The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1898-07-09
NO oLp-TlME AGuE NOW.
The Days yvhen People HAD tReEular
Times to shake.


Times to shake.
Those were the days when there were
three synonyms for ague, besides plain
chills and fever. They were Indiana,
Illinois and Missouri, and the greatest
OF these was Missouri. There were two
divisions Of severity in those days.
Those who shook on Monday.
Wednesday, Friday and Sunday made
up one division, and those who shook
on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday,
and RENTED with the other the next
Monday, were the other. In those days
the invitations to social functionsread:
s.Mr. and Mrs. NJ. "A. LARA present
their compliments to Mr.. G. A. Fever
and beg to inform him that they will
not be shaking on Tuesday, and would
be pleased to have his presence at their
dark green tea y.
This would be the answer:
"Mr. C. A. Fever acknowledges the
kind invitation of Mr.. and Mrs. M. A.
LARA, but begs to inform them that
Tuesday is his day to shake. y
Many an otherwise happy social
function was shattered, too, by the ina
bility of the Mr.. and Mrs, of the house
hold to get their ague for the season
started off on the same day. Of course
under the circumstances: the whole
family would be compelled to miss the
entire social season. or disturb with
their rafting or chattering every gath
ering they attended.
To-day the dismissing sign reads:
This is my busy day." In early Mis-
souri, times, "This is my day to shake"
was the correst form.
But all this is changed now. No
longer is the congregation at church
changed every Sunday, and no longer
are two preachers, guaranteed not to
shake on the same da y, necessary. It
was almost a part of the contract in
those days. For the old-time chills are
no more, and the ague has almost al
most disappeared. There are few
places in the south where it is still the.
custom, but it very seldom crosses Ma
son and Dixon's line now. In some Of
the parts of Arkansas where type
writer's and bicycle boomers have not
penetrated, there is yet some ague, but
it seldom gets north of those secluded
spots. At present DR.. G. o. Coffin, city
physician, is treating two cases of real,
old-time fever and ague, but they are
the first he has seen in Kansas City in.
ten years, he says.
Dr. ID. r. Porter, who came here from
Ohio 80 years ago, and has been here
ever since, says he has not seen q case of
old-tlme chills and fever in. five years.
Dr. Coffin says it is because of the i'm
proved sanitary conditions. DR.. Porter
says it is because the people drink bet
ter water.
In the early days, DR.. Porter said to a
reporter for the Star, three-fourths of
his income came from ague patients.
Doctors grew rich treating malarial
poison The favorite and principal pre-
scription then was "quinine, 20 grains"
in as many variations as the doctors
education and medical dictionary could
conjure him distinguished and high
sounding terms to substitute for the
wordquinine. And when both ran short,
or the patients found it out; and went
prescribing for themselves, it was an
easy matter for the doctor and the
druggist to get together behind the pre-
scription case and argue upon some
thing new and cryptogramatic.-Kan-
sas City Star.