The Portland daily press., 1885-01-16
An Indian Doctor.
How the Public is swinaled by qnasL..
Boston Globe.l

career as treater of the ills of mankind
For years his hair streamed down his back,
aud there was poised upon his head a SOM
brero, but now his hair is cut, the sombrero
displaced by silk hat, and he also has re-
formed bis Western pronunciation. He is
over six feet tall, broad-shouldered, full
chested, with rounded face which invaria-
bly, wears pleasing smile, and his well-de-
veloped head contains much knowledge of
current events.
I'm Down-easter," said he, "and
rather fatter myself cute one l went in
to drugstore il Portland when | was
boy and soon got SO that / could put up
prescription. One day a fine turnout
stopped at the store and finely dres sed wo-
man came in hurriedly and complained of
pain of some kind. didn't know anything
about the proper remedies, but gratb a
graduate and poured a little first from one
bottle and then from another until l had
good dose, which / handed over, and she
drank it. By George! it helped her, too,
and afterwards gave her the prescription
as well as | could remember it, Well, that
set me to thinking that haphazard mode of
doctorlng might be successful, provided, of
course, you handled no poisons or dangerous
drugs. Then l commenced to read up for
certain effects: for, of course, knew some
thing about the deceptions practised upon
the people.
Not month from that time | struck a
partner. but he lacked The force to put it
through. and was no talker, while / claim to
be great on street hawking. We started out
travelling by team from town to town, and
hawked her up something after this style, all
the time allowing my bair TO grow longer for
future eff cts, don't you see
MY friends, were you aware of the fact
that the Indian OF the far West never has
fever OF any nature? that that bane of the
East, consumption is not known to the no.
ole req man? Yet such is the absolute fact
OF the case, and defy contradiction. Why
are they not heirs to many OF the ills OF man
KIND? Simply because tney go to nature for
thelr AID and assistance when anyways in
disposed. They are purely natures chll-
dren-undefstanding natures works much
better III their simplicity than we do with
our ooasted intelligence
Then l would expatiate about a certain
wild flower that grew in great profusion
about the Rocky Mountains, which the In
dians gathered and preserved as a cure
against colds. feyers and bronchial d;ficnlo
ties. embellishing everything az T went
along; then | would announce that:
Il hold in my hand package of that self
same fiower-seed' which, if planted about
your house, will grow aud when in bloom
throughout the summer months IL takes M
and absorbs those bealth-dpstrovine nroner,
lies, those deathly gases which generate yonr
malaria. your feyers, etc,
Bite? Never knew crowd tn fail Tn NV
| talk had full speech with ali the noints
down fine. What pye given Won "a inst to
show the drift. I tell Won This indian child
| of nature and medicine business has baan q
great one. a great one sir. 7 followed that
| for two wears. Oh. forgot what I sold Was
mustard. cabbage. lettuee seed or sometbino
| like that. Well. I followed this far two
wears: then / came out as an indian doctor
| I had got tired Of street hawking. had NV
agent visit a towr, hill me lilo q c;rcns biro
| a suite of rooms at a hotel-a nnhlic room
consultation room and laboratory Nv circn'
| lars would convince a we'll man that ba rvss
sick. Sit down and wait for them 10 dron in
was tbe onlv thing ~ doand H., a,id =,
drop In. too, wonld take ! n.t;ani into ",u nv
consultation room. and always oiye them
seat from which thew conld command . oood
view of my laboratory, which was fitted nm
with bottles, vials. graduates. medicines
surgical instruments and so on ConsnJte'
ton was a,ways free. would take na.
tient aud by general diagnosis conId Ell
them just about bow they felt or hit it near
enough to inspire confidence. Then was the
time that would reach the liver. when
always made the seat of ali tronble. uness #
was something where the difficulty was 10.
Gated elsewhere too apparently to deceive
the patient: then | would. of course he
there. Ny invariable rule was where neith-
er of us knew what the matter vas to Law it
to that innocent, unsuspec,ing liver. A p-e-
scription was desired after nv SEEMING nm.
Outstanding of the case. and / never let
chance 90 by to give one: price S5.
Well, here comes the funny mart of the
snap. I would 90 into nv laboratory. mar
tially close The door. ratsle ronnd smono ,ho