“QUACKS” IN AMERICA

Southland Times, Issue 20662, 18 April 1929, Page 8

“QUACKS” IN AMERICA

SOME PECULIAR. BELIEFS.

THE “POW-WOW” DOCTORS

New York, February 4.

The recent murder of a Pennsylvania farmer and the charging of the crime to a “Pow-wow” doctor has caused inquiries which show that the “Pow-wow” doctors are still plying their trade. In one district there are more than a dozen of them; they declare that faith and prayer are the basis of their practices, and that outward evidence to the contrary is only “Hokum,” added to confuse the minds of the ignorant., Removal of warts has long been a feature of the “Pow-wow” treatment. A piece of fat meat is rubbed on the wart and then buried, the “Pow-wow” doctor reciting an incantation over it.

A woman doctor said that it was not necessary to see the patient, so long as the name and the malady were known. Some patients consult a “regular”. doctor and a “Pow-wow,” and, if a cure is effected, the credit goes to the “Pow-wow.” Should the patient die, the regular practitioner Is blamed. Some of the methods -employed include feeding pieces of meat, eggs or potatoes to animals. Then, with the recital of the incantation, the malady should pass from the person to the animal. “Selling a cold for a penny” is a common form of treatment. After some jargon is muttered over the patient he is advised to bury a penny. Cancer, goitre, and other slow-moving diseases are the principal complaints that send patients to the “Powwow.”