masters, that they must answer before the Almighty for their conduct towards their Negroes. Where neither humanity nor self-interest are able to make masters treat their slaves as men, the Legislature should oblige them. This the French have done, much to their honour.80 As Negroes are ignorant, they must be vicious;† this ought always to be attended to in their punishments. Thirty-nine is the lash of the law; half that number is, in my opinion, sufficient punishment for any offence they can commit. Negroes must be punished for their own as well as their masters’ sakes, but leniency should always temper justice. A Negroe should never be struck with a stick,† nor ever punished in a passion. Black drivers† should never be permitted to give above one or two strokes of their whips to any of those under their command, without leave from the manager. 80. Provision has been made by the British Parliament, and the consolidated laws in the colonies, for protection of slave Negroes, and for their comfort and support. See: The History, Civil and Commercial of the British West Indies, Bryan Edwards [1743–1800]. 51

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How shocking to philanthropy it is, to think there are human beings who are made to act from motives of fear only! Surely, were Negroes instructed in the practical principles of Christianity, they would be rendered much better servants, and [such instruction] would prevent much severity whereto they are now unavoidably exposed.† Negroes should have woollen, as well as linen, clothing given them every year. I repeat again, the health of the gang will fully repay this expence. They should have their allowances shared out to them every Tuesday and Friday.† Starved Negroes must be runaways. They should never be fed above a month on the same food. They should have some mountain-ground, or gut-sides† allotted them, for planting Indian provisions;† and Saturday afternoon should now and then be given them to take care of their little gardens. They should be allowed to rear small stock; and some of the better sort of them may be indulged in breeding hogs [and] goats.

Of Sick-houses Every plantation ought to have a large sick-house, and if it were floored, so much the better. Every plantation should have a proper hut for reception of yawey patients; this ought to be to leeward, and at a distance from the sick-house, which should be built near the dwelling house, but to leeward of it.81 Every sick-house should have a chamber ventilator† to windward, and should receive some light from the roof. Every sick-house should have a necessary;† which ought to be cleaned, at least twice a day. It should also be furnished with a hearth and chimney. The nurses are commonly so old that they cannot take proper care of the sick, let them have never so good† an inclination to do their duties. A nurse should be strong, sensible and sober. [A nurse fills a] most important office in a plantation. In every plantation some sensible Negroe should be instructed [how to] bleed, give glysters, dress fresh wounds, spread plasters, and dress ulcers. This is of great consequence. Were I to give a model for a complete sick-house, it should consist of four detached chambers in square form; in the centre should be a pump and bathing place; and the whole should be surrounded [by] a strong lemon or 81. See note 69, page 43.

James Grainger 

lime hedge, with a gate to lock. Round the borders such herbs as are commonly used in physic should be planted; and there should be a walk around the square for convalescents. The chamber to leeward should be appropriated to fevers and small-pox. That to windward should be for chirurgical† and common medical cases. That on the right should be appropriated for boiling drinks [and] victuals of the sick, and for lodging the nurse; with a little surgery. That on the left should be appointed for reception of venereal cases. The windward ward should have a piazza,† and each of them a necessary and ventilator, except the kitchen, which should be cooled by a window. This plan would doubtless cost money; but if we must have slaves, our own interest should, methinks, teach us to take all imaginable care of them when they become sickly. Every estate ought to be visited once a week by some physical person,† and oftener, if occasion require.82 Planters should remember the Sixth Commandment. Those who presume to prescribe to the sick, and are not qualified by study and experience [to do so], must be murderers.

Conclusion Every owner of an estate ought to have the following medicines sent him annually from England: Spanish Flies [cantharides: powdered dried beetle: Cantharis vesicatoria] Spirit of Lavender [tincture of lavender: Lavandula vera] Castor [see endnote, p. 134] Tinctura Thebaica [tincture of Hyphæne thebaica] Calcinated Hartshorn [ammoniacal ashes] Spirit of Hartshorn [aqueous solution of ammonia] Alum [double sulphate of aluminium and potassium] Common Caustic [silver nitrate sticks] Sal Volatile Drops [aromatic ammonium carbonate] Crude Mercury [liquid mercury] 82. No medical practitioner can do justice to an estate, who does not visit the sick twice a week, either himself, or his assistant, or oftener if necessary. A Case-book or Diary, should be kept in every infirmary. It would be of the most extensive use, as it would refresh his own memory, or show the assistant what had been done. At the same time, direct the overseer and book-keeper to observe the directions, and see the medicines, etc., given as prescribed.

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Cloves [flowers of Syzygium aromaticum] Corrosive Sublimate [mercuric chloride] Oil of Cinnamon [aromatic oil of cinnamon bark] Oil of Turpentine [distillate of turpentine] Ipecacuan [rootstock of Psychotria ipecacuanha] Plaster, common [surgical dressings] Jalap [see footnote 28, page 21] Turner’s Cerate [ointment of wax, lard and other ingredients] Opium [inspissated juice of Papaver somniferum] Verdigrease [see endnote, p. 133] Nutmegs [Myristica fragrans] Vitriol, blue [copper sulphate] Rhubarb [rootstock of Rheum sp.] Vitriol, white [zinc sulphate] With some skins of leather, some rolls of tow, and a little lint. Each plantation should also have a [large] glyster-syringe, and a small one. In the above list I have recommended no empirical compositions. Creoles are but too fond of quackery. If any such are sent, British oil,† James’s powder,† and Turlington’s balsam† seem to deserve preference.83 83. To this list, the following articles should be added: Gum Assafœtida [Narthex asafœtida] *Gum Guaiacum [Guaiacum officinale] *Gum Anacardium, or Cashew [Anacardium occidentale] Camphire [Cinnamomum camphora] Sarsaparilla in bundles [Smilax spp.] *Aloes, Barbadoes [Aloe vera] Aloes, Succotrine [Aloe socotrina] Bark, Peruvian [Cinchona officinalis] *Bark, Cabbage [Andira inermis] Nitre [potassium nitrate] *Lignum Quassiæ, or Bitter-wood [Picrasma excelsa] *Lignum Vitæ, or Guaiacum [Guaiacum officinale] Calomel [mercurous chloride] Red precipitate [mercuric oxide] Emetic Tartar [potassio-antimonious tartrate] Sugar of Lead [lead acetate] Glauber Salts [sodium sulphate] *Bark, Caribbean, or Jamaica [Exostema caribæum] Salt of Tartar [potassium carbonate] Those thus marked * are produced in the sugar colonies.



Linnæan Index Modern botanical names [thus]

Acajau Anacardium occidentale Aloes Aloe Perfoliata [Aloe vera] Angola Peas Cytisus Cajan [Cajanus cajan] Avocato Pear Laurus Persea [Persea americana] Balaustine Punica granatum Banana Musa paradisiaca Barbadoes Pride Poinciana Pulceherrima [Cæsalpinia pulcherrima] Canella Canella Aromatica [Canella winterana] Canker Berry Solanum bahamense Cashew tree Anacardium occidentale Cassada, Bitter Jatropha Manihot [Manihot esculenta] Cassada, Sweet Jatropha Janipha [Manihot dulcis] Cassada, Wild Jatropha gossypifolia Castor Bush Ricinus Americanus [Ricinus communis] Castor Oil Ricinus Americanus [Ricinus communis] Cherry Tree (Cashew) Anacardium occidentale Chickweed, West-India Hollosteum Cordatum [Drymaria cordata] China-root Smilax China [Smilax balbisiana] Cow-itch Dolichos Pruriens [Mucana pruriens] Flower-fence Poinciana Pulceherrima [Cæsalpinia pulcherrima] French physic-nut Jatropha multifidia Green Pepper Capsicum Baccatum [Capsicum annum] Guava Psidium Pyriferum [Psidium guajava] Halbert Weed Hieracium [Calea jamaicensis] Lignum-vitæ Guaiacum officinale Logwood Hæmatoxylum Campicichense [Hæmatoxylon campechianum] Mountain Cabbage-tree bark Geoffrea Inermis [Andira inermis] Niccars Guilandina Bonduc [Cæsalpinia bonduc] 55

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Ochra Hibiscus esculentus [Abelmoschus esculentus] Physic-nut, English Jatropha curcas Physic-nut, French Jatropha multifidia Plantane, English Plantago major Pomegranate Punica Granata [Punica granatum] Ring-worm Shrub Cassia Alata [Senna (Cassia) alata] Senega Rattlesnake Weed Polygala senaga Sea-side Grape Cœcoloba Uvifera [Coccoloba uvifera] Sensitive Cane-piece Cassia chamæcrista Sensitive Mimosa Cassia Chamæcrista [Mimosa pudica] Silk Cotton Tree Bombax Ceiba [Ceiba pentandra] Simbarouba Quassia simbarouba Spanish Carnation Poinciana Pulceherrima [Cæsalpinia pulcherrima] Stinking Weed Cassia occidentalis Thistle-seed Argemone mexicana Velvet-root Cissampelos pareria Vervain Verbena Jamaicaensis [Stachytarpheta jamaicensis] Wild Cinnamon Canella Aromatica [Canella winterana] Wild Ipecacuan Asclepias curassavica Wild Indigo Indigofera Anil [Indigofera suffruticosa] Wild Liquorice Abrus precatorius Wild Poppy Argemone mexicana Wild Sage Lantana Odorata [Lantana involucrata] Wild Senna Cassia Senna Italica [Senna (Cassia) obtusifolia] Worm-grass Spigelia Anthelminthica [Spigelia marilandica, Chenopodium ambrosioides] Yellow-prickle wood Zanthoxylum Clava Hercules [Zanthoxylym clava-herculis]

The Sugar-Cane 

James Grainger, MD (1764)

Book IV

Argument Invocation to the Genius of Africa . . . vv. 1–17. Address . . . vv. 18–39. Negroes when bought should be young . . . vv. 40–43. Congo-negroes are fitter for the house and trades, than for the field . . . vv. 44–53. Gold-Coast, but especially Papaw-negroes, make the best field-negroes: but even these, if advanced in years, should not be purchased . . . vv. 54–71. Marks of a sound negroe at a negroe sale . . . vv. 72–80. Where the men do nothing but hunt, fish, or fight, and all field drudgery is left to the women; these are to be preferred to their husbands . . . vv. 89–98. Minnahs make good tradesmen, but addicted to suicide . . . vv. 99–102. Mundingos, in particular, subject to worms; and Congos, to dropsical disorders . . . vv. 103–118. How salt-water, or new negroes, should be seasoned . . . vv. 119–148. Some negroes eat dirt . . . vv. 149–157. Negroes should be habituated by gentle degrees to field labour . . . vv. 158–164. This labour, when compared to that in lead mines, or of those who work in the gold and silver mines in South America, is not only less toilsome, but far more healthy . . . vv. 165–205. 57

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Negroes should always be treated with humanity . . . vv. 206–231. Praise of freedom . . . vv. 232–243. Of the dracunculus, or dragon-worm . . . vv. 244–255. Of chigres . . . vv. 256–262. Of yaws . . . vv. 263–285. Might not this disease be imparted by inoculation? . . . vv. 286–289. Of worms, and their multiform appearance . . . vv. 290–317. Praise of commerce . . . vv. 318–364. Of the imaginary disorders of negroes, especially those caused by their conjurers or Obiamen . . . vv. 365–380. The composition and supposed virtues of a magic-phial . . . vv. 381–405. Field-negroes should not begin to work before six in the morning, and should leave off between eleven and twelve; and beginning again at two, should finish before sunset . . . vv. 406–420. Of the weekly allowance of negroes . . . vv. 421–437. The young, the old, the sickly, and even the lazy, must have their victuals prepared for them . . . vv. 438–444. Of negroe-ground, and its various productions . . . vv. 445–464. To be fenced in, and watched . . . vv. 465–487. Of an American garden . . . vv. 488–553. Of the situation of negroe huts . . . vv. 554–571. How best defended from fire . . . vv. 572–575. The great negroe-dance described . . . vv. 582–601. Drumming, and intoxicating spirits not to be allowed . . . vv. 602–605. Negroes should be made to marry in their masters’ plantations . . . vv. 606–608. Inconveniencies arising from the contrary practice . . . vv. 609–611. Negroes to be cloathed once a year, and before Christmas . . . vv. 612–619. Praise of Lewis XIV for the Code Noir . . . vv. 620–629. A body of laws of this kind recommended to English sugar colonies . . . vv. 630–634. Praise of the river Thames . . . vv. 635–653. A moonlight landscape and vision . . . vv. 654–683.

James Grainger 

Genius of Afric!† Whether thou bestrid’st The castled elephant; or at the source, (Whilst howls the desert fearfully around) Of thine own Niger,† sadly thou reclin’st Thy temples shaded by the tremulous palm, Or quick papaw,† whose top is necklac’d round With numerous rows of party-colour’d† fruit: Or hear’st thou rather from the rocky banks Of Rio Grande,† or black Senaga?† Where dauntless thou the headlong torrent brav’st In search of gold, to brede† thy woolly locks, Or with bright ringlets ornament thine ears, Thine arms, and ankles: O attend my song. A Muse† that pities thy distressful state; Who sees, with grief, thy sons in fetters bound; Who wishes freedom to the race of man; Thy nod assenting craves: Dread Genius come! Yet vain thy presence, vain thy favouring nod; Unless once more the Muses, that ere while Upheld me fainting in my past career, Through Caribbe’s cane-isles; kind condescend To guide my footsteps, through parch’d Libya’s† wilds; And bind my sun-burnt brow with other bays,† Than ever deck’d the Sylvan† bard before. Say, will my Melvil,† from the public care, Withdraw one moment, to the Muses’s shrine? Who, smit with thy fair fame, industrious cull An Indian† wreath to mingle with thy bays, And deck the hero, and the scholar’s brow! Wilt thou, whose mildness smooths the face of war, Who round the victor-blade the myrtle twin’st; And mak’st subjection loyal and sincere; O wilt thou gracious hear the unartful strain, Whose mild instructions teach, no trivial theme,

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What care the jetty† African requires? Yes, thou wilt deign to hear; a man thou art Who deem’st naught foreign that belongs to man.† In mind, and aptitude for useful toil, The negroes differ: Muse, that difference sing.

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Whether to wield the hoe, or guide the plane; Or for domestic uses thou intend’st The sunny Libyan:† from what clime they spring, It not imports; if strength and youth be theirs.

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Yet those from Congo’s wide extended plains, Through which the long Zaire† winds with chrystal stream, Where lavish Nature sends indulgent forth Fruits of high flavour, and spontaneous seeds Of bland nutritious quality, ill bear The toilsome field; but boast a docile mind, And happiness of features. These, with care, Be taught each nice mechanic† art: or train’d To household offices: their ductile souls Will all thy care, and all thy gold repay. But, if the labours of the field demand Thy chief attention; and the ambrosial cane Thou long’st to see, with spiry frequence, shade Many an acre: planter chuse the slave, Who sails from barren climes; where want alone, Offspring of rude necessity, compels The sturdy native, or to plant the soil, Or stem vast rivers for his daily food. Such are the children of the Golden Coast:† Such the Papaws, of negroes far the best:† And such the numerous tribes, that skirt the shore, From rapid Volta† to the distant Rey.†

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But, planter, from what coast soe’er they sail, Buy not the old: they ever sullen prove; With heart-felt anguish, they lament their home; They will not, cannot work; they never learn Thy native language; they are prone to ails; And oft, by suicide, their being end. Must thou from Afric reinforce thy gang? Let health and youth their every sinew firm; Clear roll their ample eye; their tongue be red; Broad swell their chest; their shoulders wide expand; Not prominent their belly; clean and strong Their thighs and legs, in just proportion rise. Such soon will brave the fervours of the clime; And, free from ails, that kill thy negroe-train, A useful servitude will long support. Yet, if thine own, thy children’s life, be dear; Buy not a Cormantee,† tho’ healthy, young. Of breed too generous for the servile field; They, born to freedom in their native land, Chuse death before dishonourable bonds: Or, fir’d with vengeance, at the midnight hour, Sudden they seize thine unsuspecting watch, And thine own poniard† bury in thine breast. At home, the men, in many a sylvan realm, Their rank tobacco, charm of sauntering† minds, From clayey tubes inhale; or, vacant, beat For prey the forest; or, in war’s dread ranks, Their country’s foes affront: while, in the field, Their wives plant rice, or yams,† or lofty maize,† Fell† hunger to repel. Be these thy choice: They, hardy, with the labours of the Cane Soon grow familiar; while unusual toil, And new severities their husbands kill.

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The slaves from Minnah† are of stubborn breed: But, when the bill,† or hammer, they affect; They soon perfection reach. But [buy,]† with care, The Moco-nation;† they themselves destroy. Worms lurk in all: yet, pronest they to worms Who from Mundingo† sail. When therefore such Thou buy’st, for sturdy and laborious they, Straight let some learned leach† strong medicines give, Till food and climate both familiar grow. Thus, tho’ from rise to set, in Phœbus’s† eye, They toil, unceasing; yet at night they’ll sleep, Lap’d† in Elysium;† and, each day, at dawn, Spring from their couch, as blithesome as the sun. One precept more, it much imports to know. The blacks who drink from Quanza’s† lucid stream, Fed by ten thousand springs, are prone to bloat,† Whether at home or in these ocean isles: And tho’ nice art the water may subdue,† Yet many die; and few, for many a year, Just strength attain to labour for their lord. Wouldst thou secure thine Æthiop† from those ails, Which change of climate, change of waters breed, And food unusual? Let Machaon† draw From each some blood, as age and sex require; And well with vervain,† well with sempre-vive,† Unload their bowels. These, in every hedge, Spontaneous grow. Nor will it not conduce To give what chemists, in mysterious phrase, Term the white eagle;† deadly foe to worms. But chief do thou, my friend, with hearty food, Yet easy of digestion, likest that Which they at home regal’d on; renovate

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Their sea-worn appetites. Let gentle work, Or rather playful exercise, amuse The novel† gang: and far be angry words; Far ponderous chains; and far disheartening blows. From fruits restrain their eagerness; yet if The acajou,† haply, in thy garden bloom, With cherries,1 or of white or purple hue, Thrice wholesome fruit in this relaxing clime! Safely thou may’st their appetite indulge. Their arid skins will plump, their features shine: No rheums,† no dysenteric ails torment: The thirsty hydrops† flies. ’Tis even averr’d, (Ah, did experience sanctify the fact; How many Libyans now would dig the soil, Who pine in hourly agonies away!) This pleasing fruit, if turtle† joins its aid, Removes that worst of ails, disgrace of art,† The loathsome leprosy’s infectious bane. There are, the Muse hath oft abhorrent seen, Who swallow dirt;† (so the chlorotic† fair Oft chalk prefer to the most poignant cates:)† Such, dropsy bloats, and to sure death consigns; Unless restrain’d from this unwholesome food,

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1. [Ver. 137. cherries] The tree [Anacardium occidentale] which produces this wholesome fruit is tall, shady, and of quick growth. Its [Amerindian] name is “Acajou”; hence corruptly called “Cashew” by the English. The fruit has no resemblance to a cherry, either in shape or size; and bears, at its lower extremity, a nut (which the Spaniards name “Anacardo” and physicians “Anacardium”) that resembles a large kidney-bean. Its kernel is as grateful [pleasantly flavoured] as an almond, and more easy of digestion. Between its rinds is contained a highly caustic oil; which, being held to a candle, emits bright saline sparks, in which [Amerindian] fortune-tellers pretended they saw spirits who gave answers to whatever questions were put to them by their ignorant followers. This oil is used as a cosmetic by ladies, to remove freckles and sun-burning. This tree also produces a gum not inferior to Gum-arabic [gum exuded by some species of Acacia]; and its bark is an approved astringent. The juice of the cherry stains exceedingly. The long citron, or amber coloured, is the best. The cashewnuts, when unripe, are of a green colour; but, ripe, they assume that of a pale olive. This tree bears fruit but once a year.

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By soothing words, by menaces, by blows: Nor yet will threats, or blows, or soothing words, Perfect their cure; unless thou, Pæan,† deign’st By medicine’s power their cravings to subdue. To easy labour first inure thy slaves; Extremes are dangerous. With industrious search, Let them fit grassy provender collect For thy keen stomach’d herds. But when the earth Hath made her annual progress round the sun, What time the conch2 or bell resounds, they may All to the Cane ground, with thy gang, repair. Nor, negroe, at thy destiny repine,† Though doom’d to toil from dawn to setting sun. How far more pleasant is thy rural task, Than their’s who sweat, sequester’d from the day, In dark Tartarean† caves, sunk far beneath The earth’s dark surface; where sulphureous flames, Oft from their vapoury prisons bursting wild, To dire explosion give the cavern’d deep, And in dread ruin all its inmates whelm?† Nor fateful only is the bursting flame; The exhalations of the deep-dug mine,† Tho’ slow, shake from their wings as sure a death. With what intense severity of pain Hath the afflicted Muse, in Scotia,† seen The miners rack’d, who toil for fatal lead? What cramps, what palsies shake their feeble limbs Who, on the margin of the rocky Drave,3 Trace silver’s fluent ore?† Yet white men these!

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2. [Ver. 163. the conch] Plantations that have no bells, assemble their negroes by sounding a conch-shell. 3. [Ver. 181. rocky Drave] A river in Hungary, on whose banks are found mines of quicksilver.

James Grainger 

How far more happy ye, than those poor slaves, Who, whilom,† under native, gracious chiefs, Incas and Emperors, long time enjoy’d Mild government, with every sweet of life, In blissful climes? See them dragg’d in chains, By proud insulting tyrants,† to the mines Which once they call’d their own, and then despis’d! See, in the mineral bosom of their land, How hard they toil! How soon their youthful limbs Feel the decrepitude of age! How soon Their teeth desert their sockets! and how soon Shaking paralysis unstrings their frame! Yet scarce, even then, are they allow’d to view The glorious God of Day,† of whom they beg, With earnest hourly supplications, death; Yet death slow comes, to torture them the more! With these compar’d, ye sons of Afric, say, How far more happy is your lot? Bland health, Of ardent eye, and limb robust, attends Your custom’d labour; and, should sickness seize, With what solicitude are ye not nurs’d! Ye negroes, then, your pleasing task pursue; And, by your toil, deserve your master’s care. When first your blacks are novel† to the hoe; Study their humours:† Some, soft-soothing words; Some, presents; and some, menaces subdue; And some I’ve known, so stubborn in their kind, Whom blows, alas! could win alone to toil. Yet, planter, let humanity prevail. Perhaps thy negroe, in his native land, Possest large fertile plains, and slaves, and herds: Perhaps, whene’er he deign’d to walk abroad,

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The richest silks, from where the Indus† rolls, His limbs invested in their gorgeous pleats: Perhaps he wails his wife, his children, left To struggle with adversity: perhaps Fortune,† in battle for his country fought, Gave him a captive to his deadliest foe: Perhaps, incautious, in his native fields, (On pleasurable scenes his mind intent) All as he wandered; from the neighbouring grove, Fell ambush dragg’d him to the hated main.† Were they even sold for crimes; ye polish’d say! Ye, to whom learning opes her amplest page! Ye, whom the knowledge of a living God Should lead to virtue! Are ye free from crimes? Ah pity, then, these uninstructed swains;† And still let mercy soften the decrees Of rigid justice, with her lenient hand. O, did the tender Muse possess the power, Which monarchs have, and monarchs oft abuse; ‘Twould be the fond ambition of her soul, To quell tyrannic sway; knock off the chains Of heart-debasing slavery; give to man, Of every colour and of every clime, Freedom, which stamps him image of his God. Then laws, oppression’s scourge, fair virtue’s prop, Offspring of Wisdom!† should impartial reign, To knit the whole in well accorded strife: Servants, not slaves; of choice, and not compell’d; The blacks should cultivate the Cane-land isles. Say, shall the Muse the various ills recount, Which negroe-nations feel? Shall she describe The worm that subtle winds into their flesh,† All as they bathe them in their native streams?

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There, with fell increment, it soon attains A direful length† of harm. Yet, if due skill, And proper circumspection are employed,

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It may be won its volumes to wind round A leaden cylinder:† but, O, beware, No rashness practice; else ’twill surely snap, And suddenly, retreating, dire produce An annual lameness to the tortured Moor.†

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Nor only is the dragon worm† to dread: Fell, winged insects,4 which the visual ray† Scarcely discerns, their sable feet and hands Oft penetrate; and, in the fleshy nest, Myriads of young produce; which soon destroy The parts they breed in; if assiduous care, With art, extract not the prolific foe. Or, shall she sing, and not debase her lay,† The pest peculiar to the Æthiop-kind,† The yaws’s† infectious bane? The infected far In huts, to leeward, lodge; or near the main.† With heartening food, with turtle, and with conchs;† The flowers of sulphur,† and hard niccars5 burnt The lurking evil from the blood expel,

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4. [Ver. 257. winged insects] These [Pulex penetrans], by the English, are called Chigoes or Chigres. They chiefly penetrate the toes, and sometimes the fingers; occasioning itching, which some people think not unpleasing, and are at pains to get, by going to the copper holes, or mill-round, where chigres most abound. They lay their nits in a bag, about the size of a small pea, and are partly contained therein themselves. This the negroes extract without bursting, by means of a needle, and filling up the place with a little snuff; it soon heals, if the person have a good constitution. One species of them is supposed to be poisonous; but, I believe, unjustly. When they bury themselves near a tendon, especially if the person is in a bad habit of body, they occasion troublesome sores. The South-Americans call them “Miguas”. 5. [Ver. 268. niccars] [Cæsalpinia bonduc] The fruit resemble marbles, though not so round. [The] shell is hard and smooth, and contains a farinaceous nut, of admirable use in seminal weakness [decreased volume of semen ejaculate]. They are also given to throw out the yaws.

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And throw it on the surface: there in spots Which cause no pain, and scanty ichor† yield, It chiefly breaks about the arms and hips, A virulent contagion! When no more Round knobby spots deform, but the disease Seems at a pause: then let the learned leach Give, in due dose, live-silver† from the mine; Till copious spitting the whole taint exhaust. Nor thou repine, tho’ half-way round the sun, This globe, her annual progress shall revolve; Ere, clear’d, thy slave from all infection shine. Nor then be confident; successive crops Of defœdations† oft will spot the skin: These thou, with turpentine† and guaiac† pods, Reduc’d by coction to a wholesome draught, Total remove, and give the blood its balm.†

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Say, as this malady but once infects The sons of Guinea,† might not skill ingraft† (Thus, the small-pox are happily convey’d) This ailment early to thy negroe-train? Yet, of all the ills which torture Libya’s sons,† Worms tyrannize the worst. They, Proteus-like,† Each symptom of each malady assume; And, under every mask, the assassins kill. Now, in the guise of horrid spasms, they writhe The tortur’d body, and all sense o’er-power. Sometimes, like Mania,† with her head down-cast, They cause the wretch in solitude to pine; Or frantic, bursting from the strongest chains, To frown with look terrific, not his own. Sometimes, like Ague,† with a shivering mien, The teeth gnash fearful, and the blood runs chill: Anon the ferment maddens in the veins,

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And a false vigour animates the frame. Again, the dropsy’s bloated mask they steal; Or, “melt with minings of the hectic fire”. Say, to such various forms of mimic death; What remedies shall puzzled art† oppose? Thanks to the Almighty, in each path-way hedge, Rank cow-itch6 grows, whose sharp unnumber’d stings, Sheath’d in Melasses,† from their dens expel, Fell dens of death, the reptile† lurking foe. A powerful vermifuge,† in skilful hands, The worm-grass† proves; yet even in hands of skill, Sudden, I’ve known it dim the visual ray For a whole day and night. There are those who use (And sage experience justifies the use) The mineral product of the Cornish mine;7 Which in old times, ere Britain laws enjoyed, The polish’d Tyrians,† monarchs of the main, In their swift ships convey’d to foreign realms: The sun by day, by night the northern star,† Their course conducted. Mighty commerce, hail! By thee the sons of Attic’s sterile land,† A scanty number, laws impos’d on Greece,

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6. [Ver. 309. cow-itch] This extraordinary vine [Mucuna pruriens] should [not] be permitted to grow in a Cane-piece; for Negroes have been known to fire the Canes, to save themselves from the torture which attends working in grounds where it has abounded. Mixed with melasses [molasses], it is a safe and excellent vermifuge. Its seeds, which resemble blackish small beans, are purgative. Its flower is purple; and its pods, on which the stinging brown Setæ [bristles] are found, are as large as full-grown English field-peas. 7. [Ver. 317. The mineral product of the Cornish mine] Tin-filings are a better vermifuge than tin in powder. The western parts of Britain, and the neighbouring isles, have been famous for this useful metal from the remotest antiquity; for we find from Strabo [Greek geographer and historian, 63 BC–AD 21], that the Phœnicians made frequent voyages to those parts (which they called Cassiterides) in quest of that commodity, which turned out so beneficial to them, that a pilot of that nation stranded his vessel, rather than show a Roman ship, that watched him, the way to those mines. For this public-spirited action he was amply rewarded, says that accurate writer, upon his return to his country. The Romans, however, soon made themselves masters of the secret, and shared with them in the profit of that merchandise.

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Nor aw’d they Greece alone, vast Asia’s King, Though girt by rich arm’d myriads, at their frown Felt his heart wither on his farthest throne. Perennial source of population thou! While scanty peasants plough the flowery plains Of purple Enna;† from the Belgian† fens, What swarms of useful citizens spring up, Hatched by thy fostering wing? Ah where is flown That dauntless free-born spirit, which, of old, Taught them to shake off the tyrannic yoke Of Spain’s insulting King; on whose wide realms, The sun still shone with undiminished beam? Parent of wealth! In vain, coy nature hoards Her gold and diamonds; toil, thy firm compeer,† And industry of unremitting nerve, Scale the cleft mountain, the loud torrent brave, Plunge to the centre, and thro’ nature’s wiles, (Led on by skill of penetrative soul) Her following close, her secret treasure find, To pour them plenteous on the laughing world. On thee, Sylvanus,† thee each rural god, On thee, chief Ceres,† with unfailing love And fond distinction, emulously gaze. In vain hath nature pour’d vast seas between Far-distant kingdoms; endless storms in vain With double night brood o’er them; thou dost throw, O’er far-divided nature’s realms, a chain To bind in sweet society mankind. By thee white Albion,† once a barbarous clime, Grew fam’d for arms, for wisdom, and for laws; By thee she holds the balance of the world, Acknowledg’d now sole empress of the main.† Coy though thou art, and mutable of love, There may’st thou ever fix thy wandering steps; While Eurus† rules the wide Atlantic foam! By thee, thy favourite great Columbus found

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That world,† where now thy praises I rehearse To the resounding main and palmy shore; And Lusitania’s chiefs† those realms explor’d, Whence negroes spring, the subject of my song. Nor pine the blacks, alone, with real ills, That baffle oft the wisest rules of art:† They likewise feel imaginary woes; Woes no less deadly. Luckless he who owns The slave, who thinks himself bewitch’d;† and whom, In wrath, a conjurer’s snake-mark’d8 staff hath struck! They mope, love silence, every friend avoid; They inly pine, all aliment reject; Or insufficient for nutrition take: Their features droop; a sickly yellowish hue Their skin deforms; their strength and beauty fly. Then comes the feverish fiend, with firy eyes, Whom drought, convulsions, and whom death surround, Fatal attendants! if some subtle slave (Such, Obia-men are stil’d) do not engage, To save the wretch by antidote or spell. In magic spells, in Obia, all the sons Of sable Afric trust: Ye sacred Nine!† (For ye each hidden preparation know) Transpierce the gloom, which ignorance and fraud Have render’d awful; tell the laughing world Of what these wonder-working charms are made.

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8. [Ver. 370. snake-mark’d] Negroe-conjurers, or Obia-men, as they are called, carry about them a staff, which is marked with frogs & snakes. The blacks imagine that its blow, if not mortal, will at least occasion long and troublesome disorders. Belief in magic is inseparable from human nature, but those nations are most addicted thereto, among whom learning, and, of course, philosophy have least obtained. As in all other countries, so in Guinea [Africa], the conjurers, as they have more understanding, so are they generally more wicked than the common herd of their deluded countrymen; and as the negroe-magicians can do mischief, so they can also do good on a plantation, provided they are kept by the white people in proper subordination.

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Fern root cut small, and tied with many a knot; Old teeth extracted from a white man’s skull; A lizard’s skeleton; a serpent’s head: These, mix’d with salt and water from the spring, Are in a phial pour’d; o’er these the leach† Mutters strange jargon, and wild circles forms. Of this possest, each negroe deems himself Secure from poison; for to poison they Are infamously prone: and arm’d with this, Their sable country dæmons they defy, Who fearful haunt them at the midnight hour, To work them mischief. This, diseases fly; Diseases follow: such is its wonderous power! This o’er the threshold of their cottage hung, No thieves break in; or, if they dare to steal, Their feet in blotches, which admit no cure, Burst loathsome out: but should its owner filch, As slaves were ever of the pilfering kind, This from detection screens; so conjurers swear. ’Till morning dawn, and Lucifer† withdraw His beamy chariot; let not the loud bell Call forth thy negroes from the rushy couch: And ere the sun with mid-day fervour glow, When every broom-brush9 opes her yellow flower; Let thy black labourers from their toil desist: Nor till the broom her every petal lock, Let the loud bell recall them to the hoe. But when the jalap her bright tint displays,

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9. [Ver. 410. broom-brush] This small plant [Sida acuta], which grows in every pasture, may, with propriety, be named an American clock; for it begins every forenoon at eleven to open its yellow flowers, which about one are fully expanded, and at two closed. Jalap, or “Marvel of Peru” [Mirabilis jalapa], unfolds its petals between five and six in the evening, which shut again as soon as night comes on, to open again in the cool of the morning. This plant is called “Four o’clock” by the natives, and bears either a yellow or purple-coloured flower.

James Grainger 

When the solanum10 fills her cup with dew, And crickets, snakes, and lizards ’gin their coil;† Let them find shelter in their cane-thach’d huts: Or, if constrain’d unusual hours to toil, (For even the best must sometimes urge their gang) With double nutriment reward their pains. Howe’er insensate some may deem their slaves, Nor ’bove the bestial rank;† far other thoughts The Muse, soft daughter of humanity! Will ever entertain. The Æthiop knows, The Æthiop feels, when treated like a man; Nor grudges, should necessity compel, By day, by night, to labour for his lord. Not less inhuman, than unthrifty those; Who, half the year’s rotation round the sun, Deny subsistence to their labouring slaves. But wouldst thou see thy negroe-train encrease, Free from disorders; and thine acres clad With groves of sugar: every week dispense Or English beans, or Carolinian† rice; Iërne’s† beef, or Pennsylvanian flour; Newfoundland cod, or herrings from the main That howls tempestuous round the Scotian isles! Yet some there are so lazily inclin’d, And so neglectful of their food, that thou, Wouldst thou preserve them from the jaws of death; Daily, their wholesome viands must prepare: With these let all the young, and childless old,

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10. [Ver. 415. solanum] So some authors name fire-weed [Datura stramonium], which grows everywhere, and is the Datura of Linnæus; whose virtues Dr Stork [Anton, Freiherr von Störck, 1731–1803], at Vienna, has greatly extolled in a late publication. It bears a white monopetalous [having the petals united so as to form a tube] flower, which opens about sun-set.

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And all the morbid share; so heaven will bless, With manifold encrease, thy costly care. Suffice not this; to every slave assign Some mountain-ground: or, if waste broken land† To thee belong, that broken land divide. This let them cultivate, one day, each week; And there raise yams, and there cassada’s11 root: From a good dæmon’s staff cassada sprang, Tradition says, and Caribbees believe: Which into three the white-rob’d genius broke, And bade them plant their hunger to repel. There let Angola’s bloomy bush12 supply, For many a year, with wholesome pulse their board. There let the bonavist,13 his fringed pods Throw liberal o’er the prop; while ochra14 bears Aloft his slimy pulp, and help disdains.

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11. [Ver. 449. cassada] To an ancient Caribbean, bemoaning the savage uncomfortable life of his countrymen, a deity clad in white apparel appeared, and told him, he would have come sooner to have taught him the ways of civil life, had he been addressed before. He then showed him sharp cutting stones to fell trees and build houses; and bade him cover them with palm leaves. Then he broke his staff in three; which, being planted, soon after produced cassada [Manihot esculenta]. See: [John] Ogilby’s America. 12. [Ver. 454. Angola’s bloomy bush] This is called Pigeon-peas [Cajanus cajan], and grows on a sturdy shrub, that will last for years. It is justly reckoned among the most wholesome Legumens. The juice of the leaves, dropt into the eye, will remove incipient films. 13. [Ver. 456. bonavist] This is the Spanish name of a plant [Lablab purpureus], which produces an excellent bean. It is a parasitical plant. There are five sorts of bonavist, the green, the white, the moon-shine, the small or common; and, lastly, the black and red. The flowers are all of white and papilionaceous [resembling a butterfly]; except the last, whose blossoms are purple. They commonly bear in six weeks. Their pulse is wholesome, though somewhat flatulent; especially those from the black and red. The pods are flattish, two or three inches long; and contain from three to five seeds in partitional cells. 14. [Ver. 457. ochra] Or Ockro. This shrub [Abelmoschus esculentus], which will last for years, produces a not less agreeable, than wholesome pod. It bears all the year round. Being of a slimy and balsamic [soothing] nature, it becomes a truly medicinal aliment in dysenteric complaints. It rises to about four or five feet high, bearing, on or near the summit, many yellow flowers; succeeded by green, conic, fleshy pods, channelled into several grooves. There are as many cells filled with small round seeds, as there are channels.

James Grainger 

There let potatos15 mantle o’er the ground: Sweet as the cane-juice is the root they bear. There too let eddas16 spring in order meet, With Indian cale,17 and foodful calaloo:18 While mint,† thyme,† balm,† and Europe’s coyer herbs, Shoot gladsome forth, nor reprobate the clime.† This tract secure, with hedges or of limes,† Or bushy citrons,† or the shapely tree19 That grows at once with aromatic blooms, And golden fruit mature. To these be join’d, In comely neighbourhood, the cotton shrub;† In this delicious clime the cotton bursts On rocky soils. The coffee† also plant; White as the skin of Albion’s lovely fair,† Are the thick snowy fragrant blooms it boasts: Nor wilt thou, coco,20 thy rich pods refuse;

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15. [Ver. 459. potatos] I cannot positively say, whether these vines [Ipomea batatas] are of [West] Indian origin or not; but as in their fructification they differ from potatoes at home, they probably are not European. They are sweet. There are four kinds, the red, the white, the long, and round. The juice of each may be made into a pleasant cool drink; and being distilled, yields an excellent spirit. [Mobby: see note 3, page 88.] 16. [Ver. 461. eddas] This wholesome root [Colocasia esculenta], in some of the islands, is called “Edda”. There are three species of tanies [eddoes], the blue, the scratching, and that which is commonly roasted. The blossoms of all three are very fragrant, in a morning or evening. The root makes a good broth in dysenteric complaints. They are seldom so large as the yam, but most people think them preferable in point of taste. The French call this plant “Tayove”. It produces eatable roots every four months, for one year only. 17. [Ver. 462. [West] Indian cale] This green [Xanthosoma sp.], which is a native of the New World, equals any green in the Old. 18. [Ver. 462. calaloo] [Amaranthus spinosus] Another species of [West] Indian pot-herb, no less wholesome than the preceding. These, with mezamby [Cleome gynandra], and Jamaica prickle-weed [Amaranthus sp.], yield to no esuculent plants in Europe. This is an [Amerindian] name. 19. [Ver. 466. the shapely tree] The orange tree [Citrus sinensis]. 20. [Ver. 474. coco] [Theobroma cacao] [This] is also called Cocao and Cocô. It is native of some of the provinces of South-America, and a drink made from it was the common food of [Amerindians] before the Spaniards came among them, who were some time in those countries ere they could be prevailed upon to taste it; and it must be confessed that [Amerindian] Chocolate had not a tempting aspect; yet I much doubt whether Europeans have greatly

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Tho’ years, and heat, and moisture they require, Ere the stone grind them to the food of health.† Of thee, perhaps, and of thy various sorts, And that kind sheltering tree, thy mother nam’d,21 With crimson flowerets prodigally grac’d; In future times, the enraptur’d Muse may sing: If public favour crown her present lay. But let some antient, faithful slave erect His sheltered mansion near; and with his dog, His loaded gun, and cutlass, guard the whole: Else negroe-fugitives, who skulk ’mid rocks And shrubby wilds, in bands will soon destroy Thy labourer’s honest wealth; their loss and yours. Perhaps, of Indian† gardens I could sing, Beyond what bloom’d on blest Phæacia’s isle,† Or eastern climes admir’d in days of yore: How Europe’s foodful, culinary plants; How gay Pomona’s ruby-tinctured births;† And gawdy Flora’s† various-vested train;

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20. (cont’d.) improved its wholesomeness, by addition of vanillas and other hot ingredients. The tree often grows fifteen or twenty feet high, and is streight [sic] and handsome. The pods, which seldom contain less than thirty nuts of the size of a flatted olive, grow upon the stem and principal branches. The tree loves moist, rich, shaded soil: Hence those who plant cacao-walks, sometimes screen them by a hardier tree, which the Spaniards aptly name Madre de Cacao [Gliricidia sepium]. They may be planted fifteen or twenty feet distant, though some advise to plant them much nearer, and perhaps wisely; for it is an easy matter to thin them, when they are past the danger of being destroyed by dry weather. Some recommend planting cassada, or bananas, in the intervals, when the cacao-trees are young, to destroy weeds, from which the walk cannot be kept too free. It is generally three years before they produce good pods; but, in six years, they are in highest perfection. The pods are commonly of the size and shape of a large cucumber. There are three or four sorts of cacao, which differ from one another in colour and goodness of their nuts. That from Caraccas [Venezuela] is certainly the best. None of the species grow in Peru. Its alimentary, as well as physical properties, are sufficiently known. The word is [Amerindian]. 21. [Ver. 478. thy mother nam’d] Madre de Cacao.

James Grainger 

Might be instructed to unlearn their clime, And by due discipline adopt the sun. The Muse might tell what culture will entice The ripened melon,† to perfume each month; And with the anana† load the fragrant board. The Muse might tell, what trees will best exclude (“Insuperable height of airiest shade”) With their vast umbrage the noon’s fervent ray. Thee, verdant mammey,22 first, her song should praise: Thee, the first natives of these Ocean-isles, Fell anthropophagi,† still sacred held; And from thy large high-flavour’d fruit abstain’d, With pious awe; for thine high-flavoured fruit, The airy phantoms of their friends deceas’d, Joy’d to regale on. Such their simple creed. The tamarind23 likewise should adorn her theme, With whose tart fruit the sweltering fever loves To quench his thirst, whose breezy umbrage soon Shades the pleas’d planter, shades his children long.

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22. [Ver. 502. mammey] [Mammea americana] This is a lofty, shady, beautiful tree. Its fruit is as large as the largest melon, and of exquisite smell, greatly superior to it in point of taste. Within the fruit are contained one or two large stones, which, when distilled, give to spirits a ratafia flavour [the taste of a liqueur flavoured with apricot-kernels], and therefore the French call them “Les Apricots de St Domingue”: accordingly “l’Eau des Noiaux”, one of the best West Indian cordials, is made from them. The fruit, eaten raw, is of an aperient quality; and made into sweet-meats, is truly exquisite. This tree, contrary to most others in the New World, shoots up to a pyramidal figure: the leaves are uncommonly green; and it produces fruit, but once a year. The name is [Amerindian]. The English call it “Mammey-sapota”. There are two species of it, the sweet and the tart. 23. [Ver. 509. tamarind] [Tamarindus indica] This large, shady, beautiful tree grows fast even in the driest soils, and lasts long; and yet the wood is hard, and very fit for mechanical uses. The leaves are smaller than those of senna [Cassia sp.], and pennated [resembling a feather]; they taste sourish, as does the pulp, which is contained in pods four or five inches long. They bear once a year. An excellent vinegar may be made from the fruit, but Creoles chiefly preserve it with sugar, as the Spaniards with salt. A pleasant syrup may be made from it. The name is, in Arabic, “Tamara”. The Antients were not acquainted therewith; for the Arabians first introduced tamarinds into physic [medical practice]. It is native of the East as well as of the West Indies and South-America, where different provinces call it by different names. Its cathartic properties are well known. It is good in sea-sickness.

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Nor, lofty cassia,24 should she not recount Thy woodland honours! See, what yellow flowers Dance in the gale, and scent the ambient air: While thy long pods, full fraught with nectared sweets, Relieve the bowels from their lagging load. Nor, chirimoia,† though these torrid isles Boast not thy fruit, to which the anana yields In taste and flavour, wilt thou coy refuse Thy fragrant shade to beautify the scene. But, chief of palms, and pride of Indian-groves,† Thee, fair palmeto,25 should her song resound: What swelling columns, form’d by Jones† or Wren,† Or great Palladio,† may with thee compare? Not nice-proportioned, but of size immense, Swells the wild fig-tree,† and should claim her lay: For, from its numerous bearded twigs proceed A filial train, stupendous as their sire, In quick succession; and o’er many a rood,† Extend their uncouth limbs; which not the bolt Of heaven can scathe; nor yet the all-wasting rage Of Typhon,† or of hurricane, destroy.

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24. [Ver. 513. cassia] [Cassia fistula] Both this tree and its mild purgative pulp are sufficiently known. 25. [Ver. 523. palmeto] [Roystonea oleracea] [This] being the most beautiful of palms, nay, perhaps, superior to any other known tree in the world, has with propriety obtained the name “Royal”. It will shoot up perpendicularly to an hundred feet and more. The stem is perfectly circular; only towards the root, and immediately under the branches at top, it bulges out. The bark is smooth, and of ash-brown colour, except at the top where it is green. It grows very fast, and the seed whence it springs is no bigger than an acorn. In this, as in all the palm-genus, what the natives call “Cabbage” is found; but it resembles in taste an almond, and is in fact the pith of the upper, or greenish part of the stem. But it would be the most unpardonable luxury to cut down so lovely a tree, for so mean a gratification; especially as the wild, or mountain cabbage tree [Oreodoxa sp.], sufficiently supplies the table with that esculent. I never ride past the charming vista of royal palms on the Cayon-estate of Daniel Mathew, Esq. [see page 5], in St Christopher, without being put in mind of the pillars of the Temple of the Sun at Palmyra. This tree grows on the tops of hills, as well as in valleys; its hard cortical part makes very durable laths for houses. There is a smaller species not quite so beautiful.

James Grainger 

Nor should, tho’ small, the anata26 not be sung: Thy purple dye, the silk and cotton fleece Delighted drink; thy purple dyes the tribes Of Northern-Ind,† a fierce and wily race, Carouse, assembled; and with it they paint Their manly make in many a horrid form, To add new terrors to the face of war. The Muse might teach to twine the verdant arch, And the cool alcove’s lofty roof adorn, With ponderous granadillas,27 and the fruit Call’d water-lemon; grateful to the taste: Nor should she not pursue the mountain-streams, But pleas’d decoy them from their shady haunts, In rills, to visit every tree and herb; Or fall o’er fern-clad cliffs, with foaming rage; Or in huge basons float, a fair expanse; Or, bound in chains of artificial force, Arise thro’ sculptur’d stone, or breathing brass. But I’m in haste to furl my wind-worn sails, And anchor my tir’d vessel on the shore.† It much imports to build thy negroe-huts, Or on the sounding margin of the main,

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26. [Ver. 534. anata] [Bixa orellana] Anotto or Arnotta; thence corruptly called “Indian Otter” by the English. The tree is about the size of an ordinary apple-tree. The French call it “Rocou”; and send the farina [pollen] home as a paint, for which purpose the tree is cultivated by them in their islands. The flower is pentapetalous [having five petals], of bluish, spoon-like appearance. The yellow filaments are tipped with purplish apices. The style proves the rudiment of the succeeding pod, which is of conic shape, an inch and a half long. This is divided into many cells, which contain a great number of small seeds, covered with red farina. 27. [Ver. 543. granadillas] [Passiflora quadrangularis] This is a Spanish name, for a species of passiflora, or passion flower, called by Linnæus, Musa. The seeds and pulp, through which the seeds are dispersed, are cooling, and grateful to the palate. This, as well as water-lemon [Passiflora laurifolia], bell-apple, or honeysuckle, as it is named, being parasitical plants, are easily formed into cooling arbors, than which nothing can be more grateful in warm climates. Both fruits are wholesome. The granadilla is commonly eat with sugar, on account of its tartness, and yet the pulp is viscid. It grows best in shady places. The unripe fruit makes an excellent pickle.

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Or on some dry-hills gently-sloping sides, In streets, at distance due. When near the beach, Let frequent coco† cast its wavy shade; ‘Tis Neptune’s† tree; and, nourish’d by the spray, Soon round the bending stem’s ærial height Clusters of mighty nuts, with milk and fruit Delicious fraught, hang clattering in the sky. Let there the bay-grape,28 too, its crooked limbs Project enormous; of impurpled hue Its frequent clusters glow. And there, if thou Wouldst make the sand yield salutary food, Let Indian millet29 rear its corny reed, Like arm’d battalions in array of war. But, round the upland huts, bananas† plant; A wholesome nutriment bananas yield, And sun-burnt labour loves its breezy shade. Their graceful screen let kindred plantanes† join, And with their broad vans shiver in the breeze; So flames design’d, or by imprudence caught, Shall spread no ruin to the neighbouring roof.

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Yet nor the sounding margin of the main, Nor gently sloping side of breezy hill, Nor streets, at distance due, imbower’d in trees; 28. [Ver. 563. bay-grape] [Coccoloba uvifera] or sea-side grape, as it is more commonly called. This is a large, crooked, shady tree, (the leaves being broad, thick, and almost circular;) and succeeds best in sandy places. It bears large clusters of grapes once a year; which, when ripe, are not disagreeable. The stones, seeds, or acini, contained in them, are large in proportion; and being reduced to a powder, are an excellent astringent. The bark of the tree has the same property. The grape, steep’d in water and fermented with sugar, makes an agreeable wine. 29. [Ver. 567. Indian millet] [Sorghum vulgare] This is commonly called “Guinea-corn”, to distinguish it from the great or Indian-corn that grows in the Southern parts of NorthAmerica. It soon shoots up to a great height, often twenty feet high, and will ratoon like the other; but its blades [leaves] are not so nourishing to horses as those of the great corn, although its seeds are more so, and rather more agreeable to the taste. The Indians, negroes, and poor white people, make many (not unsavoury) dishes with them. It is also called “Turkey wheat”. The [West Indian] turpentine tree [Bursera simaruba] will also grow in sand, and is most useful upon a plantation.

James Grainger 

Will half the health, or half the pleasure yield, Unless some pitying Naiad† deign to lave,† With unceasing stream, thy thirsty bounds. On festal days;† or when their work is done; Permit thy slaves to lead the choral dance,† To the wild banshaw’s30 melancholy sound.† Responsive to the sound, head, feet and frame Move aukwardly harmonious; hand in hand Now locked, the gay troop circularly wheels, And frisks and capers† with intemperate joy. Halts the vast circle, all clap hands and sing; While those distinguish’d for their heels† and air,† Bound in the centre, and fantastic twine. Meanwhile some stripling, from the choral ring, Trips forth; and, not ungallantly, bestows On her who nimblest hath the greensward beat, And whose flush’d beauties have inthrall’d his soul, A silver token of his fond applause. Anon they form in ranks; nor inexpert A thousand tuneful intricacies weave, Shaking their sable limbs; and oft a kiss Steal from their partners; who, with neck reclin’d, And semblant scorn, resent the ravish’d bliss. But let not thou the drum their mirth inspire; Nor vinous spirits:† else, to madness stir’d, (What will not bacchanalian frenzy dare?) Fell† acts of blood, and vengeance they pursue.

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Compel by threats, or win by soothing arts, Thy slaves to wed their fellow slaves at home; So shall they not their vigorous prime destroy, By distant journeys, at untimely hours, 30. [Ver. 584. banshaw] This is a sort of rude guitar, invented by the negroes. It produces a wild, pleasing, melancholy sound.

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When muffled midnight decks her raven hair With the white plumage of the prickly vine.31 Wouldst thou from countless ails preserve thy gang; To every negroe, as the candle weed32 Expands his blossoms to the cloudy sky, And moist Aquarius† melts in daily showers; A woolly vestment give, (this Wiltshire† weaves) Warm to repel chill night’s unwholesome dews: While strong coarse linen, from the Scotian loom,† Wards off the fervours of the burning day.

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The truly great, tho’ from a hostile clime, The sacred Nine embalm; then, Muses, chant, In grateful numbers, Gallic Lewis’s† praise: For private murder quell’d; for laurel’d arts, Invented, cherish’d in his native realm; For rapine punish’d; for grim famine fed: For sly chicane† expell’d the wrangling bar; And rightful Themis† seated on her throne: But, chief, for those mild laws his wisdom fram’d, To guard the Æthiop from tyrannic sway!†

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Did such, in these green isles which Albion claims,† Did such obtain;† the Muse, at midnight-hour, This last brain racking study had not ply’d:

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31. [Ver. 611. prickly vine] [night-blooming cereus (Hylocereus trigonus)] This beautiful white rosaceous [rose-like] flower is as large as the crown of one’s hat, and only blooms at midnight. The plant, which is prickly and attaches itself firmly to the sides of houses & trees, produces a fruit [strawberry-pear], which some call “Wythe Apple”, and others, with more propriety, “Mountain Strawberry”. But though it resembles the large Chili-strawberry in looks and size; yet being inelegant of taste, it is seldom eaten. The rind of the fruit is here and there studded with tufts of small sharp prickles. 32. [Ver. 613. candle weed] [Cassia alata] This shrub, which produces a yellow flower, somewhat resembling narcissus, makes a beautiful hedge, and blooms about November. It grows wild everywhere. It is said to be diuretic, but this I do not know from experience.

James Grainger 

But, sunk in slumbers of immortal bliss, To bards had list’ned on a fancied Thames! All hail, old father Thames! Tho’ not from far Thy springing waters roll; nor countless streams, Of name conspicuous, swell thy watery store; Tho’ thou, no Plata,33 to the sea devolve Vast humid offerings; thou art king of streams: Delighted Commerce† broods upon thy wave; And every quarter of this sea-girt globe To thee due tribute pays; but chief the world By great Columbus found, where now the Muse Beholds, transported, slow vast fleecy clouds, Alps pil’d on Alps romantically high, Which charm the sight with many a pleasing form. The moon, in virgin glory, gilds the pole, And tips yon tamarinds, tips yon cane-crown’d vale With fluent silver; while unnumbered stars Gild the vast concave with their lively beams. The main, a moving burnish’d mirror, shines; No noise is heard, save when the distant surge With drowsy murmurings breaks upon the shore! Ah me, what thunders roll! The sky’s on fire! Now sudden darkness muffles up the pole! Heavens! What wild scenes, before the affrighted sense, Imperfect swim! See! in that flaming scroll Which Time† unfolds, the future germs bud forth, Of mighty empires! independent realms! And must Britannia,† Neptune’s† favourite queen, Protect’ress of true science, freedom, arts; Must she, ah! must she, to her offspring crouch?† Ah, must my Thames, old Ocean’s† favourite son, Resign his trident to barbaric streams; 33. [Ver. 638. Plata] [River Plate] one of the largest rivers of South-America.

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His banks neglected, and his waves unsought, No bards to sing them, and no fleets to grace? Again the fleecy clouds amuse the eye, And sparkling stars the vast horizon gild: She shall not crouch; if Wisdom† guide the helm, Wisdom that bade loud Fame,† with justest praise, Record her triumphs! bade the lacquaying winds Transport to every quarter of the globe, Her winged navies! bade her scepter’d sons Of earth acknowledge her pre-eminence! She shall not crouch; if these Cane ocean-isles, Isles which on Britain for their all depend, And must for ever; still indulgent share Her fostering smile: and other isles be given, From vanquish’d foes. And, see, another race! A golden æra dazzles my fond sight! That other race, that long’d for æra, hail! The British George† now reigns, the patriot King! Britain shall ever triumph o’er the Main.

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The Natural History of the Island of Barbados 

The Reverend Griffith Hughes, MA, FRS (1750)

Book II

Of Diseases peculiar to this and the neighbouring Islands

I

t is the opinion of many great men, that the Almighty never shews His Power by inflicting Diseases, or even great Inconveniences, peculiar to any certain Part of the World, but at the same time He displays forth His Goodness, in providing some extraordinary Remedies. If Egypt is often denied refreshing Rains,1 its Dews descend not only, like those of Hermon† upon the thirsty Plains, but the wide-extended Nile also is commanded more plenteously to supply that Blessing from his copious Urn.† When he hath thus fertilized the Earth, his Waters recede within their former Bounds, and return not again till the stated Periods, to cover the Land; so that if this Part of the World is sometimes visited with Fevers far more acute than any known in the Northern Parts (Plague† excepted) I make no doubt but indulgent Providence hath provided Plants and Minerals, in the same Climate, which upon thorough Search into their Qualities, are capable of affording not only great Relief, but also most effectual and specific Remedies. That they are not already found, is rather an Argument, that we have not been sufficiently inquisitive, than that there are no such Plants endued with these Virtues.† 1. This must be understood chiefly of Upper Egypt. 85

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Heat of the Climate Sublimates the Juices of Plants The several Discoveries that have enriched Materia Medica† plainly shew, that the Virtues of Plants and Minerals are inexhaustible. And we may likewise observe, that the Heat of the Sun in these hot Climates is so intense (especially upon those Plants which grow sheltered from the Wind) that it sublimates† their Juices, Salts, and Spirits,† to a far greater Degree of Perfection, than a chemical Fire, by its inconstant Heat, can possibly effect. Hence it is, that the most valuable Gums† and Balsams† are brought from hot Climates. Witness that of Gilead† and Peru.† It is observed by the ablest Practitioners in Physic† of this Island, that Peripneumonies† and Pleurisies† are almost constant Attendants of Change of Wind, if of any Continuance, from the true Trade-Wind, especially to a sultry South-west Wind. The Difference of Purity between this and our Trade-Wind, is easily discovered; for the South-west Wind blows from a very hot moist Part of the Continent of America, which is not above 254 Miles distant from this Island: And as this is by far hotter than our usual Air, it adds too great a Relaxation to the Animal System.

Trade-Winds constitutional to the Inhabitants [The South-west Wind], with different Degrees of Circulation in all the Juices (which such a difference in the Air must cause) gives Birth to various Diseases: Whereas the Trade-Wind, by its Frequency, or rather its Constancy, is not only constitutional to the Inhabitants, but it is in itself purer than the other, because it blows upon the Island at East-north-east; and as the nearest Part of the Continent,† upon that Point, is 3127 Miles from us, the Air must be far colder by passing over so much more Water than the South-west Wind, and consequently more wholesome. The learned Dr Mead,† in his Treatise de Peste,† observes, that it was the opinion of Hippocrates,† that the Constitution of the Air that preceded pestilential Fevers, was mixed with great Heat, much Rains, and Southerly Winds. And Galen† takes notice, “that no other than moist Air brings Plague”. Lucretius† is of the same Opinion, in his admirable Description of the Plague of Athens. “These Diseases,” says he, “either come from the Air, or rise from the Earth.”

The Reverend Griffith Hughes 

– Ubi putrorem humida nacta est, Intempestivis pluviisq; et solibus icta. LUCRET. Lib. VI. Ver. 1098.

In or about the year 1741 a great Number of Dogs ran mad;† and I observed, that the Temperament of the Air, for many Months before, was very hot. In this Season, a great Number of Cattle, being bit by these Dogs, ran mad likewise. I cannot here omit inserting a very lucky unexpected Cure of a mad Cow, belonging to Hurdis Jordan, Esq.; in St Lucy’s Parish. When found to be mad, she was confined; but as the usual Symptoms, attending that terrible Distemper, appeared more and more, and she growing to extreme Madness, the Owner determined to destroy her; but as she was a favourite Beast, her Doom was respited till he had tried the following Experiment: Having thrown her down upon a Dunghill, he directed his Slaves to keep, by Force, her Mouth open, whilst he poured by Degrees down her Throat a large Pailful of cold Water. In a short time after, she began to feed, and in about Twenty-four Hours drank Water as usual, fully recovered, and remained so. As this is a Matter of Fact, sufficiently attested by that Gentleman, and his Family, I make no Apology for inserting it: Indeed I should have been inexcusable, if I had omitted so extraordinary and surprising a Circumstance; for who knows but indulgent Providence may at last point out some Remedy against so dreadful a Calamity, and that the same Method may be of Service towards Cure of the human Species? It appears to me, at least, probable; for Nature, in Instances not entirely dissimilar, points out something like this: Thus, when the Stomach is overloaded, it generally makes many Efforts to relieve itself by Vomit, which, when assisted by Art,† proves often an effectual Remedy: And as we find, the miserable Patient, when affected with this Disorder,† hath an ardent Desire of Water, though the Nature of the Distemper is such, that it will not permit him to drink;† therefore, if, in this Case, a considerable Quantity of Water were forcibly poured down his Throat, perhaps it would be of great Service; for as the Poison† is of a very hot Nature, which appears by the violent Thirst it causes, it is more than probable, such a Quantity of cold Water, mixing with the Virus,† would, at least, abate its Force, till Sudorifics,† or other Medicines, had time to expel and throw off the Poison by Perspiration, or otherwise: That some Poisons, of an hot Nature, act less vigorously in Cold,

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than when assisted with Heat, is evident, from the more dangerous Consequence of the Bite of Scorpions and Vipers in Italy, and elsewhere, in an hot Summer Season, than in moderate Cold Weather. As English Physicians are no less remarkable for their Humanity, than Skill and Judgement, it is to be wished, that these ingenious Gentlemen would (in Pity even to the dumb Creation, as well as to their Fellow-Creatures) try this Experiment first on Beasts; which if successful, it might likewise be of Service to the human Species, under such deplorable Circumstances. From this seeming Digression, let us return to observe, that Dry BellyAch† (so called from its affecting that Part of the Body with great Costiveness and Pain†) was formerly much more frequent and fatal, than it hath been of late. Distillers of Rum, Boilers of Sugar, and Overseers, were chiefly subject to it; the first (who are generally of the poorer Sort) from immoderately drinking new hot Rum; the second and third, from taking Cold, after sweating in hot Boiling-houses, and drinking very strong Punch,† or almost as strong Cowow,2 or Mobby.3 This Distemper is likewise said to arise from Grief and Trouble of the Mind; and sometimes it hath been thought to be epidemical.

Belly-Ach, its Symptoms After it hath for some Days afflicted the Patient with intolerable Pain in the Belly, Costiveness, with voiding little Urine, and that like Mum,† the Breath stinking very offensively, the Pain is frequently translated† to the Limbs, attended sometimes with intolerable Pricking and Burning in the Feet; at other times, great Pain in the Stomach arises; and the Patient hath Epileptic Fits, which often relieve the Pain; but weaken and impair Use of Limbs. When the Disease becomes inveterate,† Patients grow hoarse, and lose their Voices, coveting Anodynes,† and strong Drink, to that Degree that common Rum is much too weak; and they drink even Hungary Water,† or put red Pepper into Rum, to augment its Heat. When they lose Use of their Limbs, they commonly have profuse Sweats.

2. A Drink made with the Scummings of boiled Cane Juice, mixed with Water, and fermented; and then drank. 3. Mobby is a Drink made with pounded [sweet] Potatoes, and water, fermented with Sugar or Molasses.

The Reverend Griffith Hughes 

The former Method of Cure The Method of Cure formerly was to purge the Patients with Cathartics† and Clysters:† From this Practice the unhappy Creatures were subject to lose Use of their Limbs. However, this prevailed until about the Year 1700 or somewhat before, when Physicians began to make use of Anodynes with better Success; which hath been their Way of proceeding ever since.

The present Method of Cure The present Method of Cure is universally followed, being both safe and easy, and Patients run no Danger of either Life or Limb: For, as soon as Dr Warren† found, that it was a convulsive† Constriction, chiefly in the Ilion,† he judged that Purges and sharp Clysters must be attended with bad Success, and Emetics,† useless, if not hurtful; whence he concluded that Anodynes mixed with Anti-hysterics† would be the likeliest Means of Relief:

Dr Warren’s Method of Cure He therefore purified that Method, as necessary to be followed, for a few Days, till Pain in the Belly entirely ceased for the Space of Twenty-four Hours: Then he concluded, the spasmodic Constrictions were over; at which time he ordered some emollient Clyster, and gave a gentle Purge of bitter Pills,† which generally perfected Cure, only taking some Anodyne for a few Nights successively afterwards. Bitter Pills are thought properest, because Bile in this Distemper shews itself to be deficient in its Secretion, or Quality. There are other Kinds of Colic,† which often afflict the Inhabitants; likewise Yellow-Jaundice,† and Hysteric Disorders: But as these are not peculiar to this Climate alone, it cannot be expected, that I should enter so far into the Province of the Physician, as to treat medicinally of them. As Diarrhoea, however, and Dysentery,† make no small Havoc among the poorer Inhabitants of the Island; and as the Cause and Method of Cure, in some measure, differ from the same Distemper in Northern Climates, being partly constitutional; they deserve to be mentioned: Nor can this be better done, than in the words of Dr Towne.†

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Flux very common in rainy Seasons “Flux† is very common in the West-Indies, but more especially in rainy Seasons; and it may be imputed chiefly to Negligence of those who either too unwarily or unavoidably expose themselves to Injuries of wet Weather; by which means Perspiration being interrupted, the thin Part of the Blood, which should have been exhaled through the Pores of the Skin, is thrown upon the Bowels, and thence discharged in loose Stools. This plainly appears from the great Number of Negroes, and the poorer Sort of White People,† who in these Seasons are more afflicted with this Distemper, than such whose Conduct of Life does not subject them to the like Inconveniences.” Besides catching Cold, there are other antecedent Causes of Diarrhoea; the principal of which are: Immoderate Use of fugacious† Fruits, unwholesome Food, and Meats of difficult Digestion; all which, by stimulating the Gut, will likewise occasion Diarrhoea. When these last-mentioned Causes occur, with a damp rainy Season, the Bowels will not only be loaded with thin Juices, which ought to pass off by Perspiration, but they will also, by reason of the Stimulus lodged in them, be continually solicited to expel their Contents more frequently, and of a thinner Consistence, than usual. Diminishing Perspiration will likewise contribute towards enlarging the Orifices of the Hepatic and Pancreatic Ducts; and, on this Account, Secretions of their respective Juices will be more plentifully made into the Intestines: Hence we have an additional Cause of Looseness. These Circumstances, I think, are sufficient to account for every Species of Diarrhoea; and, when we are once fully ascertained of the Cause, we need not be much at a Loss what Method of Cure ought to be pursued in each Species. Flux has been here very often neglected in the Beginning, from an Opinion, that it is salubrious, and of Service to the Constitution, by affording an Outlet to some offending Matter, which, if retained, would have proved prejudicial. This Remark may in some Cases be very true; but it is not to be confided in without great Caution in the West-Indies, where simple Flux frequently rises up into obstinate Diarrhoea in Three or Four Days; and, when Diarrhoea is suffered to continue any time, it too commonly terminates in Luecophlegmatia,† or Dropsy;† to which Diseases People in these Parts of the World are exceedingly disposed. But as Diarrhoea is sometimes truly critical, and contributes a great deal

The Reverend Griffith Hughes 

towards the Cure of other Distempers, such Diarrhoea ought by no means to be stopped, so long as the Strength of the Patient can support him under it. The Matter of Diarrhoea in these Parts is frequently so sharp and corrosive, as not only to carry off the mucous Substance of the Intestines, but also in a few Days to abrade and tear away the villous Coat, and excoriate the Mouths of Blood-vessels. The stimulating Matter still remaining, Flux is continued; and, the Orifices of Blood-vessels being opened at the same time, the Flux must unavoidably become Bloody. Likewise sultry Weather, and hot spirituous Liquors, as well as acrid pungent Foods, are capable of producing Diarrhoea; and as they greatly rarefy Blood, this Rarefaction, superadded to the Looseness, gives us a satisfactory Idea of their being the Cause of Dysentery. This [opinion] is confirmed, by observing how much this Disease rages among White Servants, as well as Negroes, in our Plantations; which sort of People are much addicted to debauch in Spirits, and Punch made exceedingly strong with new Rum, and very acid with the Juice of Limes, fermented with coarse Sugar. The almost unanimous Consent of Physicians, as well as Proofs drawn from Practice, have so fully demonstrated the Benefit received from Bloodletting,† that it is sufficient only to mention it, to remind Practitioners of the Necessity there is not to omit it at the Beginning of Dysentery. Indian Root, or Ipecacuanha,† hath justly established its Reputation in Cure of this Distemper, both in those Parts of the world whence it was originally brought, where Flux is endemic, and in all other Places where it hath been used on those Occasions. If Ipecacuanha does not only exert its emetic Faculty, but likewise passeth through the Bowels in such manner as to promote a Stool or two, which often happens, it will be sufficient that Night to give the Patient a Bolus† made with Rhubarb† and Diascordium,† but if the Physician observes no such Effect from the Vomit, then he generally gives half a Dram† of Rhubarb in any convenient Vehicle,† in order to carry off any Remains of the stimulating Matter which may adhere to the Gut; for many are the Occasions which confirm the ill Consequences of giving astringent† Medication in the Infancy of this Disease, when the Flux of Blood hath not been immoderate. After the Bowels have been prepared in this manner, Physicians have recourse to Balsamics,† Agglutinants,† Astringents, and Opiates,† which must be contrived in proportion to the Necessity of the Patient, the Violence of the Flux, and the Length of its Duration. If the Sick be much debilitated by Continuance of the Distemper, and

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great Effusion of Blood, a Cordial Draught† is generally allowed him to support and invigorate the languid Spirits, such as Claret, or Madeira Wine, burnt with Spices, or strong Cinnamon-Water, diluted with white Decoction.† Food in this case must be cooling,† mucilaginous, and astringent. Panada,† made with Casada† Bread, is with very good Reason commended by Piso† who adviseth it not only as a cooling Diet, but as a useful Ingredient in Composition of Clysters. The same Author recommends Jelly of white and red Guavas,† Granadilla,† and Hog-plumb† as proper Nourishment. These are mentioned, because they are always at hand in Barbados. Unripe Plantains† and Bananaes,† roasted, are also proper for these Patients; but, above all, a Milk Diet.

Yellow Fever This Island is likewise subject to a very malignant† Fever (though I believe in common with other Countries between the Tropics) called Yellow Fever.† Dr Warren, in his ingenious Treatise upon this Distemper,† concludes it to be a Species of Plague, and that the Infection was unhappily brought to Martinico† in Bales of Goods from Marseilles in the Year 1721, though others, who have resided much longer in the Island, are of a Different Opinion, especially Dr Gamble, who remembers it was here very fatal in the Year 1691, and that it was called “New Distemper”, and afterwards “Kendal’s Fever”, “Pestilential Fever”, and “Bilious Fever”. The same Symptoms did not always appear in all Patients, nor alike in every Year when it visited us. It is most commonly rife and fatal in May, June, July and August; and then mostly among Strangers,† though a great many of the Inhabitants, in the Year 1690 died of it, and a great many at different Periods since.

Yellowness appearing in the Eyes, a bad Symptom The Patient is commonly seized with a shivering Fit, as in Ague,† which lasts an Hour or two, more or less; and the Danger is guessed at, according to the Severity and Continuance of the Ague. After the shivering Fit, violent Fever comes on, with excessive Pain in the Head, Back, and Limbs, Loss of Strength and Spirits, with great Dejection of Mind, insatiable Thirst and Restlessness,

The Reverend Griffith Hughes 

and sometimes Vomiting, attended with Pain in the Head, the Eyes being red, and that Redness in a few Days turning to Yellowness. If the Patient turns yellow soon, he hath scarce a Chance for Life; and the sooner he does so, the worse. After some Days are past, this Pain abates, as well as the Fever; and the Patient falls into a breathing Sweat, and temperate Heat, so that he appears to be better, but on a narrow View,† Yellowness appears in his Eyes and Skin, and he is visibly worse. About this Time he sometimes spits Blood, and that by Mouthfuls; as this continues, he grows cold, and his Pulse abates, till at last it is quite gone; and the Patient becomes almost as cold as a Stone, and continues in that State with a composed sedate Mind. In this Condition he may perhaps live Twelve Hours without any sensible Pulse† or Heat, and then expire. Sometimes likewise the Patients burst out with bleeding at the Anus, and soon after die; and sometimes by the Nose, by which means they have been relieved; but when Blood issues from thence but in a few Drops, it is a bad Prognostic, and is generally the Harbinger of Death. Such were the Symptoms and Progress of this Fever in the Year 1715.

The Texture of Blood In most of these Cases, the Patients are generally hot and dry; Blood taken from them is very red, and scarce will coagulate; the Grume† swimming upon the Surface of the Serum in a thin Leaf, having scarce any Consistence. The Patients have likewise often intolerable Pain in and about the Stomach: Sometimes with that Pain they have Livor,† and marks of Sphacelus† shall possess the greatest Part of the Abdomen before they die, particularly the Region of the Stomach and Liver. It often also happens, that the sick Person shall lie almost stupid; and, being asked how he does, say, He is very well; and at other times he labours under the greatest Agony, and Fits of Groaning. A loose Tooth being drawn from a Person who had Yellow Fever very severely, there issued out from the Hole a great Quantity of black stinking Blood, which still kept oozing till the third Day, on which the Patient died in great Agony and Convulsions. After Death the Corpses of such appear livid in some Part or other; else marked with pestilential Spots,† Carbuncles,† or Buboes.†

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I am of Opinion, that the Blood is from the Beginning full of Putrid Alcaline Salts. If this be the Case, I leave it (with Submission) to the Learned in Physic to consider, whether diluting Acids would not be of great Service (especially at the Beginning of this Disorder) to raise a Conflict, by mingling with the Alcaline Salts; by which means Stagnation in the Fluids would be, in great measure, prevented, until Nature, with other seasonable Assistance, might have time to try her Efforts, and so recover at last. Without this, or some other Help like this, from Physicians, the Patient often dies in three Days time. Such are the Symptoms, Progress, and Conclusion of this malignant Distemper: And though Dr Warren, in his learned Treatise, is of Opinion, that it can be cured by Diaphoretics and Sudorifics; yet, as this Disease appears in so many various Shapes, these have very often failed.

This Island seldom free from Small-Pox The next Disease worthy our Notice is Small-pox; for we are seldom free from it† in some Part of the Island or other: However, since Inoculation† hath been introduced among us, our Loss by that Distemper hath hitherto been very small.

This Distemper often fatal to West-Indians, if taken ill in cold Climates It hath been observed, that this Distemper proves, in general, very fatal to such of the Inhabitants of the West-Indies as receive the infection in England, or in any other Northern Climate, especially if they are taken ill soon after Arrival. This, I believe, will not be difficult to account for, when we consider, that the Inhabitants of warm Climates do almost continually strongly perspire, by which means their Pores are more relaxed and dilated; and consequently, if this Infection (as surely it may) can be communicated by the Pores, the more open these are, the more capable they are of receiving a deeper Degree of Infection, than those Persons, who every Winter have their external Vessels compressed and contracted by cold Air. However, we are not from hence to conclude, that the Pores of such are never to be reconciled to cold Climates; for those of the Skin, as well as Juices of the Body, will in time become adapted to the different Climates we are in.

The Reverend Griffith Hughes 

Measles,† a periodic Distemper It is remarkable that Chicken-pox visits this Island at set periodical Times; for it hath been observed by Dr Gamble, a very old and ingenious Physician, as well as a Person of undoubted Veracity, that the following were its periodical Returns within his Observation; viz in the Years 1692–3, 1711, 1728, 1746–7, which is at the Distance of about Eighteen Years.

Leprosy Leprosy is another Distemper, which some unhappy Persons are afflicted with; nor is it less surprising to Strangers, than a Concern to the most thinking Part of the Inhabitants, that public Care hath not been taken to keep the Clean† from the Unclean.† Among Jews, the Law concerning Leprosy was so strictly observed, that they deposed Uzziah, tho’ a Prince, and thrust him out of the Temple, and confined him to a separate Apartment during Life.† We cannot trace this Distemper to its Origin, as far as it relates to the WestIndies; but its first Appearance here† was about Sixty Years ago. It hath spread very much within these Twenty Years, and more lately among White Inhabitants, as well as Black. Children have been often seized with it, without any known Cause, either in themselves, or their Parents: However, it is, in general, thought to be hereditary, at least, in the Male Line, which the following instance will, in some measure, evince:

Leprosy propagated chiefly in the Male Line A certain Negro Woman, in St James’s Parish, cohabiting with a leprous Negro Man, had Two children by him, both leprous, though she herself did not receive the Infection. After some Years she turned him off, and cohabited with another Black, who was free from the Disorder; by him likewise she had Children, but neither of them in the least infected with Leprosy. After a Quarrel with this last pretended Husband, she returned to her former leprous Husband, and had this Second time by him several Children; who, as they grew up, proved leprous also, tho’ she herself received not the Infection. From hence we may perhaps learn how emphatically, and with what great Propriety of Expression, the inspired Prophet† passed Sentence upon Gehazi,†

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saying, “The Leprosy of Naaman the Syrian shall cleave to thee, and thy Seed for ever.”†

Its Symptoms The first Symptom of this loathsome Disease, in this Part of the World, is permanent Swelling of the Tips of the Ears, and Falling off of the Hairs of the Eye-brows; then the Face appears unctuous,† shining, and full of protuberant superficial Spots of brown Copper Colour; the Lips and Nose generally much swelled, the Fingers and Toes distorted, and at last ulcerated; the Infection creeping from Joint to Joint, till it hath corroded all the Fingers and Toes. These Ulcers never kindly digest;† however, there issues from them a thin corroding Ichor.† Many are the miserable Objects, that are daily seen afflicted with, and labouring under, this great Misfortune.

Elephantiasis Elephantiasis† is likewise a Disease very common among Blacks, and hitherto incurable. The Seat of this Distemper is the Legs and Feet. It happens most commonly after long illnesses, especially severe acute Fevers, or long Intermittents,† or other tedious Distempers, or Surfeits,† occasioned by too violent Exercise.

Its Symptoms In the Beginning the Patient appears cachectical† and emaciated, and soon after the vitiated Humours† subside, generally in one Leg, sometimes in both Legs and Feet: These become tumefied,† and the Veins distended with varicose Swellings, which are very apparent, from the Knees to the Extremities of the Toes; “then the Skin begins to grow rugged and unequal; its vascular and glandulous Compages† is enlarged; and a scaly Substance, with a sort of Chaps† and Fissures in the Interstices, appears upon its Surface. These seeming Scales do not dry up and fall off; but are daily protruded forward, and stretched in their Dimensions, till the Leg is enlarged to an enormous Bulk; so that in Size, Shape and all other external Appearance, it minutely represents the Leg of an Elephant, whence the Disease receives its Denomination.”

The Reverend Griffith Hughes 

But, notwithstanding that this scaly Coat appears to be hard, callous, and insensible; yet if it be touched ever so superficially with a Lancet,† Blood will freely ooze out; and, if the Epidermis, which affords this monstrous Appearance, be pared off to the thickness of the Scarf-skin† in those Parts, an Infinity of Orifices of Blood-vessels will present themselves to the Eye, when assisted with a Microscope. “Though the Limb continues to proceed to this inordinate Magnitude, yet the Appetite of the Negro remains good, his Digestion strong, and Secretions regular; nor is he sensible of any other Inconveniency, than the Burden of carrying such a Load of a Leg along with him.” In this Condition, several have been known to live Twenty Years, and have performed chearfully all the Duties of their Servitude, which were consistent with such disproportionate Limbs. Amputation of the diseased Leg hath been performed many times, but has always failed of Cure; for the Distemper constantly takes Possession of the remaining Leg.

Guiney Worms As for other cutaneous Disorders, we are not more afflicted with them than Europeans, unless such as are occasioned by Guiney Worms† and Ciegoes,† called here Chiggers. The former are seldom or never known among White Inhabitants; nor often among our native† Slaves; but chiefly among new Negroes brought hither from the Coasts of Guiney.† These Worms generally breed in Ponds of stagnant fresh Water; and it is supposed, they enter oftener by the Pores of the Skin, than by drinking the Water: For those who most frequently bathe in such Ponds, are oftenest troubled with them. They are exceeding long, in respect to their great Exility† and Thinness; and are easily observed, when some of that Water is mingled in a Glass with some other more transparent Water. The first Day or two they cannot be clearly seen, being as pellucid† as Water itself; but soon afterwards they grow so opaque as to be discernible, even by the naked Eye.

Their Shape Dr Gamble had one of these, which measured an Ell† long; it exactly resembled a waxed white Thread. They move very quickly under the Skin, along the Membrana adiposa;† and what in one Day is seen in the Breast, or

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Belly, shall often, in a Day or two, be found in a distant part of the Body, perhaps under the Ham.†

The Method of destroying them However, these are easily cured, by a Method sometime since found out: Take one Ounce of Garlick, and one Ounce of the Flour of Brimstone;† mix these well together in a Quart of Rum; and for three or four Mornings successively give a Wine-Glassful of this infusion to the Person afflicted; and if he hath a Thousand about him, each will contract itself in a Coil, and die, and then fall off in the Form of a Boil from the surface of the Skin.

Ciegoes, how discovered As to Ciegoes, they appear to the naked Eye like a small Flea: These are continual Companions of Filth and Laziness, troublesome chiefly to Negroes, and particularly to such new Negroes as are brought hither from Guiney, whose Despondency, and careless Regard for Life, from the Uncertainty, or rather the Certainty of what they are to undergo, makes Life, at that Juncture, irksome to them; though a few Years Experience convinces them, that if there can be a Degree of Happiness without Liberty, they enjoy a more certain Tenure, and better Condition of Life here, than in their native Africa. This little Animal, vexatiously teasing,† unless soon eradicated, generally fastens and settles on the Toes, or some Part of the Feet. It is first discovered by moderate Itching in the Part affected, afterwards with throbbing itching Pain; and if not soon picked out with a Pin or Needle, will, in time, burrow or nestle one Eighth of an Inch into the Flesh, and there lay innumerable Quantities of Nits or Eggs, which, when hatched, become equally voracious, and eat the Feet into so many little Cells, like Honeycombs. It is not likewise uncommon for these little Vermin to get into the Feet of People of the best Condition; but as they are soon taken out by their Slaves,† it seldom proves to be of bad Consequence: Tho’ Strangers, being not sensible what occasions the Itching, will sometimes let them remain, till they become very troublesome, and perhaps require the Hand of the Surgeon.4 4. Castille Soap and Lamp-Oil, boiled to a Consistency, and applied to the Feet, is one of the best Methods of destroying Ciegoes.

The Reverend Griffith Hughes 

Body-Yaws Likewise Body-Yaws,† and Running-Yaws,† so common here, are Disorders unknown in Northern Climates. Body-yaws appear in many protuberant fleshy Knobs, every way as large as a small Thimble, embossing the Face, Breasts, Arms, and other Parts of the Body. These, in time, by Use of Simples,† dry and fall off. Running, or Wet-Yaws, affect chiefly the Joints, especially the Knees or Elbows, whence continually distils a sanious Humour.† This Distemper is thought to be transmitted in an hereditary Way from Parents, who have had Venereal Disease,† to their unhappy Children.†

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Miscellaneous Medical Observations Benjamin Moseley, MD, 1789 (revised 1800)

Cow-pox

C

ow-pox has lately appeared in England. This is a new star in the Æsculapian† system. It was first observed in the Provinces.† It is so luminous there, that the greasy-heeled hind feet of Pegasus† are visible to the naked eye; the hidden parts of that constellation, which have puzzled astronomers, as to the sex of Pegasus; and which HIPPARCHUS,† TYCHO,† HEVELIUS,† FLAMSTEAD† and HERSCHEL,† could never discover. The reason now is evident. The medical Pythonissas† are divided in their opinion respecting this phenomenon. Great events are foreboded. Some pretend that a restive greasy-heeled horse will kick down all the old gally-pots† of GALEN.† Others, that the people of England are becoming like the inhabitants of a wilderness, beyond the land of Cathay,† seen in 1333, by the rare and inimitable Sir JOHN MANDEVILE,† who, he says, were “wild, with horns on their heads, very hideous and speak not; but rout† as swine”. To preserve, as far as in me lies, the genesis of this desirable, this excelling distemper, to posterity, I mention, that it is said to originate in what is called greasy-heel distemper, in horses.† These greasy-heels, are said to infect the hands of people who dress and clean them. The hands of people thus infected, are said to infect the teats of cows in milking them. The teats of these infected cows in return, are said to infect the hands of others who milk them; and so the distemper, is said to be propagated among country people. 101

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The virtues of this charming distemper, are said to be an amulet against small-pox; that it is mild and innocent; and communicated with safety by inoculation.† Wonderful things do certainly appear in all ages; the great ERASMUS† mentions a man, one Philario, an Italian, who in Holland was very much afflicted with worms. While the worms were in his body, he spoke the Dutch language fluently. When his physician cured him of the disorder, he could not speak a word of that language. The Dutch worms and the Dutch language left Philario together! In this Cowmania, it is not enough for reason to concede, that Cow-pox may lessen, for a time, the disposition in the habit† to receive the infection of Small-pox. All cutaneous determinations; catarrhal fevers; and every disease of the lymphatics; and medicine, tending, to what SYDENHAM† would call depurating† that system, do the same. Surgeons know, that the first inflammation of any membrane is the most violent: and that reiterated inflammation deadens sensibility. But no complaint to which people are repeatedly subject, [such] as Cowpox, can perform all circumstances in the habit, equivalent to Small-pox, which people never have but once. Besides, Small-pox does not destroy the disposition in the habit to receive Cow-pox. If that be the case, Small-pox and Cow-pox, then, are not analogous; but radically different. Small-pox is undoubtedly an evil; but we understand the extent of that ill; which we had better bear, “than fly to others that we know not of ”. Inoculation† disarmed Small-pox of its terrors; and reduced it to management.1 I have inoculated in the West Indies, and in Europe, several thousands. I never lost a patient. I speak subject to the animadversions† of contemporaries. I should not have mentioned this, but that it gives me an opportunity of saying [that] many others, whom I know, have done the same, with the same success. Accidents, in inoculated Small-pox are uncommon; and we all know from experience, that [that] disease, properly treated, leaves nothing after it injurious to the constitution. The subject, respecting distempers of the brute creation,† of which we know but little, has not been overlooked by the learned and curious; nor is history destitute of many instances of their fatal effects to the human race. 1. In 1721, and in the two following years, there were only 447 persons inoculated in Great Britain.

Benjamin Moseley 

Can any person say what may be the consequence of introducing Lues Bovilla,† a bestial humour,† into the human frame, after a long lapse of years? Who knows, besides, what ideas may rise, in the course of time, from a brutal fever,† having excited its incongruous impressions on the brain? Who knows, also, but that the human character may undergo strange mutations from quadrupedan† sympathy; and that some modern Pasiphaë† may rival the fables of old? I mention this serious trifling, not from disrespect to the ingenious, nor to discourage inquiry; the object well deserves it; but the doctrine of engrafting† distempers is not yet comprehended by the wisest men: and I wish to arrest the hurry of public credulity, until the subject has undergone deep, calm, and dispassionate scrutiny; and to guard parents against suffering their children becoming victims to experiment. What misery may be brought on a family after many years of imaginary security.

Yaws There are several distempers of bestial origin,† I have no doubt. Yaws is one of them;† and, not being understood in Europe, and a well-known affliction in the sugar-colonies, it is not foreign to my purpose to notice it here. Yaws naturally is an original African distemper. It may be communicated to white people, as it is to blacks, by inoculation, and by accidental contact, when ulcerous matter is carried into the habit by absorption,† as it is called. I have seen several shocking instances of this sort.† But it breaks out in negroes without any communication, society, or contact. The seeds of yaws descend from those who have had it,† to their latest posterity. No period from infancy to age exempts them from it. Its appearance is uncertain. CHEVALIER† and HILLARY† speak of yaws; but their accounts are erroneous. CHEVALIER perhaps never saw it.2 HILLARY often saw it;† but he misunderstands HALI ABBAS,† whom he has quoted; endeavouring to prove [that] it is common in Arabia as well as in Africa.3 TURNER† never saw it, and is absurd;4 and our great SYDENHAM, who was a total stranger to it, scarcely ever committed an error, but in this instance.5 2. Maladies de St Domingue, 1752. 3. [Epidemical] Diseases of Barbadoes, 1759. 4. Syphilis, p. 6, ed. 5. 5. Opera Universa, p. 327, ed. Lugd. Batav., 1741. N.B. written anno 1679.

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Yaws differs altogether from every other disorder, in origin, progress, and termination. Left to itself, it sometimes departs in nine, twelve, fifteen, or eighteen months, without leaving behind any inconveniency. Sometimes it remains much longer, and ends in shocking nodes, and distortions of the bones. Many are destroyed by it. No person is subject to it twice.† From want of care and proper management, the torments of yaws surpass all description, from bone ache, and dreadful agonizing curvatures,† and caries† of the legs, arms, collar-bones, wrists, and almost every other bone, and articulation in the body. There is also, sometimes, a relic after the original malady is gone, called the master yaw; this is an inveterate ulcer, proceeding from the largest yaw, or chief determination of the eruption.† Generally, this distemper terminates in what are called crab yaws.† These are painful sores, or cracks in the feet, sometimes spongy, sometimes hard and callous. There are two sorts of yaws, like the two species of Farcy† in horses; common yaws and running yaws.† Common yaws, without fever or indisposition, begins with small pimples, which soon increase, and appear in round, white, flabby, eruptions, from about the size of a pea to that of a large strawberry, separately, or in clusters, in different parts of the body. These eruptions do not appear all at once; and, when some are declining, and others disappearing, a fresh crop comes out in a different part of the body. Sometimes a few doses of sulphur will force them out, when they are thought to be entirely gone from the habit.† Running yaws breaks out in spreading cutaneous ulcers, discharging a great quantity of acrid corrosive matter, in different parts of the body. This is the worst sort. The cure of yaws is now understood by skilful practitioners.† Inoculation is performed with success. Care soon removes the principal mischief of the distemper; and crab yaws are easily cured in the manner which I have related in another publication.6 Formerly there was no regular method of treating yaws in the West Indies. It was thought to be a disease that would have its course, and, if interrupted, that it would be dangerous. It was then the custom, when a negro was attacked with it, to separate him from the rest, and send him to some lonely place by the sea side, to bathe; or into the mountains, to some Provision Ground, or Plantain Walk; where he could act as a watchman, and maintain himself, without any expence to the estate, until he was well: then he was 6. Treatise on Tropical Diseases, Ed. 3, p. 519.

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brought back to the Sugar-Work. But this rarely happened. A cold, damp, smoky hut, for his habitation; snakes and lizards his companions; crude, viscid food, and bad water, his only support; and shunned as a leper; he usually sunk from the land of the living. But some of these abandoned exiles lived, in spite of the common law of nature, and survived a general mutation of their muscles, ligaments and osteology; became also hideously white in their woolly hair and skin; with their noses, like the beaks of old eagles,† starving the creatures, by obstructing the passage to their mouths, and their limbs and bodies twisted and turned, by the force of the distemper, into shocking grotesque figures, resembling woody excrescences, or stumps of trees; or old Ægyptian figures, that seem as if they had been made of the ends of the human, and beginnings of the brutal form; which figures are, by some antiquaries, taken for gods, and by others, for devils. In their banishment, their huts often became receptacles of robbers and fugitive negroes; and, as they had no power to resist any who chose to take shelter in their hovels, had nothing to lose, and were forsaken by the world, a tyger would hardly molest them. Their desperate guests never did. The host of the hut, as he grew more misshapen, generally became more subtile;† this we observe in England, in crooked scrophulous† persons; as if Nature disliked people being both cunning, and strong. Many of their wayward visitors were deeply skilled in magic, and what we call black art, which they brought with them from Africa; and, in return for their accommodation, usually taught their landlord the mysteries of sigils,† spells, and sorcery; and illuminated him in the occult science of OBI.† These ugly, loathsome creatures thus became oracles† of woods, and unfrequented places; and were resorted to secretly, by the wretched in mind, and by the malicious, for wicked purposes. OBI, and gambling, are the only instances I have been able to discover, among natives of the negro-land of Africa, in which any effort at combining ideas has ever been demonstrated.

OBI The science of OBI is very extensive. This OBI, or, as it is pronounced in the English West Indies, Obeah, had its origin, like many customs among Africans, from the ancient Ægyptians. ÕB is a demon, a spirit of divination, and magic. When Saul wanted to raise Samuel from the dead, he said to his servants, “Seek me a woman (eminent for ÕB) that hath a familiar spirit.”†

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His servants replied to him, “Behold there is a woman mistress in the art of ÕB, in Hen-dor.”† When the witch of Hen-dor came to Saul, he said to her, “Divine, I pray thee, unto me, in thy witchcraft ÕB, and raise him from the dead whom I shall name unto thee.”† She accordingly raised Samuel, from whom Saul had but an unpleasant reception. Saul must indeed have been “sore distressed,”† to have recourse to, and place his faith in, an art he persecuted, and thought he had exterminated. For, during his reign, “He cut off magiciens, and foretellers of future events from the earth.”7† OBI, for the purposes of bewitching people, or consuming them by lingering illness, is made of grave dirt, hair, teeth of sharks and other animals, blood, feathers, egg-shells, images in wax, the hearts of birds, liver of mice,8† and some potent roots, weeds, and bushes, of which Europeans are at this time ignorant; but which were known, for the same purposes, to the ancients. Certain mixtures of these ingredients are burnt; or buried very deep in the ground; or hung up a chimney; or on the side of an house; or in a garden; or laid under the threshold of the door of the party to suffer; with incantation songs, or curses, or ceremonies necromantically† performed in planetary hours,† or at midnight, regarding the aspects of the moon. The person who wants to do the mischief is also sent to burying-grounds, or some secret place, where spirits are supposed to frequent, to invoke his, or her dead parents, or some dead friend, to assist in the curse.† A negro, who thinks himself bewitched by OBI, will apply to an Obi-man, or Obi-woman, for cure.† These magicians interrogate the patient, as to the part of the body most afflicted. This part they torture with pinching, drawing with gourds, or calabashes, beating and pressing. When the patient is nearly exhausted with this rough magnetising,† OBI brings out an old rusty nail, or a piece of bone, or an ass’s tooth, or the jaw-bone of a rat, or a fragment of a quart-bottle, from the part; and the patient is well next day.† The most wrinkled, most deformed Obian magicians are most venerated. This was the case among the Ægyptians and Chaldeans.† In general, Obi-men are more sagacious† than Obi-women, in taking away diseases; and in application of poisons. It is in their department to blind pigs, and poultry, and lame cattle. In this surprising knowledge, Africans are far superior to 7. 1 Samuel, c. xxviii, v. 9. 8. Isaiah, c. lxvi, v. 17. See also, PIERIUS [Pierius Giovanni Pietro delle Fosse Valerianus, 1477–1558] on the Ægyptian hieroglyphics [Hieroglypica, 1556].

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Indians; though Indians are also skilled in the venefical art;† and matchless in arming their deadly arrows.† A negro Obi-man will administer a baleful dose from poisonous herbs, and calculate its mortal effects to an hour, day, week, month, or year. These masters could instruct even Frier BACON;† and frighten Thomas AQUINAS.9 It is the province of Obi-women to dispose of passions. They sell foul winds for inconstant mariners;10 dreams and phantasies for jealousy; vexation, and pain in the heart, for perfidious love; and for the perturbed, impatient, and wretched, at tardy acts of time, to turn in prophetic fury to a future page in the book of Fate, and amaze the ravished sense of the tempest-tossed querent. The victims of this nefarious art, among negroes in the West Indies, are more numerous than is generally known. No humanity of the master, nor skill in medicine, can relieve a negro, labouring under the influence of OBI.† He will surely die; and of a disease that answers no description in nosology.† This, when I first went to the colonies, perplexed me. Laws have been made in the West Indies to punish Obian practice with death; but they have been impotent and nugatory.† Laws constructed in the West Indies, can never suppress the effects of ideas, the origin of which is in the centre of Africa. There was a time, not that very long ago, when poverty, ugliness, and wrinkles, with palsied head and trembling limbs, constituted suspicions of OBI in England; and for which many old women have been tried, condemned, and hanged, as perpetrators of every untoward accident in their neighbourhood. But the most bloody tragedy ever acted in the black theatre of superstition, was performed in New England, in North America, in 1692, by the hypochondriacal descendants of the moody melancholy English, who settled in that province. Sir William Phipps† was, at the breaking-out of this phrenzy, Governor of the province. This Governor was originally a ship-carpenter. He, in 9. The mechanical, and magical skill of ROGER BACON [“The Admirable Doctor”, British philosopher and scientist, 1214–94] has no parallel in history. He invented images that could speak. [St] THOMAS AQUINAS [“The Angelic Doctor”, Italian philosopher and Dominican friar, 1225–74] was so frightened at an automaton made by ALBERTUS MAGNUS, [St Albert of Cologne, 1206–80] that he broke it in pieces. 10. King Ericus [Eric the Red, c. AD 950] of Sweedland [Sweden] had a cap, which by turning, he could make the wind blow from any quarter he pleased. OLAUS MAGNUS [Swedish historian and geographer, 1490–1558] de Gent. Sept. lib. iii, c. 14.

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conjunction with a few wicked preachers, and magistrates, began such a diabolical scene of murder under sanction of legal forms, that went to exterminate every person who differed in opinion from, or was in any respect disagreeable to, this inhuman gang, for witchcraft; the popular mental malady in that country. But the Governor was impeached for maladministration, and suddenly removed from the province. This horrid transaction opened at Salem; where nineteen of the most pious, orderly inhabitants were hanged, and one pressed to death. An hundred more were in prison awaiting trial, and two hundred under accusation escaped, by the Governor’s removal. The first victim in this horrid affair, was Mr George Burroughs, minister at Falmouth, a neighbouring village; a man of exemplary manners, and unblemished character. After execution he was dragged on the ground, by the halter with which he had been hanged, and thrown into a pit in a lonely wood, inhabited only by wild beasts: and, as a further mark of the brutality of these administrators of public affairs, his face, and one of his hands, were ordered to be left uncovered in the earth: which was accordingly done by the executioner. Another irreproachable man, Mr John Bradstreet, to save his life, fled from this jurisdiction. Four wretches had been procured to swear, that Mr Bradstreet rode through the air on his dog, to witch meetings. The Governor and his party, losing the intended victim, revenged themselves on the dog; had him arrested, and put to death, as an accomplice with his master. This barbarous insanity was called the Witch Plague. It was set on foot by one Parris, minister of Salem. This fellow had a beautiful Indian maid, named Tumba, whom he had by some means or other procured from her native community, to attend upon his niece and daughter. These girls, among many others, being attacked with nervous affections and the endemial despondency of that part of America, were deemed bewitched. In some of their distempered reveries, they fancied they had seen Tumba’s ghost. Poor Tumba was seized; put into a dungeon in the common prison; confessed herself a witch to save her life: but her ruthless master, after beating her into the confession of what he wanted, and of which she was innocent, sold her to slavery to pay the gaoler’s fees. I saw the OBI of the famous negro robber, Three-fingered Jack, the terror of Jamaica in 1780. The Maroons† who slew him brought it to me.11 11. He was slain on Saturday 27th January 1781.

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His OBI consisted of the end of a goat’s horn, filled with a compound of grave dirt, ashes, blood of a black cat, and human fat; all mixed into a kind of paste. A cat’s foot, a dried toad, a pig’s tail, a slip of virginal parchment of kid’s skin, with characters marked in blood on it, were also in his Obian bag. These, with a keen sabre, and two guns, like Robinson Crusoe,† were all his OBI; with which, and his courage in descending into the plains and plundering to supply his wants, and his skill in retreating into difficult fastnesses,† among the mountains, commanding the only access to them, where none dared follow him, he terrified the inhabitants, and set the civil power, and the neighbouring militia of that island, at defiance, for nearly two years. He had neither accomplice, nor associate. There were a few runaway negroes in the woods near Mount Lebanus, the place of his retreat; but he had crossed their foreheads with some of the magic in his horn, and they could not betray him. But he trusted no one. He scorned assistance. He ascended above SPARTACUS.† He robbed alone; fought all his battles alone; and always killed his pursuers. By his magic, he was not only the dread of negroes, but there were many white people, who believed he was possessed of supernatural power. In hot climates females marry very young; and often with great disparity of age. Here JACK was the author of many troubles: for several matches proved unhappy. “Give a dog an ill name, and hang him.” Clamours rose on clamours against the cruel sorcerer; and every conjugal mishap was laid at the door of JACK’S malefic spell of tying the point, on the wedding day. God knows, poor JACK had sins enough of his own to carry, without loading him with the sins of others. He would sooner have made a Medean† cauldron for the whole island, than disturb one lady’s happiness. He had many opportunities; and, though he had a mortal hatred of white men, he was never known to hurt a child, or abuse a woman. But even JACK himself was born to die. Allured by rewards offered by Governor DALLING, in proclamations, dated 12th December 1780, and 13th January 1781;12 and, by a resolution of

12. BY THE KING. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas we have been informed by our House of Assembly of this our Island of Jamaica, that a very desperate gang of Negro Slaves, headed by a Negro Man Slave called and known by the name Three-fingered JACK, hath, for many months past, committed many robberies, and

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the House of Assembly,13 which followed the first proclamation; two negroes, named QUASHEE and SAM (SAM was Captain DAVY’S son, he who shot Mr THOMPSON, the master of a London ship, at Old Harbour) both of Scots Hall, Maroon Town, with a party of their townsmen, went in search of him. QUASHEE, before he set out on the expedition, got himself christianed,† and changed his name to JAMES REEDER. 12. (cont’d.) carried off many Negro and other Slaves on the Windward roads into the woods, and hath also committed several murders; and that repeated parties have been fitted out and sent against the said Three-fingered JACK, and his said gang, who have returned without being able to apprehend the said Negro, or to prevent his making head again [continuing his reign of terror]: And whereas, our said House of Assembly hath requested us to give directions for issuing a Proclamation, offering a reward for apprehending the said Negro called Three-fingered JACK, and also a further reward for apprehending each and every Negro Man Slave belonging to the said gang, and delivering him or them to any of the gaolers in this Island: And whereas, we have since received another message from our said House of Assembly, requesting us to offer an additional reward of Two Hundred Pounds, as further encouragement for the apprehending, or bringing in the head of that daring Rebel, called Three-fingered JACK, who hath hitherto eluded every attempt against him: We, having taken the same into our consideration, have thought it fit to issue this our Royal Proclamation, hereby strictly charging and commanding, and we do hereby strictly charge and command, all and every our loving subjects within our said Island, to pursue and apprehend, or cause to be pursued and apprehended, the body of the said Negro Man named Three-fingered JACK, and also of each and every Negro Man Slave belonging to the said gang, and deliver him or them to any of the gaolers of this Island. And we do, at the instance of our said House of Assembly, offer a reward of One Hundred Pounds, and at the like instance a further reward of Two Hundred Pounds, to be paid to the person or persons who shall so apprehend and take the body of the said Negro called Three-fingered JACK. And we do, at the instance of our said House of Assembly, offer a further reward of Five Pounds, over and above what is allowed by law, for apprehending each and every Negro Man Slave belonging to the said gang, and delivering him or them to any of the gaolers of this Island, to be dealt with according to law. Witness his Excellency, JOHN DALLING, Esquire, Captain-General and Governor-inChief of our said Island of Jamaica, and other the Territories thereon depending in America, Chancellor and Vice-Admiral of the same, at Saint Jago de la Vega, the thirteenth day of January, in the twenty-first year of our reign, annoque Domini one thousand, seven hundred and eighty-one. JOHN DALLING. By his Excellency’s command, R. LEWING, Sec. GOD SAVE THE KING. 13. HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, 29th December 1780. Resolved, that, over and above the reward of One Hundred Pounds offered by His Majesty’s proclamation for taking or killing the rebellious Negro called Three-fingered JACK, the further reward of FREEDOM shall be given to any slave that shall take or kill the said Three-fingered JACK, and that the House will make good the value of such slave to the proprietor thereof.

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The expedition commenced; and the whole party had been creeping about in the woods, for three weeks, and blockading, as it were, the deepest recesses of the most inaccessible part of the island, where JACK, far remote from all human society, resided, but in vain. REEDER and SAM, tired with this mode of war, resolved on proceeding in search of his retreat; and taking him by storming it, or perishing in the attempt. They took with them a little boy, a proper spirit, and good shot, and left the rest of the party. These three, whom I well knew, had not been long separated from their companions, before their cunning eyes discovered, by impressions among weeds and bushes, that some person must have lately been that way. They softly followed these impressions, making not the least noise. Presently they discovered smoke. They prepared for war. They came upon JACK before he perceived them. He was roasting plantains, by a little fire on the ground, at the mouth of a cave. This was a scene, not where ordinary actors had a common part to play. JACK’s looks were fierce and terrible. He told them he would kill them. REEDER, instead of shooting JACK, replied, that his OBI had no power to hurt him; for he was christianed; and his name was no longer QUASHEE. JACK knew REEDER; and, as if paralysed, let his guns remain on the ground, and took up only his cutlass. These two had a severe engagement several years before, in the woods; in which conflict JACK lost two fingers, which was the origin of his present name; but JACK then beat REEDER, and almost killed him, with several others who assisted him, and they fled from JACK. To do Three-fingered JACK justice, he would now have killed both REEDER and SAM; for, at first, they were frightened at the sight of him, and dreadful tone of his voice; and well they might: they had besides no retreat, and were to grapple with the bravest, strongest man in the world. But JACK was cowed; for, he had prophesied, that white OBI would get the better of him; and, from experience, knew the charm would lose none of its strength in the hands of REEDER. 13. (cont’d.) And if any one of his accomplices will kill the said Three-fingered JACK, and bring in his head, and hand wanting the fingers, such accomplice shall be entitled to his free PARDON, and FREEDOM as above, upon due proof being made of their being the head and hand of the said Three-fingered JACK. By the HOUSE, SAMUEL HOWELL, Cl. Affem.

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Without further parley, JACK, with cutlass in hand, threw himself down a precipice at the back of the cave. REEDER’s gun missed fire. SAM shot him in the shoulder. REEDER, like an English bull-dog, never looked, but, with cutlass in hand, plunged headlong down after JACK. The descent was about thirty yards, almost perpendicular. Both preserved their cutlasses in the fall. Here was the stage, on which two of the stoutest hearts, that were ever hooped with ribs, began their bloody struggle. The little boy, who was ordered to keep back, out of harm’s way, now reached the top of the precipice, and, during the fight, shot JACK in the belly. SAM was crafty, and coolly took a roundabout way to get to the field of action. When he arrived at the spot where it began, JACK and REEDER had closed, and tumbled together down another precipice, on the side of the mountain, in which fall they both lost their weapons. SAM descended after them, and also lost his cutlass, among the trees and bushes, in getting down. When he came to them, though without weapons, they were not idle; and, luckily for REEDER, JACK’s wounds were deep and desperate, and he was in great agony. SAM came up just time enough to save REEDER; for JACK had caught him by the throat, with his giant’s grasp. REEDER then was with his right hand almost cut off, and JACK streaming blood from his shoulder and belly; both covered with gore and gashes. In this state SAM was umpire; and decided the fate of the battle. He knocked JACK down with a piece of rock. When the lion fell, the two tigers got upon him, and beat his brains out with stones. The little boy soon after found his way to them. He had a cutlass, with which they cut off JACK’s head and THREE-FINGERED HAND, and took them in triumph to Morant Bay. There they put their trophies into a pail of rum; and, followed by a vast concourse of negroes, now no longer afraid of JACK’s OBI,† blowing their shells and horns, and firing guns in their rude method, they carried them to Kingston, and Spanish Town; and claimed the rewards offered by the King’s Proclamation, and the House of Assembly.

Plague This word in English, and its equivalent in every other language, takes precedency in the Anaretic† vocabulary of medicine. Pestis, pestilentia: plague, pestilence. Plaga, ictus: stroke, blow.

Benjamin Moseley 

“I will smite them with pestilence”† is now as little known as it was when Jehovah first delivered that terrible sentence against the discontented followers of Moses and Aaron. Modern nosologists have gone no further, in general, than to observe that plague is a fever, the leading features of which are, exanthema,† purple spots, buboes† and anthrax.† This definition, I conceive, belongs only to a species, or rather, a particular condition of this disease. History says plague is generally the last act, in those deep tragedies, bloody wars and famine; great distressing mutations in the seasons of the year; and violent convulsions among mankind. If that be true, this long absent visitor may soon return to many parts of Europe; and prove again an unwelcome guest. Besides, the intercourse which the present times promise to establish with Eastern countries, where plague is a native inhabitant, is a new consideration for Europe. The philosopher, merchant, soldier, and sailor, are likely to become familiar with those long-interdicted regions. On this account, as well as to guard our great commercial city against surprize, and imposture (and not as mere speculation on a disease that gives us no concern at present) I have brought the subject before the public. In North America, lately, her wounds, from a long and sanguinary conflict,† scarcely healed, plague has burst on the inhabitants. It first appeared at Philadelphia in August 1793.† I have lately read, that “Yellow Fever visited Philadelphia in 1760; and that it was traced to have arisen from the clothes of a young man who died in Jamaica, which were sent to his friends in Philadelphia. His friends were the first who died of it; and though it extended to others, its ravages were not very extensive.” I beg leave to remark on this assertion, that Yellow Fever was not in Jamaica in 1760. Yellow Fever has revisited Philadelphia, and appeared in several other towns in America repeatedly, since the year 1793. Dr Benjamin RUSH,† of Philadelphia, a physician of the most distinguished learning and talents, has given an interesting account of this calamity.14 He has denominated this pestilence Bilious Remitting Yellow Fever of America; from its being accompanied by the direful complexion,† and other pathognomonics,† which I have given of the Endemial Causus, or, as it is commonly called, Yellow Fever of the West Indies; and from its yielding, as he has shewn, to the same means I used in that fever, and have published in my Treatise on Tropical Diseases. 14. On Bilious and Remitting Yellow Fever of Philadelphia in 1793.

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From the mortality that has happened, at different periods, from this Yellow Fever, since its first appearance in America, I am sorry to conclude that no successful method of treating it has been adopted by practitioners, and universally agreed upon. It seems that America is now suffering the same fate which England formerly experienced; and that this American plague, like plagues in England, will exhaust the inscrutable cause which feeds its rage, and then vanish. England was relieved from plague, without any general rational method of cure being adopted, or without physicians knowing any more how it came, or went away, than we do when it will return. It was natural for HIPPOCRATES, who lived in a country, where particular winds regularly produced certain diseases, to attribute all epidemics to some condition of the air, that was cognizable to our senses. But SYDENHAM, who, we all know, was a sagacious observer of nature, and thought with HIPPOCRATES as to the atmospheric origin of epidemics, yet he contended there was some secret and unknown quality in the air, not reducible to demonstration, by divisions and subdivisions of theory, in which the Pandoran† mischief of epidemics lies concealed. There are annual or seasonal disorders, more or less severe, in all countries; but plague, [like] other great depopulating epidemics, does not always obey the seasons of the year. Like comets, their course is excentric. They have revolutions; but from whence they come, or whither they go after they have made their revolutions, no mortal can tell. All epidemics properly belong to either spring or autumn. When they break out in winter, or very early in the spring, they generally prove most malignant and destructive. The same may be said of autumnal epidemics, in regard to their premature appearance, in summer. Vernal pestilential diseases, and plagues, terminate, or become mild, or quiescent, in hot weather; Autumnal diseases, in cold weather. Measles and small-pox, when epidemic, do the same. The plagues of 1119, 1656, and several others of England; of 1348, in London,15 and Venice; of 1709 and 1713, in Danzig, Hamburg, and Stockholm; all broke out during the frost of winter; and most of them declined with summer heat. Such was the case with plague at Toulon, in 1720 and 1721; and so it is with plague at Constantinople, and Cairo, where it 15. It broke out in London on 1st November this year. It is said that 50,000 people perished in the space of a year, and were buried in one church-yard, called the Cistercians, near the Charter House.

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generally makes its appearance in February, and disappears about the end of June. No person knew the cause of Sweating Sickness† in England in 1485;16 nor of its periodical returns in the years 1506, 1517, 1528, and 1551; nor why it has never since returned. Not less extraordinary was that mortal rot† which broke out among sheep in 1274, and raged during twenty-five years, and destroyed almost all the sheep in England. This distemper, according to historians, who must assign a cause for every thing, originated in one very large sheep brought from Spain, by a French merchant, into Northumberland.17 As little satisfaction can be obtained concerning the origin of a singular distemper that broke out among sheep in Germany in 1552; caused them to swell enormously, and destroyed them instantly. The country-people, who slaughtered some of these infected sheep, were seized with anthraces† wherever blood of the sheep touched them; these tumours sometimes spread and increased, and, from their inveteracy, killed many people.18 What can be said respecting the cause of pestilential havoc among oxen in France in 1514?19 Or the canine madness,† which raged, to that degree, in Jamaica in 1783, that many dogs on-board vessels in the harbours, from Europe and North America, which were never on shore, were attacked by it, and died in the most horrible state of hydrophobia?20 What can be said likewise of the origin of that murrain,† which destroyed in and about London, upwards of 100,000 cats in 1797? Who can say how it happens, that one species of animal, and not another, suffers so severely on these occasions? In diseases, even of confined local production, we are often deceived by the semblance of truth. Has any person hitherto a rational cause to assign for Agues† in the hundreds in Essex; or Bronchocele† in Alpine countries? What did PLINY† know of Gemursa;† or what do we know of Mentagra?21† 16. It first appeared in England this year, on 21st September, and ceased towards the end of October. 17. BAKER, [Sir Richard Baker, 1568–1654, English historian; published Chronicles of the Kings of England, 1643] Chron., p. 101. 18. WIERUS, [Johan Wier, 1516–88, Belgian physician and opponent of witchcraft superstition; published De Præstigiis Dæmonum et Incantationibus ac Veneficiis, 1563] de Præstig. Dæmon, lib. 4, c. 30. 19. FERNELIUS, [Jean François Fernel, 1497–1558, French physician and astronomer; published Universa Medicina, 1567, (edited, after his death, by a disciple)] de Morb. Universal, lib. 3, c. 12. 20. Treatise on Tropical Diseases, Ed. 3, p. 44. 21. PLINY, lib. XXXVI, c. 1.

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To look for the cause of an epidemic in the present state of the air, or weather, when it makes its appearance, is a very narrow, contracted, method of scrutiny. The cause of pestilence in summer may be in the changes which the earth, and consequently its surrounding atmosphere, underwent in the preceding winter; and from combinations, perhaps, far beyond our scope of thought, for years preparatory to its eruption. In a new country like North America, where immense districts of the surface of the earth, which from the time of creation never saw the sun, have been exposed, for agriculture, the air of the country must have been impregnated from exhalations injurious, probably, to its salubrity. The Americans are not to look for the cause of their Yellow Fever on dunghills, in rotten vegetable substances, and about the wharfs of Philadelphia. Nature does not deal in such commodities. She does nothing on so small a scale. This pestilence has a far more expanded origin. And I verily believe, that their melancholy officers of health, avoiding what they call infected persons, and putting marks on the doors and windows of an house where any person is ill, and similar acts of charitable good intention, only tend to frighten the people, and dishearten them, at a time they stand most in need of fortitude.22 Exposing the well-known umbrous† Pontini marshes,† by cutting down the woods, which kept their foul vapours from being rarefied by the sun, and borne away by the winds, produced great pestilence in Italy. The idea also of American plague being imported from Bulam,† or the West Indian islands, or any other place, is repugnant to reason. I was told a similar tale, when I first went to the West Indies: that Yellow Fever there, was imported in the beginning of the century from Siam.† That it was a contagious, and an original putrid disease; and that bleeding† was death. In my practice I proved the reverse of all this. The cause of pestilential epidemics cannot be confined, and local. It must lie in the atmosphere, which surrounds, and is in contact with every part of us; and in which we are immersed, as bodies in fluid. These diseases not appearing in villages, and thinly inhabited places, and generally attacking only great towns and cities, it may be, that the atmosphere, which I conceive to be the universal propagator of pestilence, wants† a commixture, or union, with some compounded, and peculiar air, such as is generated in populous 22. In London in 1665, during the plague, a large red cross was put on houses of the sick: with, “Lord have mercy on us”, “Pray for us.” This drove away all assistance. It could not be otherwise. It was consigning them to the grave.

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communities, to release its imprisoned virulence, and give it force.23 Like the divided seminal principles† of many plants, concealed in winds, and rains, until they find suitable materials and soil, to unite their separated atoms; they then assume visible forms, in their own proper vegetation. Diseases originating in the atmosphere, seize some, and pass by others; and act exclusively on bodies, graduated to receive their impressions: otherwise whole nations would be destroyed. In some constitutions of the body access is easy, in some difficult, and in others impossible. The air of confined places may be so vitiated† as to be unfit for the purposes of healthy existence of any person. Hence in jail, hospital, and ship-fevers. But as these distempers are the offspring of a local cause, that local cause, and not the distempered people, communicate the disease.24 I know it is thought otherwise by FRACASTORIUS,† the inventor of contagion, and his followers. Plagues, and pestilences, produce of the great atmosphere, are conveyed in the same manner, by the body being in contact with the cause; and not by its being in contact with the effect. If pestilences were propagated by contagion, from infected persons, the infection must issue from their breath, or excrements; or from the exhalations of the bodies of the deceased. In support of the last circumstance, the Black Assizes at Oxford in 1577 has often been instanced by authors; and that the judges, jury, and attendants, were destroyed by infection brought into court by the prisoners. How could this be, when the prisoners were not ill themselves? Insulating the sick, and debarring all intercourse with them, according to the doctrine of contagion, should [bind] and stop the spreading of diseases. This was tried at Marseilles in 1721, without effect. The Capuchins, Jesuits, Recollets, Observantines, Barefooted Carmelites, Reformed Augustines, all Grand Carmelites, Grand Trinitarians, Monks of Loreto, of Mercy, Dominicans, and Grand Augustines, who kept themselves secluded in their several convents, and took every precaution against all communication from without, perished equally with others, by plague.25 The infection, if it were not in the atmosphere, would be confined within very narrow limits; have a determinate sphere of action; and none but 23. THORESBY [John Thoresby, Archbishop of York] says, when plague was at Leeds, in Yorkshire, that birds fell down from the air, in their flight over the town. 24. The 93rd regiment, destined for the San Juan expedition, which arrived in Jamaica in 1780, brought with them gaol-distemper. All men taken from the jails, died on the passage; or soon after landing in Jamaica. No others were affected by it. 25. Journal de la Contagion à Marseilles, p. 42.

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physicians and attendants on the sick would suffer, and these must suffer; and the cause, and the effects, would be palpable to our senses. Upon this ground, the precaution of quarantine would be rational. But who would then visit, and attend the sick, or could live in hospitals, prisons and lazarettos? I had occasion to notice, in a former publication, what I have here repeated relative to the vigilance used in vain at Marseilles; and also that RHAZES† lived one hundred and twenty years, and often practised in plagues; that HODGES† remained in town and attended a multitude of sick during the great plague in London in 1665; that KAYE† was in the midst of practice in the Sweating Sickness of 1551; without any inconvenience. PROCOPIUS† informs us, that during a terrible plague at Constantinople in 543, which almost destroyed the whole city, no physician, or other person, got plague by attending, dressing the sores, or touching the sick.26 Small-pox, measles,† yaws and lues venerea,† know no distinction as to habits of body. Every human being is susceptible of their morbific infection. The first two diseases are truly contagious, according to the common acceptation of the word in regard to fevers; and there is no securing any person against being infected, who comes into the impregnated atmosphere of a subject labouring under these diseases. Their infection, as well as that of the other distempers, may also be put, by inoculation, into the habit of the strongest man, or the weakest child. This cannot be done from American Yellow Fever; nor from the suppurated, glandular, or cuticular matter, of any other pestilential fever. This convinces me that buboes, and carbuncles, which we hear so much of in Turkey, and read so much of in our own history of plagues, arise from heating food, and medicines; or from a defect, in not bridling the vehemence of the distemper, by a reverse method of treatment. These suppurations contain no infection, and consequently are not the natural deposit of the morbific virus, separated from the circulation. The ancient writers on medicine, and indeed all others, [that] I have read, assert, that the operation, of whatever they assign to be the cause of epidemical fevers, is solely on the blood and fluids. This may be doubted. The impressions of the atmosphere, on the surface of the body, when contaminated, or deprived of vitality, like East winds, are as perceptible, as the effects of approaching, or retreating from, a fire. In the common order of pestilential fevers, they commence with coldness, and shivering; simply demonstrating, that something unusual has been in 26. De Bello Persico, lib. 2, cap. 22.

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contact with the skin, agonizing cutaneous sensibility. The skin is covered with the extremities of fibres, nerves, and vessels; these are in the most exposed situation, with the least power of resisting external injury. Hence destruction, or privation of their elasticity, and restraining power, from a poisoned atmosphere. And hence I conceive that the first blow in these fevers is made on the solids; the strength of the whole frame is thus prostrated in a moment, and every nerve and muscle paralysed. In a similar manner, perhaps, the dense and concentrated vapour, from the grotto di cani; the bottom of brewers’ porter vats; minerals; vaults; wells and subterranean caverns, when drawn into the lungs, destroy their functions mechanically. Sickness at the stomach, and an immoveable pressure about the præcordia† follow. These demonstrate, that blood cannot pervade the extremities of the body, and that the quantity which ought to dilate through the whole machine is confined to the larger organs, and is crowding, and distending the heart and central vessels. The restraining power of remoter blood vessels being destroyed, the thinner parts of the blood escape their boundaries; hence arises yellowness in the skin, in some climates; in others, the extravasated grosser parts of the blood stagnate, forming black lodgements, buboes, anthraces and exanthemata. The object in these fevers is to decide the contest between the solids and the fluids; and this appears to me to be only practicable, when spontaneous sweats do not happily appear, or cannot be raised in the manner I shall presently mention, by a cooling regimen; and by draining the vital parts, by bleeding and purging, before the fluids have burst their confines, and dissolved their bond of union with the solids. The next step is to regain the lost energy of the surface of the body, by exciting perspiration; and then of the whole system, by tonics. When these things are not done in the first hours of attack, in pestilential fevers, and the conflict is not extinguished at once, attempting to extort sweats from the body, by heating alexipharmics,† will do mischief; and bark,† wine, stimulants and cordials may be called on, like undertakers, to perform an useless ceremony. I am well aware of the objections that have been urged against bleeding in pestilential diseases, by inexperienced theorists, and by people who do not make just discrimination. Debility of mind; no thirst, and nothing indicative of fever in the pulse, though not the ordinary method of attack, frequently occurred at Nimeguen† in 1663, and also in London in 1665; and proved as fatal as when the disease

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came on with the most intense heat, unquenchable thirst, dryness and blackness of the tongue, and intolerable burning about the præcordia.27 In the former case, no person would think of taking away blood. Bleeding has seldom been fairly used; nor does any writer, excepting BOTALLUS,† appear to have duly considered its operation, extent, and time of execution, in various diseases.28 It is not a few ounces of blood, however well timed, and if not well-timed bleeding should not be performed at all, that will answer the end in Yellow Fever or Plague. Here lies the mistake of medical men in these diseases; and hence the violent clamours against bleeding. Such people only reprobate bleeding in pestilential fevers, who never saw it used in a proper manner. It has either been performed on improper subjects, or too late, or in too small a quantity, and where the practitioner has stopped at one, or two bleedings, when five or six, or what I have often known, ten or twelve, ought to have taken place. If bleeding be not the chief staff on which we can rely, or some safe and immediate evacuant, whose operations can be directed finally to the skin, and terminate in sweat, such as Vitrum Antimonii,† used in the manner, and with the precautions, by which I cured pestilential dysenteries in the West Indies,29 practitioners will be in an hopeless situation when plague returns. There never was any medicine hitherto used that has produced the smallest opposition to the progress of this disease, either in the cases of individuals, or in communities. It has raged on, proved fatal, and disappeared. Who can expect to find a specific† rapid enough in its operation for pestilential fevers, which sometimes destroy in a few hours, and often without a second exacerbation? Drugs cannot travel through the veins and arteries like the lightning of plague. Their creeping course only suits the lingering steps of slow, diuturnal† maladies, and chronical, lymphatic indispositions. SYDENHAM, consistent with his general principles, caught the idea of bleeding copiously [in cases of ] plague, and was impressed with the soundness of the doctrine, but he durst not give full exercise to his genius. The prejudice in his time against bleeding in any disease was great, and the hot regimen practitioners were numerous and powerful; and he had also, by 27. DIEMERBROECK [Ijasbrand van Diemerbroeck, 1609–74, professor of anatomy at Utrecht]. HODGES. 28. BOTALLUS, Cap. 7. De curat per sang, miss. 29. See Treatise on Tropical Diseases, Ed. 3. pp. 232, 233, 252, 253 and Gentleman’s Magazine for the month of June, 1797, p. 461.

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absenting himself from London in 1665, during the violence of the plague, made it necessary that he should be cautious in his practice when he returned, as he had lost a glorious opportunity of rising above censure and benefiting the world. Besides, his leaving [London] at such a time might make the reliance he had on his own skill suspect. In defence of bleeding in [cases of ] plague, he produces the names of several excellent physicians prior to his own time, among whom the admirable BOTALLUS seems to have decided his determination. During the Civil War† (the year he† does not mention, I suppose it was 1647) he gives an instance of its good effects among the troops at Dunstar Castle, in Somersetshire; which account was given him by Colonel FRANCIS WINDHAM, governor of that Castle. He says, “. . . it happened at that time, that a surgeon who had travelled to foreign parts, was in the service there, who applied to the governor for leave to assist his fellow soldiers who were afflicted with plague, in the best manner he could. This [request] was granted. He took away so large a quantity of blood from every patient at the beginning of the disease,30 and before any swelling appeared, that they were ready to faint and hardly able to stand; for he bled them all standing, and in the open air, and had no vessel to measure the blood, which falling on the ground, the quantity each person lost could not be known. The operation being over, he ordered them to their tents, and though he used no other remedy than bleeding, yet of the numbers that were thus treated, not a single person died.”

I shall mention the practice of another physician, the celebrated empirical Doctor Thomas DOVER.† He says, in his Ancient Physician’s Legacy to his Country, when he was at “the storming of Guiaquil,† under the line, in the South Seas,† it happened that, not long before, plague had raged there. “For our better security, therefore, and keeping our people together, we lay there in the churches, and brought thither the plunder of the cities. We were much annoyed by dead bodies. These bodies could hardly be said to be buried, for the Spaniards abroad use no coffins, but throw several dead bodies one upon another, with only a draw-board over them; so that it is no wonder we received the infection. “In a very few days after we got on board [our ships], one of the surgeons came 30. SEPTALIUS [Ludovic Septalius, seventeenth-century physician], RIVERIUS [Lazari Riverius, seventeenth-century physician], and several others, bled after spots, tokens, buboes, and suppuration of the parotid [glands], with success.

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HODGES was of the old school of physic. He was an enemy to bleeding. He was a man of little reflexion and no genius. He pursued the beaten track of alexipharmics and heating medicines. In his account of the 1665 plague of London, though he had an abundance of opportunity, he made no discovery. He lost all his patients. The sick who recovered with him were indebted to Nature; a rough physician on all occasions. None but the strongest constituted people ever escape under [Nature’s] hands alone. This fact was well illustrated here; women, children and weak scorbutic people† all perished. HODGES, however, did all the good he could. Like a brave mariner, though he knew not use of the compass or quadrant, he plied the oar, or stood to the helm in that tempestuous sea of troubles. The Doctor, if he were not skilful, was honest. He gave his patients what he took himself. He endeavoured to cure them by his own preventative. The Doctor loved old Sack.† Like the elder CATO,† he warmed his good principles with good wine. He modestly says: “. . . before dinner I always drank a glass of sack, to warm the stomach and refresh the spirits. I seldom rose from dinner without drinking more wine. I concluded the evening at home by drinking to cheerfulness of my old favourite liquor, which encouraged sleep, and an easy breathing through the pores, all night.”

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HODGES always went about the town with his apothecary,† his constant companion and friend. These two, in the course of their morning rounds, usually visited as many sack-shops as patients. They had great practice. There was a different tincture of character in these gentlemen. The Doctor was bold, the apothecary timid, but they hunted like true Arcadians. The Doctor entered the most infected houses without fear; the apothecary remained behind in the sack-shop, waiting for the prescription. The Doctor saw death as a subject of speculation. The apothecary speculated on life, and saw her in brighter colours, proportionate to the operation of the Doctor’s prescription (I mean that which the Doctor took himself ), “Sack, middle aged, neat, fine, bright, racy, and of walnut flavour.”31 I have no doubt but that Sack was of great use to HODGES, while he kept within bounds (for excess is destruction) and, as far as it acted as a gentle stimulus to his mind and body, and kept them in such a state of unison as to enable the mind to act without fear, and the body without lassitude. This is the great prophylactic against all pestilential diseases, and is effected by temperance and calmness of mind (avoiding fatigue and heating the body) a nourishing diet, cleanliness, proper clothing and keeping the excretory functions in regular performance of their offices. Veteran physicians in times of danger generally desert the field; entrench themselves far off, behind old books, and leave raw recruits to fight the foe; who, inexperienced in the tactics of physic, seldom escape the recoil of their own artillery, and fall with the patients. Few people in such times are to be found, inclined to secure their souls at the expense of their bodies: like Francis GARASSE.† This pious Jesuit, in order to purchase a crown of martyrdom, obtained, by repeated solicitations, permission from his superiors to attend the sick, during the 1631 plague at Poictiers.† In this benevolent office, the virtuous GARASSE, to his great consolation, [contracted] plague and died. BAYLE† says, in enumerating the particulars of his character, that “this last action of his was very fine”. In times of pestilence the sick are always neglected. For this, many causes may be assigned. Self-preservation has superior influence to every other consideration. In the plague of 1665, it is supposed that one-third of the people who died had no aid or assistance, and that the greater part of that

31. HODGES, to the disgrace of thousands whom he had served, fell into extreme poverty and died in jail in 1684.

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number perished in houses shut up, alone and helpless.32 The clergy at that time left their flocks to take care of themselves, and it was common to see written on the church doors, “here is a pulpit to let; here is a pulpit to be sold”. At that period of our history, there was a great deal of religion in England, and the people were much distressed at the desertion of the clergy. Among the few of this order, who had zeal, or courage enough to remain at their posts, was the celebrated minister Thomas VINCENT,† who, in his God’s Terrible Voice to the City, has given a very animated picture of the pestilence. Many facts that constitute part of these observations on that dreadful event, are known but to a few people and will, I hope, contribute to illustrate that momentous affliction, one of the greatest England ever suffered. The first person attacked, died in the Parish of St Giles-in-the-fields, on 27th December 1664. The disease remained quiescent until the month of May following, and, according to the account rendered to the Government by the London Company of parish-clerks, with which Mr VINCENT’S exactly agrees, [accelerated throughout 1665, accounting for 68,496 deaths before year’s end]. The history of plagues and pestilential diseases is an history of superstition and credulity: The Romans, after the overthrow of the Samnites,† were afflicted with plague. They sent an embassy to Greece for the god Æsculapius, who was then worshiped in Epidaurus (a city in the Peloponnesus†) under the figure of a serpent. After a year’s expectation the god arrived, to the great joy of the people, and the plague ceased. Superstition was then at so great an height, that the Romans had no idea that the god came “a day after the fair”. On another occasion they had recourse to the Sibylline books;† in which a passage was construed, that some great crime had drawn down the wrath of the gods on their republic. A vestal† was found guilty of incontinence,† and to appease this plague, she was buried alive. The city of Tyre† had long been exempt from plague, when surrounding countries had been sorely afflicted with it. Maximin, the tyrant there, attributed this, during the former part of his reign, to his zeal in persecuting Christians, and putting out the right eye of every one of those whose lives he spared, in his dominions. 32. Such was the devastation of this pestilence, that grass grew in Leadenhall Street, Bishopsgate Street, Cornhill, Exchange and Cheapside. Bucklersbury was free of plague, being at that time chiefly inhabited by apothecaries and druggists.

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The destruction, and annihilation of the people of Basilica (ancient Sicyon†) by plague, was said by Christians to have been occasioned, from the Turks reading the Koran, for the first time, in a church that those infidels had converted into a mosque. Nothing inferior to this was an English statute by which, sick people going out of their homes when ordered to stay home, if they had no sores on them were treated as vagrants, but if they had sores were considered guilty of a felony. In 1665, it was said that a globe of fire was seen over the part of London where the Solemn League and Covenant† was burned, and that this was the cause of plague. Some charged it to the reign of the Stuarts. Others attributed it to planetary influence, particularly the effects of the great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, which happened in fourteen degrees of Sagittarius† on 10th October 1663. Solomon Eagle,† a well-known fanatical mad Quaker, at that time went about the streets naked, with a pan of burning charcoal on his head, denouncing the City of London for its crimes, and proclaiming every day that the plague was not to end until the people were sufficiently punished for their wickedness. Others prayed that all Quakers should be sent out of the land, and that nothing else could stop the pestilence. The Noncomformists taking another turn, asserted, that after their first fast-day on the occasion, “the Lord began to remit, and turn His hand, and cause some abatement of the disease”. When it ceased, they fancied that their fasting had extinguished it. In recording this dreadful story, some writers have solemnly affirmed that there were marks, or tokens of plague, on the walls of infected houses, as mentioned in the Bible; and that these marks, or tokens, often broke out again on the walls, as they did in leprous houses among the Hebrews, “with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish”, after they had been scraped or cleaned away.33† The same superstitions prevailed after the Great Fire of London, in the following year. On this occasion, there was a wooden figure of Bacchus† set up against the corner of an house to inform posterity that the fire was a punishment for the sin of gluttony in the city. The cause of this ludicrous opinion was that the fire began in Pudding-lane and ended at Pye-corner.

33. Leviticus, Cap. 14, vv. 37–45.

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In confirmation of what I have lately, and now said, and what I many years ago advanced respecting contagion, and infection in pestilential fevers, a very important fact resulting from BUONAPARTE’S† expedition into Syria, in the beginning of 1799, has within these few weeks appeared, which will not be passed unnoticed by judicious physicians. BERTHIER,† in his account of that expedition, says, “At the time of our entry into Syria, all the towns were infected with plague, a malady which ignorance and barbarity render so fatal in the East. Those who are affected by it give themselves up for dead; they are immediately abandoned by everybody, and left to die, when they might have been saved by medicine and attention. When our soldiers were attacked by the least fever, it was supposed that they had caught plague, and these maladies were confounded. The fever hospitals were abandoned by the officers of health and their attendants. Citizen DEGENETTES repaired in person to the hospitals, visited all the patients, felt the glandular swellings, dressed them, declared and maintained that the distemper was not plague, but a malignant fever with glandular swellings,34 which might easily be cured by attention and keeping the patients’ minds easy. He even carried his courage so far as to make two incisions, and to inoculate the suppurated matter from one of those buboes above his breast, and under his armpits, but was not affected with the malady. He eased the minds of the soldiers, the first step to a cure, and by his assiduity and constant attendance in the hospitals, a number of men attacked with plague were cured. His example was followed by other officers of health. The lives of a number of men Citizen DEGENETTES was thus instrumental in saving. He dismissed those who had been ill with fever and buboes, without the least contagion being communicated to the army.”

From the medical men of letters on that expedition, much more may be expected as to the treatment of plague; and I understand that the world will soon be gratified on this subject by BERTHOLLET† and his co-adjutors. Importing plague, like the existence of contagion in pestilential fevers, is contrary to the opinion I ever had, and still maintain. From whence was the importation of the 1656 plague at Naples, by which 20,000 people died in one day? Can any person, for a moment reflecting, believe that the Great Plague of London in 1665, which imagination traced from the Levant† to Holland, and 34. DEGENETTES’S views in making this distinction were highly commendable, but certainly this fever was plague.

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from Holland to England, was caused by opening a bag of cotton in the City, or in Long Acre; or a package of hemp in St Giles’s parish? Is it possible that people should have been found to propagate, or believe the well known and favourite story of the advocates for MEAD’S theories that a lady was killed instantly by smelling at a Turkey handkerchief; and a gentleman by only walking over a Turkey carpet! One might ask, “What became of the persons who delivered the handkerchief to the lady, and laid down the carpet for the gentleman?” How was the infection carried to the interior of Tartary,† where it made its eruption on the world in 1346? It is said that this plague depopulated two hundred leagues of that country, and destroyed serpents, birds, insects and even trees. It spread to other parts of Asia and the East Indies, and into Africa, Egypt, Syria, Greece and the islands in the Levant, and at length into every part of Europe, and continued its devastations in different countries for the space of five years. In 1247 it appeared in the Mediterranean islands, at Pisa and Genoa; in 1348 at Dauphinè, and also at Catalonia, and other parts of Spain, and “converted Florence into a desert”.35 In 1349 it invaded England; and, within the space of one year, made almost a desert of London. In this year also, it broke out in Scotland, Ireland and Flanders; in 1350 in Germany, Hungary and Denmark. It is recorded that this five-year plague destroyed half the number of the inhabitants of the countries it invaded. This plague, the severest and most general in history, is said to have originated in Tartary, from an intolerable stench which arose from the earth. This is a cause of pestilence much more rational than rotten vegetables, bales of goods, silk handkerchiefs and Turkey carpets. Earthquakes are generally succeeded by pestilential fevers. The poison is thrown out of the earth and contaminates the atmosphere. Exhalations from the exposed beds of rivers operate in the same manner. In 1539 pestilence made great havoc in England. There was a great drought that year. Most of the wells throughout the country dried up. The beds of all the small rivers, from the defect of water, were fermenting mud. Sea water flowed above London Bridge. I have seen almost all the lazarettos, hospitals and prisons in Europe. The worst governments abroad, most abound with this splendid inheritance of 35. Vide BOCCACIO [Giovanni Boccacio, 1313–75, poet and scholar; published the Decameron, 1358] Decamerone, Giornata Prima.

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paupers and criminals, the children of bad state-parents. Even in these false, cheating monuments of superstition, these impositions on credulity and benevolence, where pomp and magnificence are pictured without, and neglect, dirt, misery and often-malicious oppression are found within, I never could discover that fevers are propagated by contagion. Were it possible so to be, I should have been long since dead. Quarantine, always expensive to commerce, and often ruinous to individuals, is a reflexion on the good sense of countries. No pestilential, or pandemic fever, was ever imported, or exported; and I have always considered fumigating ship-letters, and shutting up the crews and passengers of vessels on their arrival from foreign places for several weeks, for fear they should give diseases to others, which they have not themselves, as an ignorant, barbarous practice. Speaking thus decidedly, against the general opinion and practice, I may possibly incur the imputation of rashness from the timid, from those who believe in their fears, and from some who adopt opinions on tradition, without examination, but these are my sentiments. This is the way I take, to serve my country, regardless of the narrow notions of vulgar prejudice. For, from what has lately occurred in our metropolis, it is not difficult to foresee, should plague, or any other pestilential fever like plague, appear, how distress and misery would multiply, through false alarms, misrepresentations, ignorance and imposition.



Notes

An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases page 3 † The Sugar-Cane: A poem in four books, first published in 1764, concerning cultivation of sugar cane in St Kitts. † performances: Literary works; compositions. † Georgic: Georgics: title of Virgil’s four-book poem on husbandry, hence georgic: a poem having an agricultural theme. † Dr Percy: Thomas Percy, 1729–1811: British cleric, poet and antiquary; Bishop of Dromore, County Down, Northern Ireland, 1782–1811. † the collected edition of his poetical works, now printing here in two volumes: This collection of Dr Grainger’s poems did not appear in print until 1836. page 4 † Dr Robert Anderson: Robert Anderson, 1750–1830, Scottish editor; published A Complete Edition of the Poets of Great Britain, 14 volumes, 1792–1807; Dr Grainger’s friend, editor and biographer. † General Melville: Robert Melville, 1723–1809: Scottish military officer who became governor of Guadeloupe and later governor of St Vincent, Dominica, St Lucia and Tobago, islands ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris (1763). † Linnæan Index: Index of classification of flora according to the method of Carolus Linnæus, Swedish botanist, 1707–78. † William Wright: After serving as a naval surgeon’s mate in the West Indies during the Seven Years War (1756–63), Wright returned to Scotland and earned his MD. He subsequently immigrated to Jamaica, where he practised medicine and described much of the flora of the island according to the method of Linnæus; in August 1778 he delivered a scientific paper on his findings to the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh. page 5 † Daniel Mathew, Esq.: Landowner in St Kitts and Antigua, and cousin of Dr Grainger’s wife, Daniel Mathew Burt [sic]. 129

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 Notes page 6 † seasoning: Process whereby a transported slave becomes inured to the conditions of slavery. † parade: Ostentation. † salt-water Negroes: Slaves born in, and imported from, Africa, as opposed to Creole Negroes – slaves born in the West Indies. † last: utmost. page 7 † our new acquisitions in America: The islands of St Vincent, Dominica, St Lucia and Tobago, ceded to Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763). † art: Medical science. † vegetables: Plants, in the widest or scientific sense. † Torrid Zone: Region of the earth between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn; the tropics. † Jesuit’s Bark of Jamaica: Exostema caribæum, from the bark of which quinine can be extracted. † Cascarilla-bark tree: From whose bitter aromatic bark cascarcillin, used as a tonic, is extracted. † Cabbage-bark tree: Andira inermis, also known as Worm-bark tree, from the bark of which a narcotic and anthelminthic extract is produced. † Quassia excelsa: Picrasma excelsa, from whose bark a bitter decoction is prepared that is used for medicinal and other purposes. † the faculty: Members of the medical profession; medical practitioners. † Materia Medica: Remedial substances used in the practice of medicine. † physic: The art or practice of healing; the practice of medicine. page 8 † succedaneums: Drugs, often of inferior quality, substituted for others. † Homo sum et humani nihil a me alienum puto: “I am a man: I think nothing that is human foreign to me” (Publius Terentius Afer, c.190–159 BC, Roman playwright).

An Essay on the Management and Diseases of Negroes, Part I page 9 † Guinea: West Africa. † Cormantees: Slaves imported from the Gold Coast. † Minnahs: Slaves imported from the Gulf of Guinea: from Mina, the familiar Portuguese name for the slaving port of Elminia.

Notes 

† Mundingo: Mandingo (Malinke, in the Gambia Valley). † Negroes from Mundingo have worms: Intestinal worms infested the vast majority of African slaves imported into the West Indies. † dropsical: Pertaining to dropsy, a morbid condition characterized by abnormal accumulation of watery fluid in the body, now thought to be associated with congestive heart failure. † Ibbo country: The delta of the River Niger. † obstructions of the menses, whence proceed barrenness: Delayed onset of menstruation, associated with chronic malnutrition. In 1700, when females represented about 40 per cent of the slave population of Jamaica, the live-birth rate is estimated to have been less than fifteen per thousand of the total slave population. page 10 † blooded: Bled for a medicinal purpose. † Vomits: Medication capable of inducing vomiting; emetics. † thistle-seed: Latex from the pods of a small herb (Argemone mexicana) bearing yellow, poppy-like flowers. † worm-grass: Chenopodium ambrosoides, a strong-smelling, bushy weed bearing spikes of greenish or yellowish flowers, widely used as a vermifuge (medication capable of expelling intestinal worms). The name worm-grass was also applied to Spigelia anthelmia, the root and leaves of which are used as a vermifuge. † cow-itch: Mucuna pruriens, the vine of which is used as a vermifuge. † six drachms: 360 grains or 6/8 ounce, Apothecaries’ weight. † gill: 1/4 pint. † sweet mercury: Mercury water (quicksilver water) – preparation of aqua regia (mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids) and corrosive sublimate (mercuric chloride), used as a vermifuge. † Block tin: Tin of second quality, cast into blocks; solid tin as distinct from tin plate. † palm-oil: Oil obtained from the fruit pulp of the oil palm (Elæis guineensis) of West Africa. page 11 † Guinea corn: Sorghum bicolour; Guinea probably because it is frequently cultivated in West Africa. † Lax: Diarrhoea. † animal food: Animal substances used as food. † Indian provisions: West Indian provisions: yams, cassava and similar root crops. † Edinburghs: Coarse linen garments woven in Scotland.

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 Notes page 12 † mountain plantations: In An Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases, Dr Grainger emphasized conditions existing in St Kitts, where the highest point, Mount Misery, rises to 3,792 feet. Many St Kitts sugar plantations had lands sited on high ground, referred to as mountain plantations. † fluxes: Diarrhoea.

An Essay on the Management and Diseases of Negroes, Part II page 13 † too great care cannot be taken either of Negresses when pregnant, and in the month [immediately following childbirth]: Cf. conditions prevailing in Barbados in 1647: “In a fortnight the woman is at work with her Pickaninny at her back . . . if the Overseer be discreet she is suffer’d to rest herself a little more than ordinary; but if not she is compelled to do as others do. Times they have of suckling their Children in the fields” (Ligon 1657, 48). † locked-jaw: Trismus – tonic contraction of the muscles of mastication, causing the jaws to remain rigidly closed; a form of tetanus, and by extension a common name for the disease of tetanus. † new spirits: Newly distilled rum. † aliment: Food. † meconium: Dark excrementitious substance in the large intestine of the fœtus, hence the first fæces of a newborn infant. † pessary: Rectal suppository, intended to stimulate evacuation of the bowels. † common physic nut: Jatropha curcas – Barbados-nut or purging-nut. page 14 † grains: Smallest English unit of weight. 1 grain = 1/7000 pound. † rhubarb: Medicinal rootstock of one or more species of Rheum. † magnesia alba: Hydrated magnesium carbonate, a white earthy powder, used as an antacid and cathartic. † spirit of lavender: Distillate of alcohol and flowers of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia). † syrup of vervain, or roses: Syrup containing extract of West Indian vervain (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) or extract of rose hips (Rosa sp.). † warm spirits: Warm alcohol. † slops: Liquid or semi-liquid food. † aperient: Laxative.

Notes 

page 15 † remark: Observe; record. † lancet: Surgical instrument with two edges and a point, shaped like a lance. † crabs’ eyes: Seeds of the crab-eye vine (Abrus precatorius). † spirit of hartshorn: Aqueous solution of ammonia. † laudanum: Alcoholic tincture of opium: inspissated juice of the poppy (Papaver somniferum). page 16 † verdigrease: Strong cleansing agent used to clean ulcers. † Indians: There was a reasonably large Amerindian population in St Kitts during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. † Rocou: Annatto: red/yellow dye obtained from the roucou tree (Bixa orellana). page 17 † inveterate: Chronic; of long standing. † Semprevive: Common aloes (Aloe vera). † half drachm: 30 grains; 1/16 ounce, Avoirdupois weight. † mercurial ointment: Blue ointment, composed of metallic mercury triturated with lard. † garden balsam: Justicia pectoralis or possibly Impatiens balsamini. † sweat: Medication capable of stimulating perspiration; diaphoretic. † gum elemi: Stimulant resin obtained from various trees, such as Canarium commune, Icica icicariba, and Elaphrium elemiferum. page 18 † physic: Medical attention. † animal economy: Human body. page 19 † It operates with violence, both up and down: Possesses both emetic and purgative properties. † cane liquor: Cane juice. † Muscovado: Raw or unrefined sugar, obtained from the juice of sugar cane by evaporation and draining off the molasses. page 20 † Indian pink: Spigelia anthelmia. The name Indian pink was also applied to some West Indian species of Ipomœa. † relaxation: Enfeeblement or enervation of the body. † more deadly there than in Europe: Dr Grainger died on 16 December 1766, a victim of “West Indian fever”.

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 Notes † pleurisies: Inflammation of the pleura, the membranes that envelop the lungs. † buffy blood: Blood having a “buffy coat”, a layer of light buff colour forming on the upper part of the clot of coagulated blood. † plethoric: Characterized by plethora; morbid condition characterized by over-fullness of blood or any other humour. † corroborate: Strengthen; invigorate; refresh. † acrid: Corrosive; irritating. † peccant: Morbid; unhealthy; corrupt. page 21 † putrid [fever]: Typhus fever; pythogenic fever: typhoid fever. † malignant [fever]: Fever characterized by extreme virulence. † nervous [fever]: Fever associated with symptoms of nervousness – agitation, restlessness. † tartar emetic: Potassio-antimonious tartrate. † punch: A fermented drink “made of water and sugar put together, which in ten days standing will be very strong” (Ligon 1657, 32). † Madeira whey: Medicinal beverage made with Madeira wine and whey. page 22 † merits the palm: Is the very best. † medicines that operate by the skin: Medications capable of stimulating sweating; diaphoretics. † musk: A reddish-brown substance, secreted in a gland of male musk-deer (Moschus moschiferus), used as a stimulant and antispasmodic. † camphire: Camphor, a whitish translucent crystalline volatile substance, prepared by distillation from Camphora officinarum. † castor: A reddish-brown substance, having a strong smell and nauseous taste, obtained from sacs in the inguinal region of beaver (Castor canadensis). † blisters: Skin blisters, produced for a medical purpose, by application of a vesicatory, or irritating ointment. † cupping: Drawing blood by scarifying the skin and applying a cup or cupping-glass in which the air has been rarefied by heating. † epispastics: Substances capable of producing skin blisters. page 23 † acrimony: Quality of irritancy and corrosiveness to mucous membranes. † two drachms: 120 grains; 1/4 ounce, Avoirdupois weight. † surly: Rough. † sal volatile: Ammonium carbonate, an aromatic solution of which, smelling salts, is used as a restorative in fainting fits.

Notes 

† wrought off: Excreted from the body. † water gruel: Gruel (liquid food made by boiling several ingredients in milk) made with water instead of milk. page 24 † saloop: Hot drink consisting of an infusion of salep (nutritive starch, made from dried tubers of various orchidaceous plants, formerly used as a drug), or later of sassafras (dried bark of Sassafras officinale, thought to possess medicinal properties), with milk and sugar; formerly sold in the streets of London at night and in the early morning. † pepper-pot: Stew prepared by boiling pieces of meat, red pepper, sugar, and other seasoning ingredients for several hours in a large earthenware pot. † red wine . . . in which a heated iron hath been extinguished: Mulled wine. † grateful: Appetizing. † subastringent: Somewhat astringent. † both kinds of pomegranate: Punica granatum (native of northern Africa), and Capparis nobilis and Capparis mitchelli (natives of Australia). † acajou: Cashew (Anacardium occidentale), from the trunk of which gum is exuded. † Canella of the West Indies: Extract of bark of wild cinnamon (Canella winterana). † Glysters: Medication injected into the rectum; enemata. † thrown up: Injected into the rectum. page 25 † limewater: See note 20, page 18. † Cassada: Bitter cassava (Manihot esculenta). † fœtidness: Foul smell. † forge-water: Water in which heated irons have been dipped. † running off: Being excreted in stool. † elixir of vitriol: Aromatic sulphuric acid. † thrush in the mouth: White patches in the mouth that often become ulcerated; caused by infection with Candida albicans. † apthæ: White spots or small ulcers occurring in the mouth; thrush. † the bark: See note 30, page 22. † Where worms crawl out of themselves from the mouth or nose: It is not an unusual occurrence for a roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) to ascend the œsophagus from the stomach and emerge through a nostril. page 26 † figured stools: Formed, as opposed to loose, stools. † exquisite: Carefully chosen and regulated. † palsy: Paralysis.

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 Notes page 27 † facilitate the operation of purgatives, however opposite that may appear to theory: Opiates frequently cause constipation. † balsamic: Soothing; restorative. † the passage: The intestinal tract. † tobacco glysters: Enemata containing tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). † crude mercury: Liquid mercury; quicksilver. † diascordium: Medication made of dried leaves of water germander (Teucrium chamædrys). † candle grease: Soft tallow. † spirits: Alcohol. † chased into the belly: Injected into the rectum, as an enema. † bitters: Alcoholic liquors, impregnated with extract of quassia, wormwood and orange peel. page 28 † new fiery spirits: Newly distilled rum. † Dry belly-ach often causes tetanus: There is no association whatever between dry belly-ach (lead poisoning) and tetanus. This statement reflects the erroneous medical opinion of both Dr Grainger (1764) and Dr Wright (1802). † blistering: To raise blisters on the skin for a medical purpose (a procedure no longer considered of therapeutic value). † blue ointment: Ointment composed of metallic mercury triturated with lard. † antimonial pills: Pills containing native trisulphide of antimony. † Ward’s: Joshua Ward, 1685–1761, “a notorious quack” (Dewhurst 1957). † members: Limbs. † spirits of turpentine: Oil of turpentine, a volatile oil prepared by distilling crude turpentine. † British oil: “[A] kind of petroleum, sold as a liniment under the name of British oil. The oil was extracted from the black flinty rock lying immediately over the coal in coalmines. It was reduced to powder and then subjected to heat in a closed furnace, by which means the oil was obtained” (Wootton 1910, 164). † asafœtida: A resinous gum produced from Central Asian Ferula spp., used medicinally as an antispasmodic. † cinnabar: Ore from which mercury is extracted; bisulphide of mercury. page 29 † Opium then is what is chiefly to be relied on, and it is astonishing what quantities of it may be swallowed, without either procuring sleep or affecting the brain: A remarkably modern approach to treatment of tetanus, which today involves the use of large doses of opiate narcotics, or other sedatives, and muscle-relaxant drugs. † watery tumour: Abdominal distension.

Notes 

† dropsy of the legs: Swelling of the legs. † strengtheners: tonics such as “Bitter Infusion” (see note 36, page 25). † tapped: Drainage of retained abdominal fluid; this is accomplished with a large needle or trocar. † aloetic purges: Purgative medication made from the juice of Aloe vera. † salt of steel: Iron chloride. The name salt of steel was also used for iron sulphate and other salts of iron. † a pound and a half: 11/2 pints. page 30 † horseradish: Rootstock of Armoracia rusticana. † deobstruents: Medication that removes obstructions by opening the natural passages or pores of the body; diuretics. † scarifications: Bleeding the patient by making a number of superficial skin incisions and then applying a cup. † Cholera Morbus: Cholera, a disease associated with diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain and cramps. † poisoned crabs: “black land-crabs [Gercarcinus sp.] are excellent eating; but as they sometimes will occasion the most violent cholera morbus . . . they should never be dressed [prepared as food] till they have fed for some weeks in a crab- house. When they moult, they are most delicate; and then, it is believed, never poison” (Grainger, The Sugar-Cane, Book I, verse 342 and footnote). † Fish poison: Ciguatera, a cholera-like disease (causing diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain and cramps) occasioned by ingestion of fish containing ciguatoxin, a toxin produced by the micro-organism Gamerdiscustoxus. The word ciguatera is Spanish and derives from the Amerindian word cigua that referred to poisonous shellfish. page 31 † imputed to copperas banks: The widely held belief that ciguatera results from ingestion of fish that have fed on copper-banks is a myth. † sensitive [plant]: Mimosa pudica. The name sensitive plant was also applied to Chamaecrista nictitans. † cotemperate: Modify; qualify; mitigate. † Salt of wormwood: Ashes of Ambrosia peruviana or Chenopodium ambrosoides. page 32 † Madeira sangree: Cold Madeira wine diluted and spiced. † privet: Possibly Clerodendrum aculeatum or Pithecellobium unguis-cati. † alum: Astringent mineral salt: double sulphate of aluminium and potassium. † tincture of the bark: Alcoholic solution of Jesuit’s bark; see note 30, page 22. † tincture of roses: Alcoholic solution of rosehips: Rosa sp.

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 Notes † malignant angina: Purulent inflammation of the floor of the mouth: Ludwig’s angina. † inflammatory sore throat: Quinsy – suppuration of the tonsils. † coming to matter: Suppurating. † nitre: Potassium nitrate; saltpetre. † almonds of the ear: Tonsils. page 33 † hogshead: A large wooden cask. In 1749 a hogshead of molasses was fixed at a capacity of one hundred gallons. † sovereign: Of medicines – efficacious or potent in a superlative degree. † The mercurial pill of the Edinburgh Dispensary: “Take of purified mercury, conserve of the red rose, of each an ounce; starch, two ounces. Rub the mercury with the conserve in a glass mortar, until the globules entirely disappear, adding, if necessary, a little mucilage of gum arabic; then add the starch, and with a little water beat the whole into a mass, which is to be directly divided into one hundred and eighty equal-sized pills” (The London Dispensatory, 1815, 685). † gum guaiac: Gum exuded by lignum vitæ (Guaiacum officinale). † soap of tartar: Oil of tartar: saturated solution of potassium carbonate. page 34 † points: Pus contained in an abscess approaches the skin’s surface. † matter: Purulent discharge; pus. † caustic: Silver nitrate prepared in sticks for surgical use. † I never saw a Negroe with gout . . . and bladder: “. . . it began with Fever, and as it is the custome of that disease there [Barbados] to cause bindings, costiveness, and consequently gripings and tortions in the bowels, so it far’d with me, that for a fortnight together [I] had not the least evacuation by Seige, which put me to such torment, as in all that time I have not slept; and want of that, wore me out to such a weaknesse, as I was not then in a condition to take any remedy at all. This excessive heat within begat a new torment within me, the Stone; which stopt my passage so as in fourteen days together no drop of water came from me. But contrary to my expectation, God Almighty sent me a Remedy . . . Take the pistle of a Green Turtle which lives in the sea, dry it with moderate heat, pound it in a Morter to powder, and take as much of this as will lye upon a shilling, in Beer or the like, . . . and in a very short time it will do the cure” (Ligon 1657, 118). page 35 † putrid: Of soil – loose; crumbling; friable. † Creoles: Slaves born in the West Indies. † diabetes: Any disorder characterized by excessive excretion of urine.

Notes 

† niccars: Seeds of Cæsalpinia bonduc. † tamarind-beverage: Drink prepared from pulp of the tamarind fruit (Tamarindus indica). † that of Bristol: Natural thermal springs occur at Bristol, England, and on the West Indian island of Nevis. page 36 † Astringent injections: Vaginal douches. † fluor albus: Leucorrhœa – white mucous or mucopurulent vaginal discharge; “the whites”. † thrown up: Injected into the vagina. † Fomentations: Warm medicinal solutions. † balaustines: Flowers of pomegranate (Punica granatum). page 37 † Dr James’s powder: “Take antimony, calcinate it with a continual protracted heat in a flat unglazed earthen vessel, adding to it from time to time a sufficient quantity of any animal oil and salt well dephlegmated; then boil it in melted nitre for a considerable time, and separate the powder from the nitre by dissolving in water” (Wootton 1910, 188). † Dover’s powder: “Take opium one ounce, saltpetre and tartar vitriolated, each four ounces, ipecacuanha one ounce, liquorish [sic] one ounce. Put the saltpetre and tartar into a red-hot mortar, stirring them with a spoon until they have done flaming. Then powder them very fine; after that slice in your opium, grind them into a powder, and then mix the other powders with these. Dose from forty to sixty or seventy grains in a glass of white wine posset [hot milk curdled with wine, often with sugar, spices and other ingredients: a remedy for colds and fever] going to bed; covering up warm and drinking a quart or three pints of the posset: drink while sweating” (Dewhurst 1957, 150). † Tincture of ipecacuan: Alcoholic solution of the roots of Psychotria ipecacuanha. † Tincture of sal volatile: Spirit of sal volatile – alcoholic solution of ammonium carbonate. † essence of peppermint: Essential oil of peppermint: Mentha piperita. † mustard vomit: Powdered seeds of Brassica nigra or B. alba given in sufficient quantity to induce vomiting. page 38 † first runnings: The first spirit that comes off during distillation of rum. † epithem: Moist external application. † flowers of brimstone: Powdered sulphur. † Dr Hillary: William Hillary, MD; published Observations on the Changes of the Air, and the Concomitant Epidemical Diseases of Barbados, 1759.

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 Notes † blue-stone: Copper sulphate. † corrosive sublimate: Mercuric chloride. † menstruum: Any liquid agent in which a solid may be dissolved; a solvent. page 39 † Costiveness: Constipation. † Castile soap: Fine hard soap made with olive-oil and soda; Spanish soap. † essence of antimony: Alcoholic solution of salts of antimony. † the bark: See note 30, page 22. † restringent: Astringent. † Senega rattle-snake root: Root of Polygala senaga; also used as an antidote for snakebite. † guaiac pods: Pods of lignum vitæ (Guaiacum officinale).

An Essay on the Management and Diseases of Negroes, Part III page 41 † art: Medical science. † Mercurials: Medication containing mercurial compounds. † antimonials: Medication containing antimonial compounds. page 42 † the antidote of leprosy is to be found in the West Indies: “It is the Opinion of many great Men, that the Almighty never shews His Power by inflicting Diseases, or even great Inconveniences, peculiar to any certain Part of the World, but at the same time He displays forth His Goodness, in providing some extraordinary Remedies . . . That they are not already found, is rather an Argument, that we have not been sufficiently inquisitive, than that there are no such Plants endued with these Virtues” (Hughes 1750, 31–32). † wool: Hair. † farinaceous appearance: Depigmented, whitish skin. † the bark: Probably a decoction of Jesuit’s bark (quinine-containing bark of the Peruvian fever-tree, Cinchona officinalis); however, see also note 1, page 7. † rise: (Of a disease): to become prominent on the skin’s surface. † increment: Development; increase. † Elephantiasis [arabum]: Known in the West Indies as “Barbadoes leg”. Also cf. note on Hughes (1750) on page 156 of this volume. page 43 † privities: Genitalia.

Notes 

† ichor: Watery acrid discharge. † Yaws: Frambœsia, an infectious, non-venereal skin disease caused by a spirochæte, Treponema pertenue. In the seventeenth century yaws was thought to be secondary syphilis. † repelled: Repressed; forced back into the blood or system. † repellents: Medication capable of repelling morbid humours. † wonted: Accustomed. † Venice treacle: Electuary (syrup) supposed to possess universal alexipharmic (capable of counteracting or driving away poison) and preservative properties. † aught: Anything whatever. page 44 † habit: Bodily constitution. † sublimed: Sublimated: converted into vapour by heating and then cooled in order to assume its original state. † Plummer’s pill: Andrew Plummer, 1697–1756, Scottish physician. His original formula was “Sulphurated antimony, four grammes; mild mercurous chloride, four grammes; guaiac, in fine powder, eight grammes; castor oil, a sufficient quantity to make 100 pills. Beat the powders together with castor oil, added a few drops at a time, so as to form a mass, and divide it into 100 pills” (Wootton 1910, 168). † The common mercurial pill of the London Dispensatory: “Take of purified mercury, two drachms; confection of red roses, three drachms; liquorice root in powder, a drachm. Rub the mercury with the confection until the globules disappear; then add the liquorice root and beat the whole into a uniform mass. The mass must be then immediately formed into pills as it very rapidly becomes too hard if allowed to remain” (The London Dispensatory, 1815, 685). † running off by stool: Excreted in loose stools. † Baron Van Swieten’s solution of corrosive sublimate: In 1745, Dutch physician Gerhard van Swieten (1700–1772) was appointed to the court of Empress Maria Theresa at Vienna and subsequently granted a baronetcy. Van Swieten’s solution of corrosive sublimate was introduced in the mid-1700s as a remedy for syphilis. His original formula was, “24 grains of corrosive sublimate [mercuric chloride] dissolved in two quarts of whisky, a tablespoonful to be taken night and morning, followed by a long draught of barley-water” (Wootton 1910, 421). † Unction: Application of ointment to the skin. † quicksilver: Mercury. page 45 † operate gently by the skin: Induce moderate sweating. † escharotics: Caustic medication. † burnt alum: Alum powder (double sulphate of aluminium and potassium). † antimonial wine: Sherry containing tartar emetic (tartarated antimony).

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 Notes † red precipitate: Mercurius præcipitatus ruber, mercuric oxide or red oxide of mercury. † yellow basilicon: Wound ointment. Basilicon ointment was supposed to possess “sovereign” properties – the best possible remedy. † balsam: Oily or resinous medicinal preparation, used as an external application, for healing wounds and soothing pain. page 46 † Nyctalopia: Night-blindness. † Hemeralopia: Day-blindness. † Leeward Island government: Antigua, St Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat. † ague: Fit of shaking or shivering, indicative of infection. † palsy: Paralysis. † seton: A thread, or piece of tape, drawn through a fold in the skin so as to maintain a sinus or opening for discharges. † snake-root: See note 72, page 44. † valerian: Herbaceous plant of the genus Valeriana, used medicinally as a stimulant or antispasmodic. † cortex: Cortex peruviana, bark of Cinchona officinalis. † specific: Medication especially efficacious against a particular ailment. † wrought, either up or down: Exhibited either vomiting or diarrhoea. † Hungary water: “[R]osemary flowers (Rosmarinus officinalis) infused in rectified spirit of wine, and thus distilled.” † rose-water: “[W]ater [liquor] distilled from roses” (Rosa sp.). † camphorated spirits: Wine impregnated with camphor. † This extraordinary worm: Guinea worm: Dracunculus medinensis. page 47 † Galen: Claudius Galenus, Greek physician and medical author, AD 130–200. † Negroe-land: Africa. † nidus: Location. † like a nerve: “Dr Gamble had one of these, which measured an Ell long; it exactly resembled a waxed white Thread” (Hughes 1750, 41). † wind it round a small cylinder: Cf. The Sugar-Cane, Book IV, line 252. † Ruptures: Abdominal hernias. † Ruptures in the groin: Inguinal hernias. † [ruptures] of the navel: Umbilical and para-umbilical hernias. page 48 † incarcerated rupture: Any hernia whose content cannot be reduced (replaced in the abdominal cavity). † phlebotomy: Bloodletting; bleeding. † strangulation: Constriction sufficient to stop circulation of blood or passage of fluids.

Notes 

† brisk injections: Enemata. † Smoke-glysters of tobacco: Enemata containing tobacco smoke. † mortify: Become gangrenous. † scrotal hernia: Inguinal hernia that has descended into the scrotum. † cicatrix: Scar. † Boilers: Slaves working in the boiling-house. page 49 † fire-weed: See note 10, page 73, The Sugar-Cane, Book IV. † lintseed oil: Linseed oil, extracted from linseed, or seeds of flax (Linum usitatissimum). † plantane water: Plantain-water, a decoction made from plantain (Musa paradisiaca). † White ointment: “. . . it consisted of saffron, Indian nard, cassia, cinnamon, myrrh, schœnanthus and costus, made into an electuary with honey, and kept in a silver box” (Wootton 1910, 288). † Turner’s cerate: Daniel Turner, MD, was admitted a Licentiate of the College of Physicians in 1711. His formula for the cerate (ointment) was “melt together 31/2 pounds of freshly made unsalted butter, 31/2 pounds of the best yellow wax, and 4 pounds of pure and newly prepared olive oil. These, when melted, to be strained through a linen cloth, and while cooling, 3 pounds 10 ounces of the best calamine stone, sufficiently triturated and passed through a sieve, to be sprinkled into the mixture with constant stirring till it sets” (Wootton 1910, 158). † sordid: Of suppuration: foul; repulsive. page 50 † Runaway Negroes: Escaped or runaway slaves. † eat dirt: See note 53, page 34; also The Sugar-Cane, Book IV, lines 149–57. † a perversion of appetite not confined in the West Indies to females: Cf. The SugarCane, Book IV, lines 149–57, and note on “chlorotic”, page 147. † member: Leg. † vitriol water: Aqueous solution of copper sulphate. † cicatrized: Healed with scaring.

An Essay on the Management and Diseases of Negroes, Part IV page 51 † vicious: Immoral; profligate; wicked. † struck with a stick: “. . . I have seen an Overseer beat an [indentured white] Servant with a cane about the head, till the blood has followed, for a fault that is not worth the speaking of ” (Ligon 1657, 44).

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 Notes † driver: Trusted male slave in charge of a labour gang of slaves whom he controlled with a whip. page 52 † severity whereto they are now unavoidably exposed: “[Slaves] being once Christians, could no more be accounted Slaves, and so [the master] would lose the hold he had on them as slaves, by making them Christians, and by that means should open such a gap as all the Planters in the Island would curse him” (Ligon 1657, 50). † They should have their allowances shared out to them . . .: “And till they had planted good store of Plantaines, the Negroes were fed with this kind of food . . . most of it Bonavist and Loblolly, with some ears of Mayes roasted, which food gave then much discontent: But when they had Plantaines enough to serve them, they were heard no more to complain. . . . ’tis gathered for them, sometime before it be ripe, for so they desire to have it, upon Saturday, by the keeper of the Plantaine grove . . . and as he gathers, layes them all together, till they fetch them away, which is about five o’clock in the afternoon. . . . ’Tis a lovely sight to see an hundred handsome Negroes, men and women, with every one a grasse-green bunch of these fruits on their heads, every bunch twice as big as their heads, all coming in a train. . . . Having brought this fruit home to their own houses, and pilling off the skin of so much as they will use, they boyle it in water, making it into balls, and so they eat it. One bunch a week is a Negroe’s allowance” (Ligon 1657, 43). † gut-sides: Land adjacent to a narrow valley. † Indian provisions: West Indian provisions – root crops such as yams, corn and cassava. † chamber ventilator: Ventiducts: pipes or passages serving to bring cool or fresh air into rooms or apartments in hot climates. † necessary: Necessary house: privy. † never so good: Ever so good. page 53 † chirurgical: Surgical. † piazza: Verandah; porch. † physical person: Physician. page 54 † British oil: See note, page 136. † James’s powder: See note, page 139. † Turlington’s balsam: Robert Turlington of London, Merchant, received a patent for his Balsam of Life in January 1744: “Take of storax five pounds; coriander seeds one pound; aloes two pounds and half; fennell one pound; mastick one pound and half; cardamums one pound and half; frankinsence one pound and half; aniseeds one

Notes 

pound; benjamin five pounds; angilica one pound; gum elemy seven pounds; cinnamon two pounds; guaiacum three pounds; cloves one pound; myrrh six pounds; nutmegs eight ounces; araback eight ounces; winter bark one pound; Peru balsam five pounds; nettle seeds one pound and half; tolue one pound; juniper one pound; safron one pound; mace four ounces; oyle eight pounds; Saint John wort eight pounds; marshmallows four pounds. Distill and digest the same with a quantity sufficient of rectifyed spirits in a glass vehicle, until the same become a balsam, on a sand heat or slow fire, which said balsam is to be taken in any liquid, thirty or forty drops at a time according to the patient’s disorder, and to be repeated as often as occasion requires, which will cure the stone, gravel, cholick and inward weakness.”

The Sugar-Cane, Book IV page 59 † Genius of Afric!: Spirit of Africa! † Niger: Niger River. † papaw: Carica papaya. † party-colour’d: Variegated in colour. † Rio Grande: Koliba River. † black Senaga: Senegal River. † brede: Plait; wreathe; intertwine. † Muse (mythology): One of nine sister-goddesses, the offspring of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory), regarded as the inspirers of learning and the arts, especially poetry and music. † Libya: Africa. † bays: Sprigs or leaves of Bay Laurel (Lauris nobilis), woven into a wreath or garland to reward a conqueror or poet. † Sylvan (mythology): An imaginary being supposed to haunt woods or groves; a deity or spirit of the woods. † Melvil: Robert Melville (1723–1809), a Scottish military officer who became Governor of Guadeloupe and later of the “ceded islands”. St Vincent, Dominica, St Lucia and Tobago were ceded to Britain under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763). Under the terms of the same treaty Martinique and Guadeloupe were returned to France. † Indian: West Indian. page 60 † jetty: Of the colour of jet; black. † Who deem’st naught foreign that belongs to man: “Homo sum et humani nihil a me

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 Notes alienum puto.” “I am a man; I think nothing that is human foreign to me” (Publius Terentius Afer, Roman playwright, 190–159 BC). † Libyan: African. † Zaire: Zaire (Congo) River. † mechanic: Pertaining to or involving manual labour or skill. † Golden Coast: Gulf of Guinea: present-day Ghana. † Papaws, of negroes far the best: Slaves shipped from Whydah in Dahomey, who were considered by the English to make the most docile and agreeable slaves. † Volta: River Volta, on the Bight of Biafra. † Rey: Rio-del-Rey (King’s River), also known as Rio-real (Royal River) and Bonny River, on the Bight of Biafra. page 61 † Cormantee: Slaves imported from the Gold Coast, present-day Ghana. † poniard: Dagger. † sauntering: Occupied in leisurely pursuits. † yams: Discorea sp. † lofty maize: Guinea corn: Sorghum vulgare. † Fell: Dire; destructive; cruel. page 62 † Minnah: Slaves imported from the Gold Coast, from Mina, the familiar Portuguese name for the slaving port of Elminia. † bill: Bill-hook, a heavy, thick knife or chopper with a hooked end, used to harvest sugar cane. † [buy]: In the 1766 version of The Sugar-Cane this word is rendered “ƒly”. The word can be read as “fly” or as “sly”; however, neither makes sense in the context. † The Moco-nation: Slaves of the Makoko nation, on the River Congo. † Mundingo: Mandingo people, of present-day Mali. † learned leach: Physician. † Phœbus (mythology): Name of Apollo as the Sun-god; the sun personified. † Lap’d: Enfolded caressingly, like a child in its mother’s lap. † Elysium (mythology): The supposed state or abode of the blessed after death; a place or state of perfect happiness. † Quanza: River Kwanza, in present-day Angola. † bloat: Abdominal distension. † nice art the water may subdue: Medical science may prevent abdominal distension. † Æthiop: African. † Machaon: A physician named in Homer’s Iliad. † vervain: Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, West Indian vervain. † sempre-vive: Aloe vera, aloes, possessing purgative properties.

Notes 

† white eagle: Calomel (mercurous chloride), possessing purgative properties. page 63 † novel: Newly arrived. † acajou: Cashew (Anacardium occidentale). † rheums: Respiratory infections; catarrh. † hydrops: Dropsy; insatiable thirst. † turtle: Green (Chelonia midas), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles are found in West Indian waters. † art: Medical science. † swallow dirt: Pica; geophagy. † chlorotic: Pertaining to chlorosis (green sickness) – anaemia that affects young women about the age of puberty, producing a pale or greenish tinge to the complexion. † cates: Dainty foods. page 64 † Pæan (mythology): Apollo, Greek god of healing. † repine: Complain. † Tartarean: Pertaining to hell or purgatory; infernal. † whelm: Bury. † exhalations of the deep-dug mine: Toxic underground gases. † Scotia: Scotland. † silver’s fluent ore: Quicksilver; mercury. page 65 † whilom: In times long past. † proud insulting tyrants: Spanish conquistadors. † God of Day: Apollo, the Sun-god. † novel: New; unaccustomed. † humours: Personalities; habits. page 66 † Indus: A river in South Asia, flowing from Tibet through Kashmir to the Arabian Sea. † Fortune (mythology): Fortuna, Roman goddess of chance, fortune and luck. † hated main: “Slave coast” of West Africa. † swains: Agricultural labourers. † Wisdom (mythology): Alalcomenean Athena, goddess of wisdom. † worm that subtle winds into their flesh: Guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis).

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 Notes page 67 † A direful length: Guinea worms can grow to lengths of three or four feet. † leaden cylinder: A pencil. † Moor: African. † dragon worm: Guinea worm. † visual ray: Eyesight. † lay: A lyric or narrative poem, intended to be sung. † Æthiop-kind: African. † yaws: Frambœsia, an infectious disease caused by a spirochæte, Treponema pertenue. † near the main: Beside the sea. † conch: A large gastropod, Strombus gigas. † flowers of sulphur: Powdered sulphur. page 68 † ichor: Acrid watery discharge. † live-silver: Mercury. † defœdations: Skin eruptions. † turpentine: West Indian turpentine (Bursera simaruba). † guaiac: Lignum vitæ (Guaiacum officinale). † balm: A healing or soothing influence. † The sons of Guinea: Africans. † ingraft: Vaccinate, as with smallpox. † Libya’s sons: Africans. † Proteus-like (mythology): Able to change appearance and character, in the manner of Proteus, a mythological sea-god who could change his shape at will. † Mania (mythology): Roman goddess of the dead. † like Ague: Ague-like – febrile; feverish. page 69 † art: Medical science. † Melasses: Molasses. † reptile: (Of animals): creeping; crawling. † vermifuge: Medicine capable of expelling intestinal worms. † worm-grass: Chenopodium ambrosoides or Spigelia anthelmia. † Tyrians: Phœnicians. † the northern star: Polaris, the North Star. † Attic’s sterile land: Attica, a region of southeast Greece, surrounding Athens. page 70 † Enna: Sicily. † Belgian: Pertaining to the Low Countries – Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Notes 

† compeer: Business associate; friend. † Sylvanus (mythology): Roman god of woods and fields. † Ceres (mythology): Roman goddess of agriculture. † Albion: England. † sole empress of the main: Master of the seas. † Eurus (mythology): God of the east wind; the east wind. page 71 † That world: The New World. † Lusitania’s chiefs: The kings of Portugal. † art: Medical science. † bewitch’d: Under a spell of witchcraft. Obeah is a form of African witchcraft that was transplanted to the West Indies during the era of slavery. † sacred Nine (mythology): The nine Muses, inspirers of learning and the arts. page 72 † leach: Obeah-man. † Lucifer: The morning star, the planet Venus, when it appears in the sky before sunrise. page 73 † coil: Noisy disturbance. † Nor ’bove the bestial rank: Brutish, animal-like, and therefore not in possession of a soul. † Carolinian: Pertaining to one or both of the Carolinas in the present-day United States of America, then the American Colonies. † Iërne: Ireland. page 74 † broken land: Land cleared of trees. page 75 † mint: Mentha sp. † thyme: Thymus sp. † balm: Melissa officinalis. † Mint, thyme, balm, and Europe’s coyer herbs, / Shoot gladsome forth, nor reprobate the clime: “All these I carried with me [to Barbados] in seeds, and all grew and prospered well” (Ligon 1657, 99). † limes: Citrus aurantifolia. † citrons: Citrus medica. † cotton shrub: Gossypium sp.

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 Notes † coffee: Coffea arabica. † Albion’s lovely fair: England’s lovely women. page 76 † the food of health: Chocolate. † Indian: West Indian. † Phæacia’s isle: Corcyra (Corfu). † Pomona’s ruby-tinctured births: Apples. Pomona was the Roman goddess of gardens and fruit trees. † Flora (mythology): Roman goddess of gardens and flowers. page 77 † melon: Muskmelon (Cucumis melo). † anana: Pineapple (Ananas cosmosus). † anthropophagi: Cannibals; man-eaters. page 78 † chirimoia: Cherimoya (Annona cherimola), native of Peru. The pulpy fruit of this tree is highly esteemed on account of its delicious flavour. † Indian-groves: West Indian groves. † Jones: Inigo Jones, 1573–1652, English architect. † Wren: Sir Christopher Wren, 1632–1723, English architect. † Palladio: Andrea Palladio, 1518–80, Italian architect. † wild fig-tree: Bearded fig tree: Ficus citrifolia. † rood: A square perch or pole: an area of 161/2 square feet. † Typhon (mythology): Powerful, destructive whirlwind that had a hundred dragonheads and a body covered with serpents. page 79 † Northern-Ind: North America. † But I’m in haste to furl my wind-worn sails, / And anchor my tir’d vessel on the shore: Cf. Virgil’s Georgics, Book IV, vv. 116–17: “Atque equidem, extremo ni iam sub fine laborum / vela traham et terris festinem advertere proram.” “And in truth, were I not now hard on the very close of my toils, furling my sails, and hastening to turn my prow to land.” page 80 † coco: Coconut (Cocos nucifera). † Neptune (mythology): Roman god of the sea. † bananas: Musa sapientum. † plantanes: Plantains (Musa paradisiaca).

Notes 

page 81 † Naiad (mythology): Minor female deity of fountains and lakes. † lave: Bathe; wash. † festal days: Holidays; festive occasions. † choral dance: “On Sundayes in the afternoon, their Musick playes, and to dancing they go, the men by themselves, and the women by themselves, no mixt dancing. Their motions are rather what they aim at, than what they do; and by that means, transgress the less upon the Sunday, their hands having more of motion than their feet, and their heads more than their hands. They may dance a whole day, and ne’r heat themselves; yet, now and then, one of the activest amongst them will leap bolt upright, and fall in his place again, but without cutting a capre” (Ligon 1657, 50). † melancholy sound: “In the afternoons on Sundays, they have their Musick, which is of kettle drums, and those of several sizes; upon the smallest the best Musitian plays, and the [others] come in as Chorasses: the drum all men know, has but one tone; and therefore variety of tunes have little to do in this musick; and yet so strangely they varie their time, as ’tis a pleasure to the most curious ears” (Ligon 1657, 48). † frisks and capers: Brisk, lively dance movements. † heels: Rhythmic tap-dancing. † air: Leaps in the course of dance movements. † vinous spirits: Alcoholic drinks; wine; rum. † Fell: Cruel; treacherous. page 82 † Aquarius (mythology): The water carrier; the eleventh sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters on 21 January. † Wiltshire: An English county; the name Wiltshire is also applied to a breed of sheep distinguished by its very light short wool. † coarse linen, from the Scotian loom: Garments, woven in Scotland of coarse linen, in which slaves were clothed for work in the fields. † Gallic Lewis: Louis XIV, king of France, 1643–1715. † chicane: Dishonest legal practitioners. † Themis (mythology): Also known as Justice. The personification of order and justice, Themis is represented in art as carrying a cornucopia and a pair of scales. † mild laws . . . to guard the Æthiop from tyrannic sway: Le Code Noir, a body of French laws and regulations concerning the treatment of slaves, promulgated in 1685. † these green isles which Albion claims: West Indian islands under British administration. † Did such obtain: Cf. note 80, page 51. page 83 † Commerce (mythology): Mercury, Roman god of commerce.

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 Notes † Time (mythology): Saturn, Roman god of time. † Britannia: Roman name for Britain; poetic name for Britain personified as female. † Neptune (mythology): Roman god of the sea. † crouch: Bend low, as in submission. † old Ocean (mythology): Oceanus, father of rivers and fountains. page 84 † Wisdom (mythology): Boeotian goddess of Alalcomenean Athena. † Fame (mythology): Fama, Roman goddess of fame. † British George: George III, 1760–1820.

The Natural History of the Island of Barbados, Book II page 85 † Hermon: Mountain contained within the boundaries of the land promised by God to the Israelites after their escape from Egypt. See Deuteronomy 4:48. † Urn: Course or source of a river. † Plague: The Black Death, 1347–50. † That they are not already found . . . Plants endued with these Virtues: This paragraph speaks to the doctrine of signatures in nature, a belief that Providence provides signatures (distinctive marks, colours and shapes) that point out the medicinal qualities of plants or other natural objects. page 86 † Materia Medica: Pharmacology. † sublimates: Acts upon so as to produce a refined product. † Spirits: Animating or vital principle; that which gives life to the physical organism. † Gums: Viscid secretions issuing from certain trees and shrubs, possessing medicinal properties. † Balsams: Aromatic oily or resinous medicinal preparations; usually for external application, for healing wounds or soothing pain. † [Balm] of Gilead: Gold-coloured oleoresin exuded from the tree Balsamodendron gileadense, formerly much esteemed as an antiseptic. † [Balm of] Peru: Oleoresin with medicinal properties, produced in Peru. † Practitioners in Physic: Medical practitioners; physicians. † Peripneumonies: Inflammation of the lungs; pneumonia. † Pleurisies: Inflammation of the membranes surrounding the lungs; pleurisy. † the Continent: Africa. † Dr Mead: Richard Mead, MD. † de Peste: Of or concerning plague.

Notes 

† Hippocrates: Greek physician, the “Father of Medicine”, 460–377 BC. † Galen: Claudius Galenus, Greek physician and author, AD 130–200. † Lucretius: Titus Lucretius Carus, Roman poet-philosopher, 96–55 BC. page 87 † ran mad: Exhibited symptoms of furious rabies, characterized by agitation and viciousness. † Art: Medical science. † this Disorder: Human rabies. † it will not permit him to drink: The human affected with rabies suffers great thirst but is unable to drink because of spasms in the throat; as a result, human rabies is known as hydrophobia (fear of water). † Poison: Disease-causing agent. † Virus: Poisonous substance produced in the body as a result of disease. † Sudorifics: Medication that promotes perspiration; diaphoretics. page 88 † Dry Belly-Ach: Afflicted its victims with “exquisite abdominal pain”; its association with lead poisoning became evident from the suffering of those who drank “new rum” made in stills containing pewter or lead coils. † great Costiveness and Pain: Richard Ligon describes “immoderate use of Kill-devil” (rum) as a cause of “Costiveness and Tortions in the bowels . . . a disease very frequent there, and hardly cur’d, and of which many have died” (Ligon 1657, 27). † Punch: Fermented drink “made of water and sugar put together, which in ten dayes standing will be very strong, and fit for labourers” (Ligon 1657, 32). † Mum: Medicinal preparation of the substance of mummies; medicinal bituminous drug obtained from Arabia and the East. † translated: Removed the seat of disease from one part of the body to another. † inveterate: Chronic; resistant to treatment. † Anodynes: Pain-relieving medication; analgesics; narcotics. † Hungary Water: Alcoholic drink made of rosemary flowers infused in rectified spirit of wine and thus distilled. page 89 † Cathartics: Medication capable of purging the bowels; purgatives. † Clysters: Medication injected into the rectum to empty the bowels; enemata. † Dr Warren: In 1741, Dr Henry Warren, a medical practitioner in Barbados, published A Treatise concerning the malignant fever in Barbados and the neighbouring islands: with an account of the seasons there, from the year 1734 to 1738, outlining the symptoms and treatment of yellow fever and several other diseases. † convulsive: Tending to cause violent muscular contraction.

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 Notes † Ilion: The lower third of the small intestine; ileum. † Emetics: Medication capable of inducing vomiting. † Anti-hysterics: Tranquillizing medication used in treatment of hysteria and hysterical disorders. † bitter Pills: Medication containing extract of bitters – extract of quinine obtained from “Peruvian bark”, the bark of Cinchona officinalis. † Colic: Episodes of spasmodic abdominal pain. † Yellow-Jaundice: There are many disease processes that manifest jaundice, a yellow discolouration of the skin and whites of the eyes. † Dysentery: A group of intestinal disorders characterized by abdominal pain accompanied by bloody diarrhoea. † Dr Towne: In 1726, Dr Richard Towne, a medical practitioner in Barbados, published A Treatise of the diseases most frequent in the West Indies, and herein more particularly of those which occur in Barbadoes. page 90 † Flux: Diarrhoea; dysentery. † the poorer Sort of White People: Indentured white servants. † fugacious: Tending to fall off the tree when ripe. † Luecophlegmatia: Dropsical tendency, denoted by pale, tumid, flabby condition of the body. † Dropsy: Morbid condition characterized by accumulation of watery fluid in the serous cavities or connective tissues of the body, now thought to be associated with congestive heart failure. page 91 † Blood-letting: Drawing or letting of blood as a therapeutic measure. † Indian Root or Ipecacuanha: Root of the shrubby South American plant Cephaëlis ipecacuanha, which possesses emetic, diaphoretic and purgative properties. Willem Piso, MD, 1611–78, first described the use of ipecacuanha in treatment of dysentery, thus bringing this drug to the attention of the Western medical world. † Bolus: Medication of round shape adapted for swallowing, larger than an ordinary pill. † Rhubarb: Medicinal rootstock of Rheum sp. † Diascordium: Medication made of dried leaves of water germander (Teucrium scordium). † half a Dram: 1/16 fluid ounce. † Vehicle: Medium of a suitable kind in which a strong or unpalatable drug is administered. † astringent: Having the power to draw together or constrict soft organic tissues. † Balsamics: Soothing or healing medication. † Agglutinants: Strengthening medication, thought to promote excretion of toxins and by-products of metabolism.

Notes 

† Opiates: Opium-containing medication with the power to relieve pain and induce sleep; narcotics. page 92 † Cordial Draught: Beverage intended to invigorate the heart and stimulate the circulation. † Decoction: Liquor in which an animal or vegetable substance has been boiled and in which the principles thus extracted are dissolved. In the mid-1700s a decoction of briar-roots was often used in the treatment of bloody flux. † cooling: Capable of lowering the temperature of blood. † Panada: Dish made by boiling bread in water, to a pulp, and flavouring it with sugar, currants, nutmeg and other ingredients. † Casada: Cassava (Manihot dolcis). For the method of making cassava bread, see Ligon (1657). † Piso: Willem Piso, MD, 1611–78. † Guavas: Fruit of Psidium guajava. † Granadilla: Fruit of the vine Granadilla latifolia. † Hog-plumb: Fruit of Spondias mombin. † Plantains: Fruit of Musa paradisiaca. † Bananaes: Fruit of Musa sapientum. † malignant: Tending to become progressively worse and result in death. † Yellow Fever: Acute, infectious, mosquito-borne viral disease that first appeared in Barbados in 1647 and became known as “Barbadoes distemper”. On his arrival in 1647, Ligon observed that “the Inhabitants of the Island [Barbados] . . . were so grievously visited with the plague (or as killing a disease), that before a month was expired after our arrival, the living were hardly able to bury the dead” (1657, 21). † Treatise upon this Distemper: A Treatise concerning the malignant fever in Barbados and the neighbouring islands: with an account of the seasons there, from the year 1734 to 1738 (Warren 1741). † Martinico: Martinique. † fatal . . . mostly among Strangers: Yellow fever was also known as “Stranger’s fever” and “Barbadoes distemper”. † Ague: Intermittent fever characterized by sweating and chills. page 93 † narrow View: Careful examination. † sensible Pulse: Pulse that can be felt. † Grume: Blood clot. † Livor: Discolouration. † Sphacelus: Necrosis; mortification (tissue death). † pestilential Spots: Skin rashes similar to those seen in patients with plague.

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 Notes † Carbuncles: Skin boils. † Buboes: Enlarged and inflamed lymph nodes, particularly in the groin and armpits. page 94 † we are seldom free from it [smallpox]: George Washington visited Barbados between September and December 1751; in November 1751 he developed smallpox. † Inoculation: After 1700, smallpox virus was intentionally introduced into people in order to induce a small local attack of the disease and render the subject immune to further infection. page 95 † Measles: Pustules associated with eruptive diseases in general. † Clean: Free from leprosy. † Unclean: Infected with leprosy. † confined him to a separate Apartment during life: “And the Lord smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a [separate] house” (2 Kings 15:5). † here: In Barbados. † the inspired Prophet: Elisha. † Gehazi: “the servant of Elisha the man of God” (2 Kings 5:20). page 96 † The Leprosy . . . for ever: “The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow” (2 Kings 6:27). † unctuous: Shining; oily. † never kindly digest: Do not suppurate spontaneously. † Ichor: Watery acrid secretion. † Elephantiasis: A chronic disease characterized by marked swelling of the legs and feet. The disease, caused by a parasitic roundworm, Wucheria bancroftii, was common in West Africa and “it is certain that many slaves [infected with the parasite] but without clinical symptoms [of elephantiasis] were shipped to the [West Indies]”. Elephantiasis was so common in Barbados that it was named “Barbadoes leg”. † Intermittents: Intermittent fevers. † Surfeits: Excessive indulgences. † cachectical: Exhibiting signs of general ill health. † vitiated Humours: Corrupted or spoiled body fluids. † tumefied: Swollen. † Compages: Framework. † Chaps: Painful fissures or cracks in the skin.

Notes 

page 97 † Lancet: Small, pointed, two-edged surgical knife. † Scarf-skin: Outer layer of the skin; epidermis. † Guiney Worms: Guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). † Ciegoes: Fleas (Pulex penetrans). † native: Island-born. † Guiney: West Africa. † Exility: Thinness. † pellucid: Transparent. † Ell: Forty-five inches. † Membrana adiposa: Superficial fatty layer. page 98 † Ham: Hollow or bend of the knee; thigh and buttock. † Flour of Brimstone: Finely ground sulphur. † teasing: Irritating. † taken out by their Slaves: “I had ten taken out of my feet in a morning, by the most unfortunate Yarico, an Indian woman” (Ligon 1657, 65). page 99 † Body-Yaws: A contagious disease characterized by skin eruptions followed by fever, rheumatic-like pain and appearance of sores that develop into tubercles and ulcers. † Running-Yaws: Late stage of yaws, in which bone destruction and joint swellings develop in addition to nodules and ulcers on the skin. † Simples: Ingredients used in making a medicinal mixture. † sanious Humour: Thin, fœtid pus mixed with serum or blood. † Venereal Disease: Syphilis. † transmitted . . . to their unhappy Children: Yaws is caused by a spirochaete very similar to the spirochaete that causes syphilis. However, yaws is generally not considered a sexually transmitted disease; approximately two-thirds of cases of yaws develop before puberty. Willem Piso, 1611–78, was the first physician to distinguish yaws from venereal disease.

Miscellaneous Medical Observations page 101 † Æsculapian: Pertaining to Æsculapius (mythology), Roman god of medicine; son of Apollo. † It was first observed in the Provinces: An outbreak of cow-pox occurred in the late 1700s in the Western Counties, particularly Gloucestershire. † Pegasus: Constellation in the northern sky; one of forty-eight constellations known to

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 Notes the ancient Greeks. Also (mythology), a winged horse, probably a stallion, the offspring of Poseidon and Medusa. † Hipparchus: Greek astronomer and geographer, 170–120 BC. † Tycho: Brahe Tycho, 1546–1601, Danish astronomer. † Hevelius: Johannes Hevelius, 1611–87, German astronomer. † Flamstead: John Flamsteed, 1646–1719, British astronomer. † Herschel: Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1792–1871, British astronomer and physicist. † Pythonissas: Women having the power of divination or soothsaying; witches. † gally-pots: Small earthen pots, used by apothecaries for storage of ointments and medicines. Hence, “the old gally-pots of Galen”: medical knowledge accumulated by Galen. † Galen: Claudius Galenus, AD 130–200, Greek physician; “father of experimental physiology”. His ideas dominated medicine until the Renaissance (early fifteenth to seventeenth centuries). † Cathay: Medieval European name for China. † Mandevile: Sir John Mandeville, fourteenth century, reputed author of a book of travels and travellers’ tales that take the reader to Turkey, Tartary, Persia, Egypt and India. The book, written in French and much translated, was actually compiled by an unknown hand from the works of several authors. † rout: (Of swine) to turn up the soil with the snout in search of food. † greasy-heel distemper in horses: Inflammation of the sebaceous follicles of the skin of the heels, followed by increased morbid secretion. page 102 † inoculation: In 1798, Dr Edward Jenner, 1749–1823, published An Enquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolæ Vaccinæ, in which he observed that “Cow-pox protects the human constitution from the infection of small-pox”. In that same year he established that inoculation with cow-pox provided immunity (whole or partial) from infection with smallpox. † Erasmus: Desiderius Erasmus, 1466–1536, Christian humanist and writer. † habit: Bodily condition or constitution. † Sydenham: Thomas Sydenham, 1624–89, British physician. Known as “The English Hippocrates”, Sydenham published Observationes medicæ (1676). † depurating: Removing impurities; cleansing; purifying. † Inoculation: After 1700, applied to the intentional introduction of smallpox virus in order to induce a mild, local attack of the disease, and render the subject immune to future contagion. † animadversions: Criticisms, comments, observations; usually, but not always, implying censure. † brute creation: Animal life.

Notes 

page 103 † Lues Bovilla: Cow-pox. † bestial humour: Fluid of animal origin. † brutal fever: Fever of animal origin. †quadrupedan: Referring to four-legged animals. † Pasiphaë (mythology): The wife of Minos and mother of the Minotaur. † engrafting: Implanting a disease by inoculation, as was practised with smallpox. † distempers of bestial origin: Zoonotic diseases; diseases capable of being transmitted between animals and man. † Yaws is one of them: Yaws is not a zoonotic disease. † It may be communicated . . . by inoculation, and by accidental contact, when ulcerous material is carried into the habit by absorption: Yaws is spread by direct contact with an infective human case; there is no animal reservoir. There is “some evidence to suggest that the infective agent (Treponema pertenue) can survive in the moist earth floors of native huts for long enough to spread the infection” (Adams and Maegraith 1960, 511). † Yaws . . . may be communicated to white people . . . by accidental contact. I have seen several shocking instances of this sort: “. . . the disgrace and ruin which would be the consequence to any respectable white person contracting it, deter most medical men from making themselves conversant with this interesting disease. There have been instances of distressing acts of suicide committed by genteel young men, who have been accidentally infected, to escape the overwhelming obloquy which is associated with a European labouring under Yaws” (Dr James Maxwell, quoted in Sheridan 1985, 86). † The seeds of yaws descend from those who have had it: Yaws is not a congenital disease. † Chevalier: Unidentified francophone physician. † Hillary: William Hillary, MD, practised medicine in Barbados from 1747 to 1758. † Hillary often saw it: In his Epidemical Diseases of Barbadoes (1759), Hillary says that yaws is indigenous to Africa and Arabia, that it “seldom fails to attack the negroes in Africa . . . but most frequently the children and young people; and that they very rarely . . . have it a second time, if they have been perfectly cured the first time, either in their own native country by their negro doctors, or after they arrive here” (quoted in Sheridan 1985, 24). † Hali Abbas: Ali ibn al-Abbas al-Majus, (c. AD 850), Islamic physician and author; published Kamil al Sina’aa fi al Tibb (The Perfectly Accomplished in Medicine). † Turner: David Turner, MD, inventor of Turner’s Cerate, was a London surgeon who was admitted a Licentiate of the College of Physicians in 1711. Turner was considered “too fond of displaying his talents upon paper” and, moreover, “his cases [most dealing with syphilis] were not stated in the most delicate terms, nor was politeness among his excellences” (Wootton 1910, 158).

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 Notes page 104 † No person is subject to it twice: An attack of yaws may confer some resistance to further infection; however, it does not confer lifelong immunity. † dreadful agonizing curvatures: The bones most often involved in yaws are the long bones of the legs and forearms; painful, oedematous deformities develop rapidly. † caries: Ulcers. † this is an invetereate ulcer, proceeding from the . . . chief determination of the eruption: A gummatous granuloma may occur as a late-stage (tertiary) lesion, causing ulceration of the skin and involvement of deeper tissues. The ulcer is indolent and progressive; it frequently becomes secondarily infected and eventually heals with significant scarring and deformity. † crab yaws: Yaws granulomata on the soles of the feet, which are intensely painful and interfere with walking. Persons so affected attempt to walk on the inner or outer aspects of their feet, resulting in a “crab-like” gait. † Farcy: Disease of horses, closely related to glanders – a contagious disease, the chief symptoms of which are swellings beneath the jaw and discharge of mucus from the nostrils. † running yaws: Reference to the predilection of yaws granulomata to become secondarily infected. † habit: Surface of the body; external appearance of the body. † The cure of yaws is now understood by skilful practitioners: Slaves suffering with yaws were commonly removed to a “yaws hut and yard”, often surrounded by a stockade, in a remote corner of the plantation; here their care was usually under the direction of an old female slave. White physicians were repelled by yaws patients, partly because of their physical appearance but also as a result of fear of contagion. Such physicians as visited the yaws huts acknowledged that traditional African remedies were more efficacious than those of European origin, which often involved the use of sulphur and mercury. Dr William Hillary observed, in Barbados, that traditional African treatment “with the caustic juices of certain escarotic plants externally applied, and giving the juice or decoction of others internally” had been found to be effective in “curing yaws”. He also observed that slaves “kept this method of treatment secret from white people and preserved among themselves by tradition” (Sheridan 1985, 87). page 105 † with their noses, like the beaks of old eagles: “. . . secondary bone changes in the nasal processes of the maxillary bones leads to curious hard thickening of the face on either side of the bridge of the nose, known as goundou” (Adams and Maegraith 1960, 521–22). † subtile: (Of persons) clever; dextrous; skilful. † scrophulous: Having the appearance of being affected with scrofula – primary tuberculosis of the cervical lymph nodes, also known as “struma” or “King’s evil”.

Notes 

† sigils: Occult signs or devices supposed to have mysterious powers. † OBI: Obeah – witchcraft or sorcery practised by Negroes in Africa and the West Indies. † oracles: Persons claiming to be mediums of diabolic communication. † Then said Saul unto his servants, “Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go unto her and enquire of her” (1 Samuel 28:7). page 106 † And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor” (1 Samuel 28:7). † And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, “I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee” (1 Samuel 28:8). † “sore distressed”: See 1 Samuel 28:15. † And the woman said unto him, “Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land” (1 Samuel 28:9). † “They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 66:17). † necromantically: Pertaining to necromancy, the practice of foretelling future events by means of communication with the dead; black magic. † planetary hours: Natural hours of darkness. † to invoke his, or her dead parents . . . to assist in the curse: “Something like this Custom was observed by the Romans, in their Feasts called Silicernia, at which Times there was a Repast prepared for the Dead, at least in Honour of them, and laid on their Graves: This appears from the following Words of Ovid de Fastis, Lib. II. Tombs have their Honours too; our Parents crave Some slender Present to adorn the Grave. Slender the Present, which to Ghosts we owe: These Pow’rs observe not what we give, but how: No greedy Souls disturb the Seats below. They only ask a Trifle with Garlands crown’d, And Fruit, and Salt to sprinkle on the Ground” (Hughes 1750, 15). † will apply to an Obi-man, or Obi-woman, for cure: “They stand much in Awe of such as pass for Obeah Negroes, these being a sort of Physicians or Conjurers, who can, as they believe, not only fascinate them, but cure them when they are bewitched by others” (Hughes 1750, 15). † magnetising: Influencing by “animal magnetism”; mesmerism – hypnosis induced, according to Friedrich Anton Mesmer (Austrian physician, 1733–1815), through animal magnetism.

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 Notes † the patient is well next day: “A Negro Woman, who was troubled with Rheumatic Pains, was persuaded by one of these Obeah Doctors, that she was bewitched, and that these Pains were owing to several Pieces of Glass, rusty Nails, and Splinters of sharp Stones, that were lodged in different Parts of her Body; adding, that it was in his Power, if paid for it, to cure her, by extracting these from her through her Navel. Upon Payment of the stipulated Præmium, he produced his Magical Apparatus, being two Earthen Basons, a Handful of different Kinds of Leaves, and a Piece of Soap. In one of these Basons he made a strong Lather, in the other he put the bruised Herbs; then clapping these with one Hand to the Navel, and pouring the Suds by Degrees upon them, he stroked the Parts most affected with the other Hand, always ending towards the Navel: In a short time after, thrusting his Finger and Thumb into the Cataplasm of Herbs, he produced several Pieces of broken Glass, Nails, and Splinters of Stones” (Hughes 1750, 15–16). † Chaldeans: Natives of Chaldea, especially (as at Babylon) those skilled in occult learning and astrology. † sagacious: Having special aptitude in devising means for the accomplishment of specific ends; shrewd. page 107 † venefical art: Black magic; witchcraft. † deadly arrows: Sir Walter Raleigh visited Guiana in 1594 and described “ouari”, the potent arrow poison used by Amerindians. Extraction of curare from the creeping vine Chondrodendron tomentosum followed the 1825 publication of Charles Waterton’s Wanderings in South America. † Frier Bacon: Fictional character appearing in a verse and prose comedy The Honourable Historie of Frier Bacon and Frier Bongay, written in 1594 by Robert Greene. The comedy is based on legends relating to Roger Bacon and Thomas Bungay. † a negro, labouring under the influence of OBI: “And if once a Negro believes, that he is bewitched, the Notion is so strongly riveted in his Mind, that, Medicines seldom availing, he usually lingers till Death puts an End to his Fears” (Hughes 1750, 15). † nosology: Scientific classification of diseases. † nugatory: Useless; futile; worthless. † Sir William Phipps: William Phipps, 1651–95, was knighted in 1687 and appointed provost marshal of New England; in 1692 he was appointed governor of Massachusetts. page 108 † Maroons: Escaped slaves who established isolated communities (especially in Jamaica) and survived in mountain or forest country. The word “maroon” is derived from the Spanish cimarrón: a wild place.

Notes 

page 109 † Robinson Crusoe: Daniel Defoe, The Life and Strange and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, 1719. † fastnesses: Places of safety; hides. † Spartacus: Thracian slave and gladiator, who led a revolt against Rome in 73 BC, at the head of an army of gladiators and rebels. In 71 BC he was defeated by Crassus and crucified. † Medean: Pertaining to Medea (mythology), Greek priestess of Hecate, a skilled magician with the gift of prophecy, who killed her own children before fleeing to Athens. After her death she was transported to Elysium and became the consort of Achilles. page 110 † christianed: Made a Christian; christened. page 112 † now no longer afraid of Jack’s OBI: Beat big drum; wave fine flag Bring good news to Kingston Town, O No fear Jack’s Obeah-bag Quashie knock him down, O! (Senior 2003) † Anaretic (astrology): Pertaining to Anareta, the planet that destroys life. page 113 † “I will smite them with pestilence”: See Numbers 14:12. † exanthema: Skin eruptions that attend and are characteristic of infectious fevers. † buboes: Glandular swellings or abscesses of the groins and armpits; associated with plague in the seventeenth century. † anthrax: Boils; carbuncles. † a long and sanguinary conflict: The American War of Independence, 1775–83. † plague . . . appeared at Philadelphia in 1793: Yellow fever and plague were often confused for one another in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. On arrival in Barbados in 1647, Ligon observed that “the Inhabitants of the Island, and shipping too, were so grievously visited with plague (or as killing a disease), that before a month was expired after our arrival, the living were hardly able to bury the dead” (Ligon 1657, 21). This “Barbadian plague” was actually yellow fever. † Dr Benjamin Rush: Benjamin Rush, MD, 1745–1813, one of the signatories of the American Declaration of Independence. † direful complexion: Yellow discolouration of the skin; jaundice. † pathognomonics: Signs or symptoms characteristic of a particular disease.

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 Notes page 114 † Pandoran (mythology): Pertaining to Pandora’s box, the gift of Jupiter to Pandora (the first mortal woman), that contained the entire multitude of human ills, which flew forth when the box was foolishly opened by Epimetheus. page 115 † Sweating Sickness: Febrile disease of which rapidly fatal epidemics occurred in England in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. See note on Kaye, this page. † rot: Virulent disease of sheep, affecting the liver; caused by fluke-worm (Fasciola hepatica). † anthraces (plural of anthrax): Boils; carbuncles. † canine madness: Rabies; hydrophobia. † murrain: Pestilence; plague. † Agues: Malaria-like fevers. † Bronchocele: Swelling of the thyroid gland; goitre. † Pliny: Gaius Plinius Secundus, AD 23–79; Roman lawyer, historian and naturalist. † Gemursa: A form of elephantiasis, observed and described in Italy many years after Pliny’s death. † Mentagra: Sycosis – ulcers or morbid skin eruptions resembling figs. page 116 † umbrous: Shady. † Pontini marshes: Marshy area in western Italy, southeast of Rome. † Bulam: Name given by natives of the African coast to yellow fever. † Siam: Former name of Thailand. † bleeding: Drawing or letting blood for a therapeutic purpose. † wants: Lacks. page 117 † seminal principles: Pollen. † vitiated: Corrupted; spoiled. † Fracastorius: Girolamo Fracastoro, 1478–1553, Italian physician, poet, astronomer and geologist; early proponent of a scientific germ theory of contagious disease. page 118 † Rhazes: Abu Bakr Muhammad ibu Zakariya ar-Razi, AD 864–930, physician and alchemist; “the greatest physician of the Arab world”. † Hodges: Nathaniel Hodges, MD, 1629–88, British physician; published Loimologia, or, An historical account of the plague in London in 1665, with precautionary Directions against the like contagion, 1672. † Kaye: John Caius Kaye, MD, 1510–73, British physician; published Boke or Counseill agaynst the Disease commonly called the Sweate, or Sweatyng Sicknesse, 1552.

Notes 

† Procopius: Byzantine historian, c. AD 499–565; appointed prefect of Constantinople, AD 562. † measles: Chickenpox, cowpox. † lues venerea: Syphilis. page 119 † præcordia: Forepart of the thorax; region of the body around the heart. † alexipharmics: Antidotes or “counter-poisons”. † bark: Probably a decoction of Jesuit’s bark (quinine-bearing bark of the Peruvian “fever-tree”, Cinchona officinalis); however, see note 1, page 7. † Nimeguen: Nymwegen, the German name for Nijmegen, a city in the East Netherlands on the Waal River. page 120 † Botallus: Leonhardus Botallus, sixteenth-century Italian physician. † Vitrum Antimonii: Glass of antimony; fused oxy-sulphide of antimony. † specific: Medication especially efficacious for a particular ailment. † diuturnal: Of long duration; lasting. page 121 † the Civil War: The English Civil War, 1642–48. † he: Thomas Sydenham, 1624–89, British physician. † Dover: Thomas Dover, MD, 1660–1742, British physician. † the storming of Guiaquil: Guyaquil, Ecuador, was “stormed” by the British in 1709. † under the line, in the South Seas: In the Pacific Ocean, south of the equator. page 122 † tokens: Spots on the body indicating disease, especially plague. † Venice treacle: Electuary (medicinal conserve or paste mixed with honey, or syrup of some kind) composed of many ingredients, supposed to possess universal alexipharmic and preservative properties. † Diascordium: Medication made of dried leaves of water germander (Teucrium chamædrys). † Mithridate: Electuary composed of many ingredients, regarded as a universal antidote and preservative against poisons and infectious disease: named for Mithridates VI (“the Great”), king of Pontus AD 120–163, who was said to have immunized himself against the action of a poison by taking the poison in gradually increased doses. † Gascoigne’s Powder: Powder composed of oriental bezoar, white amber, hartshorn in powder, pearls, crabs’ eyes, coral and black tops of crabs’ claws; also known as “bezoardic powder” or “Powder of the Black Tops of Crab-claws” (Wootton 1910). † Bezoar: “Counter-poison” or antidote. † scorbutic people: People suffering with scurvy.

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 Notes † Sack: White wine formerly imported from Spain and the Canary Islands. † Cato: Marcus Porcius Cato (the Elder), 234–149 BC, Roman statesman, orator and writer. page 123 † apothecary: One who prepared and sold drugs for medicinal purposes. † Garasse: François Garasse, 1584–1631, French Jesuit. † Poictiers: Poitiers, Vienne, Western France. † Bayle: Pierre Bayle, 1647–1706, French philosopher and critic; published Dictionaire historique et critique, 1696. page 124 † Vincent: Thomas Vincent Faustus Sadler, 1604–81. † Samnites: People of ancient Italy; their territory, called Samnium, was adjacent to Latinum (territory of the ancient Romans). † Peloponnesus: Peninsula forming the southern part of Greece. † Sibylline books: Collection of prophecies predicting the destiny of the Roman state. † vestal: Vestal virgin – one of the priestesses who had charge of the sacred fire in the Temple of Vesta at Rome. † incontinence: Sexual impurity; lasciviousness. † Tyre: Ancient city of Phœnicia. page 125 † Sicyon: Ancient city in southern Greece, near Corinth. † Solemn League and Covenant: The 1643 league between England and Scotland, based on the establishment of Presbyterianism in both countries. † Sagittarius: Ninth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters on 22 November. † Solomon Eagle: Solomon Eccles, 1618–83, British musician; became a Quaker in 1660, and in 1661 accompanied George Fox (1624–91, founder of the Society of Friends) to the West Indies to promote Quakerism. In 1680 Eccles was prosecuted and tried in Barbados for sedition. † “And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall; Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house for seven days; And the priest shall come again on the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house; Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city: And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:

Notes 

And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other morter, and shall plaister the house. And if the plague come again, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plaistered; Then the priest shall come and look, and behold, if the plague be spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean. And he shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the morter of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.” † Bacchus (mythology): Greek god of wine. page 126 † Buonaparte: Napoleon Bonaparte, 1769–1821. † Berthier: Louis Alexandre Berthier, 1735–1815, French general and first marshal of the French empire; chief of staff to Napoleon. † Berthollet: Claude Louis Berthollet, Comte, 1748–1822, French chemist; appointed senator by Napoleon. † the Levant: Countries of the East. page 127 † Tartary: Region of indefinite extent in East Europe and Asia.

167



References

Adams A.R.D., and B.G. Maegraith. 1966. Clinical Tropical Diseases. Second edition. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publishers. Anon. 1828. Memoirs of the Late William Wright, MD, Fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh, etc. Edinburgh: n.p. Bayley, I. 1949. “The Bush Teas of Barbados”. Journal of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society 16. Reprinted in Chapters in Barbados History. Bridgetown: Barbados Museum and Historical Society, 1986. Carrington, S. 1993. Wild Plants of Barbados. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan. Dewhurst, K. 1957. The Quicksilver Doctor: The Life and Times of Thomas Dover, Physician and Adventurer. Bristol: John Wright and Sons. Dunn, R. 1973. Sugar and Slaves. New York and London: W.W. Norton. Dyde, B. 1993. Caribbean Companion: The A–Z Reference. Hong Kong: Macmillan. Gilmore, J. 2000. The Poetics of Empire. London and New Brunswick, NJ: Athlone Press. Hillary, W. 1759. Observations on the Changes of the Air and the Concomitant Epidemical Diseases, in the Island of Barbadoes. To which is added a Treatise on the putrid Bilious Fever, commonly called the Yellow Fever; and such other Diseases as are indigenous or endemial, in the West India Islands, or in the Torrid Zone. London: L. Hawes and W. Clarke. Honigsbaum, M. 2001. The Fever Trail: The Hunt for the Cure for Malaria. Macmillan. Howard, R. 1994. Eighteenth Century West Indian Pharmaceuticals. Harvard Papers in Botany, no. 5. Hughes, G. 1750. The Natural History of the Island of Barbados. London: privately printed. Reprinted, New York: Arno Press, 1972. Kiple, K. 1984. The Caribbean Slave: A Biological History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ligon, R. 1657. A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes. London: Peter Parker, 1657. Reprinted, London: Frank Cass, 1976. Senior, O. 2003. The Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage. Kingston: Twin Guinep. Sheridan, R. 1985. Doctors and Slaves: A Medical and Demographic History of Slavery in the British West Indies, 1680–1834. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 168

References 

Thomas, H. 1997. The Slave Trade: The History of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1440–1870. Kent: Simon and Schuster. Wilberforce, W. 1823. An Appeal . . . in Behalf of the Negro Slaves in the West Indies. London: n.p. Reprinted, New York: Negro Universities Press, 1969. Williams, E. 1944. Capitalism and Slavery. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Wootton, A.C. 1910. Chronicles of Pharmacy. London: Macmillan and Co.

Contemporary Pharmaceutical References The Chemist and Druggist. 23 September 1905. The London Dispensatory. 1815. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brow. The Pharmaceutical Pocket Book. 1915.

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Index

Acaju (Anacardium occidentale): in treatment of flux, 24 Achyranthes indica (Devil’s bit): in treatment of malignant sore throat, 32 African medicine: perceptions of traditional, xviii–xiv Agglutinants: in treatment of flux, 91 Allium sativum (garlic): in treatment of intestinal worms, 19; stomach pains, 34 Aloe vera (Semprevive): in treatment of costiveness, 39; intestinal worms, 19; stomach pains, 34 Amaranthus sp. (Jamaica prickle-weed), 75n18 Amaranthus spinosus (calaloo): description of, 75n18 Anata (Bixa orellana): description of, 79n26 Anderson, Dr Robert: Scottish editor, 4, 129n Andira inermis (mountain-cabbage tree), 20 Angola’s bloomy bush: in treatment of incipient eye films, 74n12. See also Cajanus cajan Animal diseases: epidemic, 115 Anodynes: description of, 153n; in treatment of belly-ach, 26, 27, 88, 89 Anthemis spp. (chamomile): in treatment of costiveness, 39 Antimonial wine: description of, 37, 37n62; in treatment of yaws, 45 170

Antimony (essence of ): in treatment of costiveness, 39 Antimony (glass of, in Madeira): in treatment of rheumatism and sciatica, 37 Argemone mexicana (yellow-thistle): seed as an emetic, 23, 131n Asclepias curassavica (wild ipecacuan): in treatment of flux, 23; intestinal worms, 19 Astringents: in treatment of flux, 91 Avocado pear (Persea americana): and dysentery, 22n31; in treatment of fever, 21 Avocato pear. See Avocado pear Bacon, Roger: obeah compared with the magical skills of, 107 Baker, Sir Richard: English historian, 115n17 Balsamics: in treatment of flux, 91 Banana leaves: in treatment of burns, 49 Banshaw: description of, 81n30 Barbadoes distemper (yellow fever), 155n Barbadoes leg (elephantiasis), 156n Bay-grape (Coccoloba uvifera): description of, 80n28 Bayle, Pierre, 123, 166n Belly-ach. See Dry belly-ach Belly-ach bush (Jatropha gossypiifolia): in treatment of dry belly-ach, 27n40 Bilious Remittents: treatment of, 21n28 Bilious Remitting Yellow Fever, 113

Index 

Bitter pills: in treatment of belly-ach, 89 Bixa orellana (anata): description of, 79n26 Bleeding. See Phlebotomy Blood letting. See Phlebotomy Blue-stone: in treatment of yaws, 45 Body-yaws. See Yaws Boerhaave, Dr Herman: career of, xi Bonavist (Lablab purpureus): description of, 74 Botallus, Leonhardus: Italian physician, 120, 121, 165n Bourryau, John, xv Bradstreet, John: and the Salem witch hunt, 108 Broom-bush (Sida acuta): description of, 72n9 Buonaparte (Bonaparte), Napoleon: Syrian expedition and plague, 126, 167n Burns: treatment of, 48–49 Burnt alum: in treatment of yaws, 45, 141n Burroughs, George: and the Salem witch hunt, 108 Bursera simaruba (West Indian turpentine tree): description of, 80n29; in treatment of yaws, 45 Burt, Daniel Mathew, xv, 129n Burt, Louisa, xv Burt, Pym, xv Bush medicine, efficacy of, xviii–xix Cabbage-bark tree (Andira inermis), 7n1, 130n Cæsalpinia bonduc (niccars): in treatment of yaws, 67n5 Cæsalpinia pulcherrima (Spanish carnation, Pride of Barbados), xviii; in treatment of fever, 22 Cajanus cajan (pigeon peas): description of, 74 Calaloo (Amaranthus spinosus): description of, 75n18 Calcinated Hartshorn: in treatment of fever, 21n28

Calea jamaicencis (halbert-weed): in treatment of costiveness, 39; fever, 21 Calomel (mercurous chloride): in treatment of dropsy, 29n42; dry bellyach, 27n39; flux, 22n31; the liver and spleen, 33; rheumatism and sciatica, 37n60; yaws, 45 Camphire (camphor), 134n; in treatment of fever, 22; yaws, 45 Camphorated spirits, 142n; in treatment of night-blindness, 46 Candle weed (Cassia alata): description of, 82n32 Canine madness (rabies), 115 Canker-berry (Solanum bahamense): in treatment of malignant sore throat, 32 Carron ointment: in treatment of burns, 49n77 Carscarilla-bark tree (Croton eluteria), 7n1, 130n; in treatment of threadworm, 18n20 Cassada (Manihot esculenta): legend re origin of, 74n11 Cassia (Cassia fistula), 78n24 Cassia alata (candle weed): description of, 82n32 Cassia fistula (cassia), 78n24 Cassia occidentalis (stinking weed): in making a glyster, 27; in treatment of costiveness, 39; intestinal worms, 19; stomach pain, 34 Castille soap: in treatment of chigres, 98n4 Castor: in treatment of fever, 22, 134n Castor bush leaves (Ricinus communis): in treatment of burns, 49; yaws, 45 Castor-oil: making, 13–14n2; in treatment of burns, 49n77; costiveness, 39; flux, 22n31; intestinal worms, 19n22; mumps, 33 Cathartics, 153n; in treatment of bellyach, 89 Cedar (Cedrela odorata), flowers of: in treatment of fish-poison, 31

171

172

 Index Cedrela odorata (cedar), flowers of: in treatment of fish-poison, 31 Ceiba pentandra (silk cotton) tea: in treatment of fever, 21 Chalk: in treatment of heart-burn, 37 Chamomile (Anthemis spp.), flowers of: in treatment of costiveness, 39 Chenopodium ambrosoides (worm grass): in treatment of intestinal worms, 19n25 Chicken-pox, 95 Chickweed (Stellaria media or Drymaria cordata): in treatment of fish-poison, 31 Chigres (Pulex penetrans): description and treatment of, 16, 98; infection of Negroes by, 67, 97 China-root (Similax balbisiana): in treatment of yaws, 45 Cholera morbus, 137n; treatment of, 30–31 Ciegoes. See Chigres Cinchona caribæ (Jesuit’s bark of Jamaica), 7n1 Cinchona officinalis (Peruvian Fever-tree): in treatment of fever, 22n30 Cinnabar: in treatment of rheumatism, 37 Cissampelos pareira (velvet): in treatment of costiveness, 39; stomach pain, 34 Citrus aurantium (Seville orange): in treatment of burns, 49n78; malignant sore throat, 32 Citrus grandis (shaddock): in treatment of stomach pain, 34 Cleome gynandra (mezamby): description of, 75n18 Clothing: recommended for Negroes, 82 Clyster. See Glyster Coccoloba uvifera (bay-grape, seaside grape): description of, 80n28; in treatment of flux, 24; Fluor albus, 36 Cocoa (Theobroma cacao): description of, 75n20; in treatment of intestinal worms, 19 Colocasia esculenta (edda): description of, 75n16 “Columbian exchange”: of diseases, x

Conch: in treatment of yaws, 67 Conch shell (finely powdered): in treatment of itch, 17 Conch shell: Negroes assembled by sounding, 64n2 Congo: people from the, 9, 60 Cormantees: characteristics of the, 9, 61, 130n Corrosive sublimate: in treatment of yaws, 44, 45 Costiveness: treatment of, 39–40 Cough: treatment of, 17–18 Cow itch (Mucuna pruriens): medicinal properties of, 69; in treatment of dropsy, 29; intestinal worms, 19; stomach pain, 34 Cow-piss and gunpowder: in treatment of dropsy, 29 Cow-pox (Lues bovilia): theory on the spread of, 101–102 Crab’s eyes (Abrus precatorius): in treatment of heart-burn, 37 Crakras: treatment of, 17 Cream of Tartar: in treatment of intestinal worms, 18n19 Crème-tartar: in treatment of bilious remittents, 21n28 Creole Negroes: management of, 13 Croton eluteria (Carscarilla-bark tree), 7n1, 18n20 Cullen, Dr William: and classification of yaws, 43n69 Cupping, 22, 134n. See also Phlebotomy Cynanche inflammatoria (quinsy): treatment of, 32n50 Cynanche maligna (diphtheria): treatment of, 32n50 Cynanche putrida (diphtheria): treatment of, 32n50 Cynanche ulcerosa (ulcerated sore throat): treatment of, 32n50 Dalling, Governor: and capture of Threefingered Jack, 109–111

Index 

Dance: choral, 81, 151n Datura stramonium (fire-weed): in treatment of burns, 49, 73n10, 143n Deformity in children: treatment of, 15 Devil’s bit (Achyranthes indica): in treatment of malignant sore throat, 32 Diabetes: treatment of, 34–35 Diarrhœa: avocado pear and, 22n31; description and treatment of, 26, 89, 90–92 Dirt-eating: among Negroes, 63; and stomach pain, 34n53 Diseases: afflicting Negroes, 62–63, 66–69; animal, 115; “Columbian exchange of ”, x; theories on the origins of, 114–125 Dover, Dr Thomas: British physician, 121–122, 165n Dover’s powder: in treatment of rheumatism, 37, 139n Dropsy: among Negroes, 63, 69, 131n; treatment of, 29–30 Drumming, 81 Dry belly-ach: Hughes’s description of, x; and tetanus, 28, 136n; treatment of, 26–28, 88–89 Drymaria cordata (flowers of chickweed): in treatment of fish-poison, 31 Dysenetry: avocado pear and, 22n31; treatment of, 91. See also Diarrhoea and Flux Eagle (Eccles), Solomon: and plague, 125, 166n Edda (Colocasia esculenta): description of, 75n16 Electricity: in treatment of locked-jaw, 28n41 Elephantiasis (Barbadoes leg): description of, 42–43, 96–97, 140n, 156n Elephantiasis Græcorum (Joint-evil): description of, 42 Elœis guineenis (palm-oil), 10, 131n

Emetics: in treatment of fever, 21; flux, 22n31, 23, 24; heart- burn, 37; nightblindness, 46 Endotheca serpentaria (Virginia snakeroot): in treatment of yaws, 44n72 English physic-nut (Jatropha curcas): in treatment of dry belly-ach, 27n40 Enterobius vermicularis (threadworm), 18n20 Essay on the More Common West-India Diseases, An (Grainger), xi, xv, xvi, 3–54 Faxinus ornus (Manna-ash): in treatment of bilious remittents, 21n28 Febrifuge: powder patented by Dr Robert James (1747), 21n28 Fernel, Jean François: French physician, 115n19 Fever: treatment of, 20–22 Field slaves: work routine of, 64, 72–73 Fire-weed (Datura stramonium): in treatment of burns, 49 Fish poisoning: treatment of, 30–31 Fluor albus: treatment of, 36 Flux: treatment of, 22–25, 90–92 Food crops: description of, 74–79 “Four o’clock”. See Jalap or “Marvel of Peru” Fracastoro, Girolamo: Italian physician, xviii, 117, 164n Freedom: in praise of, 66 French physic-nut (Jatropha multifida): in making a glyster, 27; in treatment of costiveness, 39; intestinal worms, 19; ruptures, 48; ulcers about the ankles, 50 Galenic medical theory: principles of, xvii–xviii Garasse, François, 166n; and plague, 123 Garlic (Allium sativum): in treatment of Guinea-worm, 47; intestinal worms, 19; stomach pains, 34

173

174

 Index Gascoigne’s powder, 122, 165n Glycyrrhiza glabra (wild liquorice), 17 Glyster: making a, 27; in treatment of dry belly-ach, 27, 89; flux, 24 Gold Coast: Negroes of the, 60, 146n Gout: treatment of, 34–35 Grainger, James: background of, xiv–xv; on herbs, xviii Granadillas (Passiflora quadrangularis): description of, 79n27 Gravel: treatment of 34, 138n Green balsam of the Edinburgh Dispensatory: in treatment of yaws, 45 Guaiacum (Guaiacum officinale): in treatment of ringworm, 38n64; yaws, 45 Guava (Psidium guajava): in treatment of Fluor albus, 36; flux, 24 Guinea, 130n; people of, 9, 71n8 Guinea-corn. See Indian millet Guinea pepper (Xylopia æthopica): in treatment of yaws, 44n72 Guinea-worm (Dracunculus medinensis): description and treatment of, 46–47, 97–98, 142n Gum gamboge: in treatment of intestinal worms, 18n19 Gum guaiac: in treatment of costiveness, 39; the liver and spleen, 33; yaws, 44n72 Gunpowder: and cow-piss in treatment of dropsy, 29; and lime juice in treatment of ringworm, 38 Hæmatoxylon campechianum (logwood): in treatment of flux, 24 Halbert-weed (Calea jamaicensis): in treatment of costiveness, 39 Hartshorn, spirits of: in treatment of heart-burn, 37 Heart-burn: treatment of, 37–38 Hepatitis: and stomach pain, 34n53 Herbs: medicinal value of, xviii–xix Hillary, William, x, xi, 38, 103, 139n,

159n; on African medicine, xix; first treatise in English on tropical diseases, x Hippocrates: on the atmospheric origin of diseases, 86, 114 Hodges, Nathaniel: British physician, 118, 122–123, 164n Honey: in treatment of malignant sore throat, 32 Hooping cough (pertussis): treatment of, 17–18 Hughes, Rev Griffith: on traditional African medicine, xix; work of, ix, x, xv–xvi Humanity: of Negroes, 73–74; need to treat slaves with, 66 Hungary water, 153n; in belly-ach, 88; in treatment of night-blindness, 46 Hylocereus trigonus (Night-blooming cereus): description of, 82n31 Ibo country, 9, 131n Indian arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea): in making a glyster, 24n34 Indian cale (Xanthosoma sp.): description of, 75n17 Indian millet (Sorghum vulgare): description of, 80n29 Indian pink (Spigelia anthelmia), 20, 133n Indian root (Cephaëlis ipecacuanha): in treatment of flux, 91, 154n Indigofera suffruticosa (wild indigo): in treatment of stomach pain, 34 Infant Negroes: care of, 13–16 Innoculation: in treatment of small-pox, 102, 118, 156n, 158n; yaws, 104, 118 Ipecacuan (Psychotria ipeacuanha): in treatment of gripe in infants, 15; flux, 23, 91; rheumatism, 37 Ipomea batatas (Potato): description of, 75n15 Ipomea purga (Jalap): in treatment of costiveness, 39 Itch: treatment of, 16–17

Index 

Jalap (Ipomea purga): in treatment of costiveness, 39 James, Dr Robert, 21n28 James’s powder, 21n28, 139n; in treatment of rheumatism, 37 Jatropha curcas (English physic-nut): in treatment of dry belly-ach, 27n40 Jatropha gossypiifolia (belly-ach bush): in treatment of dry belly-ach, 27n40 Jatropha multifida (French physic-nut): in treatment of costiveness, 39; ruptures, 48; ulcers about the ankles, 50 Jesuit’s bark (Cinchona caribe or Cinchona officinalis), 7n1; in treatment of fever, 22n30 Joint-evil (Elephantiasis Græcorum): description of, 42 Kaye, John Caius: British physician, 118, 164n Lablab purpureus (bonavist): description of, 74n13 Lamp-oil: in treatment of ciegoes, 98 Lantana spp. (wild sage), 17; in treatment of cough, 17; fever, 21; flux, 24; sore throat, 32; yaws, 43 Laudanum: in treatment of flux, 24n34; rheumatism, 37 Laws: for the protection of Negroe slaves, 51, 151n Lax. See Diarrhœa Leprosy, 7; description of, 41–42, 96; propagation of, 95 Libyan Negroes: characteristics of, 60 Life expectancy: of slaves, xxii Lignum vitae (Guaiacum officinale): pods as an emetic, 39; in treatment of yaws, 45 Ligon, Richard: background of, ix; xviii Limewater: in treatment of diabetes, 35; Fluor albus, 36; flux, 25; heartburn, 37; intestinal worms, 18n20; yaws, 45

Linnæan index, 4, 55–56, 129n Lintseed: in treatment of burns, 49, 143n Liver: treatment of the diseased, 30n44, 33–34 Locked-jaw: in newborn infants, 13; treatment of, 28n41, 132n Logwood (Hœmatoxylon campechianum): in treatment of flux, 24 Lues venerea (syphilis): description and treatment of, 118, 157n Lying-in women: care of, 13, 14n5, 132n Magnesia: in treatment of heart-burn, 37n36 Mammea americana (mammey): description of, 77n22 Mammey (Mammea americana): description of, 77n22 Mandeville, Sir John, 101, 158n Manihot esculenta (cassada): legend re origin of, 74n11 Manna-ash (Faxinus ornus): in treatment of bilious remittents, 21n28 Maranta arundinacea (West Indian arrowroot): in making a glyster, 24n34 Marriage: recommendation re Negroes, 81–82 “Marvel of Peru” (Mirabilis jalapa): description of, 72n9 Mathew, Daniel, 5, 78n25, 129n Measles: description and treatment of, 118, 165n Medical Reports on the Effects of Water, Cold and Warm as a Remedy in Fever and Febrile Disease (Currie), 28n41 Medical research: Grainger on the importance of, xi, 7 Medications: eighteenth-century folk, xviii; list of required, 53–54 Melville, General Robert: Governor of Guadeloupe, 4, 129n, 145n Menstrual problems: treatment of, 29, 131n Mercurial pill of the Edinburgh

175

176

 Index Dispensatory, 138n; in treatment of the liver and spleen, 33; yaws, 44, 141n Mercurial pill of the London Dispensatory: in the treatment of yaws, 44, 141n Mercurous chloride (calomel): in treatment of dropsy, 29n42; dry bellyach, 27n39; flux, 22n31; the liver and spleen, 33; rheumatism, 36n60; yaws, 45 Mezamby (Cleome gynandra): description of, 75n18 Miners: slave labour compared with that of, 64–65 Minnahs, 130n, 146n; characteristics of the, 9, 62 Miscellaneous Medical Observations (Moseley), xvi, 102–128 Moco-nation: Negroes of the, 62 Mortality: of Negro infants, 14–15; of slaves, xxii Moseley, Benjamin: background of, xi, xvi Mountain-cabbage tree (Andira inermis): in treatment of intestinal worms, 20 Mucuna pruriens (Cow itch), 10, 19, 131n; medicinal properties of, 69n6; in treatment of dropsy, 29; stomach pain, 34 Mundingos: characteristics of the, 9, 62, 131n Mumps: treatment of, 32–33 Murrain, 115, 164n Muscovado: in treatment of intestinal worms, 19 Music (and dance): Negro, 81, 151n Musk: in treatment of fever, 22, 134n Natural History of the Island of Barbados (Hughes), xv Negroes: characteristics of different types of, 60–62; treatment and care of, 51–54; work routine of enslaved, 64, 72–73. See also Infant Negroes New Negroes, 130n; seasoning of, 10–12

Niccars (Cæsalpinia bonduc): description of, 67n5; in treatment of yaws, 43 Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco): in treatment of ruptures, 48 Night-blooming cereus (Hylocereus trigonus): description of, 82n31 Nitre: in treatment of malignant sore throat, 32 Nyctalopia (night-blindness): description and treatment of, 46 Obeah: African slaves and, xix, 71–72; description of, 105–112, 161n–163n Obi. See Obeah Obia. See Obeah Observations on the Changes of the Air and the Concomitant Epidemical Diseases in the Island of Barbadoes . . . (Hillary), x–xi, xix Ochra (Abelmoschus esculentus): description of, 74n14 Ockro. See Ochra Of the Diseases peculiar to this and the neighbouring Islands (Hughes), xv; Book II, 85–99 Olive oil: in treatment of burns, 49 Opiates: in treatment of dry belly-ach, 26–27; flux, 91; tetanus, 28–29 Orange juice: in treatment of diabetes, 35 Orange rind: in treatment of stomach pain, 34 Oreodoxa spp. (wild cabbage tree), 78n25 Pain in the stomach. See Stomach pain Palma Christi (Ricinus communis): in making Castor oil, 13n2 Palmeto (Roystonea oleracea): description of, 78n25 Palm oil, 10, 131n Papaw (Carica papaya), 59, 145n Papaws, 60, 146n Passiflora quadrangularis (granadillas): description of, 79n27 Pepper: in treatment of Guinea-worm, 47

Index 

Peppermint, essence of: in treatment of heart-burn, 37, 139n Percy, Dr Thomas: British cleric, 3, 129n Persea americana (avocado pear tea): and dysentery, 22n31; in treatment of fever, 21 Pertussis (Hooping cough): treatment of, 17–18 Peruvian Fever-tree (Cinchona officinalis): in treatment of fever, 22n30 Phipps, Sir William: and the Salem witch hunt, 107–108 Phlebotomy: in treatment of fever, 119–123; ruptures, 48 Pigeon peas (Cajanus cajan): description of, 74n12 Plague: history of, 112–127, 163n; superstition and, 124–125 Plantane water: in treatment of burns, 49, 143n Plants: importation of, xviii; medicinal value of, x, xi Pluerisy: description of, 20, 134n Plummer’s pill: in treatment of yaws, 44, 45, 141n Pomegranate (Punica granatum): in treatment of Fluor albus, 36; flux, 24 Potato (Ipomea batatas): description of, 75n15 Prickle-weed (Amaranthus sp.), 75n18 Prickly vine. See Night-blooming cereus Prickly yellow wood (Zanthoxylum sp.): in treatment of ulcers about the ankle, 49n78 Pride of Barbados (Cæsalpinia pulcherrima), xviii; in treatment of fever, 22 Procopius: Byzantine historian, 118, 165n Provision grounds: Negro, 52, 74–76 Psidium guajava (guava): in treatment of Fluor albus, 36; flux, 24 Psora (itch/scabies): treatment of, 16n12 Psychotria ipeacuanha (ipecacuan): in

treatment of flux, 23, 91; gripe in infants, 15 Pulex penetrans (chigres): infection of Negroes by, 67; treatment of, 16n10, 98n4 Punica granatum (pomegranate): in treatment of Fluor albus, 36; flux, 24 Punishment: of enslaved Negroes, 51–52 Purchase: of enslaved Negroes, xxii, 61 Purges: in treatment of dry belly-ach, 27; flux, 22n31, 23, 24; ruptures, 48 Purslaine (Portulaca oleracea): in treatment of diarrhœa, 26 Quarantine: 128 Quassia amara, 7n1; in treatment of flux, 25n36 Quassia excelsa, 7n1, 130n Quassia simarouba, 7n1; in treatment of diarrhœa, 26; flux, 25n36 Rabies (canine madness), 115 Red precipitate (mercuric oxide), 142n; in treatment of yaws, 45 Rhazes. See Zakariya ar-Razi Rheumatism: treatment of, 36–37 Rhubarb: in treatment of watery stools (diarrhœa, flux), 15, 91 Ricinus communis (castor bush, Palma Christi), 13n2; in treatment of burns, 49; yaws, 45 Ringworm: treatment of, 38–39 Ringworm shrub (Senna [Cassia] alata): in treatment of ringworm, 38 Riverius, Lazari: and bleeding, 121n30 Rocou, 133n; in treatment of chigres, 16 Romans: and plague, 124–125 Roystonea oleracea (palmeto): description of, 78n25 Rum: in treatment of heart-burn, 38; night-blindness, 46; stomach pain, 34 Running-yaws. See Yaws Ruptures: description and treatment of, 47–48

177

178

 Index Rush, Dr Benjamin, 163n; and yellow fever, 113–114 Sage. See Wild sage Salem witch hunt, 107–108 Saloop, 135n; in treatment of flux, 24 Salt of steel: in treatment Fluor albus, 36 Salt water: and urine in treatment of ringworm, 38 Salt-water Negroes. See New Negroes Saltwort (Salosa kali): in treatment of diabetes, 35n56 Sarsaparilla (Smilax spp.): in treatment of ringworm, 38n64; yaws, 44n72 Scabies: treatment of, 16n12 Sciatica: treatment of, 36–37 Sea-salt: in treatment of diabetes, 35n56 Seaside grape (bay-grape) (Coccoloba uvifera): in treatment of Fluor albus, 36; flux, 24 “Seasoning” of Negroes: Grainger on the, xi, xxii, 6, 10–12, 62–64, 130n Seawater: in treatment of costiveness, 39 Seminal weakness: treatment of, 67n5 Semprevive (Aloe vera): in treatment of costiveness, 39; intestinal worms, 19; stomach pain, 34 Septalius, Ludovic: and bleeding, 121n30 Seville orange (Citrus aurantium): in treatment of ringworm, 38; sore throat, 32; ulcers about the ankle, 49n78 Shaddock (Citrus grandis): in treatment of stomach pain, 34 Sheep: rot (disease of sheep), 115, 164n Sick-houses: description of, 52–53 Sida acuta (broom-bush): description of, 72n9 Silk cotton (Ceiba pentandra): in treatment of fever, 21 Slavery: criticism of, 66 Slaves: work routine of field, 63, 64 Slave trade: description of the, xxi–xxii Small-pox: description of, 94, 118, 156n; treatment of, 102, 118

Smilax spp. (sarsaparilla): in treatment of ringworm, 38n64; yaws, 44n72 Snake-root (Endotheca serpentaria): in treatment of night-blindness, 46 Soap of tartar, 138n; in treatment of the liver and spleen, 33 Solanum. See Fire-weed Solanum bahamense (canker-berry): in treatment of malignant sore throat, 32 Sore throat: treatment of malignant, 32–33 Sorghum vulgare (Indian millet): description of, 80n29 Spanish carnation (Cæsalpinia pulcherrima), xviii, 22 Spigelia anthelmia (Indian pink), 133n; in treatment of intestinal worms, 20 Spigelia anthelmia (worm-grass), 131n; in treatment of intestinal worms, 10 Spleen: treatment of the swollen, 33–34 Steel, salt of: in treatment Fluor albus, 36 Steel trusses: in treatment of ruptures, 47n76 Steele, Joshua: background of, ix Stellaria media (chickweed): in treatment of fish-poison, 31 Stinking weed (Cassia occidentalis): in making a glyster, 27; in treatment of intestinal worms, 19; stomach pain, 34 St Kitts: mountain plantations in, 12, 132n Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (vervain): in treatment of costiveness, 39; ulcers about the ankle, 49n78 Stomach pain: treatment of, 34 Sugar-Cane, The (Grainger), xv, xvi, 3, 4, 57–84, 129n Suicide: among enslaved Negroes, 9, 61, 62 Sulphur: in treatment of Guinea-worm, 47; ringworm, 38; yaws, 43 Sweating sickness: history of the, 115, 118 Sweet mercury, 131n; in treatment of intestinal worms, 10

Index 

Sydenham, Thomas: and bleeding, 120–121, 165n Sympnonia globulifera (hog-plum tree), 18n9 Syphilis (Lues venera): description and treatment of, 118, 157n Tænia saginata, 18n19 Tamarind (Tamarindus indica): description of, 77n23; in treatment of flux, 22n31 Tamarind beverage, 139n; in treatment of diabetes, 35 Tamarindus indica: description of, 77n23; use of fruit in treatment of flux, 22n31 Tapeworm (Tœnia saginata): treatment of, 18n19 Tapping: description of, 30n45. See also Blood letting, Cupping and Phlebotomy Tetanus: and dry belly-ach, 28, 136n; treatment of, 28–29, 136n Theobroma cacao (Cocoa): description of, 75n20; in treatment of intestinal worms, 19 Thistle-seed (Argemone mexicana), 10, 131n Thoresby, John: Archbishop of York, 117n23 Threadworm (Enterobius vermicularis): treatment of, 18n20 Three-fingered Jack: and obeah, 108–112 Tin filings: as a vermifuge, 69n7 Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum): in treatment of ruptures, 48 Tooth-ach: treatment of, 32–33 Towne, Dr Richard: Barbados physician, 89, 154n Trade winds: effect on health, 86 Treatise on Sugar (Moseley), xvi Treaty of Paris, 4, 5, 59, 129n, 130n, 145n Triangular trade: description of the, xxi Trismus infantum (infantile tetanus), 14n4

Turkey wheat. See Indian millet Turlington’s balsam, 54, 144n Turner, David: British physician, 103, 159n Turner’s cerate: in treatment of burns, 49, 143n, 159n Turpentine (Bursera simaruba): description of, 80n29; in treatment of yaws, 45 Turtle: in treatment of leprosy, 63 Ulcers about the ankles: description and treatment of, 49–50 Urine: and saltwater in treatment of ringworm, 38 Valerian (genus Valeriana): in treatment of night-blindness, 46 Van Swieten, Baron, 141n; cure for yaws, 44 Velvet root (Cissampelos pareira): in treatment of costiveness, 39; stomach pain, 34 Verdigrease: in treatment of chigres, 16; yaws, 45 Vervain (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis): in treatment of costiveness, 39; ulcers about the ankle, 49n78 Vincent, Thomas: on plague, 124 Vinegar: in treatment of burns, 49n77 Virginia snake-root (Endotheca serpentaria): in treatment of yaws, 44n72 Vitriol: in treatment of Cholera morbus, 31n47; Fluor albus, 36; heart-burn, 37n63; malignant sore throat, 32; Vomiting: treatment of, 31 Vomits. See Emetics Ward, Joshua, 136n Ward’s pills: in treatment of rheumatism, 37 Warren, Dr Henry, 153n; cure for bellyach, 89

179

180

 Index Watery tumour: treatment of, 29 “West Indian Weed Song”, xviii–xx White ointment: in treatment of burns, 49 Wier, Johan: Belgian physician, 115n18 Wilberforce, William: and abolition of the slave trade, xxii Wild indigo root (Indigofera suffruticosa): in treatment of stomach pain, 34 Wild ipecacuan (Asclepias curassavica): in treatment of flux, 23; intestinal worms, 19 Wild liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra): in treatment of cough, 17 Wild sage (Lantana spp.): in treatment of cough, 17; fever, 21; flux, 23; sore throat, 32; yaws, 43 Wild senna (Senna [Cassia] obtusifolia): in treatment of costiveness, 39 Wine: in treatment of malignant fever, 22 Work routine: of field slaves, 64, 72–73 Worm-grass (Chenopodium ambrosoides): medicinal properties of, 69; in treatment of intestinal worms, 19 Worms, intestinal: infection of Negroes by, 68–69; treatment of, 18–20 Wormwood, salt of: in treatment of heart-burn, 37; vomiting, 31

Wright, William: background of, xvi–xvii, 129n; on plants in Jamaica, 7n1 Xanthosoma sp. (West Indian cale): description of, 75n17 Xylopia æthopica (Guinea pepper): in treatment of yaws, 44n72 Yaws: description and treatment of, 43–45, 67–68, 99, 104, 141n, 157n, 159n, 160n; infection of Negroes by, 67–68; spread of, 103; Wright on, xvii Yellow basilicon: in treatment of yaws, 45 Yellow fever: description and treatment of, 92–94, 155n; history of, 113–114, 116–125, 163n Yellow prickle-wood (Zanthoxylum sp.): in treatment of fish-poison, 31 Yellow-thistle (Argemone mexicana): seed as an emetic, 23, 131n Zakariya ar-Razi, Abu Bakr Muhammad ibu (Rhazes): Arab physician, 118, 164n Zanthoxylum sp. (yellow prickle-wood): in treatment of fish-poison, 31; ulcers about the ankle, 49n78