Healing
the Native
American Way
I
n 1806 Private William Bratton of
Joseph
the Lewis & Clark expedition, a
Shelton
man of uncommon size and fortitude, fell ill. The ailment was mysterious, an unidentiBy
fied affliction, which made it very difficult for him to walk,
sit up straight, or perform his duties. As Bratton's sickness
became nearly impossible to bear, the crew attempted several laxative purges, most likely via the massive horse pills
sent along with the expedition for just such an extremity.
Those pills, known by the Captains and crew members
as "Thunderclappers", were the invention of Dr. Benjamin
Rush, one of the foremost American medical minds of the
time. They produced the intended effect, but Bratton did
not heal. His pains became worse, if anything. He could
not stand, nor walk, nor paddle. Finally as the Corps rested
at Camp Chopunnish, it was decided to try a Native American remedy.
Even Dr. Rush had to admit
that one treatment in particular
was very effective. An impromptu
sweat was designed for Bratton,
with a pit dug in the ground and
filled with hot rocks, and a temporary enclosed shelter constructed
around it. Bratton was set inside,
and served a strong drought of
Horse Mint tea, another piece of
traditional knowledge purloined
from the Native Americans.
Within hours he felt better, and
inside of two weeks it was declared
that he was cured.
There is nothing so very surprising about that. Why shouldn't a
remedy and practice, which was
nearly universal among the indigenous peoples of North and South
America, prove an effective and
useful one? From the Aztecs to
the Innuit, sweat lodges were and
are employed for their curative,
Ceremonial
medicine bundle
DISTINCTL MONTANA | DIGITAL
Y
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Sacred sweat
lodge video, go to:
www.distinctlymontana.com/sweatlodge141
distinctly montana • winter 2014
