The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1908-01-11
PHYSICIANS OF OLD
TIE PIONEER DOCTOR WAS IN
CLASS BY HIMSELF.
In Spite Of His Many Handicaps. He
Bsttied Successfully with Disease
his Limited knowledge Of
haterls Hedics


7 pioneer physician ~aeed an uu-
saaa. sar against disease because OF
hi limited knowledge and equipment
for fighting IT, lie Was something Of
\ botauis' and gathered many OF the
herbs he used In the woods during
mild months. and from his book Of
recipes compounded many i drastic
dos. lie relied largely on his com
mon sense. the rarest quality to BE-
found in men 10 this day
This self reliance built up an indi
viduality. a strong personality. often
peculiar and sometimes eccentric He
knew his patients he studied their pc
cuuarifies as well As their ailments.
and the combined knowledge gave him
marked degree oil success.
The early doctor had limited knowl-
edge OF mat"ria medica. His supply
consisted Of medicines of his own com
pounding, also caIom"l Dovers pow
ders. lobelia and tartar emetic, which
took hold powerful blistering salve,
a pair Of old turkeys for extracting
the most recalcitrant root. and spring
and thumb lances for bleeding Every
body had to be hled sick or well.
The treatment OF some cases-w-l.
typhoid fever, for instance, was heroic
and unique Every particle Of water
was taken away from the patient being
consumed by the awful fever. Wasted
with the disease and weakened by its
rayages, he was bled for a halfpint to
. quart TO further weaken him.
He was dosed with calomel till he
was robins egg blue and his teeth
looscned But, Notwithstanding, he
generally got we'll, IN spite of the doc.
Tor. rather than with his assistance
for ne was Of hardy race
But This treatment was the excep-
tion rather than the rule. The doc
tors doses wer" drastic and mainly
OF his own compromising. and being
vegetable and from the earth. earthly,
they were We'll suited to mans needs
bleeding commenced to 90 out OF
general fashion about 1850. Twenty
nve cents was the bleeding fee Visits
in town. a similar amount, and coun-
Try rides p cents mile: obstetric
fee. five dollars, There were few med
ical colleges in the land and some OF
the most successful country doctors
never saw the inside of one.
when the law was passed requiring
the registering of diplomas with the
prothonotary OF the judicial district
some Of the most expert of the old.
fashioned doctors had none to regis
ter. The law allowed them to prac-
ttce as before, which they did to the
end which leads to the suspicion that
some of our best doctors are born. not
made.
No preliminary education was re
quired man went and read in the
doctors office and few textbooks
the early doctor had, followed his pre-
ceptor around and watched him care
fully studying his book of recipes for
compounding dope.
Then the doctor started ont his stu
dent on some of the simpler cases.
like measles. whoopins cough and
mumps till the young man thought
himself qualified to do the trick alone
and then went elsewhere and hung
out his sign with DE-" in front Of his
name
1t is amazing to think how some of
these doctors, with limited adyan-
tages and crude equipment, tied ar.
teries. set difficult fractures, ampu-
ta,ed limbs by the light of barn Ian
terms with instruments and bandages
fshed ont OF saddlebass or greatcoat
pockets.
They must have been reeking with
germs. If there is anything In the germ
theory. and yet cases of blood poison
ing were comparatively unknown then.