The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1888-07-07
COUNTRY DOCTORS.
The Busy Lives of Country Ply
sicians in the Last Century.
Medical Treatment in the Days
of Our Great CrandfatherS.


OF his waking hours were spent in rid
ing long distances over bad roads. lie
was obliged to be hail fellow-we met
with every one in the county, for on his
popularity largely depended his profess
siond success. In those topping days
there was always something on the side
board for the doctor, of which he was
rarely loath to take advantage; conse-
quently, he generally mellowed with
the years, grew rotund in person, and,
like Hawthorn's mid aged English
man, Ibis legs abbreviated themselves,
and his stomach assumed that dignified
prominence which justly belonged to
that metropolis of his system. His eye
contracted merry twinkle, a chuckle
lurked in his full throat, always ready
for use, and gradually he grew to be
lSown as peripatetic story-teller, and
often the best gossip in the county.
At that time, as a general thing,
chemists and druggists had not vet
been educated, and established on the
most prominent corners of the towns.
The apothecary shop of the nelghbor.
hood was usually wherever the doctors
saddle-bags happened to be at the time.
Drugs were then taken in large doses,
their use not being by any means con-
fined to the sick. Purgative compounds
were administered to the hearty and
strong each spring. and it was deemed
necessary that at that season of the year
the blood of both old and young should
be purified by the use of generous doses
of noxious mixtures. Rhubarb and mo-
lasses were forced dowa the Threats of
healthy children as a fancied proven
tive of disease, and mercurial medicines
were used to such an extent as often to
result in the falling out of the
patients teeth. Powerful tine
lures, loathsoma infusions, and
bitter barks were prescribed in such
quantities as would hardly be credited
by physicians of the present day. Gen
tlemen of the profession, when at loss
to know what to prescribe, were al
ways ready to pull out the lancet, and
relieve the patient of copious quantities
OF blood, often at time when such a
weakening and depicting treatment in
creased the malady and fastened death.
Blood-letting was even resorted to in
cases far gone with consumption, and
by the old time physician was considered
tho alpha and omega of all practice
During the prevalence of yellow fever
in Philadelphia testimony was taken
as to its manner of treatment Nc
Master quotes from the published re-
port, showing that one patient was bled
twenty-five times In ten days, losing
176 ounces of blood. From another of
the sick $50 ounces were taken in fifteen
bleedings; several lost over 100 ounces,
and from one child but six weeks old
30 ounces were drawn. The Rev. DR..
Ashbel Green writes in his autobiogra-
ply that when lad of about nineteen.
and without any medical knowledge, he |
used to be called upon by his father
who was clergyman, physician, farmer
and distiller-to prepare medicines, let |
blood, extract teeth aud inoculate for
smallpox.
At the beginning Of the eighteenth
century smallpox was still the enemy of !
mankind, as that dread disease had been
from the sixth century, when, in
Arabia, it started on its mission of
death. 1t was annually committing
Fearful ravages-as many as 400, 900
dying in Europe in one year. The
E ,st, as if desirou of compensating the
world for originating this terrible
scourge, gave to suffering humanity its
Initial knowledge of how to check its
spread, for it was in Turkey that inocu-
l-tion first became known. This man
ner of fighting the disease was intro
duced in the American colonies in 1871
by Dr. Zabdiel Boylston of New Eng
land, at the earnest instigation of Cot
ton Mather, who had learned of the
success in the Ottoman empire of such
treatment. In the face of great op-
position, the doctors first experiments
were made on his son, lad of thir-
teen, and on two negro slaves. The re-
suit was such as to warrant his extend