The Book of Cures
The book of cures is a small notebook from the 1800s. It was recovered from the remains of Pierre Beauperthuy’s museum in The Old House in St. Martin in late 2017. The house had been unattended for some years following Pierre’s death, and it was badly damaged during Hurricane Irma. Much of Pierre’s collection was still inside The Old House. It had been battered by the winds and rain, left exposed where the roof was torn open. Luckily, the notebook was one of the items that survived. In fact, it has survived many hurricanes since the first entries were written in it, perhaps 200 years ago.
This notebook, written by an unknown 19th-century author on the island of St. Martin with medical remedies and other useful information, provides a unique window into life on St. Martin.
Author Mark Yokoyama dives into the book’s different ‘cures’, from curing the ‘flux’ (dysentery) to recipes for improved rum. As such it provides interesting insight into the daily preoccupations of an 18th-century islander.