Richard Carter was a Virginian-born physician who worked in frontier settlements in Kentucky in the late 1700s and early 1800s. In 1825 Dr Carter published a collection of the medical diagnoses, treatments and catch-all cures he had employed during his medical career. Some of his treatments were standard for the time, such as herbal concoctions for skin cancers and a strict dietary regime for tuberculosis. Others are more bizarre, such as his recommendation for cataracts of the eyes: burn the shins with a caustic solution. But none is more peculiar than Dr Carter’s recipe for a versatile oil rub, which could come straight from medieval Europe:

“Kill the fattest young dog that you can get, in the month of March or April. Clean him as you would a pig; gut him and stuff his belly with a pint of red fishing worms, a pint of red pepper, a considerable portion of the bark of sassafras root, and water frogs. Sew up the incision, roast the dog well and save the oil to anoint sores, gouts, weak nerves, etc.”

Source: Dr Richard Carter, A Short Sketch of the Author’s Life and Adventures from his Youth until 1818 in the First Part. In the Second Part, A Valuable, Vegetable, Medical Prescription, with a Table of Detergent and Corroborant Medicines to Suit the Treatment of the Different Certificates, 1825. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.