Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-01-23
DOCTOR OF THE EARLY DAYS.

| Battled Successfully with Disease I'm
Spite of Many Handicaps.
The pioneer physician waged an I'M
equal war against disease because Of
his limited knowledge and equipment
North American. He was something of
a botanist and gathered many Of the
herbs he used in the woods during
mild morths and from his book Of re-
| cipes compounded many a drastic dose.
He relied largely on his common sense,
! the rarest quality to be found in men
to this day.
This self-reliance built ND an in
diyiuallty, a strong personality, often
peculiar and sometimes eccentric. He
knew his patients. he studied their Pc
culiarities as well as their ailments,
and the combined knowledge gave him
marked degree of success.
The early doctor had limited knowl-
edge Of materia medica. His supply
consisted of medicines of his own COM
pounding; also calomel, Doyer's pow
ders, lobelia and tartar emetic, which
took hold; powerful, blistering salve.
pair of old turkeys for extracting
teeth, which brought forth the most
recalcitrant root, and spring and thumb
lances for bleeding. Everybody had to
be bled, sick or well.
The treatment of some cases---well.
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 it's
rayages, he was bled for a half-pint
to a quart to further weaken him.
He was dosed with calomel till he
was robins egg blue and his teeth
loosened. But, Notwithstanding, he
generally got we'll, in spite Of the doc
tor, rather than with his assistance,
for he was of a hardy race.
But this treatment was the exception
rather than the rule. The doctors doses
were drastic and mainly of his own
compromising, and being vegetable and
from the earth, earthly, they were well
suited to mans needs.
Bleeding commenced to go out of gen.
eral fashion about 1850. Twenty-Five
cents was the bleeding fee. Visits In
town, similar amount, and country
rides, % cents a mile; obstetric fee.
So. There were few medical colleges
in the land and some of the most sue
cessful country doctors never saw the
inside of one.
When the law was passed requiring
the registering of diplomas with the
parliamentary of the judicial district,
some of che most expert Of the old
fashioned doctors had none to register.
The law allowed them to practice 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. A man went and read in the
early doctor had. followed his precep-
tor around and watched him carefully,
studying his book of recipes for COM
pounding dope.
Then the doctor started out his
student on some of the simpler cases,
Ike measles, whooping cough and
humps, till the young man thought
himself qualified to do the trick alone
and then he went elsewhere and hung
out his sign with Or" in front of his
name.
1t is amazing to think how some of
these doctors, with limited advantages
and crude equipment, tied arteries, Set
different fractures, amputated limbs by
the light of barn lanterns with instru-
| ments and bandages fished out of sad
| die bags 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.