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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1962-03-22, Page 2Witch Doctor From Jungles Performs Miracles? V oo do o, superstition, black magic, witchcraft or just plain jungle mumbo -jumbo — call it What you will but whatever it ts, it is bringing f ame to a twentieth - century witch doctor who is practising his secret art bi the depths of the steaming Ecuadorian jungles. It is claimed that he is per- forming medical miracles; that be is curing diseases which have so f a r defied modern medical science. The name of this jungle medi- cine man is Abrahn Calasacon. He is a forty -five-year-old In- dian. For the past twenty years he has combined the mysteries of ritual with an almost scientific knowledge of jungle vegetation in the treatment of a multitude of human illnesses, And, appar- ently, with success. His patients are not only pri- mitive satives. They include an ever-increasing f 1 o w of white people who are beating a path through this wilderness of trees and tangled undergrowth to reach his crude jungle hospital. There they hope to find cures for the many afflictions which have battled all the medical sci- ence of modern civilization, For centuries, long before the Conquistadores invaded the In- ca empire, the male members of Abrahn's family have been the witch doctors of t h e Colorado Indian tribe, Through passing generations they have experi- mented with, and learned the value of, jungle plants, herbs and poisons. Before leaving for Santo Do- mingo de los Colorados to meet Abrahn, I talked about him to a doctor in Quito, capital of Ecua- dor, to find out how the medical profession feels about his me- thods and results. This young doctor, a graduate of one of Germany's finest schools, astounded me by his an- swer: "We clamors in Ecuador know all about Abrahn. As a matter of fact, many physicians from Eurcpe and South America are watching him carefully, "It is not improbable that the mernal pre -Session can learn a great deal from him, especially about the application of primi- tive jungie medicines as cura- tive agents." Today, a well-known Ameri- can scientist, Dr. Wilburn Fergu- s 00, is experimenting in the junales cf Ecuador with certain leaves and herbs which the E- ven headhunters use. From these he hopes he maybe able to clevelep an effective treat- ment for one of our worst malig- n:last diseases. With this information I drove the sixty-five miles over wind- ing mountain roads to the little town of Santo Domingo. From there I continued my journey on foot, marching for thrse hours down a deep jungle ti ail, Finally, I arrived at a brsad river which could only be cross- ed by baardine a crudely built cable car. wsites Jane Dolinger in "Tit -Bits." I arriveda Abrahn's hospital just in time to see him attending te mare; patients. His treat - mots all fitaieaved the same gen- eral pre eisci ure. Under a pain -thatched shed. a chert (lista:are from his hospital, rrl (•::,..ular holes had been clits in the ground. Each one was abatis eight fret deep. At the bottoms o the holes were peals of water., Each of his patients sat on a small piece of wood directly over one of the holes. Their clothing was then removed and they don- ned heavy wooliesi capes. Under the direction of the witch doc- tor, and according to the type of ailment from which the patient suffered, certain specific jungle plants and herbs were dropped into the hole. ISSUE 10 — 1962 Meanitsshile, Abrahlas two as- eistants heated small 1'001{8, whieh, when white-hot, were dropped into the holes over whieh the patients sat. The patients were enveloped in heavy white sheets which trapped the great clouds of steam that rose from the holes. This vapour was not only ab- sorbed by the body of the Pa- tient but flowed into his lungs as well, The treatment lasted for not more t h an halt -an -hour, after which the sheets were removed and the patient carried to the hospital. Here he was allowed to rest for the next few hours on a simple palm frond bed. At exactly three o'clock each morning, t h e patients, one by one, walk, or are carried, to a room on the second floor of the hospital where they receive doses of medicines made from leaves and herbs — some poi- sonous — which have been cook- ed in kettles over open fires. It is during this nocturnal per- formance, a highly -secret proce- dure, that the witch doctor, in addition to administering his medicines, exercises the power of centuries-old superstition and witchcraft, all the time calling upon the gods to restore health to the sick. According to Abrahn, there is no disease known to mankind that cannot be cured through his three -fold system of "Turk- ish bath" jungle medicine, and the secret ritual of witchery. In addition to the steam bath in which Abrahn uses a jungle leaf called chinguishuk, he brews a special tea from wild red berries. This is said to be a potent aphrodisiac of lasting power. In other instances, people with bowed legs have had them straightened after having h d the limbs submerged in tubs of hot mud mixed with jungle her b s. Thes e, according to Abrahn, soften the bones suffi- ciently to enable them to be made perfectly straight after just a few treatments. Abrahn's patients sleep on primitive cots in one small room, regardless of sex or illness. To make things even more difficult, the witch doctor serves no meals. All patients must bring their own food. Naturally, there is no running water or any other modern eon- venience in this witch doctor's hospital, but in spite of the fact that white patients must live as primitively as the native suffer- ers, there are no complaints. It is a far ery from modern medical science to Abrahn, jun- gle "miracle maker" of the Col- orados. It is possible, just the same, that if orthodox doctors can, by some means or other, jar Abrahn loose from the secrets of his pri- mitive prescriptions, they might well be able -to solve some of the nsajor medical problems of this scientific age. CLIPPER — Marty French clipped that big hydrangea blossom from his grand- mother's garden in Soquel, Calif. It's 42 inches around. FROM DOWN UNDER — B. G. Boorie has a job that one could easily lose his head over if the proper precautions were not token, Boone, an employee of Western Union, is just emerging from 0 manhole in downtown, Dallas, after completing a day's work on a cable line below the street. TABLE TALKS 42Jaw, Anottlews. Do you eat pie with a spoon or a fork? This subject has been brought into the open by a reader of the Christian Science Monitor — and a man reader, at that — Chester V. McCloud of Oklaho- ma City. He classifies himself as a "spoon pie eater." He does not entirely approve of the fork school of pie eaters, because they have to have thickening in their fruit pies. But, let us hear about this subject in Mr, McCloud's own words: "No one — but no one — gets this job done, so I must do it," he says, in launching his cru- sade. "The subject is directly berry pies. No berry pie is worth eating when it is half full of thickening. The practice of add- ing thickening is based upon the long -held viewpoint — entirely erroneous — that berry pies must hold together in pretty wedges when sliced and served. The fact is that berry pies, and most other fruit pies, should have no thickening to dim in any degree the delicious flavor." "Such pies, Obviously, must be eaten with a spoon! So any other pie would be, and. should be, designated a 'fork pie',". he continued. "Therefore, I recommend . that the practice be adopted of classifying all pies . .. as 'spoon pies' or 'fork pies.' I further recommend that no pie maker shall be approved who puts thickening in any pie filling - , * Whether you are pro or con on this subject, you will want your pastry just right, and two other readers have offered ways of making it so. May W. Thomp- son writes: "My pastry recipe is so revolutionary that I feel as if I should 'sell' it to readers with a money -back guarantee. Be- cause it is a raised crust. it re- mains crisp under refrigeration after baking, and because of the large amount of lard it does not taste like biscuit pastry. I feel sure that if a reader is not satis- fied with her present recipe, she will like this one. My recipe makes a two -crust pie and one extra pie shell," NEVER -FAIL PASTRY 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 14 teaspoon salt '4 eup milk Lard Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Measure milk in a cup; ep, "BERM" MAN—Looking more like a merman than a frogman, British Able Seaman David Williams takes a breather on a hunk of ice during operations in Antarctica. spoon in enough lard to fill the cup, Lift lard out of milk and blend into flour mixture. Pour in milk and mix well. The dough will be very stiff but easy to measure. * * * A very different method is used in the recipe sent by Mrs. Olive V. Armstrong. "I never considered myself a really good pastry maker until my daughter gave me her recipe," she writes. PASTRY 1t-::iing(1 u cuphosme ot.e)nized short- eeup boiling water 1 tablespoon milk 2 cups flour (sift once before measuring) 1 teaspoon salt Put shortening in mixing bowl; add boiling water and milk. Break up shortening with a fork and beat until mixture is smooth and thick like whipped cream and holds peaks when fork is lifted (this takes time and pa- tience, but it works). Sift flour and salt together into first mix- ture. Stir quickly with round - the -bowl strokes into a dough that clings together and cleans the bowl. Pick up and work into a smooth dough. Shape dough into a flat round; roll between waxed paper or pastry cloth. (I get two 9 -inch rounds and one 8 -inch crust from this recipe. 11 you like a thick pie crust, it yields two 9 -inch crusts. I find freezing this dough improves it.) "Now, if you want to make an apple pie that is just a picture of beauty, try this," continues Mrs. Armstrong. "Instead of putting the spices on the appies, put them on the top and bottom crusts like this: Combine 2 table- spoons sugar, 344 teaspoon cin- namon, and lee teaspoon nutmeg. Line 9 -inch pie pan with pastry, brush with milk or water, and sprinkle with ti the sugar -spice mixture. Add the apples and su- gar and cover with top crust. Cut slits in top crust. Brush this with milk or water and .sprinkle evenly with remaining sugar - spice mixture. Bake 50-60 min- utes at 4257 (Watch this pie carefully so it doesn't brown too much)." * * s When I was in Dallas a few months ago getting her recipe for black pepper cake from Mrs. Ernest Williams, she also gave me a recipe for molasses pie which she considers one of her best. It's been in her family more than 100 years. You'll need a baked pie shell for this is a meringue pie. AUNT MOLLIE'S MOLASSES PIE eggs,itsstepgpaarr a ted eup eup sorghum molasses 1 cap milk teaspoon soda 1 tablespoon butter 8 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon vanilla 6 tablespoons sugar for meringue Beat egg yolks until fluffy; add 1S eup sugar, molasses, milk, butter, flour, soda, and vanitla. Pour into cooked shell, Beat egg whites for meringue; add the su- gar gradually, beating. Spread over filling in shell (sprinkle top with nutmeg, if desired). Bake Until meringue is a dentate brown, • * Spring is almost here and soon you'll be thinking of shortcake Pancake Houses Spread Across ,US‘ African banana pancakes, date - nut pancakes, chocolate-chiP pan - Viennese potato pancakes, Pales- tine pancakes, N'mv Orleans Pa - bob hat cakes . Enough to make strong men iticasy, this list nevertheless looks good to a brigade of restauranteurs who are opening pancake houses as fast as batter, griddle, and exotic menus can be swirled together. The smile on their faces is as wide as Aunt ,Iemima's — end understandably so: In the U.S. hot cakes are selling like you know what. Southern California now has 76 pancake houses and more a7build- ing, In Phoenix, Ariz., Uncle John's Pancake Houses, Inc., last week dedicated its 47th branch eatery, while the citizens of Palm Beach, Fla„ were gobbling cakes at the Pancake Palace—opened last month—as if Metrecal had never been heard of, The Palace is aptly named. It has beige and gold carpets, rococo iron chande- liers, and four original Bernard Buffet paintings, loaned by an art dealer, "You might say that the pancake business is an .up- and-coming business," modestly comments the Palace manager, who grosses $1,300 daily. The flap over flapjacks is more than that. In 1958, Al Lapin Jr. and his brother Jerry built their first International House of Pan- cakes in Toluca Lake, a suburb of Los Angeles. Today, including to go with several kinds of fruit. "I am enclosing a recipe that a friend gave me while I was liv- ing in Switzerland," writes Mrs. Carol B. Willett. "It is for short shortcake, but I'm not certain whether it is a Swiss recipe or not as my friend is an Ameri- can." - SHORT SHORTCAKE 1 cap butter cup 4X confectioners' sugar, sifted 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups sifted flour '4 teaspoon salt 34 teaspoon baking powder Cream butter and gradually add the sugar; blend thoroughly and add the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Work this mixture into the first mixture with hands. Roll out to :a -inch thickness. Cut Into squares or rounds. Bake at 3757. for 20 minutes. frarionnittsi Lho control 27 nun scattered across the country, Vic Walker, a Midwestom franehise holder in The Original Pancake Houses (115 outlets), claims the success of such booming chains is "quality control, You just can't open a box of mix," he explains, "blend it with water and call yearself a pancake house." Ray- mond Ediund, owner of The Pan- cake House in Atlantis. reckons this is true, too. "My own special secret is aging the Mater. We let it sit 24 to 48 hours," A clash of ballyhoo is also mix- ed in. Last year Batumi gave away 300 Easter baekets, while Uncle John's regularly bribes kids with balloons and lapel but- tons ("He's my Uncle John"), Another Uncle John gimmick: An children under 12 register their birthdays, are later •invited back for a free birthday pancake crowned with whipped cream and a lighted candle. It pays off. In Hollywood, trade at the interna- tional House of Pancakes, which uses the birthday gambit as well as an occasional bit of cheesecake promotion, is so tumultuous that , short - order gooks use batter "guns" that shoot 150 pancakes per minute onto the griddle. Once cooked, they are loosed onto plates at the pickup counter where infrared overhead lights keep them warm. Like all hot -as -a -pistol fads, of nurse, pancakes haven't been di- gested with total relish. "Every- body says they're good," wearily commented an attractive wait- ress at Uncle John's in Detroit. "I've worked here a month and had pancakes in the morning, at lunch, and at night. I'm sick of them." How Well Do You Know SOUTH AMERICA? Fashion Hint ••4