Dear Editor:
It was exactly 480 years this mid-March that Jacques Cartier asked for help to survive the Canadian winter from the local Iroquoian people near present-day Montreal.
It’s easy to forget that in the early days of long distance sailing ships, it was considered an acceptable risk to experience scurvy, a dreadful disease, which resulted in leg sores, receding gums, losing teeth, overall fatigue, etc. No European doctors knew its cause or its cure. In this case, Cartier, and his crew of 110 men, were caught in the ice in the St. Lawrence River and had to build a fort on shore, with all the dried food they had in the holds of the three ships.
By mid-March, 1536, the men were getting emaciated and debilitated from the scurvy, which had already killed 25 of them. Overcoming his fear of being attacked, Cartier contacted the Native chief, Domagaia, asking for help. The response was instant, the Native women “gathered branches of the magical tree, boiling the bark and leaves for a decoction to drink. And placing the dregs upon the legs.”
The tea, over eight days, totally cured all the men of scurvy, and even cured some of syphilis. Cartier wrote in his journal “no amount of drugs from Europe or Africa could have done what the Native drugs did in a week”. He wrote the name of the tree as “Annedda” and said he was totally unfamiliar with this tree.
Sadly, for future sailors, when he returned to the area four years later, the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) tribe that had helped him had moved elsewhere. He could find no one who could tell him which tree it had been, as the Iroquoian word was not familiar to them. Thus the cause and cure for scurvy remained unknown for another 200 years causing many, many sailors to sicken and die.
There has been great speculation about which tree it actually was. My research has shown me that it was the local Eastern Hemlock tree, Tsuga Canadensis. The Onondaga Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) word for the Hemlock tree is “Annedda” or “Ohnetda”. Hemlock was a common tea for them during winters when fresh food was hard to come by.
Others have suggested it to be Eastern White Cedar, White Pine, Spruce, or Balsam Fir. A key thing to consider is that Cartier claimed not to be familiar with the tree. Cedars, Pines, Spruces, and Firs all grow in Europe. Hemlock was eradicated from Europe by the last ice age.
Like the other Evergreens, Hemlock has a high level of Vitamin C. Research hundreds of years later has shown this was the common missing dietary nutrient in a sailor’s diet. Hemlock is also very astringent, which would help cure the receding gums, loose teeth and leg sores faster than any other Evergreen could.
In the early 1940’s, in response to concern for the health of the Canadian populace due to the uncertainties of War, the Canadian Government commissioned a survey of the Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) content of Canadian plants and foods. Amongst the highest levels recorded were the Evergreen Trees, especially Hemlock.
It used to be very common to drink teas of Pine, Spruce, Hemlock and/or Fir needles to help with winter colds and coughs. Cedar was used less often and in small amounts, due to its thujone content.
It’s a story that reminds us it is worth asking for help when needed, and often Nature can provide what is needed.
To your health,
Robbie Anderman
Killaloe, Ontario
