New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1853-08-22
Thoughts About yellow Fever.

We have received the following communica-
ton from an old resident, whose practical good
sense and sententious style entitle him to a hear
ing [Eds.
Mr.. EprroR--It is admitted by all that at
present thercis no panic with regard to the yell
low fever, fear having driven nearly all the
timid away, and the most of those persons I'M
accimated brave the risk of getting sick, yet no
diminution has taken place in the daily deaths,
and as | cannot believe that it is the will Of
Providence that all stricken should die, there
must be fault somewhere amongst us, and from
my experience among the sick and dying, can
only give reason that there are too many
doctors By this | mean parchment NJ. DIS,
who are licensed to kill.
Naturally the friends of the sick call in the
FIRST doctor who is at hand, supposing that all
| bearing that honorable title are skillful. Thi,
is gross delu sion. In proof, will state facts,
| which have passed within the last three months
under my own notice, and l only refer to those
persons that have had a fair share Of attend
ance, and an implicit following of the doctors
directions, until in most cases death ensued.
Fully ninety per cent. of persons having this
kind of medical advice from the commencement
Of the simple stage of fever hare diea That
there was great want of skill is shown by the
success of others, (who would be surpfised to be
called doctors,l they having cureI *many bad
cases of fever. These are facts kn5Sth to many,
| and can be verified by examining the certificates
Of hnrials Mt the cemeteries. There 1T will be
| Sc by the records that some of the NJ D 5
lost NIL their patients or else through Gu
pidity, have taken too many in charge to give 4
| proper attendance to all.
| As my object in this communication is to
draw public attention to the fact that too many
deaths have occurred by trusting the lives of
the sick to quseks, and that it is safer to let
| the patient take his chance than to call in some
Of these mis- called doctors, who by their fruits
are known to lack judgment and skill l will
| give a case in point:
| A certain doctor, in attendance on three men,
| gave them up as incurable, and told them that
there was no hope, and that they would die
| One Of the g Howard men," whose notice they
came under, Thought otherwise, and he set to
work and did not leave them until they were
oonvalescent, They were up ard about the
room. doing remarkably we'll, when, as fate
would have it, this doctor q being in the vicn-
itv, by accident heard that they were living
he visited theu1 and. through their fears, forced
them to take medicine which he prescribed, and
in less than twelve hours after, all ,cere deaf,
Another doctor, not one hundred miles from
the It Charles Hotel, visited poor patient,
and after ordering some medicine used the ex-
preston, " Damn you, you'll de!" This fell
low was allowed to see the sick man again, and
added to his former fendish language, and while
he was abusing him the man died
As it may be made to appear by the quack-
cry class that l have a hostility 10 the medical
faculty, | here disclaim any such intention,
knowing that there are some of the most skill
ful and humane men among them but while ii
is the fashion to make the 90 fool Of the family .
a student q of medicine, ana the many rival
medical colleges grant diplomas to all who pay
for the courses OF lectures, it is time now, when
death stalks among us, to draw distinction
and prevent very many of those ms-called doc.
tors from approaching the sick.
Respectfully, A, G. j.