The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1878-04-24
A COUNTRY DOCTOR.
Records Of . Rural Physician OF tho Good
Old TlnAes.

Among my collection of relics is a
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 rusty old
instrument of sort ofwrench- like patter.
and many time have I 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 q dia-
gram, could thoroughly 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 muscu ar and very
persevering. If one grinding, horrible
twist did not tear out the tooth, there must
De repetltlons 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 avs. We run across many of those
tooth-pulling 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 or two, and small stock of the
drugg.est kind of drugs-tough old fav-
orites OF the heroic practitioners of the
old school Ia 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 a 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 a second
glance, unless we had an idea that he
had some new and sudden call of some
case of sickness we had not heard OF. -.
The great ma ority 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 as something wonderful,
and the doctor himself spoke of Lis do
ings 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 skillful 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 afterward got married and
raised a family.
Then there was the case of Peter
Brown, who had what used to be called
the thirty-years consumption; and Mrs.
Davis, with chronic rheumatism so bad
that her distorted joints were a sight to
behold; and old Captain Roberts, who
had what he termed liver complaint
ever since he could remember; and Miss
Cynthia Tasker, who was ALWAYS in feeble
health, yet somehow lived to be 80 years
old; and the Towle boy, whose bones
were made of so poor material that he
always had on hand for the doctors at
tention broken limb. And speaking of
broken limbs reminds US of our own
painful experience. One day the doctor
came flying over the road to us, for we
had been slung upon the hard December
ground from the bare back of our run
away horse, getting from the fall 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 heaviest charges upon the doctors
books are for certain visits requiring
often all night datentions. One OF these,
which may be given to illustrate old fash
toned medical rates, stands thus: John
Rollins, to an all night visit to his wife,
So 80. There is no larger single charge
than this. John lived several miles away
in neighboring town, and this charge
covered the long ride in that old gig, per-
haps in some stormy night, over rough
roads, and the whole night away from
home. &E
Our old doctor was very busy man.
He always endeavored to go to church at
least half day on Sunday. But when
in church it was no uncommon thing for
him to be called out of meeting to attend
some one. And what sensation of SYM
pathy would run through the quiet con-
gregation as the good doctor would
quietly glide down the broad aisle to
meet the serious messenger. And how
rapidly, after the service was ended,
would everyone in that assembly know
just where the doctor had been called,
and just how much the caller needed his
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