The Whitefish pilot. [volume] (Whitefish, Mont.) 1904-current, 1911-03-23
ADoctor' Luck
By FRED L. YOUNG
Copyright. 1911, by American Press
Association

My friend and family physician,
LII. Parmeter, was trying to jolly me
out of an attack of liver trouble or
something of that nature the other day,
and We got to talking Of the difficulty
OF young professional men getting their
start.
There was a time," said the doctor,
when experience was considered the
great desideratum and no doctor that
hadn't bald crown and white whisk-
ers had much Of chance. But Of
late years such discoveries in the med
ical world have been made that what
doctor needs is to be kept up in his
profession. l started tn the day when
old age was essential. and since was
very young and looked like a boy l
had no show at ALL Did l ever tell you
how got my start?"
"No."
Il set myself up to practice in a
suburban town where very rich man
"a Mr.. BillingtOn-had his residence.
l met him once on the train going out
~ viz NAeS 0hA' Will d VIEW W
pressing him with my medical erudi-
ton, talked blue streak about tox-
ms and antitoXins, transfusions and
germ colonization. He seemed very
much interested. but that was when
Pasteur was just beginning his inves-
legations, and Pasteur was the father
OF the whole business. l was foolish
enough to hope that Mr.. Ellington
would be so impressed with the inter-
est I took in the new field saw loom.
ing up that if any of his family became
Ill he might call me in. Whether he
didn't understand what l was talking
about or was welded to the expert
ence theory of a doctors value don't
know. but the same old coot continued
to be his family physician.
One day my heart leaped in my
throat when Mr.. Billington's butler
came to MY Office and asked if l could
ind it convenient to CALL The fact is
l was finding it very inconvenient be-
cause l didn't make calls. went at
once, but what was my chagrin to be
taken to the stable. There were Mr.
IL,
groom and coachman standing over
$500 horse. who was lying on his
side, evidently ready to give his last
kick.
II hope you won't feel insulted. doc
tor" said Mr. Ellington. lat my call
ing on YOU to save a horse but he's
valuable animal. and my veterinarian
horo ri
think you can help us out?~
Il wanted to say, why don't you
call on your old baldhead. who is
doubtless making thousand or two a
year out of your but l didn't. I have
natural bent for making people feel
easy about their sick and special
aptitude for bolstering up the sick
themselves. l put on the wfsest look
could and felt the animals heart
beat. l didn't need to tell him to put
out his tongue. for it was hanging out
already. and meanwhile I was think
ing Of some experiment to make. As
for knowing what was the matter with
the horse. who couldn't tell me sin
gle symptom. l hadn't the remotest
idea. Presently an idea occurred to
me.
"T must run over to the drug store
I said.
"'Tom will go for you,' said Mr..
Ellington.
81 must go myself. don't know
must find OUT
"Of started for the drug store. and
when I got there said to the drug
gist: Give me something that's rather
bulky and harmless. I don't care what
It Is. l must have it right or
-'He looked about him, and. his eye
catching some coarse bags. he said, 4
don't know of anything unless you
take one Of those bags of bathing
salt
1.-The very thing said. Give me
one at once.'
Fortunately there was nothing
printed on the bags to give me away,
80 I seized one of them and hurried
back to Mr.. Bellington's stable. When
I got there found that the veterina-
rian had pronounced the horse dead
and had gone away in high dudgeon
because a real doctor had been called
in. which he considered profession
al insult. I looked at the horse and
had no more doubt myself that he
was dead than that I was alive. New
ertheless. taking a handful of the salt
from the bag. l sprinkled it on his
tongue.
1T wasn't minute before that
tongue began slowly to move. 1t was
drawn into the animals mouth, the
salt was swallowed, and the tongue
was put out again. I dropped another
handful on it. and again it was with
drawn and the salt swallowed.
'Well. sir. kept on feeding the
horse salt, which happened to be ex-
actly what he needed. till he got up
and stood on his feet.
Everybody was astonished, includ-
ing myself, but you can bet my as
90 ~l~1