This account is taken from Harry Hicks' life story. Very little editing was done on grammar, punctuation, and word usage.
I was one more time to feel the worry and fear of sickness for I swelled all up with Bright's Disease and Dropsey. My blood and urine mixed even in my Privates and swelled all up and became distorted. My eyes swelled up and up about to the level of my heart. I became puffy and kinda glazed all over, from the water buildup. My Mother came up to get me, and I felt like everything would be allright and I was so relieved I could sleep, and when I woke up, I was in Salmon not Challis.
But I had to sleep propped up in bed because of my heart splashing in the water every time it would beat. Mama put me in the back room and told me to be quiet; the Doctor was coming with the undertaker, and crying, she told me they were coming to take me away.
"Clyta" said the Dr. "We came for that dead boy. It's against the law to not bury a body when they die". I immediately raised up in bed and said "You get out of here you Son of a Bitch, you've made your last mistake". Some time after they left, I was lying in bed talking to the Angel of Death. I had seen him standing at the foot of my bed waiting but up until this time, I was afraid to talk to him. I remember him very well, and he answered me and said he would leave me to live for now, but I musn't forget him for he would be after me when I became an old man, and I have never seen him again, but will know him when I do.
An Indian Woman appeared at our door and saying over and over " I can fixum boy, I can fixum boy." Just think how mutch nerve it took for my mother to absolutely reject the Dr., who was treating the same trouble on several other boys and girls at the same time, including Hellen, Matheus McKinney's sister, and by the way they all died.
There was an epidemic in Salmon at about the time we were 8-9 years old, it wiped out nearly all the children of that age and there being no new comers, it showed up as we got older. There were Scott Butterfield, Thomas Brown, Harry Hicks and Carl Gaver and a boy from the ranch, Charlie Walchli, that was nearly full grown when we graduated from the 8th grade and thus leaving all the upper classmen little runts. In other words, though they had not been sick as I was, we were all about 2 years behind in school and were big boys. Now thats explained.
I can never praise my mother for the spunk it took and the nerve to turn the Dr. from the door and tell him an Indian Woman was going to be my Doctor. How he cursed my mother and told her she was just inviting death and I would surely die. "I said you've had your last chance." Well, the Indian Woman sent my mother up to a place where she got a quarters worth of Slippery Elm bark, which Mrs. Faucet, the Indian Woman put on to heat for a strong tea. After preparations were made, she took me down by the screening willows by the river where there were plenty of round wash boulders. She had a fire burning with plenty of big rocks heating.
I was one more time to feel the worry and fear of sickness for I swelled all up with Bright's Disease and Dropsey. My blood and urine mixed even in my Privates and swelled all up and became distorted. My eyes swelled up and up about to the level of my heart. I became puffy and kinda glazed all over, from the water buildup. My Mother came up to get me, and I felt like everything would be allright and I was so relieved I could sleep, and when I woke up, I was in Salmon not Challis.
But I had to sleep propped up in bed because of my heart splashing in the water every time it would beat. Mama put me in the back room and told me to be quiet; the Doctor was coming with the undertaker, and crying, she told me they were coming to take me away.
"Clyta" said the Dr. "We came for that dead boy. It's against the law to not bury a body when they die". I immediately raised up in bed and said "You get out of here you Son of a Bitch, you've made your last mistake". Some time after they left, I was lying in bed talking to the Angel of Death. I had seen him standing at the foot of my bed waiting but up until this time, I was afraid to talk to him. I remember him very well, and he answered me and said he would leave me to live for now, but I musn't forget him for he would be after me when I became an old man, and I have never seen him again, but will know him when I do.
An Indian Woman appeared at our door and saying over and over " I can fixum boy, I can fixum boy." Just think how mutch nerve it took for my mother to absolutely reject the Dr., who was treating the same trouble on several other boys and girls at the same time, including Hellen, Matheus McKinney's sister, and by the way they all died.
There was an epidemic in Salmon at about the time we were 8-9 years old, it wiped out nearly all the children of that age and there being no new comers, it showed up as we got older. There were Scott Butterfield, Thomas Brown, Harry Hicks and Carl Gaver and a boy from the ranch, Charlie Walchli, that was nearly full grown when we graduated from the 8th grade and thus leaving all the upper classmen little runts. In other words, though they had not been sick as I was, we were all about 2 years behind in school and were big boys. Now thats explained.
I can never praise my mother for the spunk it took and the nerve to turn the Dr. from the door and tell him an Indian Woman was going to be my Doctor. How he cursed my mother and told her she was just inviting death and I would surely die. "I said you've had your last chance." Well, the Indian Woman sent my mother up to a place where she got a quarters worth of Slippery Elm bark, which Mrs. Faucet, the Indian Woman put on to heat for a strong tea. After preparations were made, she took me down by the screening willows by the river where there were plenty of round wash boulders. She had a fire burning with plenty of big rocks heating.
There was a cot - narrow bed, set up with a tub of water setting underneath the cot. The Indian woman chanting all the time gave me a cup full of Slippery Elm Bark tea, hot and so slippery and slimy, you could not quit drinking once you started, the slime would just slip down your throat by the siphon method. Then laying me on the cot, she threw a horse blanket over me and tied my hands and threatning to hog tie me all the time. She began to throw the hot rocks in the tub and take the cold ones out, by means of a giant pair of pincers made by just breaking a willow in two.
If I was too ever think I was in hell, I was to think so now, but I was a good boy and had the knowledge to know I was to be well. It wasn't a sort of faith, because I knew the cure was going to cure me. I lay and the sweat poured out of me and I reveled in every drop because I felt better all the time and I drank my Slippery Elm Bark tea ever so often. Along about midnight, the swelling went and also out of my privates, that had not passed water for better that a week, and I was passing dirty looking old brown water, brown because it was mixed with blood.
If I was too ever think I was in hell, I was to think so now, but I was a good boy and had the knowledge to know I was to be well. It wasn't a sort of faith, because I knew the cure was going to cure me. I lay and the sweat poured out of me and I reveled in every drop because I felt better all the time and I drank my Slippery Elm Bark tea ever so often. Along about midnight, the swelling went and also out of my privates, that had not passed water for better that a week, and I was passing dirty looking old brown water, brown because it was mixed with blood.
The ordeal kept up for 24 hours until I went down to normal, just a little puffiness around my face. As soon as I cooled down for a day, I was standing out on the sidewalk taking in the sun. In time to thumb my nose at the Dr, as he drove past, but he didn't know me. Oh, I must tell you, on the side while being so sick, I had my old reumatism and St Vitus Dance in my right side. I am not complaining, but I figured to tell this all in hope that it may help someone else to live.
I have been disabled 5 timed counting this time. I have had appendicitus(removed), Gall Bladder (removed), Brain Hemmorhage, Paralitic stroke, Heart surgery and my heart fiburlates now. And it has been defiburlated 5 times. My stomach is burned up from quinedine and phenestrol so that my record reads, Disabled from Diarreah. That pretty well tells of my sickness. How I have had any time to enjoy life I don't know, but I've been very happy and don't know how any one could have led a more observing life. It seems that I observe more and comprehend more. I have worked at most kinds of labor, seen more of the oddities of life and remember it all. I wrote the happenings of myself, mostly because Dr.'s would not believe them.
I have been disabled 5 timed counting this time. I have had appendicitus(removed), Gall Bladder (removed), Brain Hemmorhage, Paralitic stroke, Heart surgery and my heart fiburlates now. And it has been defiburlated 5 times. My stomach is burned up from quinedine and phenestrol so that my record reads, Disabled from Diarreah. That pretty well tells of my sickness. How I have had any time to enjoy life I don't know, but I've been very happy and don't know how any one could have led a more observing life. It seems that I observe more and comprehend more. I have worked at most kinds of labor, seen more of the oddities of life and remember it all. I wrote the happenings of myself, mostly because Dr.'s would not believe them.
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