Return to Yellowstone: Sequel to Yellowstone Heart Song Yellowstone Romance Series Novella by Henderson Peggy L

Author:Henderson, Peggy L
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-10-04T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Aimee sat outside Little Bird’s hut. A newly-tanned pair of britches lay in her lap. With the elk bone needle in her hand, she finished completing the seam on the right pant leg. She held the tool in her hand and rotated it in front of her, studying it. It was much larger than a regular sewing needle, but it certainly did the job well, and had been carved to a sharp point.

“No reason I can’t make smaller needles out of bone that would be suitable for stitching up wounds,” she murmured.

The idea of helping the people in this time with her nursing skills had never crossed her mind. Saving Elk Runner’s life and the little boy had simply come naturally to her, and she’d done what she’d been trained to do as an ER nurse out of habit.

Sure, she’d never actually performed surgery on a patient until she’d saved Elk Runner from bleeding to death internally, but she’d assisted enough times to be confident in doing it herself. Even in unsterile conditions, she’d saved his life. Granted, she’d had things in her medical kit at the time that had helped prevent infection, but there were other ways to sterilize instruments and prevent possible wound contamination.

She couldn’t simply walk away from someone who needed help. Was this her true calling - providing medical help to the people in the past? The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

The shaman had introduced her to his young asthma patient, showing her the medicine bundle he’d used to treat her. To him, medicine was more about chasing off evil spirits, and the herbs supposedly did that. Although she’d be limited from using the kind of medicine she was used to, combining the shaman’s knowledge of healing plants with her modern methods might save more people that required doctoring.

The Indian healer had been patient with her over the last three days, showing her various herbs and plants. He’d tried to explain their purpose and the healing properties they contained. She’d listened intently, not only because of the language barrier, but also because she was eager to learn and be useful in her new role.

The most beneficial plant she’d come across so far had been willow bark, something she’d even heard of back home while in nursing school. The bark of the willow tree contained a substance similar to aspirin, and was therefore a great pain reliever. While the shaman clearly liked to smoke it, it could also be brewed into a tea.

She’d been most intrigued with the plant the shaman used to treat the young asthma patient. Apparently it was a plant that wasn’t native to this area, but the Indians traded it with other tribes, using it in their pipes for tobacco. Aimee had suggested the girl drink a tea from the leaves rather than inhaling the smoke, but the shaman had shaken his head. Through various gestures and demonstrations, he’d made it clear to her that ingesting the tobacco would cause severe vomiting.

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