Wild Weird Women in History II: Juliette de Bairacli Levy

“Travelers going into lonely places and living there for a while need to be able to doctor themselves when ill or injured. Such knowledge is part of travel survival!”?

The words of Juliette de Bairacli Levy affectionately named Juliette of the Herbs.

Juliette was sort of a travel writer, who was also an amateur veterinarian, which is also a name for someone who learns from those who care for animals by accumulated folk wisdom. She is a bit of an enigma, a wealthy girl from England, who attended veterinary school for two years. She then took to the road to learn from shepherds and nomadic people, and anyone who would teach her.?

Herbalists may not have such a difficult time understanding Julliette.

She lived throughout Europe, in Turkey, and Greece, and in North Africa.

She lived with the Romani people, in Granada at least, whom she credits the most of any culture for herbal knowledge of animal care that she has since shared with many.?

There is so so so much to say about her, a lot of it she said for herself in various autobiographical books (though always just as rich in sound useful information about care and handling of the body, and for animals). She even lends a not slim chapter called “About Medicine” in her book “Traveler’s Joy”.

Common ailments, from earaches and headaches from coldness, and dryness, and dampness to barbed wire tears, and jellyfish stings are mentioned, just effortlessly. “Instinctively I bathed in icy water when I had typhus,” she says nonchalantly, and then not even boastfully describes the diaphoretic properties of yarrow and the laxative effects of rhubarb.

Care of feet, backs, travelers stomach, toothache, stiff, neck, sun and wind burns, scorpion bites, sea urchin spikes, fleas, snake bites, dog bites, and various food and water-borne illness are covered here equally nonchalantly. I’d like to say that this isn’t even said to be an herbal book and includes more honest-to-goodness herbal remedies than some sources that do categorize themselves as herbalism!?

Since I’m leaving you in suspense about the details? What does she carry as travel first aid??

“A roll of cotton wool; a pair of small tweezers for splinters and for ear dressings; a roll of cotton bandage; in small supply the following dry items: cloves, charcoal tablets, senna pods, chamomile flowers, a bunch of rue, rosemary, wormwood, sage; small, unremarkable flasks of mosquito oil, vinegar, castor oil, spirit of eucalyptus, talcum powder, a box of matches, a small flashlight. Total weight, about one pound!” Cut the wooden covers off of any books you carry and you won’t know the difference!?

Juliette later became a New York woman, ushering dusty baskets, clay pots, hounds, and children, into chic New York City apartments, and wrote tomes about her experiences in rural places, and in cities of the world.

Go ahead now and twirl while The B-52s sing Juliet of the Spirits.

Then you might like to look for one of her books the next time you visit a vintage shop or used book sale.