St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-09-06

there are few very eminent ones In
the large cities, for whatever learned
Jew does he does well. There is doc
tor jacob in New York city who
stands at the head of the profession
and is consulted by the rich and great
men of the nation.
Now, let me stop for another good,
long breath. When I was boy we
didn't have but one doctor in the town,
and he weighed 800 pounds, and was
never in hurry. He left little babies
around ever and anon, and when one
came to our house our old cook told
us where he got them, and she slyly
pointed to his corporosity. He had
a little office on the street, and few
shelves with bottles on them con-
tanning calomel, salts and castor oil,
SIENNA and cammomile and Peruvian
bark, balsam of copaiba, and such sim
pie things, and in the corner was
skeleton in box that stood upright,
with a screw in the skull, and some
times the little, long door was open,
and we school children would peep in,
and then run for our lives. 1t was an
awful sight. But the old doctor got
too old and fat to practice, and sen:
to New York for his nephew, DR.. Philo
D. Widman, q student Of Valentine
Mott, the great New York physician
and surgeon. He was as smart as his
tutor, and went to cutting and slash
ing our people, just like killing hogs.
He Strengthened cross eyes and sewed
up hare lips and cut stones out of blad-
ders. The agonizing screams of poor
little John Thompson, my school
mate, still haunts me, for he was
simply dying of stone in the bladder.
and the doctor cut it out. It was al
large as pigeon egg, and the little
boy got well. My brother and Jim
Craig Studied under Wildman, and
when they wanted stiff they would
go out to the Redland graveyard in
the night and dig up fresh buried
corpse and haul it to a little room
back of their Office and cut it up and
boil it down and make skeleton OF
the bones. I went with them one
night and helped them to dig up
negro, but somebody rocked us as we
were taking it out, and we had to run
for our lives, for they threatened to
shoot. That satisfied me with the
business, and I never went again.
But our little town wasn't big
enough for Wildman, and so he moved
to Columbus and made a great reputa-
ton. About that time the yellow fe-
yer visited Savannah, and Wildman be-
lieved he could stamp it out, and that
he was an immune, but he wasn't. He
took the fever right away and dded. 1t
is curious coincidence that three doc
tors from our town went to Savannah
to fight the fever, and every one of
them took it and died. a.,
But I am Illuminating about the suf-
fering and agony that the advance in
surgery and physic has saved mankind,
and I rejoice that Crawford Long has
been given the first place in the Hall
of Fame. I was at school in Athens
when his discovery was made, but the
magnitude of it was not realized until
long after. I was one of the first to
have a tooth extracted by the use of
his lethean.
Let me rest awhile. for am weak
and nervous. and; as Byron said
"My visions fit less palpably before me-"
l have just enjoyed a good, long
letter from my old schoolmate, Ma
than Crawford, of Lincolnton. He is
the honored school commissioner of
the county. and will die in harness, l
reckon. He is in his eightieth year,
but we were classmates, for he was
one of those sure and slow boys, while
I was precocious and uncertain. Only
three of us left now, for Tom Alex
ander is living at Rome. Nathan
writes a good, oldfashioned, cheer
full letter, and says that he never stole
Frank Alexander's watermelons, and
hints that it was Overton Young and
boy of my name. The only reason
he didn't steal them was that he
boarded with Mr.. Alexander, and got
a-plenty without stealing. 1t is too
late now for him to assume a sanity
morality, for Tom and still Live to
testify. But it was good letter, and
the memory Of Nat Crawford is al
ways comforting and refreshing.
Now for good, long rest.
BILL ARP.