MEDICINE ~ TEXAS STYLE & a GIVEAWAY!

I'll admit it ~ I loved watching Doctor Quinn -- Medicine Woman. It was an addiction for a while. (I am over it now thanks to the 12-Step Process ;-) As a nurse, the medical facts on that show fascinated me up until the end when it became more of a "disease of the week" type drama. Then I missed the romance that had drawn me in the first place and my viewings tapered off.

Although the nineteenth century has been termed "The Golden Age of Medicine" the doctors of the Texas wilderness still practiced medicine much as it had been practiced since the Middle Ages using the ancient Greek theory of the four "humors." Blood was thought to come from the heart, phlegm from the brain, yellow bile from the liver, and black bile from the spleen. According to this theory, disease and sickness occurred because of an imbalance in one of the humors. If one was in excess, it had to be removed or equalized, hence the use of emetics to induce vomiting and the practice of cupping or draining a certain amount of blood to remove the "harmful humor."

Wounds and bacterial infections caused the majority of deaths and disabilities. Doctors of this time battled malaria, yellow fever, pneumonia, cholera, dysentery, post partum infection, tuberculosis, measles and small pox. They could splint fractures, suture wounds, perform amputations and drain infections (and all with unsterile technique.) For medical instruments, many had only stethoscopes. Other tools--saws and knives came from the kitchen.


For a treatment to be effective, most thought it had to have a foul smell or taste. Powders were sought over tablets, and colored tablets over white ones. Some medicines in use at the time included quinine, calomel, blue mass pills, belladonna, ipecac, columbo, asafetida, boneset, squill, pokeweed, hog'sfoot oil, castor oil, digitalis, lobelia (or Indian Tobacco.) There were many home remedies and poultices and plasters were common--some producing enough heat to burn the patient.

Morphine or laudanum was often prescribed for pain relief. Also, paragoric (camphorated tincture of opium) was used to inhibit diarrhea, coughing, and to calm fretful children. The concept of drug dependency was not considered. Anesthesia with nitrous oxide, also know a s laughing gas, was not used for surgery until 1844, although one New Orleans doctor used ether several years earlier. Before this, the most sought-after surgeons were the ones who worked fast so that the pain would be less. In 1947, chloroform was first used for pain during delivery.

Here are a few home remedies used back then. DO NOT TRY THESE! I have no idea as to their efficacy or safety, but I found them interesting to read about. Information was obtained from A Pinch of This and a Handful of That: Historic Recipes of Texas 1830-1900.

Snake and Spider Bites -- Beat onions and salt together, wet tobacco, mix thoroughly. Split the wound and apply at once.

Warts -- Take a persimmon stick and put as many notches on it as you have warts. They will go away.

Sores -- (1895) Powdered alum is good for a canker sore in the mouth. Never burn the cloth bandage from a sore; you must bury it for the sore to heal.

Knife Cuts -- (1853) Clean wound well and apply a piece of fat bacon or fat back. Strap it on for several days.

Puncture Wounds (Nails, Gunshot) -- Put some old wool rags into an old tin can, pour kerosene over the rags and light. Then smoke the wound. This also works with chicken feathers.

Boils or Infection -- (1890) Salve: Take one part hog lard, two parts quinine and mix.

Bleeding from the Nose -- Bathe the feet in very hot water, while at the same time drinking a pint of cayenne pepper tea or hold both arms over the head.

Other bleeding -- Place a spider web across the wound.

All I can say is that I am glad to be in a time and place that has better medical advancements.  I'm sure we will look back in another hundred years and say the same about NOW!

                      Have you heard of an unusual remedy? 

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GIVEAWAY:

My newest release is a sweet, western historical set in early southern California. I am happy to say that no one gets bitten by a rattler in this story! To see an excerpt click HERE.

"Sometimes the one who got way is just waiting to step back in and sweep you off your feet." 

For a chance to win a copy of 

Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs

please leave a comment! For extra entries into the contest, please "Like" my Page on Facebook and let me know. Giveaway ends February 12th at midnight. (Continental U.S. only)

To Purchase this book:                 

Books in Miniature!

 *Make sure to read to the bottom of this post to find out how to enter the giveaway that celebrates my newest release!*

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Isn't it something how people are intrigued and amused by things in miniature? Anything in miniature makes us pause for a moment ~ often in awe and delight. Think about it...miniature dogs, ponies, and pigs. Just the thought of them brings a smile.

A while back I was lucky enough to visit the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, and had my first introduction to miniature books. I looked through a magnifying glass at the tiniest King James Bible I'd ever seen. How amazing it was to learn that miniature books had been around for centuries!

Officially, a miniature book is a book that ranges from one-half inch square to 3 inches (according to the Miniature Book Society.) The Huntington Library and countries outside the United States carry the size up to four inches.

From the dawn of written language there have miniature "books." As far back as 2000 B.C. evidence of writings in miniature form have been found. Back then it was on scrolls of papyrus, parchment or vellum. But...this blog is all about life here in the United States in the 1800s (primarily) so let's fast-forward to that time.

Miniature books became popular here in the last half of the 1800s. They were easy to carry and easy to conceal in a pocket or satchel. Dictionaries, almanacs, and travel books along with religious books (devotionals, Bibles, and tracts) were the most commonly produced type-set miniature books. Popular works were also miniaturized. For example Sherlock Holmes and Don Quixote.


These books sported beautiful etchings and illustrations and were bound in leather. Some even had gilt edges. Today these older books are sought-after collectibles and range in price from a few hundred dollars into the thousands. Here is The Constitution of the United States of America, published in 1787!

I think just knowing this, that I will have to include one of these miniature books in my next novel!

For some fun examples of miniature books that include pop-up pages and fold-out maps check these websites...

http://mentalfloss.com/article/52186/10-miniature-books-we-covet

http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/miniatures/pages/hazelt.html


And for the worlds's smallest published book ~

Yes--it's that tiny speck under the magnifying glass! Unbelievably, this book is right in my hometown of San Diego where so many of my stories are set! Next time I am there doing research I will have to make a point to stop in to see this at the Central San Diego Library.

In this age of eReaders and eBooks, where an entire encyclopedia of information is at our fingertips in such a slim object, something like a miniature book is hard to imagine. I hope you have enjoyed this very brief introduction and history of them.

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 My newest release ~ Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs ~ is available now!

I am running a Giveaway to celebrate!

Visit my website at www.kathrynalbright.com/events for details and sign up for my newsletter for a chance to win a Swarovski crystal bracelet, Amazon gift card, and a signed copy of Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs.

          

Visit Kathryn:

   Author website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Amazon Author Page |  

Blog Tour Tuesday!

  About the Book:

  Back in the officer's arms… 

 Four years ago, Tom Barrington shared a connection with  Elizabeth  Morley that was like nothing he had  ever experienced.  But as a solitary  soldier, he knew marriage was out of  the  question. 

 So when he strolls back into her life,  Elizabeth can't believe it. He  once  broke her heart, and now he's back—  more irresistible than  ever! And when  the dangers of Tom's lifestyle catch up  with him,  the question remains: can  he be the safe harbor she craves?

My newest release, Familiar     Stranger in Clear Springs, is a sweet,   clean romance that takes place in early San Diego. The inspiration came from research when I learned of the gold runs that would take place from Julian City in the back country to the bank in New San Diego. I also had a character—Elizabeth—who had become quite “real” to me and I knew I wanted to tell her story. Trouble was —she lived in La Playa on the water. How in the world was I going to get her from her comfortable mercantile on the harbor to the gold town of Julian?  (You’ll have to read it to find out.)

Tom Barrington is a special agent whose last government assignment   nearly killed him—and did kill his partner. He’s not sure he has the strength of will or body to do his job anymore—a job he used to feel so passionate about.

The day he strides back into Elizabeth’s life and demands to know about her marriage is the day Elizabeth realizes she never forgave—or forgot—him. And when Elizabeth is caught in the middle of his next dangerous assignment, Tom must confront the enemy who would separate them forever.

Paperback release: Available Now!    Ebook release:  January 1, 2016  

Buy Links:                  

 Excerpt ~ First meeting  

Elizabeth moved to the stove and filled the kettle with water. Stuffing kindling and old brown wrap­ping paper into the stove, she struck a match to it. “Just to take the chill off.”

Oh, my. She gave herself a mental shake. Here she was talking to her cat. Again.

Bells tinkled as the front door opened.

“We’re closed for the day,” she called out absently without looking up. A body should know one didn’t do commerce so late in the day. Who would be want­ ing something at this hour?

“Ma’am?”

Odd how a voice could stay in a person’s memory forever. The deep tone sent tremors to the ends of her toes. She nearly dropped the kettle. As it was her hand shook violently. A vision flashed through her mem­ory of the stranger she’d seen riding through town earlier. Now she could put a name to that form Tom. Tom Barrington. She stood frozen to the spot, unable to move for a moment. Then she glanced up.

Despite the thick dark mustache and scruffy beard hiding most of his face, she recognized him. It was his eyes. The blueness that had been so striking all those years ago was still there. His shoulders were broader than she remembered, and his frame taller, leaner, as though he’d lived hard without a lot of the finer comforts. That barely registered. She’d given up on ever seeing him again and now here he was standing before her. She could scarcely remember to breathe.

He stood in the doorway, black Stetson in hand, waiting for permission to enter the store farther. So clearly did the image come to her of the last day she had seen him standing there in his soldier blues that she drew in a shaky breath and set down the kettle. He wasn’t wearing a corporal’s uniform now, but a dark gray leather duster. His clothes had a layer of grit on them at least a half-inch thick. The wind off the ocean had tousled his dark brown, nearly black hair until it was completely lacking its parting on the side—or perhaps he  o longer kept it as he once had when he was in the military. He looked  surprised to see her—perhaps even shocked.

“Elizabeth?”

How many times had she hoped he’d walk back through that door over the past four years? One hun­dred? Two hundred? She’d imagined all sorts of sce­ narios. He’d rush in and sweep her off her feet. She’d run to him and throw her arms around him. Always, always, the dreams had ended in a deep kiss.  Of course, that had been when she’d thought he’d re­turn for her upon  receiving her letter. That hope…that dream…had died years ago. And, unlike  Laza­rus, it would not be revived. Four years was too long to wait for anyone.

Oddly, the thought flashed through her mind that she was glad she hadn’t yet changed from her day dress as she so often did once she shut up the store for the night. Usually she anticipated the removal of her corset at the end of a long day much as she imagined a horse reveled in the loss of his cinch and  saddle. For now, the laced binding under her dark plum-colored skirt and  bodice held her upright and firm. Perhaps she had enough layers on to feel    sufficiently armored against his charm now.

After all, he was the one who had left her. With­out word, without a care for what she’d thought they meant to each other, without asking her to wait for him or taking her with him. He’d been a scoundrel…and she hated him for it.

She swallowed. “Mr. Barrington.” The sound of his name came firm and cool. “I assume it is…‘Mr.’ now by the way you are clothed. Not ‘Corporal.’ Not ‘Captain.’”

“‘Mr.’ is fine.” He ducked his head under the door frame and stepped farther into the store. The door swung shut behind him with a solid whump. He didn’t even jump at the sound. In fact, he appeared a bit dazed as he looked at her, almost as though he were seeing a ghost. “What are you doing here?”

Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs
© 2016 Kathryn Albright

For more please go to my website: http://kathrynalbright.com/about-the-books/familiar-stranger-in-clear-springs/

About the Author:  

 Golden Heart finalist and recipient of the HOLT Medallion Award of Merit, author Kathryn Albright writes American-set historical romance that celebrates the strength of courage, hope and love against all odds.

Visit Kathryn: 

 www.kathrynalbright.com  | Newsletter |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Pinterest  |  Goodreads 

Of Devil Fish & Widow's Walks

Whenever I think of whaling, I envision "Widow's Walks" on tall Victorian manors, frigid blustery days, and the longing and romance associated with the captain returning from a voyage at sea to his New England home. Because of my romanticized view, it was with some fascination I discovered whaling took place in early San Diego. I quickly realized that life then was hard, messy, and often downright scary. 

Widow's Walk

Gray whales migrate south and pass by San Diego in December and January. They winter in Baja California and then migrate north to Alaska, passing by San Diego in March, April and May.

Although shore whaling had been going on along the coastline for many years, no operations where located in San Diego's harbor until the Packard Whaling Company arrived in 1857. The Packard brothers, 40-year old twins from Massachusetts and hailing from a long line of Portuguese whalers, set up the try-works and small company shacks. Over the next 25 years other whaling companies came and went bringing Portuguese, Chinese, and Anglo-American workers.

The men used 28-foot open boats to chase after a whale, harpoon it, and then go for the scariest ride of their lives as the whale tried to shake them loose. The California Gray soon became known as the "Devil Fish" due to its intense fighting. When the whale gave up--evidenced by its last long exhalation and its blow-hole covered with clotted blood--the men would pull it back to Ballast Point and drag it ashore.

Breaching Gray Whale

There, they would cut off the chunks of blubber - a process called flensing - by slowly rolling the massive carcass with a winch. Using mincing tubs, mincing-knives, pikes, bailers, and other implements they would render out the oil at the try-works. A 150 gallon cast-iron cauldron called a try-pot was used to further extract the oil. Black oily smoke could be seen from San Diego and the stench was noticed for miles. The carcass was left on the beach, waiting for the tide to carry it back out to sea.

Scrimshaw

Oil from the whale was used as a lubricant in manufacturing and as a fuel for lamps and in soaps and creams. The bones were used in ladies corsets, bustles, umbrella ribs, jagging wheels for pastry decorating, and scrimshaw (Decorative carving of bones and ivory.) Spermaceti, a wax-like substance, was used in tanning leather and high quality candles. Baleen was used for buggy whips, carriage springs, fishing poles, ladies stays and frames for traveling bags. Ambergris was used for perfume.

The industry declined as the whales were decimated and petroleum took over with a newer, cheaper product. (Thank goodness because that saved the animals from extinction!) In 1870, the U.S. government ruled that Ballast Point was public land and military property which made way for the establishment of Fort Rosecrans. The whalers had to leave.

My newest book will be released in December 2015, A Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs. It takes place in La Playa after the whalers have left the area. The protagonist, Tom Barrington, is a soldier at Fort Rosecrans. It is available for pre-order. Here is a blurb ~

Back in the Officer's Arms...

Four years ago, Tom Barrington shared a connection with Elizabeth Morley that was like nothing he had ever experienced. But as a solitary soldier, he knew marriage was out of the question. 

So when he strolls back into her life, Elizabeth can't believe it. He once broke her heart, and now he's back--more irresistible than ever! And when the dangers of Tom's lifestyle catch up with him, the question remains: can he be the safe harbor she craves?

Visit Kathryn on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and her website. 

Sign up for her newsletter here.