Mariah learned midwifery from her mother-in-law, Mary Ann Weston, the second wife of colonizer, Peter Maughan. She was set apart for her midwifery duty by Peter Maughan and spent many successful years in this service. She earned little pay except hearty thanks, and brought almost all her patients safely through their ordeal. It was expected that a midwife might be available for other medical service. During a winter epidemic of boils, which seriously afflicted both children and adults, Sarah Mariah had a dream one night in which she saw a blue mold under rose bushes. The next day she and John went to an area where wild roses grew abundantly, scraped away the snow and found the blue mold. They collected a quantity of the substance, brought it home and made poultices which, when applied, completely cured the boils. Later, people wondered if this might have been a form of penicillin. But without question, it was a giftof Divine Providence.