Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-08-26
LOOKING BACKWARD
S. B. Latham Continues His RemlniS'
CenCeS.
SULPHUR CURE FOR SCARLET FEVER
Some Personages Who Lived in One
Community Many Years Aso-The
First Railroad.

First Railroad.
S. B. Latham in Chester Reporter.
A noted man in the Backstock vi
.cinity was DR.. John Douglas-he was
native of Sumter county and after
finishing his medical course located in
this section and practiccd his profess
sion all his life, possibly forty years.
His wife was a Miss Lunsford, a
daughter of Capt. Lunsford, who was
buried in the Capitol grounds near the
State House in Columbia. He was a
successful practitioner, and was fire.
quently called into consultation by
physicians at q distance. In 1854 an
epidemic of scarlet fever broke out in
this section. Hejtold me that during
this epidemic he went whole week
without ever undressing or sleeping in
a bed. And that of all his patients,
possibly % or 80, he did not lose a
case. His principal treatment was
sulphur. He told me once that when
he was student reading medicine
most of the text books were printed in
Latin. He was considered fine sur
geon. Although surgery had not at
that time attained to its present prof.
cheney, he nevertheless performed sue
cessfully some operations which re-
quired as much skill as any of the
present day. The use of anaesthetics,
such as ether chloroform, cocaine, ETC.,
were practically unknown and unused
by doctors prior to 1850, in operating
on a patient, especially in village and
rural practice. When an arm or any
i operation was to be made the patient
was securely strapped on a table.
Some stmulant, most frequently
French brandy, was administered TO
the patient, and then the operator
went to work If he was Of tender
and sympathetic nature his nerves
would be excited by the groans and
begging of the patient If they were of
tender years. There were no trained
nurses III those days and the sanitary
conditions of the sick room would be
considered almost criminal at this day
: and time. No precautipn was taken
to prevent the spread OF the disease
} consequently when one member OF n
family developed tuberculosis, typhoid
fever or other contagious disease il
generally went through the whole fam
ily. In the treatment of fever the pa
! tient was not allowed to drink any
watcr-at intervals teaspoonful
would he given TO keep the mouth and
lips moist And if a dose of calomel
} had been taken the patient was not al
lowed to taste water for twenty-foul
hours. Feeling the pulse was the
method of ascertaining the tempera
| lurc of the patient
. DR.. Douglas had-why | don't know
a colony of Indians on his plantation
near his home. For these he built
comfortable houses, and had the chill
drcn schoolcd at his own expense
| During the Civil war | think they
went back to where they came from
, He never succeeded in getting the In
, dian out of them. The women made
: carthcn pottery and the men ate ant
, slept.
At the outbreak of the Civil war DR.
! Douglas was appointed surgeon of tho
+ 9th Reg. s. c., but owing to his ina
bility to ride horseback, resigned ant
came home and died in 1867. If | re-
} member correctly he mad four sons
4 who practiccd medicine. The Oldest
/ Lun3f0rd, was n man of brilliant intel
, lect and progressive ideas. He wrote
! several pamphlets pertaining to aSri
Q culture. Such as soil preservation
$ ard upbuilding-rotation in crops
D One especially on swine breeding
: which did more to improve the brcct
' of hogs in Chester county than ha'
4 ever been thought of before. He sup
1 planted the old razor back" with tn
:. Berkshire and COrbet breed. He dice
from an accident in the prime OF hi
{ life. shortly after being elected to tn
= legislature from Chester county by tn
$ largest vote ever received by any can
n 1lidate up TO this time.
T. DR.. John Douglas, while his practic
t was very extensive. yet was not lucra
tive to him. He praCticcd medicin
f not for the dollars and cents alor
;, which were in it but to relieve suffer
{ ing. lie would get out Of bed on
a cold winter night and answer ca
d TO the poorest family in the ncighbOr
n hood knowing he would never receiv
Y a cent for his visit as readily as
t called TO the richest. On a briSh
e April morning one of his daughter
e married DR.. Fl. II. HiCkin, who prac
|. ,iccd medicine near Sharon in YoT
"A county. one Eli Harrison of Long
n town, Fairfield county; one Mr.. Moor
- of TpXarkana, Texas. and Miss Fannie
= the Youngest, married VIM Thorn, an
IS now lives at the old homestead. Hi
r. four sons were all doctors and all ar
IS dead. leaving no families, consequent
Vt Iv there is none of his descendant
d that bears the name of Douglas. AS
* postscript | would say physicians /
It that time carried their medicine wit
n them and never wrote Il preSCrlptlO