The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1878-05-02
L1TERARX4
COUNTRY DOCTOR.


From the Boston Advertiser.
Among my collection of relics is 81
curious old tooth puller, belonging to an
old New Hampshire doctor, by pattern
In common use in the back country down
to as late period as twenty-five years
ago, and which may, for all we know to
the contrary. have been the kind used for
100 years back or more. 1t is a rusty old
instrument OF sort of wrench like patter,
and many a time have l looked upon it
with dread, as the doctor took it out of its
wrappings of old cloth, and prepared to
apply its Jaws to my own. Only a dia-
gram, could throughlv explain its me-
chanism and working. Once fastened on
the objective tooth, that tooth must come
out, unless the doctor or the patients jaw
broke down. Eut the doctor, though short,
winded was pretty muscular and very
persevering. If one grinding, horrible
twist did not tear out the tooth, there must
be repetitions of the agonizing operations.
The charge made was invariably II cents.
We have kept before us the old doctors
day book. We keepit with the black old
breaker.
We turn to the date of 1920, and run
over month or two of his charges
to get the average rates of his tariff in
those DAYS. We run across MANY of those
tooth-pn ling items. The charge is al
ways The same, seventeen cents. Visits
to the patients, where no charge was
made for drugs, are entered at 33 cents
But the country doctor was then travel
ing apothecary. In adingy, small black
trunk 1--WE have the trunk, ana it still
smells of drugs, and wildly recalls the
old doctor), he carried the tooth puller, a
lancet OF two, and small stock of the
drugg!est kind of drugs-tough old fav-
critics OF the heroic practitioners of the
old SCHOOL, small list of which were
made TO do service in all sorts of diseases
and which were administered in heavy
doses, as the old book of charges shows
But though the medicines were heavy
the charges were light. Fifty cents of
ten covers visit and the cost of several
medicines furnished. And these visits
generally involved the Harvesting
up of the doctors faithful fast little
horse-he always kept two good horses,
which, for effect or of necessity, he drove
at the rate of ten miles an hour. The
sight of the doctor in his light open gig,
flying over our country roads, was such
common one that we would hardly turn
from our hoeing to give it second
glance, unless We had an idea that he
had some new and sudden call of some
ease OF sickness We had not heard OF.
The great majority OF the doctors visits
were made to chronic patients, whose
cases were familiar to all--which had
been talked about year in and year out
There WAS the widow Jones, who had
been dying from the dropsy for many a
year, and who had to be regularly tapped
by the doctor. We always looked upon
this operation rs something wonderful,
and the doctor himself spoke of lis do
lngs In this line with PROUD satisfaction.
Then there was the case of Sally Smith.
who had been bed-ridden for ten years
The doctor had to pay her regular visits,
though he never gave her much medicine.
Many years after the doctor had gone to
his long home, Sally took a notion to
'get we'll" under the skilltul care Of
some quack, who had Yankee shrewdness
to discover that there was nothing the
matter with her. and SO, in some unex-
planned way, got her on her legs once
more. Sally af,erward got married and
raised family
Then there was the case of Peter
Brown. who had what used to be called
the ihirty-years consumption; and Mrs
Davis, width chronic rheumatism so bad
that her distorted joints were sight to
behold; and old Captain Roberts. who
had what he termed liver com plant
ever since he could remember: and Miss
Cynthia Tasker. who was ALWAYS in feeble
health. vet somehow lived to be 50 wears
old; and the Towle boy whose bones
were made OF SO poor material that he
always had or hand for the doctors at
teniion = broken limb. And speaking Of
broken limbs reminds US of our own
painful experience. One day the doctor
came tiying over the road to Us, for We
had been siuug upon the hard December
ground from the bare back OF our run
away horse. getting from the fail q brok-
en- arm. The memory of the hard pull
ing upon that broken arm comes wildly
to mind as we write. The doctor tugged
and sweat TO get it in place, and we
writhed and roared under the operation.
The helv,es, charges upon the doctors
books are tor certain visits requiring
often all night deten'ions. One OF these,
which may be given to illustrate old fash