Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1879-01-27

From the Kingston Freeman, Jan. ILL.,
The physician who practices his pro-
fession in the country must necessarily
have life of considerable hardship, for no
matter in what state the weather may be,
or at what hour of the night, when de-
mand is made for his aid. if he would do
his duty he must be ready and willing to
give the service. In some of the noun
famous regions in this county physicians
attend families 10 or II miles from their
offices. and are forced to travel that dis
tance with horse and wagon, generally
over the worst roads known, and that, too,
often in the night, when the way to an or
binary traveller would be one of great dan
ger to limb and even a risk to life ITSELF
These physicians, however, becoming ao-
quainted, as they soon must, with almost
every spot of ground in their circuit, and
their horses, with that wonderful sagacity
possessed by the most intelligent of these
animals. acting as guides it might be said,
in this kind of travelling, can generally 90
in places in perfect safety, at times when
other men would run chance of losing
their way or in some other manner come
to grief before they had gone three miles
from home. SO much dependence do
physicians place on their horses that they
have been known to fall asleep at night,
when riding toward home, and be carried
safely by their horses until they reached
their own stable doors. ....,,..
Once country doctor, practising in the
town of Wawarsing, was carried several
miles in this manner over dangerous
road, where in portions of which if the
wheels of his wagon had gone foot from
the track the horse, wagon, and occupant
would have been thrown over a precipiee
a hundred feet in height. In going this
distance. three bridges were safely crossed
and the Doctor was only awakened when
the horse arrived at the closed gate near
the barn and paved for admittance.-
As an illustration of the dangers to
which physicians are exposed, last week,
when the wind-storm reached the town of
Olive. DR.. Hasbrouck. of Shokan, was at
Kremville. about seven miles distant from
home, and drove to Shokan i'm the night
when the wind blew so hard it unroofed
buildings along the route, blew fences
down in almost every direction, and often
raised his sleigh from the ground.
While crossing the long bridge which
stretches across the Esopus at Shokan, he
found that three planks had been blown
out of their place. and stopping his horse,
he was about to alight and close the open
ing when the animal, becoming restless
started, and, with a spring. cleared the
space, taking the sleigh with him. and
soon after coming to another spot where
four planks had been blown out, the horse
actually jumped over that opening also.
taking with him in safety the sleigh and
driver, SO that the Doctor now claims that
he has one of the best jumping horses in
the country. 1t certainly was very dan
gerous way of crossing the bridge, for the
distance to the creek is far enough to break
the neck of any horse should it fallthrough,
and man wonld quite likely be treated
in the same manner; though the Doctor is
willing to stake his reputation that the
horse knew he could go over the place in
safety or he wouldn't have tried it. a f.e-