The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-07-23

office ON the street and few shelve
with bottles on them containing calo
. mel, salts and castor oil, SIENNA an,
cammomile and Peruvian bark, balsan
OF copaiba, and such simple things, an,
In the corner was skeleton in DO,
;. that stood upright, with screw in th
skull, and sometimes the little, Ions
door was open and we school children
could peep in and then run for ou
lives. 1t was an awful sight. But the
old doctor got Too old and fat to prac
tlce and sent to New York for his ne
phew, DIR. Philo ID. Wildman, a student
OF Valentine'Mott, the great New York
physician and surgeon. He was as
smart as his tutor and went to cutting
and slashing our people just like killing
hogs. He strightened cross eyes and
sewed up hare lips and cut stones out
of bladders. The agopizing screams
OF poor little John Thompson, my
school mate still haunt me, for he was
Simplifying dying of stone in the bladder
and the doctor cut it out. 1t was as
large as q pigeon egg, and the little
boy got well. My brother and Jim
Craig studied under Wlldman, and
when they wanted stiff they would
so out to the Redland grave yard in
the night and dig up fresh buried
corpse and haul it to little room back
OF their office and cut it up and boil is
down and make skeleton out of the
bones. l went with them one night
and helped them to dig up negro,
but somebody rocked us as we were
nd hol k>, &c,
lives for they threatened to shoot.
That satisfied me with the business
and never went again.
But our little town wasn't big enough
for Wildman and 80 he moved to Co
lumbus and made a great reputation.
About that time the yellow fever
visited Savannah, and Wildman be-
lieved he could stamp 1T out and that
he was an immune, but he wasn't. He
took the fever right away and died. 1t
ls curious coincidence that three
doctors from our town went to Savan-
nah to fight the fever and every one of
them took it and died.
But was Illuminating about the suf-
terlng 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. | was at school in Athens
when his discovery was made, but the
of it was not realized until I
long after. 1 was one of the first to |
have tooth extracted by the use of |
his lethean.
Let me rest while, for / am weak
and nervous and, as Byron said
'' My visions fit less palpably before
me-"
1 have just enjoyed good, long let
Ter from my old school mate, Nathan
Crawford, of Lincolnton. He IS the
honored school commissioner of tho
county and will die in harness, 1
reckon. He is in his eightieth year, but
we were class mates, for he was one
OF these sure and slow boys, while /
was precociOus and uncertain. Only |
three OF us left now, for Tom Alexan-
der is living at Rome. Nathan writes |
q good, old-fashioned, cheerful letter,
and says that he never stole Frank |
Alexander's watermelons, and hints |
that IL was Overton Young and a 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 1 still live 10 testify. But
1t was good letter and the memory
of Nat Crawford is always comforting
and refreshing.
Now, for a good long rest.
BILL ARP.