Remarks on the topography and diseases of the Gold Coast / by R. Clarke.

  • Clarke, R.
Date:
[1860]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Remarks on the topography and diseases of the Gold Coast / by R. Clarke. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    fruit, which closely adheres to the cortex. A vertical section shows that the closely-grained nearly dried fleshy fruit is of a reddish brown colour, the seeds being imbedded in a fibrous and tenacious substance. In taste and flavour the fruit is strongly but not unpleasantly astringent; the rind less so ; but the bark of the tree is strongly astringent; and I feel satisfied that the bark of the Etua tree will be found a medi¬ cine of great value in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery. The negroes esteem it as a sovereign cure for dysentery, and have done so for countless ages. On the Gold Coast the fruit is fetish, and is employed by the wily fetish men and women as a charm. When it is so used, the fresh fruit is painted in alternate stripes of red, white, and black. The colours are composed of ochre, chalk, and charcoal. Thus prepared, the fruit is transfixed to the earth, either in the pathways, house, or about the house of the party who consults the fetish man or woman, as may be directed. Sometimes the fruit is painted entirely black, and then dotted all over with red and white spots, when it is used in a similar manner. The ceremony is an invocation to the fetish to discover the remedy which is suitable to cure the disease of the person seeking advice from the fetish man or woman. Return of the Causes of Death of Twelve Officers in the Dutch Service upon the Cold Coast in the eight years from 1st January, 1851, to 31sf December, 1859, inclusive. Disease. Period of Service. Remarks. Phthisis Pul. Inflammation of stomach Dysentery Dropsy Constipation Dysentery Dysentery Rheumatism Arthritis Suicide Fever (Cerebral) Rheumatic fever 3 years 18 „ 1 - 14= „ 4= „ 13 „ 3 — 3 „ 12 „ — 4 months 3 „ to » y . s-4. _ X\J . <Died before med. aid arrived
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