May apple

Belladonna

Burdock

Yellow dock

Peppermint
Iris
Foxglove
Golden seal

Black-eyed Susan
Monk's hood

Chamomile

Juniper berry
Mullein
Slippery elm bark


Podophyllum

Atropa

Arctium lappa

Rumex crispus

Mentha piperita
Iris florentina
Digitalis purpurea
Hydrastis
  canadensis
Rudbeckia
Aconite

Anthemis

Juniperus
Verbascum
Ulmus fulva


Liver and
  constipation
High fever and
  convulsions
Falling hair, skin
  trouble
Coughs, bronchial
  trouble
Tonic, colds, stomach
Tonic
Heart stimulant
Tonic

Locally for pain
Fever, colds, and
  inflammatory pain
Sedative, tonic,
  eyewash
Kidneys, diabetes
Earache
Tonic, colds, poultice


Bear fat


HOME REMEDIES MORE COMMONLY USED


Blackberry juice

Wild grape juice

Squash and pumpkin seeds

Butter, sugar, and ginger

Lemon juice, honey, and
  glycerin
Skunk oil

Goose grease and mustard

Flax seed


To massage sore muscles and
soften callouses on feet and
hands. Also to soften leather.
To drink for blood building and
tonic.
To drink for blood building and
tonic.
Dried and ground, were believed
to cure stomach worms.
Mixed together, for children's
coughs.
Mixed together, for cough syrup.

Believed to make hair grow on a
bald head.
Mixed to rub on chest for chest
colds, and also for aching back.
Cooked to take for laxative.


    Very often the pioneer families in Wisconsin had
to be their own doctors. The women, especially, be-
came very proficient in treating wounds and common
illnesses, and displayed a brand of heroism only con-
jectured about in our day. The pioneer mother was
always available for help when needed by a neighbor,
and the beautiful saying about the pioneer mother of
Wisconsin, that the trails from her cabin led in every
direction, is one of the most cherished of Wisconsin
pioneer traditions.
    Nina 0. Peterson wrote a special tribute to her
mother, who was one of these early-day heroines:
     "She was a gracious lady, my mother. She was
the symbol of hundreds like her who followed the
dim lantern over paths, across fields and through
woods on missions of mercy. She was not a nurse
but a pioneer woman who knew what to do and never
ceased doing what she could for others. Her old
satchel was ever in readiness, her first-aid kit fitted


The family still works together.


with such articles that she thought might be needed.
Her drugs were limited, a bottle of carbolic acid, a
can of epsom salts, camphorated oil, and clean white
rags and the box of mustard.
     "Nursing was not a job or a position to her. There
never was any money involved, for her remuneration
was greater than gold or silver. It was the firm
handshake, the grateful voice of thanks, the deep re-
lief in eyes, and the knowledge that baby and mother
were doing as well as could be expected or that the
fever had broken and all would be well.
     "I recall on one cold rainy evening, we heard fa-
ther say 'Whoa,' at our kitchen door. We ran out.
Mother said, 'Children, go back inside. Don't get all
wet.' We obeyed but did not understand why she
did not come in.
     " 'Bring me a full change of clothing,' she called.
     "Father was getting kerosene, kindling, and a
lamp. He went out to the summer kitchen, which
was in a shanty near the house. This kitchen was
used during the warm summer months instead of
the kitchen in the house. He carried in pails of water
and the tub. He gathered the carbolic acid bottle,
soap and towels, and going outside, he helped Mother
from the buggy. Then he drove out to the barn and
unhitched the horse. Mother went directly into the
shanty.
     "In about one hour she came into the house. She
had washed her head, bathed, and changed clothes.
    "'Aggie, did you burn your clothes?' Father
asked her when he came into the house.
     " 'Oh, yes, of course. We can't have them around
and take any more chances,' she informed him.
    "This time she had been gone from home for


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