Black salve/ointment

[CelticBanshee3]

Yeah, I've heard of the Black Salve, and I've heard of Bloodroot, but never connected the two.

In the late 90's, when Dear Old Dad was dying of cancer, some relatives recommended it, and so ma and pa got some. They put it on him, and mom swears that it was working, was drawing the cancer out from INSIDE his body through the application site. I dunno, I wasn't there. Anyhow, Pap was tired of living, had had about enough of this world anyhow, so he discontinued the use. He was ready to go, and he went.

Bloodroot grows wild here. I found some at a place called "Elder Gap" in River Mountain (WAY up in River Mountain, a gap right in the ridge of it) years ago, one day when I was out and about, thrashing around in the woods. I'd never seen the plant before - it looked a little bit like a tiny mayapple plant - so I dug one up and looked the root over. It was unremarkable as roots go, until I snapped it in half. Then it got remarkable. When I snapped the root, a red fluid started seeping out in tiny spots all over the snapped surface. Looked just like blood seeping out of capillaries.

The entire root was about the size and shape of my pinkie finger.


So I put it in my boodle bag and brought it home to identify it. Turned out to be "Bloodroot", and it wasn't hard for me to figure out why they called it that. Indians used it in medicine and for paint pigment. They also called it "Red Puccoon" to distinguish it from "Yelllow Puccoon", which we call Yellowroot.

The herbal I looked it up in said it was dangerous, and should only be used in minute amounts, so I never fooled with trying to use it for anything.

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Both of my Grandfathers made their own yellow root tonic. As for the black salve, my husband is a heavy equipment mechanic and always getting a splinter of metal, or wood when out in the yard, a little salve and bandage overnight seems to clear it up. Anything more serious I take a different approach.