Raising his head and shoulders, Charity slipped closer and laid his head in her lap. She dipped the spoon in the liquid and encouraged him to take it. After he had sipped the liquid off the spoon, she handed the bowl back to Martha, telling her to be sure and put it where the children could not get a hold of it.
She knew that she should move out of the way because Jackson could experience hallucinations, or worse; he could become unruly and thrust about; however, she was not about to leave him.
It only took a minute or two for Jackson to begin to feel the effects of the jimsonweed tea; it is absorbed rather quickly through the mucus membranes of the mouth and stomach. Soon, he was hallucinating. She imagined he was seeing all sorts of horrors, when he began slapping at …show more content…
We haven‘t had anything to eat since this morning. Jeremiah says we have to wait- I don‘t think I can wait any longer, Mama; my stomach is growling something fierce.”
As if on cue, Cynthia’s stomach grumbled loudly.
“Of course you are- I know you’re hungry, I can hear your tummy grumbling. If you can wait just a little bit longer, until Jackson gets better, Nancy and Martha can fix y'all something to eat.”
Suddenly, a blood curdling scream came from the front room, and then Nancy yelled, “Jackson is dead!”
“No,” Charity yelled, “he's not dead. He has just unconscious. If his fever don't break, you will need to give him another dose of the jimson tea, in about an hour; after that, every two hours- and Nancy…”
“Yes, Mama,” Nancy asked.
“Please, do not scream like that again unless your life depends on it… Jeremiah and the children are hungry. Get those biscuits and ham we had left over from breakfast this morning out of the larder and take them out to them,” Charity instructed.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Nancy replied. “Give me just a minute; I‘ll see to them as soon as I get this floor mopped up.” She was helping Martha by mopping up the blood trail that Charity had left
She knew that she should move out of the way because Jackson could experience hallucinations, or worse; he could become unruly and thrust about; however, she was not about to leave him.
It only took a minute or two for Jackson to begin to feel the effects of the jimsonweed tea; it is absorbed rather quickly through the mucus membranes of the mouth and stomach. Soon, he was hallucinating. She imagined he was seeing all sorts of horrors, when he began slapping at …show more content…
We haven‘t had anything to eat since this morning. Jeremiah says we have to wait- I don‘t think I can wait any longer, Mama; my stomach is growling something fierce.”
As if on cue, Cynthia’s stomach grumbled loudly.
“Of course you are- I know you’re hungry, I can hear your tummy grumbling. If you can wait just a little bit longer, until Jackson gets better, Nancy and Martha can fix y'all something to eat.”
Suddenly, a blood curdling scream came from the front room, and then Nancy yelled, “Jackson is dead!”
“No,” Charity yelled, “he's not dead. He has just unconscious. If his fever don't break, you will need to give him another dose of the jimson tea, in about an hour; after that, every two hours- and Nancy…”
“Yes, Mama,” Nancy asked.
“Please, do not scream like that again unless your life depends on it… Jeremiah and the children are hungry. Get those biscuits and ham we had left over from breakfast this morning out of the larder and take them out to them,” Charity instructed.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Nancy replied. “Give me just a minute; I‘ll see to them as soon as I get this floor mopped up.” She was helping Martha by mopping up the blood trail that Charity had left