Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-01-10
LlTTLE CLD.TlME kGUE NOW.
The Chills and Fever of Other Days Al.
most Unhcard OF.

most Unhcard OF.
The Kansas City (Mo. St.s reminds
its readers OF the ''good old days"
when there was no joke in the ague,
when to live was to shake, for nobody
was exempt by reason of age, sex,
position III society or color. Those
werSthe 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,
Monday were the other. In those
days the invitations to social functions
read:
'AIr. and Mrs. NJ. A. Laria present
their compliments to Mr.. c. 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"
This would be the answer
''Mr. G. A. Fever acknowledges the
kind invitation of Mr.. and Mrs. NJ. A.
Laria, but begs to inform them that
Tuesday is his day to shake"
Many an otherwise happy social
function was shattered, too, by the
inability of the Mr.. and Mrs. of the
household to get their ague for the
season started off on the same day.
Of course, under this circumstance the
whole family would be compelled to
miss the entire social season or disturb
with their rattling or chattering every
gathering they attended.
To-day the dismissing sign reads:
''This is my busy day" In early
Missouri times "This is my day to
shake" was the correct 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 day, necessary. 1t
was almost part of the contract in
those days. For the old-time chills
are no more, and the ague has almost
disappeared. There are a few places
in the South where it is still the GUS
tom, but it very seldom crosses Mason
and Dixon's line now. In some of
the parts of Arkansas where typewrit-
ers and bicycle boomers have not
penetrated, there is yet some ague, but
it seldom gets North of those secluded
spots. At present DR.. G. 0. Coffin,
city physician, is treating two cases of
real. old-fashioned fever and ague, but
they are the first he has seen in Kan
sas City in ten years, he says.
DIR. ID. Il. Porter, who came here
from Ohio thirty years ago, and has
been here ever since, says he has not
,een n case of old time chills and fever
In five years. DR.. Coffin says it is be.
cause of the improved sanitary condi-
lions. Dr. Porter says it is because
people drink better water.
In the early days, DR.. Porter said
to areporterf for the Star, three-fourths
Of his income came from ague pa
tents. Doctors grew rich treating
malarial poison. The favorite and
principal prescription then was, 'Rx
quinine, twenty grains," in as many
variations as the doctors education
and medical dictionary could coniure
him, distinguished and high sounding
terms to substitute for the word quiz
nine. And when both ran short, or
the patients found it out and went to
prescribing for themselves, it was an
easy matter for the doctor and the
druggist to get together behind the
prescription case and agree upon
something new and cryptogramatic.