Slave medicine

Boneset, sage, and more

The slaves used boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) to relieve symptoms of the common cold. In fact, this herb’s common name comes from its use in treating a nineteenth-century disease known as “breakbone” fever. The slaves made a tea from the herb’s leaves and flowers and sipped it to induce sweating; they also used it as a diuretic. It grows in low woods and at swamps’ edges, and has white flowers that grow in flat-topped clusters.

Sage (Salvia spp.) was and is used in traditional medicine—it’s made into a gargle to treat sore throats or used as a mouthwash; the slaves also used it to treat colic in infants. However, internal medicinal use of sage should be done cautiously because the herb’s constituents may be toxic when taken in large amounts or over a long period of time.

Slaves used pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides, Mentha pulegium) to fight colds, reduce fever (by promoting perspiration), and relieve the pain of a toothache or headache. (Pennyroyal can cause deadly liver damage and is an abortifacient, meaning that it can cause contractions, so it shouldn’t be taken during pregnancy.) Slaves also took a tea made of catnip (Nepeta cataria) to help them sleep, and used spearmint, peppermint, and other members of the mint family (Mentha spp.) to relieve indigestion, stomach cramps, nausea, and abdominal pains. And, like many other cultural groups, the slaves used horehound (Marrubium vulgare) to make bittersweet tea, candy, and syrup to alleviate sore throats, coughs, and cold symptoms.

Sampson’s snakeroot (Gentiana villosa) is indigenous to the southern United States, and slaves used several of its varieties as remedies for snakebites. They used leaves from peach trees (Prunus persica) to expel worms, a common problem on many plantations that resulted from unhealthy living conditions and consumption of unclean, improperly cooked food. They also used peach leaves as a laxative, a remedy for morning sickness, and a substitute for quinine—­although malaria was a problem for early Americans, slaves often were prevented from using drugs commonly available to whites, so found their own remedies. (Peach leaves can be toxic, so avoid them.)

Slaves also used all parts of the cherry and dogwood trees (Prunus serotina and Cornus spp.) for a wide range of medicinal purposes, and simmered the bark of black cherry and dogwood to make a remedy for chills and fever. They also used dogwood-bark tea to treat malaria.