"I was sick the next day. I got up and went to breakfast but I could not eat much and my eyes and nose were running so I went back to bed. I felt very low. Mrs. Floyd wrapped a rag around my neck that was soaked in turpentine and smeared with lard."
Portis mentioned this old-time remedy in True Grit to set the authenticity of the time period. Things like Vicks Vapo-Rub didn't exist in the early 1900s - the older remedies set the basis of those types of things. Rags soaked in turpentine and lard were used to relieve chest congestion. The lard does nothing besides prevent the turpentine from blistering the skin. Some of the events Portis wrote into the plot of True Grit are exaggerated and unbelievable but it's the smaller attention to detail, like the home remedies, that make it relateable to the reader.
Works Cited:
http://stixbrown.hubpages.com/hub/Old-Timey-Home-Remedies
Might there be a significance to this authenticity? A reason why such details were included to support a bigger idea?
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