The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-31
Chronicles Of The Canebrake
CHAPTER VII
BY JOHN WITHERSPOON DUBOSE

ginia, a young man, without name or
fortune. He had a few hundred dollars
In savings. He bought a small tract of
land and bought very few negroes
Year by year his acres grew and his pur-
chases of negroes continued. He was free
of debt and was worth probably half a
million of dollars the day of Lincoln 9
| election. He never married He was an
| example of industry sobriety and thrift,
with few rivals. His splendid estate fell
to Virginia kindsfolk, who came to pos
sess it.
JAMES DANIEL BROWDER, MI
! Here we find the canebrake doctor. In
winter he rode his horse over bad roads,
| in summer he was driven by his servant
with a pair of horses, over the best of
roads. answering calls from the cabin of
the negro cotton field hand and the man
sion of the master alike, day or night,
within a radius of ten miles of hts home.
He was an extensive planter and lived
with his family on his plantation.
| Like the true southerner he was many
sided. broad minded amidst the ordinary
affairs of life and skilled in the speciality
he had chosen as lifes work. He was
| intelligent upon the general topics of Gull
| tured intercourse, welcomed everywhere
| forceful. polished with never a lapse to
| the commonplace. He was as simple as a
child in his contact with men and chiv-
alric a sthe true knight in his reverence
| for woman.
| In the year 1912 the young man set out
| from Dinwiddie county. Virginia, where
he was born, to ride his horse all the
property he possessed, to the "Richland"
plantation, the home as we have seen,
of Robert Vaughan Montague, his uncle
He came under an engagement as pri-
vate tutor to remain for two years Thus
he accumulated means to attend lectures
on medicine. One term he spent at the
University of Virginia thence he was
graduated at the Jefferson college, Phil
adelphia. Before leaving Philadelphia he
married Miss Marie Juliette, daughter of
Mr.. John Chapron, then, as we have al
ready seen, planter of ST. Andrew s
parish, whose family lived at that city
DR.. and Mrs. Browder at once set out
for the Canebrake by way of the west
ern rivers. New Orleans and Mobile.
! So potential a factor as the plantation
doctor may we'll be allowed special men
| ton In our narrative, concerning his
methods of practice. The fee was COM
posed of several distinguishing elements
First In order come the mileage charge,
| 81 per mile travelled. Mile posts were in
frequent The doctor followed the plan
tation roads or the public highway at will.
He charged for the prescription" that
is the medicine he carried on his horse,
and he charged for his advice. Often he
took one meal, or three, day with his
patients and had his horse fed, free. =
| 1t was this doctors habit, as l know,
to send his body servant, Jim" around
the circuit of his practice early in the
month of March yearly, with his item
lied bills receipted in full. Jim returned
with the planters check on his cotton
factor in Mobile. In that simple process
| the business was concluded The doctor
is my authority for the statement that he
never sued for an account and never lost
dollar from an account DR.. and Mrs.
Browder and their SONS and daughters
lived happily on their Hawthorne" plan
tation.
Mr.. Manning owned a fine estate imme-
diately opposite st. Andrews church and
the Rabinson brothers of Huntsville
owned one near by. I regret my want OF
information prevents more particular
mention of these gentlemen. They were
esteemed citizens of the parish.