Desert Messenger

12 www.DesertMessenger.com July 16, 2014 Today, on a frequent basis new drugs are introduced that is supposed to cure just about any aliment our bodies might encoun- ter. In the early days, medicine cabinets (or cardboard boxes like the one we had) contained an as- sortment of home remedies along with a few commercial necessities such as aspirin, mercurochrome, salve, gauze, and a triangle ban- dage among other things. Some of the little towns out West had a medical doctor of sorts while others were fortunate to have a "grandmother" who knew about remedies for almost all of our aches, pains, or fevers. Quartzsite's "grandmother" was Angela Gonzales Scott (1882 – 1966), known to everyone as Grandma Scott. Whenever I went to Scott's Store for groceries, more than likely, across the road I would see Grandma Scott out in her large garden with a hoe, weed- ing. Before going in the store, I would hop out of our honey truck and dash over for a visit. "Como esta, Rosie" was her usual happy greeting as she pushed back her wide-brimmed sunbonnet. Not quite fi ve-feet tall, in many ways Grandma Scott was a giant of a woman. If you mentioned that someone at home wasn't feeling well, she always suggested a remedy with the as- surance, "This will have your loved one back on their feet in no time." On one occasion, I mentioned that Charles was home in bed trying to beat a cold. Without hesitation Grandma gave me a hand-full of tiny, pea-sized, dried red chili teppins. She told me, "To a quart of water add ten of these little round chilies and put the jar directly in the sun for at least three hours, then stir in a tablespoon of honey." With a little giggle she sang, "You got the honey Rosie, I got the teppins." I went home and concocted up a jar of Grandma's cold remedy. Charles wasn't so easily convinced. I almost had to tie him to the bed to get him to drink it. After I told him that I was going to drink it just to keep from catching his cold, we each downed a whole cup of the hottest drink I had ever tasted. The next day Charles was up and about, and for the rest of that winter I didn't catch a cold. Whether it was Grandma's Teppin Honey Tea or if Charles' cold had about run its course, I'll never know, but we always trusted her advice. My Grandmother Katie Venable had some home remedies of her own, many of which I still use to this day; a spoon of honey for a cough in the night, apple cider vinegar and honey in a tall glass of water for an upset stomach, leg cramps, sunburn, rashes, arthritis or to loose weight. Grand- mother Katie had a beautiful complexion which she credited to a lotion she made using cucumbers and lamb's fat. She also recommended dous- ing a burn in cold water and then cov- ering it with sugar. To counterattack the croup, she would place a heated bag of Epsom salt under the chin. She would also cut open a raisin and put it on a boil or pimple to draw out the infec- tion. However, Grandmother Katie always insisted, "That a mother's kiss is the very best remedy for making a hurt go away." Back in the 1800s, Medicine Shows traveled in teams of plumed horses pulling brightly painted wagons with fancy-dressed medicine men offering "modern" concoctions and remedies. They went from town-to-town peddling "miracle cure" medications, elixirs (known as "snake oil"), and other products throughout the country, especially in the sparsely populated West, claiming that the contents of their colorful bottles had the ability to cure diseases, smooth wrinkles, remove stains, prolong life, or cure any num- ber of common ailments. In be- tween various acts of entertainment such as a freak show, a fl ea cir- cus, musical acts, storytelling, and magic tricks, these "miracle cure" peddlers pitched their products and then used local girls to display their singing and dancing talents while handing out the bottles of "medicine". Medicine men sold Bitters herbs in hand-blown bottles of various shapes, most often manufactured in amber-colored glass. Most Bitters products were simply an infusion of herbs in alcohol, which offered a legitimate option to con- sume alcohol in times when drink- ing was socially unacceptable or illegal. Naturally, the users would feel no pain, they were intoxicated! Doctors and their wives ordered their own brand of Bitters, claiming their good health was due to their brand. Even preachers and their wives touted their preferred brand, never realizing that they were hav- ing a stiff shot of booze each time they took their "medicine." Today, old Bitters bottles can still be found in private collections. One of my favorites is Brown's Cel- ebrated Indian Herb Bitters featur- ing an Indian Queen molded in an amber-orange colored bottle. Another remarkable shape was the National Bitters Ear of Corn, patented in 1867 in a 12-inch light- amber bottle. A fun bottle the grandkids fi nd amusing is Suffolk Bitters that was Concoctions and home remedies Excerpts from "In the Shadow of Saguaros" by Rosalee Oldham Wheeler "In the Shadow of Saguaros" Vol. I & II are now available exclusively at the Tyson's Well Museum and Reader's Oasis Book Store Voices from The Past in Quartzsite, AZ What happens in Q UARTZSITE goes around THE WORLD! www.VisitQuartzsite.com Angela Gonzales Scott SEE CONCOCTIONS PAGE 17

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