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 UN IVERSITY 
 
 or ILLI NOIS 
 
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 liif. \V.^, St/*?'"^

 
 Sixty Years in Medical 
 Harness 
 
 OR 
 
 The Story of a Long 
 
 Medical Life 
 
 1865-1925 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLES BENEULYN JOHNSON, M. D. 
 
 AUTHOR OF MUSKLETS AND MEDICINE, MEDICINE IN CHAM- 
 PAIGN COUNTY, ILLINOIS IN THE FIFTIES, ETC. 
 
 Where, 0, where are the visions of morning 
 Fresh as the dews of our time? 
 
 Gone like tenants that quit without warning, 
 Down the back entry of time. 
 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 MEDICAL IiIF£ PRESS 
 
 1926
 
 COPYEIGHT 1926 BY MEDICAL LlFE PBESS
 
 1^\l, 
 
 en 
 
 This volume is dedicated to that ever 
 serviceable but now vanishing member 
 of the Medical Profession, the old-time 
 
 Family Doctor 

 
 THE LIBRARY OF MEDICAL HISTORY 
 
 I. Sixty Yeiaes in Medical Haeness, or 
 the Stoby of a Long Medical Life, by 
 Charles B. Johnson. With an Introduction 
 by Victor Robinson. 
 
 II. Mastbk Minds in Medhcne, by John 
 C. Hemmter. With an Introduction by Karl 
 Sudhoff. 
 
 III. Essays in the History of Medicine, 
 by Karl Sudhoff. With Foreword and 
 Biographical Sketch by Fielding H. Garri- 
 son. 
 
 IV. Pathfindebs in Medicine (second 
 edition), by Victor Robinson. 
 
 V. Collected Papers on Medical His- 
 tory, by Max Neuburger, and others. 
 
 VI. Handbook of the History of Medi- 
 cine, by Julius Pagel and Karl Sudhoff. 
 Edited by Victor Robinson. 
 
 Published by the Medical Life Press of 
 New York.
 
 FOREWORD 
 
 "Sixty Years in Medical Harness" is a simple narra- 
 rative of the experiences and observations of an every- 
 day Country Doctor who, on the one hand has en- 
 deavored to be as frank in naming his mistakes and 
 failures, as on the other to note some of his successes 
 and achievements. 
 
 During the period covered by this narrative, namely, 
 the last third of the Nineteenth Century and the first 
 quarter of the Twentieth Century, a complete revolution 
 has occurred in the science and art of healing, due to 
 the many advances and discoveries in the field of medi- 
 cine. 
 
 To in some measure, keep pace with this revolution, 
 to take note of the various advances and discoveries, has 
 at all times been in the mind of the writer, but despite his 
 ideals he is conscious that much that he has written will 
 not measure up to the highest standards, and for this 
 and the narrative's many other shortcomings the writer 
 craves the generous forbearance of the reader. 
 
 Champaign, Illinois, October 8, 1925. 
 
 Charles Beneultn Johnson, M.D.
 
 Chapter 
 
 I. 
 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 IV. 
 
 V. 
 VI. 
 
 VII. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 IX. 
 
 X. 
 
 XI. 
 
 ■ XII. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 XV. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 XX. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 XXII. 
 XXIII. 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 From War to Peace '. 1 
 
 In and About the Medical Ampitheatre — 12 
 
 Some People and Some Things 21 
 
 A Few Medical Crumbs Picked Up in Chi- 
 cago in 1867 32 
 
 A Learner and Withal a Teacher 47 
 
 Some Medical Gleanings from St. Louis in 
 
 1868 56 
 
 Medicine in 1868 71 
 
 I Go on a Quest 84 
 
 My First Patients 92 
 
 How People Lived in the Sixties and Sev- 
 enties 110 
 
 I Change My Location and Find Work 
 
 Among the Pioneers on the Prairie 119 
 
 Again in the Amphitheatre 136 
 
 I Resume My Practice on the Prairies 147 
 
 From the Prairie to the Village 157 
 
 A Veteran Medical Society and Some of 
 
 Its Characters 170 
 
 I Locate in Champaign City 183 
 
 Medicine in the Eighties and Nineties 197 
 
 Mostly About Things, Horses and People- 209 
 
 The Alcohol Problem 227 
 
 Tuberculosis 238 
 
 A Member of the Illinois State Board of 
 
 Health 248 
 
 My Medical Library 259 
 
 Our Singing Doctor 274 
 
 vn
 
 XXIV. "Grip," the Great Pandemic of the Late 
 Eighties and Early Nineties. "Flu," 
 
 the Great Pandemic of 1918-19 283 
 
 XXV. Medical Societies 295 
 
 XXVI. Medical Societies (Continued) 314 
 
 Index 327 
 
 vin
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Dr. C. B. Johnson Frontispiece 
 
 Coiydon L. Ford opposite page 20 
 
 Samuel G. Armor 
 
 Abram Sager 
 
 Alonzo B. Palmer 
 
 Silas H. Douglas 
 
 Moses Gunn 
 
 John T. Hodgen 
 
 Sir Thomas Watson 
 
 James S. Jewell 
 
 Nathan Smith Davis 
 
 A Doctor's Conveyance in the Sixties 
 
 and Seventies 
 
 A Doctor's Conveyance in the Eighties 
 
 and Nineties 
 
 James Newton Matthews 
 
 Austin Flint 
 
 Illinois State Medical Society Badge 
 1916 
 
 20 
 21 
 21 
 
 52 
 53 
 53 
 
 84 
 85 
 85 
 
 116 
 
 117 
 276 
 276 
 
 277 
 
 IX
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The writer of this Introduction seems to have a 
 special affinity for the year 1843. Dr. Shobal Vail 
 Clevenger, our Don Quixote of Psychiatry, was born in 
 1843 ; Dr. Samuel E. Gibbs, who in spite of his venerable- 
 ness frequently climbed the several flights to our sanc- 
 tum, and whose Leaves from an Old Note-Book appeared 
 in our journal, was also born in 1843 ; and Dr. Charles 
 Beneulyn Johnson, a large portion of whose Autobiogra- 
 phy was first published in Medical Life, is likewise of the 
 vintage of 1843. In passing we may remark that 1843 
 was a mighty good j^ear for a doctor to be born — it was 
 the year that gave birth to Robert Koch. 
 
 We wish we might quote some of the letters we have 
 recently received from this octogenarian autobiographer. 
 They are so human and humorous, they exhibit such 
 mental balance and physical vigor, that it is difficult to 
 believe they were typed by fingers which first touched the 
 world over eighty years ago — Dr. Johnson as a rule is his 
 own stenographer. We regard Dr. Johnson as a splen- 
 did representative of the old time country doctor. Al- 
 though much of his career was passed on the prairie and 
 in villages, he came into personal contact with many 
 distinguished names in American medicine : he chum- 
 med with Norman Bridge in college, he roomed with 
 Isaac Newton Love, he marvelled at the dexterity of 
 Moses Gunn, he studied anatomy under the lame but 
 eloquent Corydon L. Ford, he heard Nathan Smith Davis 
 denounce the germ theory of disease, he saw the vener- 
 ated Samuel David Gross, and he listened to J. Marion 
 Sims. His early practice was among the pioneers of the 
 prairie, his calls were made on horseback, and he car- 
 ried his office in his saddle-bags. He was the first health 
 officer of his community, and he recalls the antagonism 
 which greeted his early efforts at quarantine. 
 
 XI
 
 The entire Autobiography is written in a frank, 
 fiimple and sincere style, and constitutes a valuable con- 
 tribution to the medical history of the period. The 
 chapters which originally appeared in Medical Life at- 
 tracted favorable notice among leading medical histor- 
 ians, both in this country and abroad. For example, 
 Iwan Bloch (Berlin), shortly before his lamented de- 
 cease, called the attention of Erich Ebstein (Leipzig) 
 to the Johnson serial, and it is listed on page 393 
 of Dr. Ebstein 's noteworthy production, Physicians' 
 Memoirs of Four Centuries. Thus the name of our 
 Country Doctor is linked with that of two distinguished 
 European scholars. 
 
 We are soothed by this placid and prolix story, which 
 never rushes stormily onward by the motors of modern- 
 ity, but peacefully ambles and rambles along on horse- 
 and-saddle. With his clamorous autos and shrieking 
 radios, with his far-firing guns and continent-covering 
 aeroplanes, man is in possession of ever-increasing 
 Power, but too much machinery is not good for the 
 human soul, and our present generation is noisy and 
 frantic, rather than dignified and happy. 
 
 Our high-powered and high-priced specialists may 
 smile at the general practitioners of the sixties, but in 
 whose office was the sick man safer ? Expensive appara- 
 tus, imposing suites, aloofness, assistants and secretaries, 
 with fancy fees and efficient attorneys — we admit this 
 is a phase of the healing art beyond the ken of the back- 
 woods doctors. But when the old breed passes, some- 
 thing never to be replaced will disappear from American 
 medicine, and we are glad to open The Library of Medi- 
 cal History with Sixty Years in Medical Harness, for in 
 these pages will ever live the spirit of an old-time coun- 
 try doctor. 
 
 Victor Robinson, M. D. 
 
 XII
 
 FKOM WAR TO PEACE 
 
 There is no life of a man, faithfully recorded, but 
 is a heroic poem, rhymed, or unrhymed. — Cabltlk 
 
 SIXTY years ago (January 1865) the Civil War was 
 yet in progress and I, a Union soldier, was in the 
 then, enemy's country, serving as Hospital Steward of 
 the 130th Illinois Infantry Volunteers, a regiment then 
 in its third year of service in the field, for the most part. 
 As my duties did not occupy all my time I was wise 
 enough to devote some of my spare hours to the study 
 of medicine. 
 
 As the regiment was for much of the time at the 
 front and not unfrequently on the firing line, we seldom 
 remained long in one locality and our frequent marches 
 from place to place necessitated cutting our baggage and 
 impedementa down to the minimum and in consequence 
 our medical library contained but few books. Among 
 these I recall Mendenhall's Vade Mecum, Pereria's 
 Materia Medica, Fowne's Chemistry and Gray's Anato- 
 my, then newly published and verj' popular with stu- 
 dents and practitioners alike. This popularity was in 
 part due to the work's graphic illustrations and to the 
 further fact that each anatomical part had printed its 
 name in plain letters. 
 
 But beyond and above all that I found between book 
 covers, were the clinical opportunities that fortune threw 
 in my way. Not long after the organization of our regi- 
 ment we were stationed at Memphis, Tennessee during 
 the winter of 1862-63, where and when a great many of 
 our men feU sick and in consequence we occupied a large 
 two-story frame house for a temporary hospital. Four 
 
 1
 
 2 Sixty Yeaks in the Medical Harness 
 
 of the larger rooms were made to serve as so many wards 
 and these were soon filled to overflowing with patients 
 suffering from pneumonia, typhoid fever, er/sipelas, 
 rheumatism, measles and I recall one fatal ease of pul- 
 monary tuberculosis. 
 
 In that period, sanitation was little understood, and 
 this little was almost never put in practice ; and to even 
 a more pronounced degree the same could be said of 
 disease-prevention. No one seemed to know that pneu- 
 monia, erysipelas, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, etc., were 
 infectious and consequently patients with these diseases 
 were all huddled together indiscriminately in overfilled 
 and poorly ventilated wards. Fortunately there was in 
 each room a coal fire in an open grate and this, to a de- 
 gree, at least, saved the situation for all the fresh air 
 came through cracks under the door and in the windows. 
 
 The above is no reflection on our regimental sur- 
 geons for they had average attainments for that period. 
 One of these. Dr. David Wilkins, was a graduate of the 
 Medical Department of Michigan University, which 
 ranked as one of the most thorough of its kind. Another 
 one of our surgeons was a graduate of Missouri Medical 
 College and was fond of telling that he had for a class- 
 mate, Rosa Bonheur, later the celebrated painter of ani- 
 mals. In that period, co-education in medical schools 
 was not in vogue and Rosa Bonheur 's case was unique. 
 
 The Civil War hospital bed, always called a cot, con- 
 sisted of a strong oak frame across the top of which was 
 stretched tightly, heavy ducking and immediately upon 
 this was made the patient's bed. Springs were never 
 \ised and save for screws and bolts no iron entered into 
 the construction of the cot. Likewise clean linen had no 
 place in the makeup of the beds in our wards for, in 
 lieu of sheets and pillow-slips, rough coarse army blan- 
 kets served as makeshifts and here let it be said that the 
 Civil War army blanket was far rougher and coarser
 
 From War to Peace 3 
 
 than its far from finely woven army blanket successor of 
 today. As the modern house of our time with its furnace 
 heat, running water and toilet conveniences was un- 
 known in the Civil War Era, it need hardly be said that 
 the Memphis of that time was to all intents and pur- 
 poses but an overgrown village. There being no bathing 
 conveniences, in the winter months patients in their un- 
 washed underclothes sometimes went for weeks with no 
 thought of applying water to any part of the body other 
 than the hands and face. Likewise there being no toilet 
 conveniences and a dearth of room to meet the calls of 
 nature, vessels had to be used in the wards and removed 
 as promptly as possible. In all instance the contents of 
 these vessels were emptied on the surface of a garden 
 spot back of the building we occupied. 
 
 The patients' beds were made up substantially as 
 follows: a blanket folded to proper size was spread over 
 the cot in lieu of a cotton sheet, a second blanket folded 
 several times served as a pillow and finally one or more 
 blankets were used as cover for the patient who, let the 
 reader not forget, was more often than otherwise a boy, 
 both in age and appearance. 
 
 The several wards with their odor-complex and sad 
 lack of white linen were far from attractive to visitors 
 and soldiers who from time to time came to see their 
 sick comrades. However, there was one daily visitor who 
 seemed not to care for these unpleasant ward conditions. 
 To be more in line with the truth this visitor certainly 
 cared and no doubt longed for their correction, but as 
 this was not practical no word of dissatisfaction or criti- 
 cism was so much as breathed. The reader will perhaps 
 be surprised to learn that this daily visitor was a woman, 
 Mrs. Caldwell, our Hospital Matron, who when she came 
 in the ward dressed in the everyday fashion of the time 
 which included a neat calico dress, hair combed down 
 over the sides of her face and a handsome tucking comb
 
 4 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 in the roll of hair at the back of her head, at once became 
 the center of all eyes and doubtless brought to mind 
 mother, daughter, wife or sweetheart in the faraway 
 Northland. Mrs. Caldwell made it a part of her business 
 to bring certain delicacies from the kitchen, all the more 
 appreciated because prepared by and delivered from a 
 woman's hands. She also wrote letters for such patients 
 as so desired and made it a point to speak a kind word 
 to each and every sufferer. So rare was the sight of a 
 woman in that then Enemy's Country that the patients 
 literally feasted their eyes on our kindly matron and 
 looked upon her as a veritable Angel of Mercy. 
 
 The physical examination that preceded the Civil 
 War soldier's entrance in the service was superficial in 
 the extreme and as a result many thousands of unfit 
 were received in the ranks. Little wonder was it then, 
 that at the end of a relatively short period of service, 
 large numbers of these succumbed to disease and many 
 of the same class were found to be so unequal to a sol- 
 dier 's life, that they were discharged and returned to pri- 
 vate life, from which they never should have been with* 
 drawn. 
 
 In our Regimental Hospital was a small room which 
 was utilized as a morgue and much too frequently for 
 our satisfaction was tenated by a dead Comrade till his 
 remains could be placed in a cheap government coffin 
 and consigned to rest in the bosom of Mother Earth. To 
 a Soldier's Burying Ground in the outskirts of the city 
 the street in front of our Regimental Hospital led, and 
 not unfrequently there would be seen passing an am- 
 bulance in which was a government coffin containing a 
 dead soldier with a military band in front playing a 
 dirge, and on each side of the vehicle a file of soldiers 
 with arms reversed. To those of us who happened to be 
 lookers-on no words were needed to apprize us of the 
 sad fact that one more Northern boy had given his life
 
 From War to Peace 5 
 
 to maintain intact the land of his fathers and to preserve 
 inviolate the flag under which he had enlisted. 
 
 On the surgical side it was my fortune to see about 
 every form of wound that shot, shell or bullet could in- 
 flict. The Ci\dl "War bullet was fired from a single 
 barreled rifle musket and a muzzle loader. The regu- 
 lation bullet was what was known as the Minnie ball, 
 weighed about an ounce, was nearly as large as the end 
 of a man's thumb, and in size and shape was not unlike 
 a white oak acorn. That the Minnie ball was potentially 
 destructive, and this in a high degree, need hardly be 
 said and when it struck a bone much splintering resulted 
 in nearly all instances. In the event one of the long 
 bones was hit its continuity was not unfrequently de- 
 stroyed. Likewise if a larger joint was involved the re- 
 sult was frequently serious in the extreme, due in no 
 small measure to the unclean surgery of the period. 
 Bullet wounds were vastly more numerous than any 
 other battle injuries. Shell wounds were relatively few. 
 I never saw an injury inflicted by a bayonet thrust, and 
 only one sword wound came under my observation and 
 this was relatively slight. 
 
 The most advanced Civil War surgeon knew nothing 
 of practical antisepsis and asepsis as we see it on every 
 hand today and consequently healing by the first inten- 
 tion was a dream that was only in the rarest instances 
 realized. Never realized would be nearer the truth, for 
 practically every wound supurated and "laudable pus" 
 was always looked for and in all instances welcomed. 
 Substantially all wound healing was by granulation. 
 Wounds involving the abdominal cavity were nearly al- 
 ways fatal, those of the brain cavity more fatal still. As 
 said above wounds of the larger joint cavities were in all 
 instances serious and oftener than otherwise ended in 
 death. Under these circumstances amputations and a
 
 6 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 radical sacrifice of parts were frequently resorted to to 
 obviate fatalities. 
 
 Through the occipital bone a bullet penetrated the 
 brain of the Captain of my Company, during the siege 
 of Vicksburg, and he was brought to our Field Hospital 
 in a comatose condition and the first thing our Major 
 Surgeon did, was to introduce his unwashed and wholly 
 unprepared index finger its full length into the wound. 
 Though up to date in his profession, yet our believed- 
 to-be, especially clever surgeon, had no conception of the 
 fact that his dirty finger was, if anji:hing, more deadly 
 than the enemy's bullet that had buried itself in the pa- 
 tient 's brain. Needless to add that the sleep of coma soon 
 passed into the sleep of death. I recall one pitiful case : 
 A musket ball just penetrated the skull of a brave man 
 who for days walked round in a dazed condition, but who 
 later died. Could this poor soldier have had the benefit 
 of modern, clean surgery I confidently believe he would 
 have recovered. From the foregoing it will be seen that 
 I saw no little of disease and battle injuries during my 
 term of service as Hospital Steward of the 130th Illinois 
 Infantry Volunteers but this like all else of an earthly 
 nature came to an end. In my case came to an end four 
 months after the collapse of the Confederacy in May, 
 1865. 
 
 To make a long story short, let it be said that about 
 September 1, 1865 our Regiment went aboard a boat at 
 New Orleans and started up the Mississippi River for 
 our homes in the Northland from which we came three 
 years before. The weather was delightfully warm and 
 we spread blankets on the cabin deck of the boat for our 
 sick to lie upon. Among these was a typhoid patient 
 who one night, in his delirium, got up from his place, 
 walked a few paces to the railing that surrounded the 
 cabin deck, climbed over this, jumped in the river and 
 was of course drowned. All this was seen by the male
 
 From War to Peace 7 
 
 nurse from a little distance where he was occupied with 
 another duty and from which he could not reach the 
 patient in time to prevent the fatal plunge. This was 
 tragic death No. 1, but before we ended our up-river 
 journey we Avere destined to encounter tragic death 
 No. 2, really more tragic than death No. 1 as the follow- 
 ing will show. One morning a certain soldier was missed 
 at roll call and as no one knew anything of his where- 
 abouts the conclusion was reached that he had fallen 
 overboard in the night time with no one to witness his 
 misfortune. Some ten days later after we had reached 
 Camp Butler near Springfield, Illinois, our Colonel re- 
 ceived a letter from the Commandant at Vicksburg, 
 Mississippi, sa^'ing that the body of a dead man floating 
 in the river had been rescued and was found to have a 
 bullet hole in his head and papers found on his body 
 pointed to him as the missing soldier from our regiment 
 who had disappeared so mysteriously. The finding of 
 the man's dead bod}^ in this way only added to the mys- 
 tery for night and day guards were on duty on the boat 
 and these avowed that neither in sunlight nor darkness 
 was there heard the report of a gun. The tragic deaths 
 of these two Civil War veterans at the end of three years 
 of strenuous ser\ice were but further illustrations of the 
 fact that I had all along brought home to me, namely, 
 that in our war experience life was cheap, yes frightfully 
 cheap. 
 
 In due course our steamboat trip up the "Father of 
 Waters" ended at Cairo. Illinois where we disembarked. 
 Much of our three year's service had been contiguous to 
 this great river and many were the times that we had 
 had occasion to go aboard a steamboat and make a trip 
 on its surface. A trip that was never without danger 
 for from the river banks both cannon ball and musket 
 shot were at any moment liable to greet the passing 
 "Yankee" craft. So relatively frequent were these at-
 
 8 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 tacks that scarcely a boat could be seen south of St. Louis 
 that did not bear the marks of the enemy 's missiles. Our 
 river trip from New Orleans to Cairo, at the end of 
 the war was peculiar in the fact that we felt secure from 
 attack. Arrived at Cairo we gladly boarded a train of 
 stock cars which after about eighteen hours landed us at 
 Decatur, Illinois, where we transferred to the Wabash 
 Railway and in due time reached Camp Butler where 
 three years before we had been mustered in the service 
 and from which we started for the enemy's country. 
 After a few day 's stay at Camp Butler we were mustered 
 out of the service, received our pay and all went to their 
 Illinois homes as once-more citizens. To me, and no 
 doubt to my comrades, the sensation of being a civilian 
 with the privilege to go when and where one pleased 
 seemed strange and almost unnatural. 
 
 One day not long after reaching home, a letter came 
 from a physician who had served as one of the Assistant 
 Surgeons of my Regiment, the 130th Illinois Infantry 
 Volunteers, and with whom I had had daily association 
 during my service as Hospital Steward, offering me a 
 position as clerk in a drug store he had just purchased. 
 I unhesitatingly accepted the offer and in a short time 
 boarded a train for Flora, Illinois where my contem- 
 plated employer had his home. Arrived at my destina- 
 tion I found the prospect far from inviting. To make a 
 long story short I found the drug store very small, the 
 stock badly run down and its patronage discouragingly 
 Light. However, I decided to try and make the best of 
 a discouraging situation. Later discovering that I had 
 a good deal of spare time I devoted part of this to the 
 study of drugs and their various uses aided by such 
 works as the U. S. Dispensatory, Fownes' Chemistry, 
 Parish's Pharmacy, etc. I slept in the store; supplied 
 with quilts and blankets I made on the counter as good 
 a bed as I cared for. The remembrance of my army
 
 From War to Peace 9 
 
 sleeping experiences made my quilts and blankets spread 
 on the counter seem like a "downy-bed-of-ease" by com- 
 parison. 
 
 With the approach of spring it became apparent that 
 my employer was playing a losing game and that his in- 
 come would no longer justify him in keeping me in his 
 employ on a salarj^ that would justify my remaining. 
 Accordingly I bade good bye to Flora and went back to 
 my mother's home in my native County of Bond and 
 near Greenville, Illinois. Here I found my brother 
 busy and intent on his farming operations and in which 
 he offered me a very liberal partnership. Having noth- 
 ing better in sight I promptly accepted my brother's 
 offer and spent the remaining spring months, the sum- 
 mer season and the following September in the strenu- 
 ous farm life of that period. However, this was in 
 realitj^ going back to a life in which I had in large 
 measure grown up. For although previous to joining 
 the Army in mj^ nineteenth year, I had spent most of my 
 winter months in school, since I had been able to reach. 
 the plow handles, in the warmer months my time was 
 devoted to farm work. This being true I all the more 
 intelligently in that season of 1866 once more took up 
 farming. However, this proved to be exceptionally 
 strenuous and necessitated stirring early and late to meet 
 the exigencies of the situation. 
 
 As matters turned out the season of 1866 proved to 
 be exceptionally fruitful and yielded abundant crops of 
 all kinds including malaria in all its forms. Malarial 
 fever began to prevail in July and continued till the ap- 
 pearance of heavy frost, in other words during the life 
 time of the anopheles mosquito, but of this insect's part 
 in purveying malaria the most learned physician as yet 
 knew nothing. One prevalent form of malaria in that 
 day was "bilious fever," so named because in the early 
 stages of the attack there was persistent vomiting of bile.
 
 10 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 During that season (1866) I was a sufferer from malaria 
 in more than one variet5^ First I was stricken with bil- 
 ious fever and before I had recovered my health was at- 
 tacked with a chill on alternate days. One of these attacks 
 my folks always insisted was the much talked of and 
 much dreaded "congestive chill." Whatever the nature 
 of the chill I soon became drowsy, so drowsy in fact that 
 my folks thought I was passing into the ' ' eternal sleep. 
 Well, however near may have been the "King of 
 Terrors" I was most comfortably unconscious of any 
 danger whatsoever. 
 
 But whatever may have been the nature of my at- 
 tack I rallied and was myself in due time though weak 
 and anemic. It was the long hours, the slavish work, the 
 severe attacks of malaria, or all combined, that to a de- 
 gree unsettled me and finally brought me to the con- 
 clusion that the life of a farmer was not altogether to 
 my liking. Then too, my old love for books and study 
 asserted itself and created an urge that in the end I 
 could not resist. The result was that I one day sat down 
 and wrote to several medical schools for catalogs and 
 upon receiving these and comparing them decided to 
 take the course of lectures offered in the Medical De- 
 partment of the University of Michigan. 
 
 After some needed preliminary arrangements I, one 
 beautiful morning in early October, boarded a train for 
 the University of Michigan by the way of Chicago. 
 Reaching the latter place I put up at the Adams House 
 where by appointment I met a friend with whom I next 
 day visited the State Fair located in the southern out- 
 skirts of the city. In one of the sideshows the world- 
 famous Siamese twins were on exhibition and I paid the 
 price of admission and went in to see them. They were 
 both of the male sex, in the truest sense brothers and the 
 fleshy band that literally tied them together was about 
 three inches in diameter, some fifteen inches in length
 
 From War to Peace 11 
 
 and extended from the base of one twin's breast bone to 
 a corresponding point on the body of his brother. They 
 were of the Chinese race, were in middle life and their 
 chaperon avowed that they each had a living wife. He 
 also said that upon reaching maturity they were de- 
 sirous of being separated and with this object in view 
 consulted several eminent surgeons who were unanimous 
 in advising against an attempt at separation as it was 
 thought that important nerves and large blood vessels 
 passed through the band of connection. 
 
 I passed a busy day of sight-seeing, returned to 
 my hotel for supper and about 9 p. m. went to the 
 old ramshackle structure at the head of Randolph 
 Street which housed the Illinois Central and Michi- 
 gan Central Railways and boarded a train on the 
 last named for Ann Arbor, the seat of Michigan 
 University. In that period sleeping cars had not come 
 in general use and had there been one on my train the 
 state of my finances would not have justified me in oc- 
 cupying a berth in it. As it was I arrived at Ann Arbor 
 about 9 A. M., after a sleepless night, tired and hungry 
 and found that a large number of students who had ar- 
 rived earlier had stripped all the eating places of food, 
 consequently I reluctantly fasted till the noon hour. 
 However, tired and hungry as I was I put in the inter- 
 vening hours visiting the college campus and the office 
 of the Registrar to learn something of what was before 
 me.
 
 II 
 
 IN AND ABOUT THE MEDICAL AMPHITHEATER 
 
 By medicine may life he prolonged, 
 Yet death vnll claim the doctor too. 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 WITH a prudent desire to hold expenditures within 
 ^ bounds I made some inquiries relative to costs and 
 learned that as a non-resident of Michigan I would have 
 to ' ' put-up ' ' ten dollars ! Think of it ! Ten dollars for 
 the privilege of attending a six-months course of lectures, 
 given by one of the ablest faculties in the country ! Had 
 I been a native of the state I should have gone "Scott- 
 free!" 
 
 Later I went to the Medical Building for the purpose 
 of matriculating and where a blank was handed me by 
 Professor Douglas to fill out. This included such com- 
 mon-place questions as my name, place of residence, and 
 date and place of birth, all of which were duly answered. 
 But when I reached the last query, namely, the name of 
 the Institution from which I had received my prelimi- 
 nary education I was a little embarrassed. Professor 
 Douglas who passed on these questions, looked stern and 
 uncompromising; but finally I "got my nerve" and 
 wrote in its proper place, Pocahontas Academy. Poca- 
 hontas Academy of Pocahontas, Bond County, Illinois, 
 was started under that name more than two generations 
 ago, but with the coming of "free" schools in the mid- 
 fifties was merged in the local district school and it was 
 there I had acquired my knowledge of the, supposedly, 
 essential three R's, to which was most fortunately added 
 a little smattering of Latin, chemistry, physics, algebra, 
 geometry, etc. Those higher branches were taught in 
 
 12
 
 In and About the Medical Ampitheatre 13 
 
 this village, or district school, in the building previously- 
 known as an Academy, and indeed long retaining that 
 designation, so that at the very worst it was a very white 
 lie that I told when I gave Pocahontas Academy as the 
 Institution in which I had been educated and claimed as 
 my "Alma Mater." *(See "lUinois in the Fifties" by 
 the author). 
 
 Having completed the filling out of the blank I 
 handed it back to Professor Douglas, who looked it over 
 without comment and gave me seat numbers in the two 
 amphitheaters, where the entire six-months of medical 
 instruction was to be given. 
 
 This much accomplished, I was made to realize that 
 I had crossed the threshold of one of the most important 
 Departments of the great University of Michigan, then 
 as now one of the most particular institutions in the 
 country relative to the character and attainments of its 
 students. But the reader must bear in mind that the 
 above experience dates back to October 1866 — in the 
 Civil War Era. 
 
 If I remember correctly I became a full-fledged Medi- 
 cal Student on a Saturday, and as lectures were not to 
 begin tiU the following Monday I spent some hours look- 
 ing over the Medical College Building, which was a two- 
 story structure with a large basement. There were 
 double doors on the north and through these the students 
 passed, and turning either to the right or left, found an 
 enclosed, narrow stairway that led to the second floor, 
 where was the lower amphitheater from whose rostrum 
 were to be given lectures on Practice, Materia Medica, 
 Obstetrics, Gynecology, Chemistry, etc. As I recall there 
 were no chairs for the students, but long circular, and 
 not uncomfortable, seats rising one above another in 
 regular amphitheater style. 
 
 Next to two of the outside walls were narrow, en- 
 closed stairways, that led from the rear of the lower
 
 14 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 amphitheater to the one above. This was arranged very 
 much like the one below, and in it the lectures on Sur- 
 gery and those on Anatomy and Physiology were always 
 given. For the anatomical lectures a cadaver was nearly 
 always in evidence and was conveniently placed on a 
 revolving table in the center of the rostrum. The few 
 surgical operations that the contiguous rural population 
 supplied were always performed in this, the upper am- 
 phitheater. 
 
 In each of the amphitheaters, if my memory serves 
 me well, was a small projecting stage or platform facing 
 the seats. This we were told was for the janitor to come 
 out upon from time to time and make a record of such 
 seats as were not occupied. As all the seats were num- 
 bered this was well calculated to keep "tab" on each 
 student 's attendance. But as matters turned out I never 
 saw our monitor on either of these stages but once — a 
 tribute, no doubt, to faithful attendance upon the part 
 of the medical student body during the winter of 1866-7. 
 
 Opening out of each of the amphitheaters were the 
 usual Professor's rooms and such other apartments as 
 their needs called for. One large room in the building 
 was devoted to anatomical preparations and pathologi- 
 cal specimens. And here I saw for the first time, with 
 not a little loathing, French preparations in wax, repre- 
 enting among other things the ravages of both the big 
 and small-pox. 
 
 Not far from the Medical College Building was a one- 
 story structure, medium in size, that housed the Chemi- 
 cal Department of the University of Michigan ; and which 
 was said to be the most complete in its way of anything 
 in the country. Each medical student before gradua- 
 tion, was required to do a given amount of work in the 
 Chemical Laboratory. 
 
 As noted before, the Medical College Building was 
 located near the south-west corner of the Campus and
 
 In and About the Medical Ampitheatre 15 
 
 leading from it and extending in a diagonal course to a 
 gate near the north-east corner, was a walk which I was 
 destined to pass over not less than four times each lec- 
 ture day. On each side of this walk was a row of trees, 
 as yet mere saplings, and as the few college buildings 
 were confined to the northern and southern limits of the 
 Campus, I often, during the winter, found my way 
 across what was little more, (or a little less) than a wind- 
 swept area.* 
 
 Ha\'ing thus matriculated, registered as a student in 
 the Medical Department and looked over the several 
 localities about which mj^ winter's work would center, I 
 imagine that I felt much as does the Man-of- War's Man, 
 when the deck is cleared for action with the enemy 
 in the offing. In other words, I believed I had gotten 
 everything out of the way that could in any degree mar 
 the measurably intelligent state of mind with which I 
 hoped to begin attendance upon the forthcoming course 
 of medical lectures. 
 
 The introductory lecture of the course was given by 
 Professor Douglas of the Chair of Chemistry. I cannot 
 recall any fact connected with this lecture save the 
 kindling of the speaker's eyes when, with no little em- 
 phasis he referred to the fact that no less than 525 stu- 
 dents had recorded their names in the Medical Depart- 
 ment of the Universityof Michigan, which made it "The 
 largest class that had ever been assembled on the Ameri- 
 can Continent." And will the reader believe it, to teach 
 this more than one-half of a thousand young men there 
 were just six full Professors, one Assistant Professor and 
 one Demonstrator of Anatomy ! Today it is a poor medi- 
 cal school, indeed, that has not a corps of at least one 
 hundred professors and instructors! In fact, many of 
 them have from one hundred and fifty to two hundred 
 teachers of one kind and another. In the old days one 
 
 * Fifty years later I visited this same campus to find it literally 
 studded with college buildings. — Author.
 
 16 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 man would give instruction in two or more branches ; to- 
 day three or four men divide one branch between them. 
 
 Perhaps there is no place better than this to give the 
 personnel of the medical faculty of the University of 
 Michigan as it existed in 1866-7. 
 
 Abram Sager, a. M., M. D., Professor of Obstetrics 
 and Diseases of Women and Children, 
 
 Silas H. Douglas, A. M., M. D., Professor of Phar- 
 macology, Chemistry and Toxicology. 
 
 Moses Gunn, A. M., M. D., Professor of Surgery. 
 
 Alonzo B. Palmer, A. M., M. D., Professor of Path- 
 ology, the Practice of Medicine and Hygiene. 
 
 Cordydon L. Ford, A. M., M. D., Professor of Anato- 
 my and Physiology. 
 
 Samuel 6. Armor, A. M., M. D., Professor of Insti- 
 tutes of Medicine and Materia Medica. 
 
 Albert H. Prescott, M. D., Assistant Professor of 
 Chemistry and Lecturer on Organic Chemistry. 
 
 William Lewitt, M. D., Demonstrator of Anatomy. 
 
 Six full-fledged Professors; one Assistant Professor, 
 and one Assistant (or demonstrator), whose duty it was 
 to demonstrate Anatomy! Such was the equipment of 
 one of the highest-class and most up-to-date Medical 
 Schools of sixty years ago. 
 
 Here a few facts relative to the personnel of our 
 teachers at Ann Arbor may not be out of place. 
 
 Dr. Abram Sager, the first man on the list, was a very 
 scholarly man, but if the truth must be told, an un- 
 interesting lecturer. He was tall, slender, was always 
 genteelly dressed, never in any particular violating the 
 proprieties in word, deed or implication. In other 
 words, he was a perfect gentleman, but seemed to live 
 within himself and was not one who could get close to 
 and become popular with the students. 
 
 Professor Douglas, who taught us most of our 
 Chemistry, was a man of sturdy build, had very dark
 
 In and About the Medical. Ampitheatre 17 
 
 complexion, coal black eyes, and the blackest of black 
 hair. He was a forceful speaker and managed to make 
 the usually dry subject of Chemistry, interesting. The 
 revelations of the solar spectrum were then a new thing, 
 and to these. Professor Douglas not unfrequently re- 
 ferred and always in an interesting and sometimes, 
 striking manner. 
 
 Dr. Moses Gunn who taught us Surgery and upon 
 Wednesday and Saturdays operated in the Amphi- 
 theater was a gifted man and most excellent teacher. 
 He was a skillful operator and used the knife with a 
 dexterity little short of a juggler. He was furthermore 
 an ambidexter, that is could use the knife in either hand 
 and was never happier than when performing the most 
 difiScult and complicated operation. The late Dr. J. B. 
 Murphy, the famous Chicago surgeon, told me one day 
 that Dr. Gunn was the most skillful operator he ever saw 
 use the knife. In the lecture Amphitheater Dr. Gunn 
 sometimes appeared a little pompous and autocratic, but 
 socially he was one of the most agreeable gentlemen one 
 could meet. Dr. Gunn always spoke to the point. How- 
 ever, one of his definitions was a possible exception and 
 was as follows, "Pus is dead blastema." As it was be- 
 fore the era of the germ theory of disease, it is no re- 
 flection on the intelligence of the profession of that day 
 to say that no one knew the true nature of pus and Dr. 
 Gunn's definition was in no sense enlightening. Blas- 
 tema is defined to be formative or embryonic tissue, and 
 why Dr. Gunn should have regarded this when in a life- 
 less condition as the sole and only source, or rather the 
 very essence, of pus is hard to understand. 
 
 Dr. Alonzo B, Palmer was in the prime of mature 
 manhood and always came in the Amphitheater immacu- 
 lately dressed. In the delivery of his lectures he had a 
 very earnest manner and seemed especially well versed 
 in Practice and Pathology. During the course there
 
 18 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 never failed to be an annual tilt over Dr. Gunn 's defini- 
 tion of pus. Dr. Palmer would severely criticize this 
 and in its place offer a definition of his own, but this was 
 so diffuse that it was lost on most of the' students; while 
 Dr. Gunn's, "Pus is dead blastema," to say the least, 
 had the merit of conciseness. 
 
 Dr. Corydon L. Ford who taught us our Anatomy 
 and Physiology was in a class by himself. He could pick 
 up a dry bone and in three minutes have hundreds of 
 wide-eyed, open-mouther hearers intently attentive lest 
 they would miss a word, such was his power over an 
 audience. Dr. Ford had the happy faculty of telling 
 just enough about the subject he had in hand to interest 
 and fix the attention of his listeners. His admirers 
 claimed for him the distinction of being the best lecturer 
 on Anatomy in the world, and so far as I know, no one 
 ever came forward to dispute the claim. When a child. 
 Dr. Ford had been the victim of hip- joint disease and 
 this left him with one leg shorter than the other, conse- 
 quently he wore a very high-heeled shoe and used a cane 
 in walking. In delivering his lecture he would grow 
 weary of standing, and to rest his tired limb he would 
 frequently lean against, or even sit on, the edge of the 
 table that always stood in the center of the arena. At 
 the best he invariably came in the lecture room limping 
 and leaning heavily on his cane. But so fond were the 
 students of him that his very infirmities came to be al-, 
 most admired. He moreover, had the profound respect 
 of all and no one would dare take any liberties with him. 
 It was the custom to hand down questions and some of 
 these were at times the reverse of respectful, but none 
 of this class were ever put in Dr. Ford's hands to be 
 answered by him. All his time Avas devoted to lecturing 
 and besides Ann Arbor he delivered each year, a course 
 at Long Island, N. Y. and one at Berkshire College, 
 Vermont.
 
 In and About the Medical Ampitheatre 19 
 
 In describing a muscle, nerve, blood vessel or other 
 part of the cadaver, he would place the handle of his 
 scalpel on the object he would desire us to see, and then 
 turning to his listeners and scanning them closely he 
 would pronounce the words, "Knife on it." 
 
 Once while Dr. Ford was lecturing there was some 
 kind of a noise from somewhere among the students in 
 the Amphitheater; the speaker instantly stopped and 
 such a look as he cast in the direction from which it came, 
 with his steel-gray eyes I shall never forget. Instantly 
 there was silence that w^as almost painful and you could 
 have almost heard the fall of a pin. 
 
 Dr. Samuel G. Armor, Professor of Institutes of 
 Medicine and Materia Mediea, was of the intellectual 
 type. He was tall, finely formed, had a high forehead 
 and was dignified in manner and made the impression of 
 being one of Nature's Noblemen. He furthermore, had 
 a fine voice, spoke with deliberation, always had his sub- 
 ject well in hand and never failed to be listened to at- 
 tentively. Dr. Armor had the literary instinct and some- 
 times deftly sandwiched in some bright saying or apt ex- 
 pression outside the usually dry and matter-of-fact 
 medical field. Moreover, on occasions he could wax 
 eloquent on his omti account. Once when I knew his next 
 topic would be Stramonium, I luckily found a dried 
 seed-pod of the plant (commonly known as Jimson weed) 
 and this I placed on the table by the side of which Dr. 
 Armor stood while lecturing. Coming in to the Amphi- 
 theater a little later his eyes sparkled as he noticed the 
 simple specimen. His lecture had not proceeded far 
 when in kindly voice he said, ' ' Some gentleman has most 
 obligingly furnished us a specimen of the seed-pod of 
 the plant we are considering today." Simple and com- 
 mon-place as was the whole proceeding it served to show 
 that he was a true gentleman at heart and furthermore 
 that he had been country-raised.
 
 20 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Dr. Albert H. Prescott, Assistant Professor of Chem- 
 istry and Lecturer on Organic Chemistry was then quite 
 a young man, but was considered very promising. Or- 
 ganic Chemistry in that period was a relatively new 
 science. Dr. Prescott was a lame man and always walked 
 with a crutch under one arm. 
 
 Dr. William Lewitt, Demonstrator of Anatomy, was 
 a suave gentleman, medium in stature always dressed in 
 a neat business suit, and was at all times helpful and 
 obliging to students. 
 
 So much for the faculty of one of the most progres- 
 sive and up-to-date medical schools of sixty years ago. 
 Six full-fledged professors and two assistants! Today, 
 as observed before, a second-rate medical school num- 
 ber its teachers and instructors in scores and scores — 
 nay in hundreds.
 
 
 4M^ jfe 
 
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 m^ ml 
 
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 y 
 
 
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 CoRYDOx L. Ford 
 
 Samuel G. Arjior
 
 AliKA.M Sa.(.KU 
 
 Ai.oxzo B. PAi.i[p:R
 
 Ill 
 
 SOME PEOPLE AND SOME THINGS 
 
 Beyond the poeVs sweetest dream, 
 Lives the eternal epic of the man. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 MY new boarding place was in a gothic cottage, one 
 and one-half stories in height, painted yellow, sur- 
 rounded with large grounds and located well back from 
 the street. Its occupants and owners were Dr. P. and 
 his wife — the former a real gentleman ; the latter a real 
 lady. 
 
 A not-very-well lighted and winding stairway led to 
 the room, which was destined to be my home during my 
 stay in Michigan and which was already occupied by 
 one, who was about to become my room-mate, no less than 
 my classmate in the medical college. My first view of 
 this young man did not leave a good impression. He 
 was tall, raw-boned, brusk in manner, plain, and almost 
 slovenly in dress and unattractive in bearing and man- 
 ner generally. But I soon discovered him to be a real 
 diamond in the rough, thoughtful, deliberate and pos- 
 sessed of a large stock of mother-wit. Somewhere in the 
 woods of Michigan he had taught school, and after I had 
 known him for a while I felt confident that he knew what 
 he was teaching and why he was teaching it. The name 
 of my room-mate, during the winter of 1866-7, was Tyler 
 Hull, and since that day in March, 1867, when we parted 
 company we have not met, but I can but think that some- 
 where and somehow he has "made good." Later I 
 learned that in mature life he represented his State in 
 the legislature where I feel sure his unswerving devotion 
 to right, and his good sense and sound judgment, could 
 
 21
 
 22 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 not fail to make him a useful, though the farthest possi- 
 ble from a showy, member. 
 
 My landlord, Dr. P. in addition to being a graduate 
 in medicine, was a classical scholar, widely read and an 
 all-around man of culture. He was, moreover, fair- 
 minded — a true specimen of that vara avis, a just man, 
 and finally, he was kindly disposed to everyone, — ^to the 
 common man no less than to his more exalted neighbor. 
 
 Dr. P. 's wife, my landlady, was what might be called 
 something of a "blue-stocking," for she was one of the 
 most constant readers I have ever known, and, for the 
 most part, of fiction of the highest class. However, she 
 did not allow her devotion to good authors to, in any 
 way, interfere with her domestic duties, for she was a 
 good housekeeper and managed her household with in- 
 dustry and ability. She was a loyal member of the 
 Episcopal church and sometimes she invited me to ac- 
 company her to services — an invitation I was always glad 
 to accept, for I realized my need of coming in touch with 
 real ladies of her kind. Indeed, acceptance of these oc- 
 casional invitations, to which, doubtless, Mrs. P. gave 
 only a passing thought, were real opportunities to me, 
 an awkward, callow youth. 
 
 Unfortunately for her comfort, my much respected 
 landlady was, upon occasions, the victim of very severe 
 attacks of asthma of a type resembling what we today 
 call hay-fever. One day when I stepped in the dining- 
 room I found Mrs. P. with red, watery eyes and sneezing 
 violently. In a few minutes her husband came in the 
 room and she at once accosted him by saying, "O 
 George! Why did you have that ipecac in this room 
 when you know it brings on my asthma?" Her hus- 
 band looking guilty, confessed that he had in the ad- 
 joining room, dispensed a little, a very little, ipecac. 
 
 Later Dr. P. told me that his wife was the possessor 
 of an idiosyncrasy, which rendered her liable to an at-
 
 Some Peopl,e and Some Things 23 
 
 tack after inhaling the most minute ipecac emanations. 
 However, this one time she was out of the house and he 
 had very unwisely, as it turned out, ventured on putting 
 out for a patient, three or four very small powders of 
 ipecac in the house, but so marvelously susceptible was 
 his wife to this drug that she at once began to sneeze 
 violently, and water ran profusely from her nose and 
 eyes. In a word, the very minute particles of ipecac 
 that escaped from the powdered drug into the atmos- 
 phere when inhaled by Mrs. P., at once produced all the 
 symptoms of acute coryza with added difficulty of 
 breathing. 
 
 Assisting Mrs. P. in her household was a young 
 woman who had a temporary home in the family and at- 
 tended the Ann Arbor High School. Miss Sarah, for 
 that was her first name, was a plain, sensible, modest ap- 
 pearing girl, who had very little to say, and my ac- 
 quaintance with her went little beyond the opportunity 
 of meeting her, afforded at meals. Although twenty- 
 three years of age, practically the whole of my associa- 
 tion up to this time with the opposite sex had been con- 
 fined to my sisters and cousins, and what may seem 
 strange to the reader, I had never so much as asked a 
 young woman for her company. However, there were 
 good reasons for this: in my nineteenth year I joined the 
 army in which I remained three years and the year fol- 
 lowing — ^the one previous to my coming to Ann Arbor — 
 I had, so to speak, gone from "pillar to post." Hence, 
 my dearth of experience witla. the fair sex. Socially I 
 was much worse than an unbroken colt — I was as a full 
 grown- workhorse across whose back the harness had not 
 so much as been thrown. 
 
 Well, one day it dawned on me that the time had 
 come for me to make a little effort to remedy this defect 
 — this hiatus — so to speak — in my social education. And 
 to make a start, a real, concrete start, who could be of
 
 24 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 more material aid than Miss Sarah? Here was an op- 
 portunity — a genuine, tangible opportunity. One day 
 I learned that there was to be a college function of some 
 kind in the evening, so with no little effort, I managed 
 to muster up the courage needed to ask Miss Sarah for 
 her company to this. She very sanely and sensibly gave 
 her consent and when the time to go came, I went down 
 in the sitting room with my shawl, (men wore heavy 
 grey shawls in that day), hat and gloves in my hands. 
 Very soon Miss Sarah came in, having on her cloak and 
 hat and I stepped to her side and when we reached the 
 door in opening this, I glanced back and detected a very 
 broad smile on Mrs. P.'s face, induced no doubt by my 
 untrained and awkward attempts at gallantry. 
 
 Well, when we got out of the door, I poked my elbow 
 in the direction of Miss Sarah and she timidly took my 
 arm and we walked to the place of meeting and this 
 over, she a little less timidly again took my arm and I, 
 perhaps a little less awkwardly, did my part as her 
 escort. Trivial and simple as was this evening's experi- 
 ences after it was over, I felt the wiser and better for 
 having attempted it. 
 
 What was Miss Sarah's history subsequent to that 
 winter I know not. She was a steady young woman and 
 with her hair combed down over her face, as was then 
 the fashion, and in a green and black plaid dress, in 
 which she usually appeared, she certainly had a whole- 
 some, if not comely look. I can but hope some worthy 
 man found in her a good wife and that she is mayhap, 
 at this time, a well-cared for and happy grandmother. 
 
 So much for the personnel of my boarding place! 
 But to this house as a not unfrequent visitor came the 
 identical young man who first recommended it to me and 
 who among his friends was familiarly known as Joe 
 Steer — later Professor Joseph B. Steer, the well known 
 naturalist and collector.
 
 Some People and Some Things 25 
 
 One day I was stricken with a hard chill and was in 
 my room up stairs in bed. Meantime Joe Steer hap- 
 pened to come in and Mrs. P. thinking maybe he could 
 be of some comfort to me, suggested that he come up to 
 my room. In truth, I wanted anything but company, 
 and when the proposed visitor knocked at my door, I fear 
 the voice with which I said, "come in," was anything 
 but gracious. As he stepped in the room, I noticed that 
 young Steer had in his hands a copy of the Atlantic 
 Monthly and after sitting a short time he proposed to 
 read me a story. To this, I reluctantly consented, though 
 when its strange title, namely, "The Man Who Stole a 
 Meeting-house" was announced, I began to feel a little 
 interest. The story, was from the pen of the popular 
 author J. T. Trowbridge, and proved to be a good one 
 and when it was finished I felt much better and warmly 
 thanked my visitor for both his visit and story. 
 
 Speaking of chills and fever, I will here state that 
 during this fall and winter at Ann Arbor and in the 
 spring following, I had a number of attacks of malarial 
 fever which I succeeded in breaking up temporarily with 
 quinine, but which returned every few weeks. These at- 
 tacks were the sequelae of my severe malarial troubles in 
 the late summer and early fall of 1866, while on the 
 farm, when doubtless the Plasmodium malaria entered 
 my system and for long months ensconsed itself there in 
 relative safety, though at that time no one knew of its 
 identity. In other words, this organism, had yet to be 
 discovered by the scientist. These malarial attacks were 
 in no small degree discouraging for they caused me to 
 miss a number of lectures. 
 
 Perhaps a brief reference to the day 's routine may in- 
 terest the reader. We had every day six lectures, each 
 an hour in duration. These began at 9 a. m. and at noon- 
 time there was an intermission of two hours ; and begin- 
 ning at 2 p. M. three more were given.
 
 26 Sixty Years in tpie Medical Harness 
 
 My boarding place was about eight blocks from the 
 college campus and the walk to and from lectures af- 
 forded at least some exercise. During the months of 
 October and November these walks were especially- 
 pleasant, but sometimes in the winter months the cold 
 was piercing. When the latter was the case we wrapped 
 our shawls about us the closer and walked the faster. 
 
 About November first the students got the " tip " that 
 a little later the dissecting rooms would be opened and 
 at our service, consequently, most of us were for some 
 little time on the "tip-toe" of expectation, so to speak. 
 Meanwhile, we noticed that dray-load after dray-load of 
 pork barrels were brought from the railway station and 
 unloaded in the basement of the medical college building. 
 At last one raw, frosty morning the dissecting rooms 
 were opened, the heads of the "pork-barrel" knocked in, 
 revealing in each one opened, a subject doubled up in 
 such a manner as to leave the breech uppermost. When 
 a sufficient number of subjects had been removed to 
 make an elevator load these were hoisted to the third 
 floor, where the janitor and an assistant, each supplied 
 with a huge pair of tongs, grasped the cadaver by the 
 head and heels respectively, carried it through the near- 
 by dissecting room door, and beside one of the tables 
 upon which it was uncermoniously landed by a simul- 
 taneous swinging movement of the great tongs in the 
 hands of the two strong men. Scores of "pork-barrels" 
 disgorged their contents, scores of cadavers, or "stiffs," 
 as the students called them, were hoisted to the third 
 story, and placed upon scores of dissecting tables about 
 which a little later, scores of "medics" in their long 
 aprons and with knives, scissors and forceps, gathered 
 and began the study of human anatomy at first hand, as 
 it were. 
 
 Dr. Lewitt was the Demonstrator of Anatomy and 
 before we were given the privileges of the dissecting
 
 Some People and Some Things 27 
 
 room we had to go to his office and procure a ticket for 
 which we paid ten dollars. Later we all met Dr. Lewitt 
 in the dissecting room and he at all times proved to be an 
 obliging gentleman, and ready and willing to help us in 
 our anatomical work. 
 
 At this period the dissecting rooms at Ann Arbor 
 were said to be the largest and in many particulars, the 
 best fitted and supplied of any in America. The only 
 railway at Ann Arbor was the Michigan Central and 
 upon this the cadavers all came to Ann Arbor after hav- 
 ing the legs flexed upon the trunk and put in pork 
 barrels with the head and extremities in the bottom. 
 Next the top of the barrel was securely nailed in place 
 and kept there by tightly driven hoops ; and finally each 
 container with its contents, thus carefully secured, was 
 addressed to ' ' John Smith, U. of M., Ann Arbor, Michi- 
 gan, ' ' Substantially all the cadavers came from near-by 
 large cities, such as Chicago, Detroit, etc. In that period 
 there were no anatomical laws like those we have today, 
 permitting the unclaimed bodies of those who died in hos- 
 pitals and other public institutions to be used for 
 anatomical purposes. Where the bodies came from 
 which were directed to "John Smith," and how they 
 were procured, was an unanswered query to all of us 
 students, and a sort of state secret known only to the 
 elect. However, come from whence they might, it was 
 clearly apparent that some of them came from the higher 
 walks of life. Compared with subjects I later saw in 
 other medical schools, those at Ann Arbor presented an 
 unusual number in good flesh, and exddently not wasted 
 by disease. I recall that when a certain subject was 
 brought in and put on the dissecting table, a student of 
 the loud-mouthed class, called out, "Say, that fellow 
 looks like he was killed last night" — and really all ap- 
 pearances pointed to the fact of a very recent death. One 
 could not help being struck with some of the bodies on
 
 28 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 the dissecting tables — those of noble looking men and 
 beautiful women. Some of the former had high fore- 
 heads and fine, manly features; and some of the latter 
 beautiful and almost classic faces and shapely heads from 
 which extended a luxuriant growth of hair. Of course 
 there were some cadavers thin and badly wasted and 
 some with their lungs stuffed with tubercles, but the last 
 named were dissected and handled with no precautions 
 whatever, as no one in that day so much as thought of the 
 communicability of tuberculosis. Thus the dissecting 
 room presented a study to the more observing and upon 
 its tables were representatives of all ages, all classes, all 
 colors, all conditions. Some old and wasted by senility, 
 some in youth, some evidently from the higher walks of 
 life, some black, some yellow, some so thin that they were 
 but skeletons, and some so robust that it required little 
 effort to imagine them alive yesterday, and about the 
 streets in all the joy, pride and vigor of life. 
 
 Any reference to the Medical College at Ann Arbor 
 in the long ago that does not take note of Neglie, the 
 always faithful janitor, would certainly be lacking in one 
 most interesting character. If I am not mistaken, he was 
 a Scotchman and although uneducated, yet he was well 
 versed in anatomy and could call the technical names of 
 substantially all the muscles, nerves, vessels, bones and 
 viscera. Many times we tested him and I recall my won- 
 der at his uniformally correct answers. Neglie is long 
 since dead, and I can but wish that his bones are some- 
 where safe above ground. 
 
 My room-mate, he of the six-feet stature, of the 
 sturdy build and robust character, seemingly of the 
 make-up to face the furies and withstand almost any sort 
 of terror, wilted soon after his first visit to the dissect- 
 ing room and for two days had little or no appetite at 
 the table and for two or three nights, was wakeful and 
 had bad dreams. Finally, however, he managed to over-
 
 Some People and Some Things 29 
 
 come all repugnance and industriously and faithfuUy 
 did his "bit" in the dissecting room. 
 
 As for myself I had no trouble of this kind whatever. 
 My three years' service in the Civil War and hospital 
 experience had made me familiar with death in many 
 forms and likewise with mangled humanity in many 
 varieties and in consequence I had become hardened to 
 the most gruesome sights. 
 
 Fifty-nine years ago the University of Michigan had 
 no college hall worthy of the name and consequently all 
 meetings of any size were held in the body of a new 
 Methodist Church near the campus. By the way, 1866 
 was the one hundredth anniversary of Methodism in this 
 country and that denomination celebrated it as such and 
 called it their centennial year. The word "centennial" 
 at that time was new and to most ears sounded strangely. 
 
 In the above-named church were given the various 
 (lay) lectures in the college course. And here let me 
 say that in that period the American lecture platform 
 was much more appreciated and relatively much better 
 attended than today. Indeed, it is not too much to say 
 that the lecture platform was then in flower and there 
 appeared upon it such leading lights as Henry Ward 
 Beecher, Wendell Phillips, Frederick Douglas, Horace 
 Greeley, John B. Gough, Anna Dickenson, Theodore Til- 
 ton, etc. 
 
 As I was compelled to practice the most rigid econo- 
 my, I could only purchase tickets to two lectures in the 
 course and after due consideration, selected Wendell 
 Phillips and Horace Greeley ; Wendell Phillips was billed 
 to speak on the "Lost Arts," but when he came on the 
 platform asked to change his topic to "Reconstruction," 
 then a burning question in the public mind. To not a 
 few in the audience the change of topic was a disappoint- 
 ment as the one chosen had become worn and threadbare 
 in the public prints. Wendell Phillips' appearance on
 
 30 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 the rostrum was ideal. He was in the prime of manhood, 
 of medium stature, erect, manly and dignified in bear- 
 ing; his every movement graceful, his voice full and 
 sonorous, each word uttered was the best that could be 
 chosen, and finally, his features were classical. 
 
 Horace Greeley 's appearance on the platform was, in 
 many particulars, in sharp contrast to that of Wendell 
 Phillips. His hair and beard were white, his skin red 
 as a babe's; he lacked grace and his voice was piping. 
 Indeed, his whole attitude and make-up was as far as 
 possible from one's ideal of an orator. Yet, he com- 
 manded a full house because he was Horace Greeley. Peo- 
 ple went to see, rather than to hear him, much as they 
 would go to see a Royal Bengal tiger or a monster ele- 
 phant. Much to my disappointment, Greeley's topic was 
 Reconstruction! 
 
 In that particular time the Southern States that had 
 seceded were getting back in the Union and just how this 
 should be accomplished was a most important question 
 and was referred to under the general title of Recon- 
 struction. Andrew Johnson was President and had the 
 misfortune to differ with the majority of the members 
 of the National House and Senate as to how this should 
 be accomplished. More unfortunately still, he was lack- 
 ing woefully in tact in all he undertook. The result was 
 a serious breech between the National Executive and 
 Legislative branches of the Government, 
 
 One of the noted public characters of the time was 
 General Benjamin F. Butler, who represented a Massa- 
 chusetts district in Congress. One day it was learned 
 that General Butler was to pass through Ann Arbor on 
 the train which would stop long enough for a short talk 
 from its famous passenger, consequently the students in 
 hundreds went down to the railway station and waited 
 patiently. In due time the train puUed in and General 
 Butler with his well-known distorted countenance, ap-
 
 Some People and Some Things 31 
 
 peared at the rear of one of the coaches, and made a 
 characteristic speech, in which President Johnson was 
 soundly berated. 
 
 One day, E. 0, Haven, Regent (or President) of the 
 Universit}', came in the amphitheater, accompanied by 
 Theodore Tilton, who had lectured the night before. Dr. 
 Gunn was just nearing the close of a lecture on fractures 
 and among other things, spoke of fracture of the bones 
 of the pehds, and when it came to the treatment of this 
 trouble, he said, ' ' Gentlemen, do that thing which is al- 
 ways the hardest thing for doctors to do — do nothing T' 
 
 When Dr. Gunn sat down there was an earnest call 
 for Theodore Tilton, and in response he rose to his feet 
 and beside him an ordinary man looked like a pigmy for 
 he was full six feet four inches in height. When he had 
 looked around for a moment he said, "Gentlemen, I am 
 glad to have the privilege of looking in your faces and 
 was interested in what Dr. Gunn had to say and more 
 especially by his telling you that when there was nothing 
 to do, to do nothing. I shall profit by his suggestion for 
 having nothing to say I will just say nothing." With 
 this apt turn at paraphrasing the words of our teacher 
 he sat down amid hearty cheers. In a word he had cer- 
 tainly made good in the art of ' ' turning a phrase. ' '
 
 IV. 
 
 A FEW CHICAGO MEDICAL CRUMBS PICKED 
 UP IN 1867 
 
 We take the arms that Heaven supplies, 
 With life's long battle ^vith disease. 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 AT the close of the winter term of lectures at Ann 
 , Arbor in the spring of 1867 I took the cars for 
 Chicago where I had decided to spend at least a part 
 of the coming summer in browsing around and getting 
 such knowledge of medicine as opportunity would offer. 
 At this period there were but two medical schools in that 
 city, Rush Medical College, established in 1843 and 
 Chicago Medical College which had its beginning in 
 the late fifties. After due enquiry I decided to attend 
 the summer session of the last named institution. Hav- 
 ing procured a room, and board on South State Street, I 
 had but fairly got down to my studies when my old ene- 
 my, chills and fever, attacked me again. However I soon 
 recovered, and this time permanently. While I was in 
 bed with this attack a young man was shown in my 
 room whose face seemed familiar. He introduced him- 
 self by saying he had been told that I was an Ann Arbor 
 student, who had come to Chicago to attend a summer 
 session, and as he had also attended the course of lec- 
 tures just closed at Michigan University, he had called 
 to see what I could tell him about the opportunities 
 for medical study in the city during the coming sum- 
 mer. While the young man's features were not wholly 
 strange to me yet the size of the class at Ann Arbor 
 made it impossible to make the personal acquaintance 
 of all its members. He was about twenty-three years of 
 
 32
 
 A Few Chicago Medical Crumbs 33 
 
 age and plainly dressed; his people lived in northern 
 Illinois and his name was Norman Bridge. I very soon 
 became impressed with the fact that my caller was 
 clear headed, knew what he desired to accomplish and 
 was thoroughly competent to "size up the situation," 
 as the phrase goes. I told him what little I had found 
 out relative to the possibilities of learning something of 
 medicine in Chicago during the vacation period. He 
 listened intently to all I had to say and before our in- 
 terview ended made me detail every lecture and clinic 
 I had attended, and further than this, got from me so 
 far as I was able, to give them the strong and weak 
 points in every medical teacher I had been in contact 
 with since coming to the city. 
 
 Before leaving my room, my visitor decided to join 
 me in attendance upon the summer session of the Chi- 
 cago Medical College for 1867; meanwhile he revealed 
 enough of his circumstances and characteristics to con- 
 vince me that, in common with myself, he, like the 
 much quoted boy in the novel, was "poor but honest." 
 This common state of depleted pocket-books, a day or 
 two later, caused us to canvass the situation pretty thor- 
 oughly in an effort to get as cheap living as could be 
 found, and that at the same time, would be compatible 
 with tolerable comfort. 
 
 In this canvass we soon enlisted a fellow-student by 
 the name of Spohner, and among other places we tried 
 was a boarding house on south State Street, patronized 
 mainly by mechanics all of whom had just been en- 
 gaged in a strike for better conditions and better wages 
 and which they lost, much to their regret and likewise, 
 ours, for we were in full sympathy with them, for in 
 no small degree we were working men, were in fact from 
 farms. 
 
 At another time we got our meals at a boarding 
 house further down on State Street, and kept by a man 
 who had a number of buxom daughters, who did the
 
 34 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 cooking, served as waiters and were all especially at- 
 tentive to our wants. The fact that we were all young, 
 single men may not have been the cause of our receiv- 
 ing exceptional attention, but we were conceited enough 
 to think so. A little later we found a fourth fellow- 
 student, who turned out to be the exact "fellow" we 
 were looking for, to use a somewhat slangy phrase. 
 During the previous winter this young man's mother 
 and sister had kept house for him while he attended the 
 course of lectures given at the Chicago Medical Col- 
 lege. Very recently they left the city, leaving their 
 brother in two rooms in the rear of a grocery store 
 on south State street with the furniture, which consisted 
 of a cook-stove and utensils, a dining table, dishes, two 
 beds, chairs and a piano ! We very soon came to terms 
 with this fourth young man, by we three, parties of 
 the first part, agreeing to pay three-fourths of the 
 room rent ; and he, party of the second part, stipulating 
 to pay the remaining fourth of accruing rent and to 
 in addition, allow the beds, stove, cooking uteniiils, 
 tables, chairs and piano to be used as common property. 
 This fourth young man who was so fortunate as to se- 
 cure our company and whose name was Morgan, had 
 a number of accomplishments. He was a good cook, a 
 skillful dishwasher, could make a bed and sweep a 
 room like a woman, broil a beef steak and make edible 
 biscuits, fry * 'flap- jacks, " and finally played well on 
 the piano ! He was, furthermore, a good student, had 
 excellent common sense and was several years older 
 than Bridge and myself. His subsequent history, after 
 our summer's rooming together is a a blank page to me, 
 and whether dead or alive I cannot say. If alive I here 
 record a tender of my greetings. If dead, I would that 
 I could place a wreath upon his grave. 
 
 Very soon after we began living in our new quarters 
 the original proprietor of the rooms, demonstrated his 
 fitness for the position of "boss-cook," and consequently
 
 A Few Chicago Medical Crumbs 35 
 
 the rest of us were compelled to show our willingness to 
 be useful mainlj' by taking turns at washing dishes. 
 Whatever may have been our difference relative to other 
 matters, we were a unit when it came to making an 
 effort to live economically. Not far from our rooms 
 there was at that time a slaughter house, and this we 
 frequently visited to get fresh liver that was given us 
 and, which our cook fried so nicely that we not only 
 had it for breakfast, but for dinner as well. We dis- 
 covered that buck-wheat cakes were both toothsome and 
 economical. On the whole we got along nicely and soon 
 settled down to a sort of happy family. Indeed, I re- 
 call but one instance of discord ; I use the word discord 
 advisedly and following is how it came about : As stated 
 above the original occupant of the rooms in addition to 
 his many other accomplishments, played passably well 
 on the piano and one Sunday afternoon it came in our 
 heads to have a vocal quartet. In carrying out this pro- 
 gram. Bridge, to my ear, made a discord and I at once 
 accused him of the transgression. To this he pleaded 
 innocence and I promptly renewed the charge. He 
 pleaded innocence a second time, and I now reiterated 
 the charge in language, which I fear was much more 
 forcible than kind. As Bridge scarcely knew one note 
 from another, and as I knew less, the matter of discord 
 was not settled then, and remains unsettled to this day. 
 Naturally he did not enjoy my harsh criticisms, but said 
 nothing. Meanwhile, I was too proud to then or later 
 make such apology as was certainly due from me.* 
 
 One of the first lectures I remember listening to, 
 during this summer course was one by Dr. J. S. Jewell, 
 on the ethmoid bone, a notoriously complex and much 
 complicated subject, but the lecturer's prolixity, tedious- 
 ness and emphasis of unimportant details were in strik- 
 ing contrast to Professor Ford's grasp of essentials, so 
 
 •Dr. Bridge died January 7, 1925.
 
 36 Slxty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 unmistakably demonstrated in his lectures on anatomy 
 and physiology, which I had listened to with such sat- 
 isfaction during the previous winter at Ann Arbor. 
 Among others who gave us didactic or clinical lectures, 
 I recall the names of Drs. N. S. Davis, Hollister, Roller, 
 Nelson, Hosmer A. Johnson, Edmund Andrews, 
 Bogue, Holmes, Sherman, etc. Some of the clinical lec- 
 tures were given at the Mercy Hospital and some at the 
 Cook County, then a very crude frame affair with di- 
 lapidated surroundings and situated not a very great 
 distance from what is today the business center of Chi- 
 cago. And this leads me to say that the Chicago of that 
 period, while containing perhaps two hundred thousand 
 inhabitants was but a great struggling and vilely, filthy 
 village. Many of the principal streets were unpaved and 
 save in the important business and better residence 
 districts, the sidewalks were of boards laid upon vary- 
 ing grades, so that the wayfarer had now to climb a 
 flight of steps and then to go down a run of stairs. In 
 front of the principal business blocks were long rows 
 of telegraph poles, and overhead a perfect tangle of 
 wires. The only means of transit were the omnibus 
 and horsecar. Perhaps I should qualify this last state- 
 ment for upon the street-car lines in the outlying dis- 
 tricts one or more small, specially constructed steam 
 locomotives, called "dummies," with a good deal of 
 smoke, cinders and puffing, carried passengers to their 
 destinations with due celerity. I remember that upon 
 one occasion the four of us who were rooming together, 
 took a day off and behind one of these * ' dummies, ' ' rode 
 out across a long sweep of prairie to visit the Chicago 
 Stock Yards. 
 
 When speaking of our culinary experiences and 
 various foragings for clean food during this summer I 
 neglected to state that as spring opened up we decided 
 that a fish diet might, perhaps, conduce to our mental 
 aptness, and, provided it could be procured from the
 
 A Few Chicago Medical Crumbs 37 
 
 lake, at the same time shield our already greatly atro- 
 phied pocket-books. Accordingly, we provided ourselves 
 with hooks, lines and poles, procured what we supposed 
 was the proper bait to lure within the limits of possible 
 capture, the finny denizens of Lake Michigan. Thus 
 prepared, we four, time and again went to the margin 
 of the lake that borders South Chicago, seated ourselves 
 on the pier, cast our well baited hooks in the water and 
 patiently waited for the fish to bite, but never, so far 
 as I can remember, did one of us get so much as a nibble. 
 When passing the lake-front on the Illinois Central 
 railroad I never look out upon the water's edge that I do 
 not think of the times when seated by my side, Dr. 
 Norman Bridge was for the time another Izaak Walton. 
 But all this is wandering, and it is time I told some- 
 thing of what our instructors put before us during the 
 summer course of 1867. First and foremost among our 
 clinical teachers was Dr. X. S. Davis, then aged fifty 
 and in the very prime of mature manhood, and in the 
 very zenith of his reputation. He was a little below the 
 average in stature, always immaculate in dress when he 
 came to the Mercy Hospital, and invariably wore a high, 
 silk hat and a black, claw-hammer coat. At all times he 
 was the very personification of the dignified, self-re- 
 specting gentleman. His manner was serious, his lec- 
 tures were delivered in clear, well-chosen words and he 
 never so much as hazarded a hint of anything that by 
 the most liberal construction could be interpreted as 
 a joke. So far as regards attainments. Dr. Davis at 
 this period was popularly supposed to have at his 
 tongue's end a knowledge of the whole field of medicine. 
 I have seen it asserted that if in any given day in the 
 course, the first lecturer for any reason failed to appear, 
 Dr. Davis could upon a moment's warning take the ab- 
 sentee 's place and fill it acceptably ; then, if the second 
 lecturer should likewise fail, he also could fill that hour 
 and acquit himself creditably, and so on through all
 
 38 Slxty Years in the Medical Hakness 
 
 the chairs for the day. Of course, the whole case is 
 hypothetical, but it shows the way Dr. Davis was re- 
 garded in those days. I think the last clinical lecture 
 he gave us that summer was on conjunctivits. 
 
 On much the same plane as Dr. Davis, but differing 
 from him and belonging to what for want of a fitter 
 term, may be called the robust type, was Dr. Edmund 
 Andrews, a well trained scholar, and a good surgeon 
 who gave us didactic and clinical lectures and operated 
 before us. Dr. Andrews had a sturdy, robust frame, 
 a large head and at this time he was in the prime of 
 mature manhood. While he could not be classed as an 
 attractive speaker, nevertheless there was so much 
 thought in what he had to say that he never failed to 
 win and hold the attention of his listeners. Unlike Dr. 
 Davis he was frequently humorous and at such times 
 his eyes sparkled and his features lighted up with ani- 
 mation. 
 
 Another lecturer for whom I came to have great 
 respect was Dr. Bevan, the father I think of Dr. Arthur 
 D. Bevan, Professor of Surgery in Rush Medical Col- 
 lege. One day we followed Dr. Bevan through Cook 
 County Hospital and were taken to the bedside of an 
 Irish patient. The sick man was put through a series 
 of rigid questioning and cross-quiestioning in an 
 endeavor to bring out the fact that he had recently 
 been in a drunken brawl and received the punish- 
 ment which resulted in a number of dark spots that 
 at this time could be seen on his body. But to all of 
 Dr. Bevan 's pointed questions the patient stoutly 
 answered that at all times he had been sober and peace- 
 fully engaged. Failing to get from the man any con- 
 cessions relative to shortcomings. Dr. Bevan turned to 
 us and said, "To me it is very evident this man is lying ; 
 he has certainly been where the game was, 'see a head 
 and hit it'! Those spots on his body are the result, 
 they are bruises." A day or two later was the time for
 
 A Few Chicago Medical Crumbs 39 
 
 another lecture from Dr. Bevan, but before beginning 
 this he took us to the bedside of the Irishman and 
 frankly confessed he had made a mistake in this man's 
 case. "I was wrong," said he, "these spots on the 
 patient's body are not of traumatic origin, they are the 
 results of scurvy from an attack of which he is a suf- 
 ferer." Those of us who heard Dr. Bevan learned a 
 valuable lesson. To begin with, we discovered that well 
 informed men were not infallible, then we had some of 
 the symptoms of scurvy impressed on our minds and in 
 a manner we certainly should never forget. 
 
 The surgery of this period was really the surgery of 
 the Civil War era, indeed, scarce two years had elapsed 
 since that great strife had come to end and in the most 
 literal sense many of its wounds were yet unhealed. In 
 a brick house very near Douglas Place was what was 
 known as the Soldier's Home, a sort of hospital for some 
 of those who were yet suifering from wounds and di- 
 seases acquired in Civil War service. At this place 
 we sometimes attended surgical clinics. I can not recall 
 any important operation performed during this course, 
 though there were doubtless some. At times some of us 
 were called upon to assist in operating and this we did 
 without any precautionary preparations whatsoever. The 
 trained nurse was unheard of, the only female nurses 
 seen were the Sisters of Charity, and the men-nurses 
 found in most of the hospitals were greatly lacking in 
 knowledge, skill and tenderness. So called "laudable 
 pus" flowed from all open wounds, its presence was 
 expected and, in a degree at least, encouraged. In most 
 instances before an operation the hands of the surgeon 
 and his instruments were washed in a sort of perfunctory 
 manner but not with systematic effort at thoroughness. 
 Speaking of surgery reminds me that Dr. Andrews 
 at this time had a partner by the name of Sherman 
 who occasionally gave us a lecture and sometimes oper-
 
 40 Slxty Years in the Medical Haeness 
 
 ated before us. He was considered very promising, but 
 lost his health and died early in life. 
 
 Dr. Daniel T. Nelson gave us some instruction that 
 at that time seemed little short of ultra-scientific on the 
 then new science of histology which I think he had but 
 recently received fresh from the lips of Dr. Oliver Wen- 
 dell Holmes at that period in the zenith of his remark- 
 able double career of Professor of Anatomy in the Med- 
 ical Department of Harvard, and brilliant writer in 
 the world of letters. 
 
 Last, but by no means least, was Dr. "William H. 
 Byford who had just achieved wide fame by the publi- 
 cation of his popular work on Diseases of Females, and 
 who gave us didactic teaching at the college and clinical 
 instruction at Mercy Hospital. At this time he was in 
 the prime and vigor of manhood, was a modest unassum- 
 ing gentleman, but as a talker was sometimes difficult 
 to follow. 
 
 Speaking of the publication of Dr. Byford 's work 
 on Females, I think this was about the only medical 
 book put out by a Chicago physician in all that period. 
 
 Perhaps I ought not to close this chapter without 
 recording a dim, shadowy recollection I received in the 
 early spring months of a fellow-student, clad in a long, 
 heavy overcoat and wearing a rather high, peaked hat, 
 and who, furthermore, was small in stature and rather 
 quiet in manner. I never think of this student in his 
 long overcoat that I do not recall one of President Lin- 
 coln's stories. One cold winter day a man called at the 
 White House, heavily wrapt in a long comforter and 
 wearing a long heavj' overcoat. Before being seated he 
 slowly unwound the comforter round after round, and 
 next with deliberation removed his great coat. Of the 
 whole proceeding, through an open door, Lincoln was 
 an interested spectator and at its conclusion, his eyes 
 sparkled as he said, "What a little nubbin for so much 
 shucks ! ' '
 
 A Few Chicago Medical Crumbs 41 
 
 "Well, the particular ' * nubbin ' ' I saw inside the long 
 overcoat and under the peaked hat later developed into 
 one of Chicago's most distinguished internists and a 
 gifted writer and speaker as well — Dr. Wm. E. Quine. 
 
 Like all medical students, we sometimes discussed our 
 plans for the future and in this connection I recall that 
 Bridge one day said he was going to make use of a pair of 
 mules for a driving team when he got ready to enter upon 
 the practice of medicine. We were surprised at this and 
 upon asking his reasons he answered that on the farm 
 he had seen mules tried-out and had become satisfied of 
 their hardihood and other desirable qualities. I recall 
 a mental picture that came into my mind at this time, 
 which was made up of a buggy, in which Bridge was 
 seated with a medicine case at his feet, a pair of strong 
 lines in one hand, whip in the other, which was being 
 judiciously applied to the backs and sides of a pair of 
 brown mules, faithfully tugging up a long, steep hill 
 with the heavy load that man and vehicle made behind 
 them. I think it is safe to say that nothing like this 
 mental picture ever materialized. 
 
 In due time our "quartet" broke up for the com- 
 pelling reason that Morgan had to leave the city and 
 take with him his furniture. Spohner and I got a board- 
 ing-house elsewhere and Bridge got a place in the office 
 of Drs. Andrews and Sherman, and one day when I 
 called on him he said he had decided, when he had fin- 
 ished his education, to locate in Chicago. At the time, 
 this seemed almost foolhardy in the way of an under- 
 taking, but that Bridge has "made good," and that in 
 the fullest sense, all his friends are willing to testify, 
 should the need arise. In his later years. Dr. Bridge ac- 
 quired much wealth and gave liberally to certain worthy 
 institutions and causes. That he reached a high place in 
 his profession need hardly be said. He also excelled as a 
 writer and has to his credit several volumes.
 
 42 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 I spoke above of Dr. Jewell's prolixity. This fol- 
 lowed him all through life and must have not infre- 
 quently proved something of a handicap, but on one oc- 
 casion at least seemed to have benefited him as the fol- 
 lowing will show. However, before reaching the kernel 
 of my story it may prove interesting to relate all the 
 facts connected with it as given me from the lips of 
 Dr. H. C. Mitchell of Carbondale, Illinois. I quote from 
 memory : 
 
 In the mid-fifties of the last century a very poor 
 Southern Illinois boy entered the office of the older Dr. 
 Mitchell as his student. In due time by rigid economy 
 and hard work the young student had saved enough 
 money to enable him to go to Chicago and enter one of 
 its Medical Schools. His first appearance in the amphi- 
 theater was that of a very shabbily dressed and in every 
 way awkward and ungainly young man. Hence it fol- 
 lowed that the dudes in the class, — that little brainless 
 coterie that have infested every medical school since the 
 time of Galen — the dudes in the class, I started out to 
 say, turned up their noses at the poorly dressed ungainly 
 youth from Southern Illinois, and sought to make his life 
 miserable by every means of teasing and tormenting 
 that could be devised, but the object of their derision 
 paid no attention to anything but his studies and at the 
 end of the first course of lectures was contented to be 
 the best posted junior in the class. 
 
 During the next course of lectures he outstripped 
 everyone and finally graduated so far ahead of his fel- 
 lows that he had all but caught up with most of his 
 instructors. This brilliant young graduate was none 
 other than the was-to-be world-famous Dr. J. S. Jewell. 
 
 Dr. Jewell located in Chicago soon after graduation 
 and entered upon the great medical career he was des- 
 tined to fill. Time ran its course and meanwhile Dr. 
 Jewell's preceptor at Carbondale had a son who be- 
 came a medical student and the father naturally became
 
 A Few Chicago Medical Crumbs 43 
 
 desirous that his son should have advantages better 
 than he had enjoyed ; and fired with this ambition what 
 more natural that he should ask his erstwhile student, 
 Dr. Jewell to take his son in his office as student and 
 what more natural than that Dr. Jewell should take 
 delight in obliging his old preceptor, the older Dr. Mitch- 
 ell of Southern Illinois? Not content with putting at 
 the services of young Mitchell all the opportunities his 
 office afforded Dr. Jewell succeeded in getting his stu- 
 dent in the consultation rooms of Dr. N. S. Davis two 
 days in each week. 
 
 At this time Dr. Davis was in the zenith of a nation- 
 wide reputation, in more senses than one he was the 
 medical autocrat of Chicago and the whole northwest 
 and patients flocked to his consultation rooms from 
 all over the country. Among those who one day came 
 to consult Dr. Da\'is was a young man from the far 
 South, — from Atlanta, Georgia, if I remember correctly. 
 This young man had two things that do not always reach 
 the doctor's office on and about the individual patient, 
 namely, a reasonable stock of ill-health and a long and 
 well-filled purse. He was a typical Southerner and as 
 such was frank, free-hearted and disposed to be helpful. 
 
 Upon entering Dr. Davis' consultation room and in- 
 troducing himself he said, "Doctah, you'll pahden me 
 suh, but before you examine me it is my desiah to ex- 
 plain my case. ' ' 
 
 "Never mind, never mind," said Dr. Davis, "that 
 will all come out at my examination." Pretty soon the 
 impetuous Southerner broke out again by saying, "Pah- 
 den me Doctah, but I am suah I can be of suhvice if you 
 will pehmit me to explain. ' ' 
 
 "Never mind, just answer the questions you are 
 asked, ' ' replied the impatient Dr. Davis. Through with 
 tlie examinations the patient was given a prescription 
 containing about a dozen ingredients and told to come 
 back in a week.
 
 44 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 At the specified time the young Southerner returned 
 feeling no better, but more than ever impressed with the 
 idea that he could be of material aid to his physician 
 were he only permitted to let in the light on the ease 
 he could but believe he possessed. 
 
 Accordingly upon entering the consultation room he 
 renewed his request in the suave gentlemanly manner 
 of which he was a past master. 
 
 But to this Dr. Davis replied, "Never mind, never 
 mind, answer my questions. ' ' Glancing up and noticing 
 the overhanging brow of his phj'sician he recalled some- 
 thing he had read about the power of mind over matter 
 and held his peace and the examination proceeded. 
 
 At its close the patient was given another prescrip- 
 tion with many ingredients and told to come back if not 
 improved. The patient was charged a dollar the stand- 
 ard consultation fee of Dr. Davis in that period. 
 
 The patient followed directions for a few days and 
 feeling no better decided to take a trip into Wisconsin 
 as the weather was exceptionally warm. Here he re- 
 mained for several weeks and failing to improve re- 
 turned to Chicago to again consult Dr. Davis. 
 
 Entering the consultation rooms of Dr. Davis the 
 patient in very earnest tones said, "Doctah Davis I hope 
 you will pahden me, suh, when I tell you I am no bettah 
 suh, and that I feel that I must tell you of some things 
 in my case that you ought to know suh, ' ' — ' * Never mind, 
 never mind, answer my questions," replied Dr. Davis 
 in the way of an interruption. "I insist suh that you 
 heah what I have to say, ' ' answered the patient. 
 
 ' ' Will you keep quiet ? ' ' was the sharp retort of the 
 physician. 
 
 ' ' Doctah, I 'm a gentleman and I expect to be treated 
 like a gentleman ! ' ' was the emphatic retort of the 
 now aroused Southerner. 
 
 Dr. Davis' next move was to step to the door and 
 order the patient out of his office. The young man went
 
 A Few Chicago Medical Crumbs 45 
 
 out in the waiting room, dropped in a chair, broke down 
 and cried like a child. Here Student Mitchell went up 
 to him spoke kindly and leading the way out of the wait- 
 ing room asked the patient to follow till finally both 
 found themselves in the office of Dr. Jewell who upon a 
 hint from his student took in the situation and acted ac- 
 cordingly. He took the patient in his consultation room, 
 directed the removal of every stitch of clothing and pro- 
 ceeded to examine him from the crown of his head to 
 the tip of his toenails. Then Dr. Jewell got from the 
 patient a minute personal history and supplemented 
 this with a full history of his parents, grandparents 
 and as far as possible drew out all that could be ob- 
 tained relating to the health conditions of uncles, cous- 
 ins, etc. 
 
 After an hour or two spent in this way the patient 
 was given a prescription and a fee of twenty-five dollars 
 collected. This done the patient was directed to return 
 in ten days. Again an examination was made, another 
 prescription written and a second fee of twenty-five dol- 
 lars collected, and the patient directed to come back in 
 another ten days. 
 
 Just how long this routine was kept up is not re- 
 called, however, the young man after a time began to 
 improve steadily and meanwhile Dr. Jewell from time 
 to time invited him to his home, and this the young man 
 seemed to appreciate and enjoy especially. 
 
 Finally the patient felt that he was about well and 
 hence was in condition to return to his much-loved 
 Southland. Before starting for his home he sat down 
 and wrote his check payable to Dr. Jewell and to the 
 amount of one thousand dollars. Putting this in his 
 pocket he went to the office of that physician and ad- 
 dressing him said : 
 
 ' ' Doctah you have cuahd me suh and I have called to 
 find out mv indebtedness to vou suh."
 
 46 
 
 Sixty Years m the Medical Harness 
 
 "Oh, you owe me nothing more, as you paid every 
 time you came to the office." 
 
 "That's cuhtinly veahy kind of you suh, but if you 
 dont mind I'll just leave this bit of papah with you to 
 remembah me by. ' ' With this he removed the one-thous- 
 and dollar check from his pocket, put it on the table, 
 weighted it down with a book, picked up his hat and 
 hastily went out of the door to just where Dr. Jewell 
 never knew. 
 
 GHICACO 
 
 Miatric Illation Ticlset. 
 
 <;^or Mr 
 
 CHICAGO, ILL.,0^ ) 
 
 Treasurer.
 
 V. 
 
 A LEARNER AND WITHAL A TEACHER 
 
 Whence is thy learning? Hath thy toil 
 Oe'r hooks consumed the midnight oil? 
 
 Selected. 
 
 UPON returning to the interior of Illinois in the sum- 
 mer of 1867, I for a while made my home on a 
 farm with my brother where I put in the time reading 
 medicine and studying over and seeking to elaborate 
 the notes I had made at Ann Arbor and Chicago. With 
 hopeful anticipation I was all this time looking forward 
 to attendance upon the ensuing course of lectures in 
 the Chicago Medical College and at its close, if those 
 in authority so willed, receiving my degree. But the 
 Fates were against me, when fall came with the wither- 
 ing and falling of the leaves, my prospects blighted and 
 my hopes dashed to the ground. The old, old question 
 of means, like Banquo's ghost "would not down." Some 
 money due me and upon which I had confidently de- 
 pended, could not be collected, and I was compelled to 
 accept the situation, namely, the postponement of my 
 attendance upon medical lectures, to some more propi- 
 tious time in the future. Had my plans not miscarried, 
 I should in all probability have had the privilege of 
 graduating somewhere above the foot of a class in the 
 spring of 1868, near the head of which were the names 
 of Dr. Nicholas Senn, and Dr. Norman Bridge. But 
 "man proposes and God disposes." 
 
 "If you cannot do what you want to, do the next 
 best thing," is a wise suggestion. The next best thing 
 in the autumn of 1867 seemed to be the teaching of a 
 country school, which was offered me and which was 
 
 47
 
 48 Sixty Years in the Medic.vi. Harness 
 
 situated about three miles from my brother's farm, and 
 half-way to the county-seat, where meantime I had 
 made arrangements to spend any leisure time I might 
 have in the office of a practicing physician. On Satur- 
 days, and sometimes evenings, I went with him to see 
 patients. Once I remember going with him to the coun- 
 try to see a patient with what had been diagnosed as 
 "bilious fever." It seemed that the case was dragging 
 along and the older brother at whose house the patient 
 was making his home, was dissatisfied and thought the 
 patient was being treated for the wrong disease. From 
 the conversation which followed I gathered that the man 
 believed the patient really had typhoid fever, instead 
 of the milder and shorter-coursed bilious fever. As is 
 natural in such instances, the attending physician was 
 impatient of criticism and questionings which were, 
 indirectly, of course, a reflection upon his professional 
 judgment. The case dragged along, later passed into 
 the hands of another medical attendant, but in the end, 
 recovered. We all make mistakes, but in this instance, 
 my preceptor made two. First, he mistook a case of mild 
 typhoid for one of bilious fever, a thing doctors not 
 infrequently did in those days. Whatever the nature of 
 the trouble, when he saw the friends were bound to have 
 a really serious case and were willing to pay for in- 
 creased attendance, it would have been the part of wis- 
 dom to have "climbed in the band-wagon" so to speak, 
 and as tactfully as possible, bow to the situation. A 
 thing which it is, of course, easier to advise than in all 
 eases do. 
 
 One evening I was sitting in my preceptor's office 
 all alone, the doctor having gone to the country. Twi- 
 light was fast gathering; I had not yet lighted a lamp, 
 and having closed a copy of Watson's Practice, which 
 I had been reading I was sitting in a meditative mood, 
 wondering when I should be able to take the much 
 longed for course of lectures and finish my education.
 
 A Learner and Withal a Teacher 49 
 
 But all at once my meditations were broken into by the 
 door opening, and a man making the inquiry, "Vas you 
 der dochter?" ''No," I answered, " the doctor is in 
 the country." "Vas you by der dochter?" was the next 
 inquiry. And in answer, I said, ''Yes, I am his stu- 
 dent." Then he said, "You geef me sumdinks for 
 piles?" "For piles?" I answered, "you got piles?" 
 "Yaas," he replied, "Got heem on my sheek." Light- 
 ing a lamp I saw that the man had a large boil (bile or 
 biles) on his left cheek that was about ready to break 
 of its own accord. However, I thought it would keep, 
 if I may so speak, till the next day, when my preceptor 
 could "lance it," as the operation was termed in those 
 days. I told the patient to poultice the boil with bread 
 and milk, a common substitute for flax-meal poultice, 
 then in general use, and return next morning when the 
 doctor would see him. However, next morning he did 
 not return and the matter had about passed from my 
 mind, until a few days later when I was crossing the 
 street some one accosted me, and turning round there 
 was my patient with a broad grin on his face while say- 
 ing, "You vos yust so goot as der old dochter; my piles 
 vas put nigh veil alretty!" I looked at his cheek, saw 
 the boil had burst of its own accord, and now was all 
 pretty well healed up, but desiring to have a little foun- 
 dation for so much praise given me, I said, "Of course 
 you made the poultice of bread and milk I directed 
 and kept it on your cheek?" He looked at me, his al- 
 ready broad smile of satisfaction growing yet wider 
 and said, "Yaas, I eat heem." So here I was receiving 
 compliments and the hearty gratitude of the patient 
 for effecting his cure and the remedy I had directed 
 should be used locally, he had put down his ample 
 throat ! 
 
 As I said before, my school was three miles from my 
 brother's farm and an equal distance from Greenville, 
 the county-seat of Bond County, and as I divided my
 
 50 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 time between these two places, I had a good long walk in 
 any event. The school house was in a grove of timber, 
 just off the public highway was a white frame building 
 of the usual pattern in those days, with two doors in 
 front, a row of windows on either side, a stove in the 
 middle, the teacher's desk in the end opposite the door, 
 the girls occupying the rows of seats on one side and 
 the boys the other side. I had some bright pupils this 
 winter and a number of these were pretty well ad- 
 vanced, which made it much pleasanter for me, but not- 
 withstanding the fact, I disliked teaching, and was glad 
 when the term closed. I had reached my eighteenth 
 birthday in the early autumn of 1861 and I engaged to 
 teach a country school in the extreme northwestern lim- 
 its of Bond County and before the winter ended, came 
 to the conclusion that teaching school was not always 
 a pleasant vocation and since then have had reason to 
 know it to be an often nerve- wracking occupation. 
 
 However, much as I disliked teaching, there is much 
 that can be placed on the credit side of the ledger. Many, 
 many years subsequent to my school-teaching, I had 
 the pleasure of meeting some of my former pupils grown 
 to gray-haired men and women, some of them grandpar- 
 ents, and all of them seemed so glad to meet me, and 
 spoke interestingly of the old days and appreciatively 
 of our former relations. Thus it came about that I found 
 a * ' sweet ' ' for the long-ago ' ' sour. ' ' 
 
 As the roads were frequently heavy my three-mile 
 walk to and from school was often fatiguing, neverthe- 
 less, I put in my evenings and Saturdays reading medi- 
 cine in the office of my preceptor. Dr. Thomas Wilkins, 
 of Greenville. Here also lived and practiced Dr. David 
 Wilkins, a brother of my preceptor and a graduate of 
 the Medical Department of the University of Michigan, 
 and who, as elsewhere noted, was first assistant surgeon 
 of the 130th Illinois, in which I served during the Civil 
 War, and first made his acquaintance.
 
 A Leabner and Withal a Teacher 51 
 
 Greenville is situated on high ground and immedi- 
 ately west of the town is a high bluff and at the foot 
 of this low ground that extends to Shoal Creek some fur- 
 ther to the westward. In this low ground the towns- 
 people dumped their garbage and at some period in the 
 past disposed of their dead animals, and consequently 
 in time it came to be dotted here and there with the 
 bones of various creatures that had whitened in the 
 sun. In my walks, I not infrequently picked up such 
 of these bones as were more perfect and took them to 
 the office for study and thus I, in a small way, famil- 
 iarized myself with comparative anatomy, I was sur- 
 prised at the almost absolute perfection of some of these 
 specimens — every articulating surface, every fossa, every 
 protuberance, every fissure, every foramen, indeed, 
 every detail of nature 's work, however minute, carefully 
 preserved in these bones that long, long ago served their 
 several purposes in the animal economy and then for 
 many years had weathered the cold of winter, the drench 
 of rain, the blast of storm, and the heat of summer, 
 before I was so fortunate as to find them. In that pro- 
 vincial locality trained eyes were few, very few indeed, 
 and consequently mine, though very little trained, were 
 the first to fall on these specimens with any degree of 
 appreciation, in its way another illustration of the fact 
 that, 
 
 "Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 
 And waste its sweetness on the desert air, 
 
 Full many a gem of purest ray serene, 
 
 The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear." 
 
 During this winter of 1866-7 I made very few ac- 
 quaintances among the young men of Greenville, — prac- 
 tically none among the young ladies, and over this fact 
 was not a little annoyed as I felt the need of cultivating 
 the social side of life. However, my school, the task of 
 getting to and from it and my medical studies which I 
 
 UBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILUNOIS
 
 52 Sixty Yeiars in the Medical Harness 
 
 felt the necessity of pursuing industriously, occupied 
 about all my time and capabilities. 
 
 One afternoon near the close of my school I began 
 to feel uncomfortable, then I chilled and vi'^hen school 
 was dismissed for the day I sat down by the glowing 
 stove, dreading to undertake the three-mile trip to my 
 brother's but at last I screwed up my courage and 
 started. I had gotten over about half the ground when 
 feeling a sharp pain in my side, I sat down on the edge 
 of a little bridge to rest, and get my breath. Meanwhile 
 I coughed and saw that the sputum was streaked with 
 blood. A little later I resumed my walk and tottered 
 along as best I could over the remaining mile and a half. 
 Arriving at my destination I at once went to bed and 
 used what means the house afforded to make me comfort- 
 able. But despite all our efforts the pain in my side 
 and bloody expectoration continued through the night, 
 and next morning it seemed but common prudence to 
 send in to the county-seat for my preceptor who in due 
 time was at my bedside, looked me over, put me on 
 treatment which consisted mainly of quinine and Dover's 
 Powder. This soon gave me relief and in a very few 
 days I was back in my school room. My preceptor al- 
 ways claimed that he aborted an attack of pneumonia 
 in my case, and I always believed that he did. 
 
 I remember a surgical case my preceptor, Dr. Thom- 
 as Wilkins, was proud of and fond of exhibiting to his 
 medical friends. A young man was out hunting and 
 in discharging his gun was so unfortunate as to have it 
 burst in his hands, when one of the fragments struck 
 him over the right eye and tore away some of the frontal 
 bone, exposing the brain but, nothwithstanding the seri- 
 ousness of the injury, the wound healed and the patient 
 made a perfect recovery ; however, there remained a 
 hideous scar to tell the story of his misfortune. 
 
 As asepsis was unknown in this period and conse- 
 quently anti-sepsis not understood and practiced, the
 
 Sii.As H. Douglas 
 
 Moses Gunn
 
 JoiIX T. HODGEX 
 
 SiH Thomas Watsox
 
 A Learner and Withal a Teacher 53 
 
 direct and uninterrupted advance on the road to re- 
 covery of this case was certainly remarkable. The young 
 man belonged to a poverty-stricken family and home-life 
 cleanliness was one of the last things cared for or put 
 in practice but, nothwithstanding, he outlived an injury 
 that would have proved fatal to forty-nine out of fifty 
 in that era of "dirty" surgery. The patient, doubtless, 
 had extraordinary powers of resistance, or as we would 
 perhaps say today phagocytosis in his case was especially 
 active. His case was almost in the class of one reported 
 in the older physiologies. This was that of a man who 
 sustained a terrible injury from a premature explosion 
 while engaged in blasting rock. As a result, an iron 
 crowbar was driven through his brain, entering below 
 one eye and coming out above the ear on the opposite 
 side of the head. His comrades put him in a dray and 
 with the crowbar yet in the wound he was driven to the 
 office of a surgeon who with the exertion of no little 
 force removed the crowbar, applied dressings, and 
 though this was long before the days of anti-septic sur- 
 gery, yet the man recovered. Very naturally, this be- 
 came a classical case with the older authors. 
 
 While it may not be altogether pertinent to my gen- 
 eral topic, yet I can but believe that a brief reference 
 to the average country school of a half century ago may 
 not prove wholly uninteresting. The school I taught 
 during the winter of 1866-7 had an average attendance 
 of about twenty-five scholars, ranging in age from little 
 tow-headed six-3'ear-olds to husky young men almost 
 old enough to vote. The curriculum ranged from "a-b- 
 ab" pupils to advanced arithmetic and United States 
 history classes. 
 
 In that period it embraced the seven branches, of 
 Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Spelling, Grcography, 
 Grammar and United States History. Average profi- 
 ciency in these seven branches was in that day rated 
 a good English education.
 
 54 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 If I remember correctly, we that winter used Ray's 
 Arithmetic and when opportunity presented itself, I 
 would sometimes amuse myself by endeavoring to solve 
 some of its more difficult ''sums" and problems. One 
 of these I recall was the following, ' ' The hour and min- 
 ute hands of a clock are together at noon ; when will they 
 be together again?" As the boj^ said, "I got the an- 
 swer." But I seriously doubt if I could do as much to- 
 day. 
 
 We used McGuffys Series of Readers and I thought 
 then, and think still that they have never been equalled. 
 Since that day it has fallen to my fortune to educate a 
 large family and to serve for a number of years on 
 Boards of Education, yet I have never seen the old- 
 time McGuffy Series of Readers excelled. The selections 
 in the Third and Fourth Readers in this series were, for 
 the most part, high class literature. So high class in fact 
 that not a few of the older men and women are ready to 
 testify that it was to these readers that they owe their 
 taste for good books and the better magazine articles, — 
 in a word for good literature. 
 
 We used the old time Webster spelling book with its 
 blue back so familiar to the boys and girls of two genera- 
 tions ago and that figured as the "classical" and "high- 
 er law" in the spelling-books of the mid-nineteenth 
 century days. How these spelling-schools were enjoyed 
 in those innocent times ! They were often held at the 
 school-house of winter evenings and everyone was wel- 
 come to attend. Likewise, everyone present was ex- 
 pected to take part ; and how all were amused when 
 some small girl would ' ' spell down ' ' a staid, mature citi- 
 zen of forty-five. 
 
 But to those who were old enough to have the ' * men- 
 tal grasp," the most interesting study was grammar, 
 and furthermore, it served to discipline the mind per- 
 haps more than any one of the required seven branches 
 that entered into the common-school curriculum. 
 
 Some little time before my school ended I had
 
 A Learner and Withal a Teacher 55 
 
 reached the decision, at its close, to go to St. Louis, 
 not far distant, and see what I could find in the way of 
 a summer course, consequently, when the last day came, 
 the last lesson recited, and the last duty performed, I 
 at once set about making the few preparations needed to 
 follow out my plans.
 
 VI 
 
 SOME MEDICAL GLEANINGS FROM ST. LOUIS 
 IN 1868 
 
 Half our knowledge we must snatch, not take. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 BEFORE daylight one dark, dreary morning towards 
 the close of the month of March, 1868, I took the 
 hack at Greenville for Carlyle, Illinois, some twenty 
 miles distant, but the nearest railway station. As a cold 
 drizzling rain was falling and the roads were muddy and 
 heavy, the trip was tedious and disagreeable. Reaching 
 Carlyle at last a train was boarded for St. Louis and 
 upon arriving at the bank of the river opposite, now 
 the site of the tliriving city of East St. Louis, a ferry 
 boat was taken to cross the Mississippi, there being as 
 yet no bridge though work had already begun on the 
 Eads bridge. 
 
 For a number of years St. Louis had been able to 
 boast two Medical Colleges within its limits. The oldest 
 of these was The Missouri Medical College, also known as 
 McDowell College, from its noted founder, Joseph Mc- 
 Dowell who filled the chair of surgery. The other, the 
 St. Louis Medical College, a newer school, had come to 
 be known as Pope 's College from the name of its leading 
 founder, also a famous and skillful surgeon. During 
 the greater part of the fifties and up to the breaking 
 out of the Civil War the rivalry between these schools 
 was little short of terrible to contemplate. Dr. Joseph 
 McDowell at the head of the Missouri Medical College, 
 while a brilliant surgeon, had a tongue that was simply 
 venomous, and the English language scarcely afforded 
 spiteful and malicious epithets enough to gratify his 
 
 56
 
 Medical. Gleanings From St. Louis 57 
 
 hatred when speaking of the rival school. Naturally the 
 faculty of the St. Louis Medical College resented these 
 malicious attacks and naturally too, the students of each 
 school to a greater or lesser degree, were drawn into this 
 college war. But fortunately for the good name of all 
 concerned, this unseemly conflict came to a sudden end- 
 ing in the spring of 1861, when Fort Sumter was fired 
 on, the Civil "War broke out, and Dr. McDowell, who 
 was an ardent Southern sympathizer, tendered his serv- 
 ices to the newly-born Confederacy. His offer was 
 promptly accepted, his surgical ability was duly recog- 
 nized, and he became chief surgeon to the Trans-Mississ- 
 ippi Department of the C. S. A. 
 
 One day in September, 1865, the war meanwhile hav- 
 ing come to an end, the regiment to which I belonged 
 boarded a Mississippi River steamboat, at New Orleans, 
 for the purpose of going up that water-way and return- 
 ing to Illinois where we were to receive at Camp Butler 
 near Springfield, our discharge from the service and 
 final pay. Those of us connected with the medical de- 
 partment of our regiment soon after going on the vessel 
 were interested to hear that one of our fellow-passengers 
 on the boat was no less a personage than the famous 
 surgeon, Dr. Joseph N. McDowell, who with the surren- 
 der of the trans-Mississippi army of the Confederacy, 
 was about to return to his old home at St. Louis. At 
 this time his hair and long beard were as white as the 
 driven snow; his face was wrinkled with the tracks of 
 Old Father Time, but when he talked, his bright eyes 
 twinkled and his fine features were animated and at- 
 tractive. As the weather was warm, he frequently came 
 out on the steamboat deck bare-headed, without a coat 
 or vest, wearing onlj- a thin shirt, a pair of light colored 
 Confederate pantaloons and low, coarse shoes. His 
 shoes and dress were just what he had from necessity 
 worn while inside the Confederacy and as yet deemed 
 good enough for their purposes. Notwithstanding nearly
 
 58 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 all those about him were in the blue uniforms of Union 
 soldiers, yet he did not have one bitter word or make a 
 single reference to the great struggle just closed. His 
 talk was mainly story-telling, at which he was a past- 
 master, and delineations of personal peculiarities. Our 
 progress up the river in due time brought us one even- 
 ing in sight of the lights at Cairo, Illinois, and at the 
 sight of these, we were thrilled with thoughts of the 
 welcome our people would extend to us as victors and 
 saviors of the Union. Meanwhile I could but think of 
 what Dr. McDowell would meet upon his return to St. 
 Louis, his old home. That city he would find now union 
 from limit to limit, while the pride of his heart. The 
 Missouri Medical College Building, had during the 
 whole course of the war, been used as a Confederate mil- 
 itary prison and had housed under its roof numerous 
 soldiers from the Southern armies, (prisoners) all of 
 whom were its most unwilling tenants. Dr. McDowell 
 however, never for one moment changed his political 
 views and his contemners in the end, asserted of him 
 that he lived and died an "unrepentant rebel." Not a 
 great while after his return to St. Louis, the college 
 building reverted to the original owners and here one 
 daj^ a female relative of Dr. McDowell, a most refined 
 lady, called upon him and after the usual greetings, 
 mutual enquiries after relatives and a pleasant visit, 
 she rose to take her leave, when the host stopped her 
 by saying, "Before you go, I want the privilege of 
 taking you to hell ! ' ' Very naturally the visitor was 
 shocked, but noticing a twinkle in Dr. McDowell's eyes 
 and a twitching about the corners of his mouth, she at 
 least felt assured that no harm would befall her, and ac- 
 cordingly she concluded to follow wherever her kinsman 
 might see fit to lead. The way led through some dark 
 halls, down some dingy winding stairs and finally ended 
 in a basement room, dimly lighted and about the walls 
 of which were numerous shelves ; about the floor were a
 
 Medic^vl Gleanings From St. Louis 59 
 
 number of tables and upon these were big bottles, glass 
 jars and containers of various kinds and sizes, all filled 
 with repulsive specimens from the reptilian world, not 
 a few of which were alive and writhing. One big, 
 wicked looking rattle-snake which lay coiled while it 
 threw its head about and thrust out its tongue, Dr. Mc- 
 Dowell called ** Abraham Lincoln," while a poisonous 
 copperhead in another container was named "U. S. 
 Grant, ' ' and so on down through the list, were the prom- 
 inent leaders in the Union cause remembered. Dr. Mc- 
 Dowell had very great ability but was eccentric and 
 bitter to the last degree. 
 
 Dr. Joseph Nash McDowell belonged to the noted 
 Kentucky family of that name, which originally came 
 from Virginia, however. He was a nephew of Ephriam 
 McDowell, famed as the Father of Ovariotomy, was bom 
 early in the nineteenth century at Lexington, Kentucky, 
 then the "Athens of the West," where he was given a 
 fine classical education. Later he graduated from the 
 Medical Department of Transylvania University in his 
 native town. Then he attended a course of lectures at 
 Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and here his 
 remarkable knowledge and aptness in Anatomj^ caused 
 him to be appointed to the professorship of that chair in 
 the school upon whose benches he had just been sitting 
 as a student. 
 
 However, he had lectured at Jefferson but one year 
 when a lure of some kind took him back to his native 
 Lexington, where the immediate attraction (no doubt 
 the real ' ' lure ' ' in this case ) proved to be a young lady, 
 the sister of the famous Dr. Daniel Drake, whom he 
 soon married and then settled down to practice. Dr. 
 Drake, a born fighter, and renowned teacher, gravitated 
 between the Medical department of Transylvania Uni- 
 versity and one of the Cincinnati Medical Schools, 
 against one or more of which, he was constantly waging 
 battle. In this warfare he found a most efficient lieu-
 
 60 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 tenant in his new brother-in-law, Dr. Joseph McDowell, 
 who like Dr. Drake, was at different times connected 
 with Transylvania, or one of the Cincinnati schools. 
 And woe to the one that, for the time being, happened 
 to be a rival of the school with which Drs. Drake and 
 McDowell were connected, for they were both good fight- 
 ers, not to say haters, in which last, McDowell excelled 
 all competitors. 
 
 In 1840 Dr. McDowell just coming into his full pow- 
 ers, went to St. Louis and soon organized the Missouri 
 Medical College, which as noted before, came to be 
 known as the "McDowell College," and for a period 
 of twenty years, his fame as a surgeon pervaded the 
 whole width and well nigh the length of the Mississippi 
 Valley. But when the slave-states seceded and he threw 
 his all in the cause of the Confederacy, a blight ever 
 after rested on his surgical career so far as it related 
 to his old environment. So enthusiastic was he in the 
 interests of the South that when he left St. Louis, for 
 the Confederacy, he took with him six cannon, seven 
 hundred and fiftj'^ muskets, much other war paraphern- 
 alia and in addition, scores of medical students. 
 
 All this was in strange contrast to his return from 
 the overturned Confederacy as I witnessed it, and as in 
 part narrated above when he came North on the same 
 steamboat I did at the end of the Civil War which 
 seemingly found him devoid of all possessions, save the 
 thin summer suit he had on. To all appearances, he had 
 cast his all with the short-lived Confederacy and stood 
 so high in its councils that he was sent to Europe on 
 some important mission.. 
 
 Dr. McDowell was a most eloquent and effective 
 speaJier and at times made temperance addresses. One 
 address on this subject was conceded to be unusually 
 eloquent, and convincing, but during its delivery it was 
 noticed that he had occasion to drink frequently from 
 a glass conveniently near at hand. Strange to say this
 
 Medical Gleanings From St. Louis 61 
 
 glass contained a mixture of equal parts of whiskey 
 and water. Those who heard him believed that he was 
 wholly unconscious of the incongruity of most earnestly 
 condemning the use of whiskey in one breath and swal- 
 lowing it freely during the next. 
 
 As intimated above, soon after the war, the Missouri 
 Medical College was renovated, overhauled and put in 
 proper condition, a new faculty organized and its doors 
 opened for the reception of students. For a consider- 
 able time subsequent to this its amphitheaters were 
 largely filled by southern students. The schools in the 
 South, the region where the immediate presence of war 
 left its blight, were necessarily broken up and when 
 peace came, the impoverished condition of the centers 
 where medical colleges existed prevented reorganization 
 under such circumstances as would admit of proper 
 equipment and commodious surroundings. Consequently, 
 students from both the immediate and far South flocked 
 to the rehabilitated Missouri Medical College, where 
 the fact of participation, by themselves or their fathers, 
 on the "wrong side" in the late war would not for a 
 moment be held as a handicap in any way whatsoever. 
 
 The St. Louis Medical College, unlike its rival, con- 
 tinued its sessions during the whole course of the war 
 and at the time of my arrival in the city, was supposed 
 to be in good working order, as it were. Consequently 
 as soon as I had found a boarding-place I immediately 
 sought out one of the members of the faculty and in- 
 quired if there would be a summer course given by that 
 institution. The man I called upon was Dr. John T. 
 Hodgen, the well known surgeon who at that time had 
 his office in the basement of the College building. He 
 was in the prime of manly vigor, tall, straight as an 
 arrow, had high cheek bones, and bright, piercing eyes, 
 and was a genial and a suave, pleasant gentleman in 
 every way. In reply to my questions relative to a summer 
 course he said that whole there would be no regular lee-
 
 62 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 tures given, yet if I saw fit to remain, he felt sure I would 
 find enough to keep me busy and interested, all of which 
 he stated in such a frank, simple manner, that I at once 
 made up my mind to "take my chances," as the phrase 
 goes. Later I took quarters in the College building in a 
 room over Dr. Hodgen's office where I had for room- 
 mate a young man eighteen years of age, by the name 
 of Isaac Love, and a nephew of the great surgeon. As 
 time went by I got very well acquainted with Dr. Hodg- 
 en, frequently visited patients with him and assisted in 
 some of his operations. One day he referred to his 
 nephew, who was a member of his immediate family, 
 and said, "I don't know whether Isaac will ever de- 
 velop into much of a man, or not," said furthermore 
 he was discouraged when he thought of his future. As 
 I had then been rooming with the young man for some 
 little time, and was several years his senior, I thought 
 I was in a position to express an opinion. Consequently 
 I listened to all that Dr. Hodgen had to say and then 
 replied by saying that I considered him an especially 
 promising boy and felt sure he would grow into a bright 
 man. Dr. Hodgen seemed interested and pleased and 
 when I was through speaking, said, ' ' Do you think so ? " 
 To which I replied, "I certainly do." The lapse of 
 time proved the correctness of my prediction, for it 
 is but recently that the whole country regretted the 
 death of the brilliant and well known Dr. Isaac N. Love. 
 One day a showy, flashily dressed young man came 
 in Dr. Hodgen's office and asked him for the privilege 
 of doing some special work in the dissecting room. A 
 favorable answer was given and after a discussion of 
 details, the young man pulled out a big roU of bills 
 and paid the required sum charged. He was provided 
 with a fine subject, a well developed negro, and later 
 went to the dissecting room two or three times, where 
 he smoked expensive cigars, hacked a little at the ca- 
 daver and then failed to return. Taking in the situa-
 
 Medical, Gleanings From St. Louis 63 
 
 tion, Dr. Hodgen one day said to me, "Johnson, that 
 young duck has left a fine subject in the dissecting 
 room ; can you make any use of it ? " Of course I an- 
 swered that I could, and so, hour after hour I worked 
 in the dissecting room, over this subject all alone, and 
 as warm weather was approaching, I went sometimes 
 of nights when my surroundings were especially lonely, 
 not to say, gruesome. Well, the result was that in the 
 end I got no little information in anatomy at first hand, 
 and without cost to me, for when I offered to pay for 
 my privileges, Dr. Hodgen said, "No, Johnson, you 
 don't have to; that stylish fellow did the paying and 
 you've had the cake I" 
 
 Another time I came in the office pretty soon after 
 dinner and before Dr. Hodgen had returned, when I 
 found sitting by the table the antipode in appearance 
 to the young man who had engaged the subject for dis- 
 section. The last named caller, was young, and though 
 the day was warm, had on an old well-worn cap, and 
 was shabbily dressed in every way. When I came in, 
 he was reading a medical journal and seemed much 
 interested, but pretty soon laid this down and began the 
 conversation by asking if I was a doctor. I answered, 
 "No, but I hope to be some time." "Then you are a 
 medical student, I take it," he observed, in reply. When 
 I pleaded guilty to the accusation, he looked sad as he 
 continued, "Well, I used to be." By this time I had 
 become interested and said, "Did you give it up?" 
 "Not till I had graduated," he answered, "Oh," I now 
 said, "then you are in practice?" I do not remember the 
 exact words, but during the conversation it developed 
 that he was a graduate in medicine, but that luck had 
 gone against him and he was now working at ordinary 
 labor. So that here was one of those medical derelicts, 
 that one sometimes meets, drifting, drifting, over life's 
 uncertain sea. 
 
 It turned out that there were a number of medical
 
 64 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 students in St. Louis, who like myself, were desirous 
 of receiving instruction and consequently a class was 
 formed and certain members of the faculty of the St. 
 Louis Medical College gave us every opportunity in 
 their power. We had medical and surgical clinics at 
 the Cit}^ hospital and at a Catholic hospital, the name 
 of which I do not recall, where Dr. Gregory operated 
 before us and gave clinical lectures. Here also we had 
 clinical instruction from Dr. Green, then just entering 
 upon his successful career as oculist. 
 
 At the college we were favored with anatomical in- 
 struction from the Demonstrator of Anatomy, Dr. Mc- 
 Dowell, son of Dr. Joseph N. McDowell, the famous 
 surgeon of the rival institution, The Missouri Medical 
 College. Unlike his noted father, young McDowell was 
 the very embodiment of gentility and propriety in both 
 word and deed. He dissected and demonstrated a hu- 
 man brain for us and we were struck and delighted 
 with his scholarly attainments, and were made to realize 
 that he was like his father in one particular, namely, a 
 born teacher. 
 
 Our principal medical instructor was a man whose 
 name I have forgotten, much to my regret. He was a 
 man of middle age, verj^ gentlemanly and was one of 
 those pains-taking, conscientious practitioners one liked 
 to meet. Another man who taught us and aided us in 
 any way he could, was a Dr. Prewitt, who had but re- 
 cently moved into the city from the interior of Missouri. 
 He was a single man in mature life and slept in a suite 
 of rooms in connection with his office, and, at one time, 
 having occasion to go out of the city for a few days, 
 asked me to occupy his rooms and keep general track 
 of things while he was gone. He had a finely equipped 
 office for that period, and a large and well selected li- 
 brary to which for the time being I had access. Some 
 of his works on anatomy and surgery had very fine 
 plates which must have cost a good deal. He further-
 
 Medical Gleanings From St. Louis 65 
 
 more, had well prepared skeletons, manikins and other 
 appliances for both learning and teaching. All in and 
 about his office was especially attractive to me, a poor 
 medical student, from the country. Naturally I wond- 
 ered if such an environment would ever be mine. 
 
 Dr. Hodgen in addition to giving us clinical instruc- 
 tion, from time to time delivered before us didactic lec- 
 tures that were especially clear and interesting. These 
 were not always confined to surgical subjects, and in 
 this connection I recall one that he gave us and that was 
 suggested after the reading of Brown-Sequard's work 
 on the Physiology and Pathology of the Nervous System, 
 a work in every way worthy of its famous author, and 
 just issued from the press. As elsewhere stated, Dr. 
 Hodgen had his office in the College Building, and con- 
 siderable numbers of poor people came here for treat- 
 ment. One day a man came in and desired to have re- 
 moved what seemed to be an enlarged sebaceous gland 
 on his scalp. It was before the days of local anesthesia 
 and after cautioning the patient to "grit his teeth and 
 stiffen his backbone," Dr. Hodgen began the operation, 
 which, however, proved to be much more painful than 
 was anticipated; consequently the patient became very 
 nervous as he writhed under the knife. Strange to say 
 Dr. Hodgen became correspondingly nervous, his hands 
 trembling very perceptibly, and when the blood spurted 
 and gushed from the wound, he appeared especially 
 annoyed and surprised. However, the operation was 
 completed, the wound dressed and after the patient had 
 gone. Dr. Hodgen said to me, "Johnson, that wasn't 
 an enlarged gland ; it was an aneurism ! ' ' 
 
 Speaking of cutting into an aneurism by mistake, 
 reminds me of a case that has recently come to my no- 
 tice. Many years ago a hard-headed country doctor was 
 returning home at the end of a hard day 's work. Sitting 
 in his gig, the reins were between his knees, his horse 
 was jogging along and he himself was almost asleep.
 
 66 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Suddenly from beside the road appeared a man, who 
 stopped the doctor, put his foot on the wheel and said, 
 "Doc, I wish you would lance this risin' for me." The 
 subsequent events may best be told by the doctor in his 
 own words: — "I reached around for my pocket case, 
 got my lance and jabbed the swelling behind his knee. 
 And I give you my word the blood spurted four feet! 
 I made him hold his finger over the hole while I tore up 
 my linen buggy robe for a bandage. With this I made 
 a Spanish windlass on my whip handle, and while he 
 held this on his thigh, I put him in the buggy and drove 
 home. There, under chloroform given by a brother prac- 
 titioner, I tied the artery in Scarpa's triangle; and — 
 do you know — that d — d fool got well!" — (Medical 
 Pickwick). 
 
 One day Dr. Hodgen came out of his office closely 
 followed by a patient who soon took his hat and went 
 his way. Pretty soon a smile came over Dr. Hodgen 's 
 countenance and he said, "Johnson, did you notice that 
 man who went out? Well, he came all the way from 
 Pike County, Illinois, where I used to live, for me to 
 examine his lungs, and though I told him that he had 
 better go to some one who made a specialty of such 
 things, that I was a surgeon, etc., he would not listen to 
 this, but would have me go over his chest. Well, as 
 nothing else would do, I thumped his lungs pretty lively 
 and found out that he was a great deal more scared 
 than hurt and told him so. I charged him a good fee, 
 and he went away happj'. Of course, I didn't know 
 much about his lungs, and to keep him from finding out 
 this, I put on a bold face and charged well for my 
 services. ' ' 
 
 At this time the founder of the St. Louis Medical 
 College, Dr. Charles A. Pope, was traveling in Europe. 
 He was a very able surgeon; had been president of the 
 American Medical Association and later becoming 
 wealthy, was now getting some pleasure out of life.
 
 Medical. Gleanings From St. Louis 67 
 
 Some years later he died, it is said, by his own hand. 
 There was sadness connected with the death of another 
 St. Louis surgeon about the same time who while I was 
 in St. Louis was one of our instructors, and whose name 
 was Horace Clarke, At the City Hospital he gave us 
 both clinical and didactic lectures. He was in the prime 
 of young manhood, was a most ingenious surgeon and 
 manifested every disposition to assist us students in any 
 way he could. He sometimes talked to us familiarly 
 about our future prospects and seemed interested in our 
 welfare in general. I remember of his speaking of the 
 hardships of country practice not a little of which he 
 had only recently gone through at Paris, 111., his loca- 
 tion previous to coming to St. Louis. Before he reached 
 middle life he had the misfortune to die from chloroform 
 narcosis, the details of which I never learned. 
 
 There was also a good deal of sadness connected with 
 the death of Dr. Hodgen, which occurred some years 
 later. It seems that he had for some time been a sufferer 
 from pain in the bowels, and one day the attack returned 
 with especial suddeness and severity when he was driv- 
 ing, but fortunately, only a little way from his home. 
 Accordingly, he put whip to his horse, reached his resi- 
 dence, got out of the buggy, and by a great effort, man- 
 aged to climb up the steps, pass through the front door, 
 reach a bed where he laid down and a little later died. 
 
 Finally, to one more whom I knew that summer in 
 St. Louis, death came suddenly, and absolutely without 
 warning. I refer to Dr. Isaac N. Love, who, it will be 
 remembered was for a time my room mate. A number 
 of years ago the passengers on an ocean steamer, on 
 which Dr. Love was returning from the sea, realizing 
 that they had been exceptionally well treated, as they 
 came in sight of New York, called a meeting for the 
 purpose of appropriately expressing their satisfaction 
 to the captain and officers of the vessel. A number were 
 assembled in the cabin and the meeting had made some
 
 68 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 progress when Dr. Love made an effort to rise to his feet, 
 and in an instant, dropped over dead, the result of 
 cerebral hemorrhage. 
 
 I am of the impression that there was little if any, 
 of the oldtime enmitj'^ between the Missouri Medical 
 College and the St. Louis Medical College, following the 
 reorganization of the former after the Civil War, any- 
 way, recently their relations became so harmonious that 
 they were consolidated, and became the Medical De- 
 partment of Washington University. A consummation 
 that two generations ago, the most sanguine optimist 
 would not have dared to prophesy. 
 
 One Sunday Dr. Hodgen asked me to ride with him 
 and after a li+tle, we stopped at a house, where his pa- 
 tient proved to be a boy of about fifteen with a long 
 ulee" on the innner side of one of his legs ; Dr. Hodgen 
 laid out his instruments and after talking to the patient 
 a moment, picked up a strong pair of forceps, grasped 
 the upper end of the fibula, and lifted nearly the v^hole 
 of the bone from the ulcerous mass in which it lay. This 
 was what we termed necrosis in those days, and cer- 
 tainly an aggravated case, but what the subsequent 
 history was, I do not know. 
 
 Dr. Gregory was a skillful surgeon connected with 
 the St. Louis Medical College, and the fact that he was 
 sufferer from ptosis of one eyelid gave him a peculiar 
 appearance. He was, however, genial and every one liked 
 him. Both he and Dr. Hodgen were each later honored 
 with the presidency of the American Medical Associa- 
 tion. 
 
 While I was rooming with young Isaac Love, in the 
 Medical College Building, I purposely got my meals at 
 a boarding house about a mile away that I might get 
 the exercise which the walks to and fro necessitated. 
 My landlady was a Swede and there came a time when 
 money expected was for a rather long period delayed 
 in reaching me. Several times I apologized to my land-
 
 Medical, Gleanings From St. Louis 69 
 
 lady but she said it was all right and for me to come 
 right along and eat my meals. Finally the money came 
 and when I settled my board bill I said to her, "You 
 ran a great risk in trusting me, as I had no baggage 
 here, roomed a long distance away and almost any time 
 could have failed to return." In reply she said, "O 
 Meester Shonson, yu's got sooch an honest face I knew 
 it was all right." 
 
 In speaking of Dr. Hodgen, I neglected to say that 
 he was quite studious and kept abreast of things, the 
 fact of my rooming in the College Building gave me 
 access to his office and I thus learned a good deal of his 
 habits and methods. That spring he had just got an 
 ophthalmoscope and was learning the use of it. The 
 thought came to me that possibly a beef's eye might be 
 utilized in this way, and consequently, one afternoon I 
 took a long Avalk to a slaughter house, and got two fresh 
 beef eyes and gave them to Dr. Hodgen who seemed 
 pleased, but with what success he used the ophthalmo- 
 scope upon them I do not remember. 
 
 I can not recall going to any lecture, concert or any 
 kind of amusement while in St. Louis that spring. I 
 do, however, remember going to hear a much advertised 
 address delivered by the famous Robert Dale Owen and 
 was disappointed when I heard it. I went to church 
 nearly every Sunday and heard a number of the ablest 
 pulpit men in the city. 
 
 One Sunday evening I was out walking with two 
 acquaintances when it was suggested that we go to 
 church, but where, none of us seemed to know or care. 
 We walked on and on and at last came to a church and 
 went in to find the congregation on its feet and singing 
 what proved to be one of the longest hymns I ever heard 
 sung. At last the end came and the preacher engaged 
 in prayer and what was our surprise to find that this 
 was in German ! As no one of us was familiar with the 
 language, we went out as soon as the prayer ended.
 
 70 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 In that period the Eads bridge across the Mississippi 
 was building, but had not long been in process of con- 
 struction. Steamboating was not then the abandoned 
 means of traffic and travel that it has come to be today 
 and consequently, there were yet many fine boats on 
 the river. To see these I frequently went to near the 
 water's edge and watched them come in and go out, al- 
 ways a beautiful sight. 
 
 In due time my summer's work in St. Louis drew 
 to a close, and meanwhile, I was made to realize that 
 I could not remain in the city on account of the Mississ- 
 ippi River water which rekindled attacks of a trouble, 
 (chronic diarrhoea), I had cantracted during my army 
 service. These attacks I tried every way to head off, 
 but come they would. Finally I left the city and its 
 water-supply and went to my brothers in the country 
 where home-cooking and the use of ordinary well-water 
 soon put me in fair condition.
 
 VII 
 
 MEDICINE IN 1868 
 
 The means that Heaven yields must be embraced 
 
 And not neglected, 
 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 IN 1868 the Civil War was but three years in the past 
 and hence the medicine of that date was essentially 
 Civil War medicine. And although Pasteur had begun 
 his epoch-making work in revealing the ravages of patho- 
 genic organisms the science of bacteriology was as yet an 
 unopened book ; and although Lister was working assidu- 
 ously to devise means for the prevention of infection the 
 world had no appreciation of the all-important possibili- 
 ties for good or evil conveyed in the simple words, sepis 
 and asepsis. Among the more prominent medical men of 
 that era in America, was George B. Wood of Philadel- 
 phia, author of an exceptionally popular work on prac- 
 tice, of another equally popular one on materia medica 
 and therapeutics ; moreover, he was one of the authors of 
 the United States Dispensatory, a work that holds its 
 own till this day. Another able Philadelphia physician 
 was Robley Dunglison, the author of numerous medical 
 books, indeed, he is said to have covered about every sub- 
 ject in the whole field of medicine, save surgery. A less 
 widely known Philadelphia medical man was W. W. Ger- 
 hard, who a generation before had made a most careful 
 study of tjT^hus and typhoid fever that all could see and 
 understand, and as a result, the more progressive in the 
 profession were not long in " catching-on, " and recog- 
 nized typhoid as a distinct disease. One of the most 
 learned anatomists of this period was Joseph Leidy of 
 Philadelphia, author of a work on anatomy said to be 
 
 71
 
 72 Sixty Years m the Medical Harness 
 
 illustrated by himself. The best known and ablest sur- 
 geon of that era was Samuel D. Gross, author of a large, 
 two-volume work on surgery, besides several treatises on 
 subjects pertaining to pathology and allied topics. Fur- 
 thermore, he contributed no little to the history of medi- 
 cine, particularly in America. Indeed, up to that time 
 no one more than he had labored earnestly to bring 
 American Medicine and Surgery to the notice of Eu- 
 ropeans. He will always be remembered as the greatest 
 surgeon that this country produced in the nineteenth 
 century. 
 
 Hugh L. Hodge, Professor of Midwifery in the Uni- 
 versity of Pennsylvania and Charles D. Meigs, of the 
 same Chair, in Jefferson Medical College, were the great 
 obstetric lights in this country. They were both men 
 of ability, authors of several works, pertaining to their 
 specialties, and sad to say, both to the last maintained 
 that puerperal fever was not contagious, and in effect 
 was an essential fever, somewhat like typhus and ty- 
 phoid. 
 
 At this period, Philadelphia was the medical center 
 of the United States and had the well-merited distinction 
 of having produced more distinguished men in the pro- 
 fession and more authors of standard medical works than 
 any city in America. Furthermore, it had always been 
 the home of the American Journal of Medical Sciences, 
 one of the very best periodicals in the English language. 
 
 In Boston lived, and for a long time had practiced, 
 Jacob Bigelow, author of "Self-Limited Diseases," and 
 a wise physician, in many particulars, ahead of his time. 
 In that city also abided the brilliant Oliver Wendell 
 Holmes, Professor of Anatomy in Harvard and a bright 
 and shining light in American literature, wherein he had 
 such co-workers as Longfellow, Lowell, Whittier, Emer- 
 son and Bryant. A full quarter of a century before 
 Holmes had published a most important article, showing
 
 Medicine in 1868 73 
 
 that puerperal fever was a highly contagious disease, and 
 that doctors, nurses and contaminated articles, were very 
 often its purveyors. Sad to say, what Holmes had said 
 on this most important subject, was for many years un- 
 heeded — the great lights in the profession, as noted 
 above, were non-contagionists. Dr. Henry J. Bigelow, 
 was a leading, if not, indeed, the leading Boston sur- 
 geon, and had the distinction of being present when on 
 October 16, 1846, Dr. John C. Warren performed the 
 first public surgical operation under sulphuric ether ad- 
 ministered, as it was, by Dr. W, T. 6. Morton. 
 
 The leading New York City practitioners of that day 
 were Alonzo Clark and Austin Flint, the last named an 
 author of great merit. Flint's work on Practice had 
 only come from the press a short time before, but in 
 many particulars was the best of its kind during the 
 whole of the nineteenth century. Flint was a master of 
 the art of clear expression and concise statement, both of 
 which so many authors lack. 
 
 William A. Hammond, Ex-Surgeon General of the 
 United States Army, was a noted New York practitioner, 
 inclined to be sensational, but who did good work in 
 nervous diseases. 
 
 This leads me to say that in speaking of Philadelphia 
 practitioners, I neglected to name S. Weir Mitchell, the 
 leading American neurologist of his day, a clear, clean 
 writer on medical subjects, a gifted author in general 
 literature, with many interesting works to his credit. He 
 saw much service as a Civil War surgeon. 
 
 Among noted New York surgeons were Willard 
 Parker, Louis A. Sayre, etc., but perhaps New York's 
 most popular surgeon was Valentine Mott who died in 
 1867. 
 
 In Chicago N. S. Davis, Father of the American 
 Medical Association, was the leading teacher and prac- 
 titioner of medicine. That city's two most prominent
 
 74 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 surgeons were Edmund Andrews and Moses Gunn, 
 both of whom had occupied chairs in the University of 
 Michigan. Dr. Gunn's dexterity with the knife has al- 
 ready been referred to and Dr. Andrews was one of the 
 most scholarly men of his day in the profession. 
 
 In Cincinnati, Roberts Bartholow, easily led in in- 
 ternal medicine and was the author of several excellent 
 medical works. Two of these, one on Practice and the 
 other on Therapeutics were especially well received and 
 long held a place as popular text-books. Later Dr. 
 Bartholow accepted a position in the faculty of Jefferson 
 Medical College, Philadelphia, and removed to that city 
 where his last days were passed. George C. Blackman 
 was long a leader of surgery in Cincinnati and the coun- 
 try contiguous thereto. 
 
 In g^'neeology, Marion Sims of New York City had 
 a world-wide reputation, and the brothers John L. and 
 Washington L. Atlee of Pennsylvania, were doing many 
 ovariotomies when that operation required much skill 
 and no little daring on the part of the operator. John 
 L. Atlee did seventy-eight ovariotomies and his brother 
 Washington L. Atlee three hundred eighty seven, most 
 of them in the pre-asepsis period, but nevertheless with 
 a remarkable proportion of recoveries. 
 
 In this period the leading practitioners in England 
 were among others, Sir William W. GuU, Sir Samuel 
 Wilks, Sir William Jenner, Sir Thomas Watson, and 
 John Hughes Bennett, the last two authors of works on 
 Practice. Watson 's work was so popular that it became 
 almost a classic with students and practitioners. Ben- 
 nett's Practice was largely a bedside-clinic volume and 
 was well received in its day. 
 
 The leading English surgeons of that period were Sir 
 James Paget and Sir Jonathan Hutchinson. Paget was 
 the author of "Surgical Pathology," a most readable 
 book that was the vogue for a long period. He also pub-
 
 Medicine in 1868 75 
 
 lished other works that were popular with the profession. 
 Hutchinson published a number of volumes under the 
 title, "Archives of Surgery," that came to be of great 
 value as they are largely clinical. 
 
 In this period Scotland produced some exceptionally 
 able men, among whom were Sir William Fergusson and 
 James Syme. Fergusson was a pioneer in conservative 
 surgery and made it a point to save every part possible. 
 He was one of the most rapid operators of his time, his 
 training and much of his work occurred in the pre- 
 anesthesia era, when speed in operations was most de- 
 sirable. Syme was one of the first to recommend excis- 
 sion in place of amputation and thus saved many limbs 
 that proved to be relatively useful. Syme was the pre- 
 ceptor and father-in-law of Joseph Lister, the father of 
 asepsis in surgery. Lister, an English Quaker, was in 
 the midst of his era-making work and the year before 
 had published a paper with the title, ' ' On the Anti-septic 
 Principle in the Practice of Surgery. ' ' He was the first 
 to make use of Carbolic Acid as an anti-septic, success- 
 fully. Practically every surgeon of that day welcomed 
 the appearance of "laudable pus," and was content to 
 get healing of surfaces by granulation. Lister believed 
 that union by first intention was possible and resolutely 
 set out to get this. As all the world knows he was emi- 
 nently successful in his quest. He was little known in 
 the era of which I write, but later his work was "read 
 of all men" and finally he was knighted and given the 
 well-earned place of one of the three greatest surgeons of 
 all time — John Hunter and Ambrose Pare being the 
 other two. 
 
 One of the world's greatest obstetric and gynecologi- 
 cal lights was Sir James Y. Simpson, who filled the chair 
 of Midwifery in the University of Edinburgh. He was 
 the first to use choloroform as an anesthetic in labor, 
 introduced the long obstetric forceps and the wire-suture.
 
 76 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Sir Thomas Spencer Wells, known familiarly as 
 Spencer Wells, was the greatest ovariotomist of his time 
 and patients flocked to him from all over the world. 
 
 In France, Trousseau, the great clinician, had just 
 died, but Charcot, the great neurologist, was in his 
 prime; likewise, Claude Bernard, a physiologist, of 
 world-wide reputation, was active in his chosen field. He 
 was the first physiologist to recognize the "internal 
 secretions." "The gate to this path was opened by Ber- 
 nard, ' ' said Sir Michael Foster, his biographer. Nelaton, 
 one of the great surgeons of his time, and consultant to 
 Napoleon III was in his ripest years. Velpeau and 
 Malgaigne, great French surgeons, had just died. A 
 prominent character in the medical world at this time 
 was Brown-Sequard, a student of Claude Bernard's and 
 a great physiologist, who had much to do in extending 
 our knowledge of the internal secretions. 
 
 In Germany, Langenbeck, was a surgeon known 
 where ever his art was practiced, but the most famous 
 medical man of that country was Virchow, of Berlin, 
 perhaps the greatest pathologist that ever lived. How- 
 ever, only a little less renowned than Virchow was Roki- 
 tansky, a native of Bohemia, and a pathologist, excelled 
 only by his great Berlin rival. 
 
 Pirogoff was the great surgeon of Russia and one of 
 the world's great military surgeons. Contemplating the 
 extreme septic and unsanitary conditions attending it he 
 pronounced war a "traumatic epidemic." 
 
 Among the most used medical text-books in the Civil 
 War Era of American publications, were George B. 
 Wood's "Practice of Medicine," Flint's "Practice of 
 Medicine," Samuel D. Gross' "System of Surgery" 
 (two large volumes), Hugh L. Hodge's "Principles and 
 Practice of Obstetrics," Charles D. Meig's "Science and 
 Art of Midwifery," Dunglison's "Medical Dictionary," 
 J. Lewis Smith's "Diseases of Infancy and Childhood,"
 
 Medicine in 1868 77 
 
 Frank H. Hamilton's "Fractures and Dislocation," J. 
 M. DaCosta's "Medical Diagnosis," J. C. Dalton's 
 "Human Physiology," George B. Wood's "Therapeu- 
 tics and Pharmocology, " Beck's "Materia Medica," 
 Joseph Leidy's "Human Anatomy," etc. 
 
 The following were for the most part English publica- 
 tions, or rather English authors of works re-published in 
 America : 
 
 Thomas Watson's "Practice of Physic," Williams' 
 "Principles of Medicine," Frichsen's "Science and Art 
 of Surgery," Druitt's "Principles and Practice of 
 Modern Surgery," Churchill's "Theory and Practice of 
 Midwifery," Wells' "Diseases of the Eye," Toynbee's 
 "Diseases of the Ear," Taylor's "Medical Jurispru- 
 dence," Fowne's "Chemistry," Brande and Taylor's 
 "Chemistry," William Aitkin's "Science and Practice 
 of Medicine," Gray's "Descriptive and Surgical Anato- 
 my," Paget 's "Surgical Pathology," Charles West's 
 "Diseases of Infancy and Childhood," "Diseases of 
 Women ' ' by the same author. 
 
 Some of the above works I had procured while a stu- 
 dent, and young practitioner and others among them I 
 would gladly have purchased had my limited means per- 
 mitted. I recall how my mouth almost watered when I 
 first saw Aitkins' two-volume work on Practice, and I 
 felt almost the same longing when I looked on the two- 
 volume surgery of Gross. However, I made some good 
 selections and managed to get passably familiar with a 
 number of good authors. Among these, Watson was my 
 favorite for he had the rare faculty of winning and hold- 
 ing the attention of the reader. So true was this that one 
 might open him on almost any page and begin reading at 
 almost any paragraph and in a very little while would 
 become absorbed in the text and next to unconsciously, 
 read on and on till the end of the chapter was reached 
 with surprise and disappointment — disappointment that
 
 78 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 the chapter was not longer. Someone has said that that is 
 a rare book, indeed, which the reader finishes with the 
 wish that it were longer. Watson's Practice is a roj^al 
 octavo of more than 1200 pages, yet few who read the 
 book were glad when it was finished. The work was 
 made up of a series of lectures, delivered by Watson in 
 1835-6 and as illustrative of his style, I quote the follow- 
 ing from his introductory : 
 
 "But amid all the responsibilities, gentlemen, both 
 of teacher and learner, the profession which you and I 
 have chosen, or which circumstances have prescribed to 
 us, is a noble profession, and worthy the devotion of a 
 life-time. If you fit yourselves now for its high func- 
 tions, and pursue it hereafter in earnestness and truth, 
 it will probably conduct you to an honorable competence, 
 and it will surely prove a salutary school of mental and 
 moral discipline. Trials, no doubt belong to it, and diffi- 
 culties ; but it has also privileges and immunities peculiar 
 to itself. Affording ample scope and exercise for the in- 
 tellect, it is conversant with objects that tend to elevate 
 the thoughts, to temper the feelings, and to touch the 
 heart. 
 
 ' ' I have already reminded you how it brings beneath 
 our minute and daily notice that most remarkable por- 
 tion of matter, which is destined to be for a season the 
 tabernacle of the human spirit, and which apart from 
 that singularly interesting thought, excites increasing 
 wonder and admiration the more closely we investigate 
 its marvelous construction. The sad varieties of human 
 pain and weakness with which our daily vocation is fami- 
 liar, should rebuke our pride, while they quicken our 
 charity. To us are entrusted in more than ordinary 
 measure, opportunities of doing good to our fellow- 
 creatures, of sho\ving love towards our neighbor. Let us 
 beware how we idly neglect, or selfishly abuse, a steward- 
 ship so precious, yet so weighty.
 
 Medicine in 1868 79 
 
 "The profession of medicine, having for its end the 
 common good of mankind, knows nothing of national 
 enmities, of political strife, of sectarian divisions. 
 Disease and pain the sole conditions of its ministry, it is 
 disquieted by no misgivings concerning the justice or 
 honesty of its client 's cause ; but discloses its peculiar 
 benefits, without stint or scruple, to men of every coun- 
 try, and party, and rank, and religion, and to men of 
 no religion at all. And like the quality of mercy of 
 which it is the favorite hand-maid, 'it blesseth him that 
 gives and him that takes'; reading continually to our 
 own hearts and understandings the most impressive les- 
 sons, the most solemn warnings. It is ours to know in how 
 many instances, forming, indeed, a vast majority of the 
 whole, bodily sufferings and sickness are the natural 
 fruits of evil courses ; of the sins of our fathers, of our 
 own unbridled passions, of the malevolent spirit of 
 others. We see, too, the use of these judgments, which 
 are mercifully designed to recall men from the strong 
 allurements of sense, and the slumber of temporal pros- 
 perity; teaching that it is good for us to be sometimes 
 afflicted. Familiar with death in its manifold shapes, 
 witnessing from day to day its sudden stroke, its slow 
 but open siege, its secret and insidious approaches, we 
 are not permitted to be unmindful that our own stay also 
 is brief and uncertain, our opportunities fleeting, and 
 our time, even when longest, very short, if measured by 
 our wants and intellectual cra\dngs. 
 
 "Surely, gentlemen, you will not dare, without ade- 
 quate and earnest preparation, to embark in a calling 
 such as this; so capable of good if rightly used, so full 
 of peril to yourselves and to society if administered ig- 
 norantly or unfaithfully. And even when you have 
 made it, as you may, the means of continual self-im- 
 provement, and the channel of health and of ease to 
 those around you, let not the influence you will thus ob- 
 tain beget an unbecoming spirit of presumption; but
 
 80 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 remember that in your most successful efforts, you are 
 but the honored instruments of a superior power — that 
 after all 'it is God who healeth our diseases and re- 
 deemeth our life from destruction'." 
 
 Gray's Descriptive and Surgical Anatomy was then 
 a recent publication and soon won, and long sustained, 
 the favor of medical students and practitioners alike, 
 mainly for its unequaled illustrations with the plainly 
 printed name on every anatomical part. In the sixties 
 and seventies it would have been almost hard to find 
 a recent graduate in medicine who did not have in his 
 library a badly worn, and too often, greased copy of 
 Gray. 
 
 Paget 's Surgical Pathology was almost as attractive 
 reading as Watson, which is saying a good deal for that 
 work. 
 
 West's Diseases of Children was an excellent work 
 clothed in a pleasing style that made it easy reading, and 
 a delight to follow the author. 
 
 There were more medical journals in the Civil War 
 Era than there are today. Indeed, every large city had 
 two, sometimes three. All the papers and transactions 
 of the American Medical Association were published in 
 book-form and the Journal of the American Medical As- 
 sociation had not yet come in the field to supplant many 
 other medical periodicals. 
 
 As elsewhere noted the American Journal of Medi- 
 cal Sciences easily led all the rest in ability and in- 
 fluence. This was a Quarterly and from the same office 
 there was issued each month The Medical News which 
 kept in pretty close touch with current medical matters 
 as they transpired. 
 
 I have in my library the first copies of the American 
 Journal of Medical Sciences, published nearly a hundred 
 years ago and to which the ablest medical men in 
 America were contributors.
 
 Medicine in 1868 81 
 
 As in that day works on general pathology were 
 vastly less in evidence than is the case today practically 
 every work on practice and surgery devoted its opening 
 pages to a consideration of disease-structure and disease- 
 processes. Of the last named inflammation easily had the 
 lead and no work on general surgery or general practice 
 neglected to consider it thoroughly. 
 
 Indeed, so important was its discussion and con- 
 templation deemed that some one referred to inflamma- 
 tion as the "keystone to medical and surgical science" 
 — "the pivot upon which the medical philosophy of the 
 time revolved." 
 
 As elsewhere stated asepsis was not practiced because 
 it was not understood, — in fact to all intents and pur- 
 poses unknown. This being true infection was at all 
 times liable to attack wounds whether these were made 
 by accident or by the surgeon's knife. How to prevent 
 infection the operator of that era could but acknowledge 
 himself in utter ignorance. Hence with the danger of 
 infection ever hanging over his operating table, like an- 
 other sword of Damocles, what wonder that the surgeon 
 of the Civil "War Era was conservative and was careful 
 what he cut into. Indeed, so careful was he and so re- 
 luctant to cut into certain structures, that it became a 
 rule as inflexible as the laws of the Medes and Persians 
 never to willingly open a serous cavity with the excep- 
 tion of the pleura which seemed to enjoy a relative im- 
 munity to infection. Especially susceptible to infection 
 were the peritoneum, the larger joint cavities and the 
 membranes of the brain. 
 
 Owing largely to these facts the surgeon of fifty 
 years ago in very large measure operated only when 
 necessity demanded it. In other words, he was in lai^e 
 degree an emergency surgeon. Ovariotomies and similar 
 operations were done almost wholly by operators from 
 the larger centers of population. Such a thing as an ex-
 
 82 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 ploratory operation was unheard of and would have been 
 severely criticised had it been made. 
 
 As the X-Ray was yet long in the future, much that 
 this today brings out in the lime-light, so to speak, had 
 in that time to be done in the dark, as it were. Especially 
 was this true of fractures which the surgeon had often- 
 times to ''set" practically, by guess. 
 
 While in operating, ordinary washing of hands and 
 instruments was always practiced, yet as a-sepis was un- 
 known, an aseptic condition of parts and things impli- 
 cated was of course never aspired to. Healing by the 
 first intention was never attained, suppuration in an open 
 or incised wound was always expected and the appear- 
 ance of laudable pus was always welcomed. As neither 
 the operator or his attendants ever changed their clothes 
 before or after an operation, what wonder is it that they 
 unwittingly became carriers of infection and that cases 
 of childbed fever "sprung up" here and there to worry 
 and embarrass the general practitioner. 
 
 Speaking of conditions in the pre-asepsis era I recall 
 reading an article from the pen of Dr. Edmund An- 
 drews, one of the country's most progressive surgeons in 
 his day, recommending that before risking a major 
 operation on a given patient, it might in some instances 
 be well to make an incision at some point in the patient 's 
 anatomy distant from the site of final operation, and 
 note how this reacts and heals ! 
 
 Twent.y-two years previously, namelj^ in 1846, Dr. 
 W. T. G. Morton made his world-wide famous demon- 
 stration of ether-anesthesia at the Massachusetts General 
 Hospital for Dr. J. C. Warren to perform painlessly a 
 capital operation on one of his patients. A little later, 
 Dr. J. Y. Simpson, of Edinburgh, Scotland, discovered 
 that chloroform was even more prompt as an anes- 
 thetic than ether. Both ether and chloroform were 
 freely used on practically every battlefield during the
 
 Medicine in 1868 83 
 
 Civil War. Of the two, however, chloroform was very 
 much more frequently administered than ether and this 
 practice continued for many years subsequent to the war. 
 
 Cocaine was not yet in use and save a freezing mix- 
 ture that partially abolished pain, local anesthesia was 
 not obtainable by any practical means at the surgeon's 
 command. 
 
 The fever thermometer and the hypodermic syringe 
 came in use in the late sixties and early seventies.
 
 VIII 
 
 I GO ON A QUEST 
 
 What future hliss he gives thee not to know. 
 But gives thee hope to be thy blessing now. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 WITH the approach of the summer of 1868, at the 
 suggestion of my Preceptor and some other medi- 
 cal friends, I decided if a suitable location could be 
 found, to practice medicine for a time, notwithstanding 
 the fact, that I was as yet a non-graduate. However, 
 this was a not uncommon custom, in that day, and while 
 I knew little enough, yet I really had enjoyed better op- 
 portunities for qualifying myself in medicine than the 
 average graduate of that period. During my three years 
 of army service I had put in two years in the medical de- 
 partment of my regiment, and in addition to my lecture- 
 course of six months in the University of Michigan, I 
 had taken a summer course in Chicago and a year later a 
 summer course in St. Louis. At this period Illinois had 
 no Medical Practice Act and no State Board of Health, 
 consequently medicine was open to any and all who cared 
 to enter upon its practice. However, at this time there 
 was one tribunal from which the physician had to obtain 
 what was in effect a license, that cost him ten dollars per 
 year, namely the United States Revenue Department. 
 But as this was a relic of the heavy taxation demanded 
 by the exigencies of the Civil War it was done away 
 with not long after the beginning of the seventies. 
 
 One bright, beautiful morning in June, I got in the 
 saddle and started in a general northwesterly direction 
 from the farm near Vandalia, Illinois, where I was then 
 
 84
 
 Jajies S. Jewell
 
 Natiia.x Smith Davis
 
 On the Quest 85 
 
 living. I was in my twenty-fifth year, but very boyish- 
 looking and with the hope to in some degree overcome 
 this, I had a few days before left a reservation on my 
 upper lip for a mustache to occupy and another on the 
 lower part of my physiognomy for chin-whiskers. In 
 due time these parts came to be covered with an average 
 growth of beard and so remain today though now out of 
 fashion. When I was a boy a man with a full beard was 
 a curiosity, and so he is today. But between these two 
 clean-shaven periods was the bewhiskered era, when 
 every one seemed ambitious to raise the most and 
 heaviest beard possible. So much for fads and fashions 
 relating to the male countenance in my time ! 
 
 Returning to my journey : After riding till near noon 
 I reached Hillsboro, the county seat of Montgomery and 
 an old settled place. Here I called on Dr. T. D. Wash- 
 burn and he received me very kindly; and did what too 
 many established physicians fail to do, took an interest 
 in me and directed me to several places where I might 
 find what I was looking for. I visited the several places 
 but found none of them promising. However, I appreci- 
 ated Dr. Washburn's interest and kindness of manner 
 and some years later contributed my mite towards help- 
 ing him to be elected president of the Illinois State Medi- 
 cal Society. 
 
 Having satisfied myself that Montgomery county had 
 no place that would suit me for a location, I rode on 
 north into Christian county and passed through a long 
 stretch of open prairie of virgin soil that had never 
 known the ravishing touch of the ploughshare. The 
 weather was very warm and no sooner had the sun 
 mounted in the sky, than looking in any direction, the 
 undulation of heat waves could be seen just above the 
 level horizon. Late in the afternoon I reached Taylor- 
 ville, the county seat of Christian county and at that 
 time only a village. I did not tarry long here, but started
 
 86 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 for the nearby farm, residence of a distant relative, 
 where I proposed to spend the night. 
 
 A little while before reaching my destination, my at- 
 tention was attracted by what seemed to be a carefully 
 "done up" brown-paper package, lying by the roadside. 
 Thinking this something of value and possibly a package 
 lost by my relatives, whose house was not far distant, I 
 got down from my saddle, picked up the carefully done 
 up and well corded bundle, but finding it unduly heavy, 
 was tempted to open it, when lo, it was found to be a 
 generous piece of rich sun-dried soil from a nearby 
 marsh. As I mounted my horse, my attention was called 
 to some young people with broad grins on their faces, 
 whose heads were protruding from the door of a rude 
 shack that I had not before noticed. Of course, I had 
 been ' ' sold ' ' but if it afforded some good-natured amuse- 
 ment, to these young people, who doubtless had much of 
 monotony in their lives, what was the odds? — even 
 though I was the innocent victim. Soon after I reached 
 the home of my relative and was hospitably entertained. 
 
 I found my kinsman to be a very successful and pros- 
 perous farmer, and his story was an interesting one. 
 Twenty years previously (in the late forties), he was 
 M^orking by the month and earned and saved enough 
 money to enter eighty acres of land near the then small 
 village of Taylorville. This raw prairie had first to be 
 broken with a prairie plow, drawn by several yokes of 
 oxen, as the turf made by the roots of the prairie grass, 
 or "blue-stem," as it was commonly called, was a tenaci- 
 ous mass that resisted strenuously any disturbing factor. 
 As soon as the sod was turned over, he planted it in corn. 
 This was done by making holes in the newly upturned 
 sod with an axe, held in one hand, dropping in the grains 
 of corn with the other and kicking over this the loose 
 dirt with one foot. As there were no weeds and the 
 toughness of the root-infested soil precluded cultivation, 
 the crop was left to grow undisturbed, and in its own
 
 On the Quest 87 
 
 way, which it did to perfection, and in the end, yielded 
 enough to pay for the ground, upon which it grew and 
 likewise, for the turning over of the sod with the big 
 plow, drawn by a number of oxen. 
 
 Time went by, my kinsman married a young woman, 
 who turned out a real ' ' help-mate, ' ' and he from time to 
 time added to his land holdings, grew wheat, oats, and 
 timothy in addition to corn. During the first half of 
 the fifties the country was flooded with California's 
 newly-discovered and immense output of gold. Prices 
 of all commodities went up, trade of all kinds was 
 greatly stimulated. All this contributed to my kins- 
 man's prosperity, and meantime child after child was 
 added to his family, and when I reached his home a half 
 dozen or more children sat at his board and called him 
 father. His original farm had been added to until it em- 
 braced a whole section or more, and whereas, his first 
 land had cost but one dollar and a quarter an acre, it had 
 all advanced in value till probably worth forty dollars 
 per acre. Today (1925) it would perhaps sell for three 
 hundred dollars an acre, so great are the enhanced values 
 in the Illinois corn-belt and so remarkable are the wealth- 
 producing possibilities of its black, fertile soil. 
 
 After parting company with my kinsman and his 
 hospitable roof I rode into nearby Taylorville, hitched 
 my horse and looked around for a time and, meanwhile, 
 stepped into a nearby drug store and while there, a well- 
 dressed, spruce-looking man drove up with a pair of 
 "spic-span" horses, hitched to a nice buggy. In a 
 moment this dapper-looking man got out of his buggy, 
 came in the store, got some article, passed out, got in his 
 buggy again and drove rapidly away. Upon inquiry I 
 learned that this was the leading physician of the town. 
 Seeing his seeming prosperity and apparent fitness I 
 could but envy him and wonder if I should ever be in 
 position to ''stack up such an attractive front."
 
 88 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 I again mounted my horse, turned my course west- 
 ward and at noon time rode up to the farmhouse of 
 Captain Daniel DeCamp, late 130th Illinois Infantry 
 Volunteers, my old regiment. 
 
 Captain DeCamp was a pioneer in Christian county, 
 as the saying is "had his pick" when he came to select a 
 site for his home. He had a large tract of land in the 
 edge of the timber and hence his holdings embraced both 
 forest and prairie land. While his improvements were 
 such as were common to the earlier settlers, his house 
 was larger than most of his neighbors and had in its 
 front a long, wide porch and upon this after a hearty and 
 typical farmer's dinner, we seated ourselves to enjoy any 
 breeze that might be passing, as it was a warm June day 
 with an atmosphere that bordered on the sultry. 
 
 As less than three years had gone by since we were 
 mustered out of the ser\dce, we naturally feU to talking 
 about our army experiences. . . . Finally we both agreed 
 that the average man dreaded to go in battle and that it 
 was really pride that took him there and held him to his 
 work, for most soldiers had rather take their chances of 
 being hit by one of the enemy's missiles than be classed 
 as a coward. 
 
 After leaving the comfortable and hospitable home 
 of Captain DeCamp, I could but think of the indepen- 
 dent position he and my kinsman, under whose roof I 
 had passed the previous night, occupied, as compared 
 with myself, whose only possession was the horse upon 
 whose back I was riding. However, as they were both 
 some twenty years my senior, I consoled myself with the 
 thought that time maybe had something in store for me 
 and that in due course, I too, would perhaps have a home 
 and aU else which that most expressive word oftentimes 
 embraced. 
 
 My way that afternoon led through a timbered region 
 in Sangamon County, across a rude wooden bridge that
 
 On the Quest 89 
 
 spanned a considerable stream and finally out on a 
 beautiful rolling landscape, covered with fine farms. In 
 this County (Sangamon) at Crow's Mill, I had a sister 
 teaching school, and I had it in mind to pay her a visit. 
 As indicated above, the road led through a beautiful 
 farming country, the afternoon wore away, the sun went 
 down, twilight and darkness came on and in this I rode 
 for some little time before I reached my destination. I 
 was fatigued and after greeting my sister and a short 
 visit with her, I retired to rest in an old-time feather bed, 
 and slept sweetly till the sun, coming in at my bedroom 
 window, warned me that it was time to get up. 
 
 At this time I had a cousin, Charles "W. Johnson who 
 had served in the same regiment that I had, but who was 
 now a young lawyer in Springfield, and whom I ex- 
 pected to visit in that city. From my sister I learned 
 that he, like most young professional men, found him- 
 self a little short of money, and engaged to teach the 
 summer school at Chatham, 111., some six miles distant 
 from where my sister was teaching, and as I felt that I 
 must see him, I got in the saddle and rode to that vil- 
 lage. I found it a neat, pretty, little place, on the Alton 
 and Chicago Eailway, t-en miles south of Springfield. But 
 much to my disappointment, I found that, it being 
 Saturday, my cousin had taken the train and gone in to 
 Springfield. 
 
 While in the village, I dropped in at one of the drug 
 stores and asked the proprietor if he knew of a good 
 location for a young doctor and in reply he said that the 
 young doctor who had been practicing in Chatham, had 
 just gone west, and no one had as yet come to fill his 
 place. In talking a little further, the suggestion was 
 made that I go and see the old established physician of 
 the place. Dr. Nehemiah Wright. I promptly did as 
 suggested, and found Dr. Wright in such an open frame 
 of mind that he almost urged me to look no further, as
 
 90 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 I would probably find no better location than Chatham, 
 for the reason that Dr. Charles H. Lewis, a young physi- 
 cian, had just gone away and there was need for some 
 one to fill his place. What Dr. Wright had to offer had 
 weight with me. 
 
 A little later I mounted my horse and rode into 
 Springfield and met my cousin, Charles W. Johnson, 
 who had just been admitted to the bar after reading law 
 in the office of Lincoln (Abraham) and Herndon, but 
 who, as narrated above, had taken occasion to earn a 
 little much-needed readj^ money by teaching the Chat- 
 ham Summer School. 
 
 After spending the afternoon in Springfield with my 
 cousin I again mounted my horse and rode out to Crows 
 Mill, where I had left my sister in the morning. I spent 
 the day resting and visiting with my sister, who was 
 several years my senior and a well-educated woman, who 
 had always especially commanded my respect. She it 
 was who said the word that finally induced me to study 
 medicine. We had an all-day visit and a pleasant time 
 together, and I greatly enjoyed the rest and social inter- 
 course thus afforded me. Next morning I got in the 
 saddle and rode to Chatham where I spent several days 
 looking the ground over. While there, I paid a visit to 
 Loami, a hamlet, six miles west of Chatham and nearby 
 which, at a farmhouse, lived a soldier, with whom I had 
 served while in the Union Army. The last part of this 
 ride was near noontime, and the way led north with a 
 tall osage-orange hedge on either side of the road. I had 
 on dark clothes, and as there was not a breath of air, the 
 sun beat down on my back till I felt sick and faint, but 
 I managed to reach my destination and found a place in 
 the shade, under some trees in the yard on the grass. 
 Dinner was soon ready, a hearty farmer's meal, for 
 which I had no appetite, but asked for some sweet milk. 
 This proved to be cold and was most grateful to my 
 palate.
 
 On the Quest 91 
 
 Next morning I felt much better and returned to 
 Chatham, Another Saturday came and I again rode into 
 Springfield, where meeting my cousin, he introduced me 
 to Dr. B. F. Stephenson, later to become famous as the 
 founder of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organi- 
 zation to which only soldiers who had battled for the 
 Union were eligible. But, as at that time, there were 
 something like a million and a half of these, the order 
 came to be a very strong one. After Dr. Stephenson had 
 passed out of earshot, my cousin told me that he (Dr. 
 Stephenson) had said to him that Chatham was not a 
 good location and he would not encourage me to locate 
 there. I replied that, notwithstanding, I had decided to 
 try my luck at Chatham, and had promised to be there 
 for work a month hence, or about July 15, 1868. After 
 another short visit with my sister I started on my return 
 to my brother's home near Vandalia, Illinois. 
 
 As said before, the season was in mid-June, and all 
 nature was in its best dress, so to speak. Wheat was 
 ripening, meadows were a dark rich green, corn was 
 knee-high, orchards were loaded with rich promise, fat 
 cattle and sleek horses, in pastures with blue-grass that 
 almost reached their full bellies. 
 
 Here and there was a water-course about which and 
 along whose banks was a fine growth of oak, hickory, ash 
 and other varieties of timber. But whether the eye fell 
 upon cultivated field or woodland all gave evidence of 
 rich fertile soil that stimulated plant and tree alike, to 
 the fullest and freest growth. All this was in direct con- 
 trast to the much thinner soil of my native land, some 
 sixty miles to the south. 
 
 Getting back to my brother's home, I helped him in 
 his wheat harvest and in other ways made myself useful 
 till the month of July was near its middle, when I again 
 mounted my horse and in due time, reached Chatham, at 
 the close of a hot summer day.
 
 IX. 
 
 MY FIRST PATIENTS 
 
 There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, 
 Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. 
 
 — Shakespeare 
 
 I PUT up for the night at the village tavern and next 
 morning, July 17, 1868, went to one of the two vil- 
 lage drug stores and made arrangements to temporarily 
 have my office there. As customers came in, I was in- 
 troduced as the new physician, Doctor Johnson, and, 
 will the reader believe it? the title "doctor" for a 
 time seemed so unreal that it actually grated on my ears. 
 However, as use and custom familiarizes us with most 
 things, I finally accepted the new ''handle" to my name 
 with as good grace as I could command, for I was about 
 to do that most important thing in a young doctor's 
 life, set up shop on my own hook. 
 
 Meanwhile I had added to my stock of books, bought 
 a few instruments, and a pair of saddle bags that doc- 
 tors in those days carried behind their saddles on the 
 horse's back. I procured board in a private family and, 
 as indicated above, made my office in the rear room of 
 one of the village drug stores. As there was no one in 
 the little town who had the skill to paint a sign for me, 
 I proceeded to cut with my pocket knife, the letters of 
 my name from pieces of cigar box, and these, when glued 
 on a board, and painted over, looked quite artistic. No 
 one but an expert in such things would ever have be- 
 lieved this to be the work of an amateur. 
 
 I shall never forget my first patient, his name was 
 Phelps, and he had hematuria, and received a good deal 
 of treatment from me before he finally recovered. How- 
 
 92
 
 My First Patients 93 
 
 ever, for all my pains and trouble I got nothing, as he 
 was a member of the great family of Dead-Beats, whom 
 doctors have reason to know so well, and of whom I 
 may have occasion to speak more at length, further on. 
 
 A little later I had for a patient one of the leading 
 citizens of the village, who had a severe attack of facial 
 erysipelas, which threatened to be serious and in conse- 
 quence, it was thought advisable to hold a consultation. 
 By request, of the friends, the consultant called in was 
 the late Dr. B. M. Griffith, of Springfield, whom I then 
 met for the first time. He was a handsome, well dressed 
 man and was fully entered upon his successful career. 
 He examined the case carefully, talked it over with me, 
 and from beginning to end, strove to do what consult- 
 ants do not always do, namely, to have my patient and 
 his friends have confidence in me and my methods. 
 
 At that period the standard treatment for erysipelas, 
 was tincture of iodine locally and tincture of iron and 
 quinine internally. In due time my patient recovered, 
 and unlike my first case, I received due reward for my 
 services. 
 
 In 1868 practically no young physician just begin- 
 ning practice had any "finger-point" knowledge of the 
 art of obstetrics. This hiatus in the accoucheur's art 
 on the part of the young physician was due to the fact 
 that in that day very, very few medical students had 
 the privilege of acquiring hospital experience and the 
 training under a preceptor, which had so long been in 
 vogue, was going out of existence. As to myself, al- 
 though I was not an M. D. yet, I had followed instruct- 
 ors through hospital wards, both in Chicago and St. 
 Louis and furthermore, saw many cases with the physi- 
 cian whom I deemed my preceptor. But, nevertheless, 
 when I went on my first obstetric case, after beginning 
 practice I was as lame on the practical side as can well 
 be imagined. 
 
 It was a perfectly normal labor; the infant came in
 
 94 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 the world with a hearty effort at crying, but the placenta 
 was not so accommodating, — for it "stuck." I made 
 some uncertain, dubious efforts at extraction, which 
 proved to be ineffectual. Meantime, there came in my 
 mind what I had read about adherent placentae, and 
 the thought came that, maybe, I had that complication 
 to contend with, so desiring to be on the safe side, I sug- 
 gested to the husband, that a difficulty had come up in 
 the case that required counsel. He at once ' ' caught on, ' ' 
 got in the saddle and rode quickly as his horse could 
 carry him to Chatham, some three miles distant, and in 
 due time came back, accompanied by Dr. Wright, a vet- 
 eran in the all-around work of the country practitioner. 
 He promptly got ready "for action," by washing his 
 hands, pushing up his sleeves and a moment later the pla- 
 centa was delivered as easily, seemingly as a ripe cherry 
 could be relieved of the stone in its interior. Naturally, I 
 was somewhat chagrined, but I think Dr. Wright was 
 generous enough to assign by shortcomings to the inex- 
 perience which attends every young doctor upon his 
 entrance into practice. 
 
 It was a warm day in August and noontime had 
 meanwhile arrived, and with it a table loaded with a 
 typical farmer's dinner. This included roasting-ears, 
 new beans, new potatoes, fried chicken, cake, two or 
 three kinds of fruit, and peach-cobler, with rich cream 
 and sweet milk in plenty. Any chagrin or mortification 
 that I had suffered from an hour previously, did not pre- 
 vent my doing ample justice to the appetizing food on 
 this thrifty farmer's table. 
 
 In another way my next labor case caused me as much 
 or more embarrassment than the one narrated above. 
 After I had reached the home of the parturient woman, 
 and made a digital examination, a man called at this 
 house, and asking to see me, said that a member of his 
 family was in need of the services of a physician, and 
 as he lived but one mile away, would I not go to his
 
 My First Patients 95 
 
 home and minister to the wants of the afflicted one ? The 
 thought of "killing two birds with one stone" came be- 
 fore me as a pleasant vision, and I decided to go to the 
 bedside of my parturient patient and ascertain how fast 
 her labor was progressing. How capable with my lack 
 of experience I was of finding out the fact in question, 
 I will leave to my reader to imagine. However, I jumped 
 to the conclusion that I would have time to make the 
 desired call before my services would be required in the 
 labor-case. 
 
 "Well, I made the call, which was never paid for, 
 returned and upon going in the house, whom should I 
 find at the bedside, and doing the duty of an experi- 
 enced accoucheur, but Dr. Wright ! The family and 
 friends very soon after I had left the house to visit the 
 second patient, realizing that labor was fully under way, 
 despatched a messenger for the older and vastly more 
 experienced physician, and he came promptly and rend- 
 ered the aid I should have remained and given. To say 
 that I was badly "put-out" with myself, but half ex- 
 presses the truth, for I then and there voted myself an 
 ass of the "first water." 
 
 Both of these patients Dr. Wright had kindly sent 
 me. A little later he sent me another, and when I was 
 mounting my horse to go to it, he said, "Now, Dr. John- 
 son, stay by this case till all is over, and don't let any- 
 thing short of a cyclone coax you away." I heeded his 
 advice and with the help (and truth compels me to ac- 
 knowledge), advice and instruction of some good women 
 who knew much more of the practical side of obstetrics 
 than I did, got through all right, and returned home 
 feeling that I was making some little progress in the 
 accoucheur's art. The old saying has it that "the third 
 time is the charm." Well, it was not till I had my third 
 obstetric case that I had found the knack or mother-wit, 
 to acquit myself with any degree of credit whatsoever. 
 However, in the end, I proved in some degree, an apt
 
 96 Sixty Years in the IVIedical Harness 
 
 learner and for a young man, came to be somewhat 
 popular as an accoucheur, mortifying and discouraging 
 as had been part of the way which led to this much- 
 hoped-for goal. 
 
 In that period, medicines were administered in 
 much less attractive form than came to be the case later. 
 Tablets as we have them today, were wholly unknown 
 and pills were vastly less in evidence than now. Indeed, 
 most medicines were given in powder form and the bit- 
 terness and other objectionable gustatorj^ qualities of 
 the drug were deemed unavoidable features attending 
 illness. Quinine, always administered in powder form, 
 was not only used very, very much more frequently 
 than today, but was furthermore given to the individual 
 patient in much larger quantities than is now the cus- 
 tom. For this relative free use of that drug the general 
 prevalence of malaria in that era had veiy much to do. 
 Here let it be said that while malaria, like the poor, we 
 had with us always, — yet most physicians overdid the 
 recognition of this disease. To such an extent was this 
 carried, that in theorj^ it became a component part of 
 almost every other ailment, such as malarial-neuralgia, 
 malarial-headache, malarial-pneumonia, malarial-rheu- 
 matism, malarial-spasm, malarial-meningitis, etc. In- 
 deed, as a compound of itis, malaria was made to reach 
 and cover almost every tissue and location in the body. 
 At one period puerperal peritonitis was believed to be 
 malarial at bottom and in consequence, large quantities 
 of quinine were given for that disease, — sometimes as 
 much as twenty grains at a dose were administered in 
 this ailment. Moreover, it was once believed that this 
 drug was a sovereign remedy in practically all forms of 
 septicemia. Finally, when a trouble was obscure, physi- 
 cians were wont to call it malarial — malaria latent in 
 form. Much too often malaria served as a kind of blan- 
 ket to cover up the diagnostician's ignorance. 
 
 Old standard drugs, such as tincture of iron, Hoff-
 
 My First Patients 97 
 
 man's Anodyne, sweet spirits of nitre, opium in the 
 gum, camphor, ipecac, cream of tartar, tr. of opium, 
 paregoric and more of this kind were in vastly more 
 common use than now. Drugs of this class were (and 
 are) dependable and I can but believe that physicians 
 are neglecting them in favor of many things of doubtful 
 value. 
 
 Of vastly more frequent use than now were poultices 
 of flax-seed (pulverized) in "gatherings" (infections, 
 as we now say), and every old-time physician will tes- 
 tify to the great relief afforded. Poultices, so-called, of 
 hot mush were applied with seeming great relief in 
 pneumonic and pleuritic cases. Mustard as an external 
 irritant, or rubefacient was used in many lung and 
 bowel troubles of a painful character. A favorite method 
 of iLsing mustard was to spread a layer of hot cornmeal 
 mush on a cloth and "face" this with mustard, that is, 
 sprinkle ground mustard over its surface. 
 
 With the coming of the fall months I had a number 
 of cases of malarial fever, of which in those days, we 
 recognized three forms in practice. First, intermittent 
 fever, commonly referred to as chills and fever, in which 
 a paroxysm might occur every day, every second day 
 or every third day ; usually, however these came on 
 alternate days. 
 
 Second, remittent fever, usually called bilious fever, 
 in which the attack came on with severe headache, aching 
 in the legs, vomiting and high fever. The fact that the 
 vomiting was nearly always attended with the evacu- 
 ation of bile, secured for this disease its common name 
 bilious fever. This form of malarial fever lasted several 
 days and sometimes approached two weeks in duration. 
 An attack always left the patient very weak, greatly re- 
 duced in flesh, pale and anemic. 
 
 The third type of malarial fever was the malignant 
 form, commonly called congestive chills, or "sinking 
 chills, ' ' from the fact that" the patient not unf requently
 
 98 Sixty Ye-\rs in the Medical Harness 
 
 passed into a low, comatose state, from which he almost 
 never recovered. This form of the disease nearly always 
 came on suddenly and the patient reached a dangerous 
 state before his true condition was appreciated, even, 
 sometimes, by the attending physician. 
 
 For all these forms of m.alarial fever, quinine was 
 the sovereign remedy. Given early and in proper doses 
 it seldom failed to arrest the intermittent type and as 
 promptly shortened the remittent form. In the malig- 
 nant cases, if given early, it frequently saved the pa- 
 tient's life. But in all three of these classes there would 
 be some that would not regain their health promptly, 
 and as the colder fall months approached, pale, sallow 
 anemic patients would be seen dragging themselves 
 about with apparently the greatest effort. These were 
 eases of chronic malarial poisoning, and there nearly 
 always existed congestion of the liver, enlarged spleen 
 and nephritis, which later produced anasarca, from 
 which these patients so frequently suffered. In some 
 eases, the spleen would be enormouslj' enlarged and 
 extend across the abdomen into the right hypochon- 
 drium, the well known ' ' ague cake ' ' of the common peo- 
 ple. Iron, quinine, strj^chnia and arsenic, given singly 
 or variously combined, were the favorite remedies in 
 these cases, though arsenic was used charily in the an- 
 asarcous cases. Often, however, these remedies were best 
 preceded by the use of such eliminants as calomel or 
 podophylin, which moved the bowels and at the same 
 time were thought to stimulate the functions of the con- 
 gested liver. 
 
 With the coming of the winter months I was called 
 to several cases of pneumonia, the real thing, if I may 
 so speak, eases of what today we call fibroid or croupous 
 pneumonia, in which the affected lung becomes as dull 
 as a board, and real tubular breathing can be heard. 
 I have never been able to say why, but during the two 
 and one-half years that I practiced in this locality, I
 
 My First Patients 99 
 
 saw more cases of this form of pneumonia than I have 
 in my many years of practice since. They were all taken 
 in much the same way. First chill, a pain in the side, 
 short breathing and a dry cough. The finger applied to 
 the pulse would find this quickened and the ear over 
 the chest would detect the sibilant rale ; meantime, the 
 skin would be hot but the degree of this could not be 
 definitely known, for the fever thermometer was not 
 then in general use. Later would come free expectora- 
 tion, a moistened skin, and, if the case progressed favor- 
 ably, more comfort to the patient generally. These cases 
 were commonly called lung fever by some of the laity, 
 and winter fever by others. As said above, as the cases 
 progressed, especially the worst, the affected lung would 
 become as dull as a piece of solid wood, meanwhile the 
 patient would raise a bro^\'ll looking sputa, that the old 
 authors likened to prune-juice, and that ' always be- 
 tokened a very serious case. Our standard treatment 
 was Dover's Powder and Quinine. We also gave ex- 
 pectorants, laxatives and other eliminants as needed, 
 and invariably used large poultices on the affected lung. 
 Under this treatment most of our patients recovered. 
 To tell but the simple truth we then had better success 
 in the treatment of pneumonia than the most skillful 
 have today. Will some of our ultra-scientific wise ones 
 tell why ? 
 
 As time went by, I came to have a few cases of ty- 
 phoid fever, none of which, however, were as typical in 
 character as the books had led me to think I should find 
 them. Indeed, not a small number of the cases were 
 so mixed in type as to seem especially fitted to come un- 
 der the designation that Dr. J. Janvier Woodward, 
 of the United States Army had but recently coined : 
 namely, Typho-Malarial fever. It will be recalled by the 
 older physicians that during the campaigns of the Army 
 of the Potomac on the Chickahominy River, during the 
 Civil War, these mixed types of fever were encountered
 
 100 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 in such large numbers as to attract the attention of Dr. 
 Woodward and induce him to write a monograph in 
 which the above-named title for the disease was given 
 to the world. 
 
 For this, he has since been subject to some criticism, 
 and it is quite possible, a very great many cases were for 
 years, called Typho-Malarial Fever, that were really 
 typhoid. Nevertheless, I can not be mistaken in believ- 
 ing that many cases I saw in the first years of my prac- 
 tice, when malaria was prevalent, were mixed in type. 
 The cases designated as true typhoid did not receive 
 anything like the care in diet and nursing that they do 
 today; nevertheless, the great majority recovered. I 
 suppose this was because the disease in those days was 
 milder in type, or else the patients had more endurance. 
 Of course, I do not care to say we were more skillful 
 than are our successors today. 
 
 Turpentine emulsion was a standard in typhoid fe- 
 ver, and other drugs were used as indicated. While I 
 think of it, I will make the observation that constipation 
 was more frequently present in the cases, forty-odd 
 years ago, than it is today. The diagnosis of typhoid in 
 that period, I now look back upon as especially beset 
 with difficult ies as cases of this disease were particularly 
 liable to be confounded with one prevalent type of 
 malarial fever, namely, bilious or remittent fever (the 
 aestivo-autumnal fever of today). Of course, the sudden 
 onset of the malarial type, with its attendant high fever, 
 sick stomach and severe aching of head, back and legs 
 were characteristic, but unfortunately for the peace of 
 the diagnostician, the inception of some of these cases 
 was comparatively mild, while per contra, the beginning 
 of some typhoid cases was exceptionally sudden and 
 severe. In such instances, anything like an early diag- 
 nosis was simply impossible. (Widal's test had not so 
 much as been dreamed of then). Furthermore, the clin-
 
 My First Patients 101 
 
 ical thermometer which we today rely upon as an indis- 
 pensable aid to diagnosis, was then not in use. 
 
 We were compelled to drag along for a time in the 
 dark, as it were, a thing not always easy to do, partic- 
 ularly in the case of a young man, (myself), who so 
 far from having a doctor's good fortune to be born with 
 an imperturable face, had been doomed by nature to at 
 all times, wear a most embarrassing, tell-tale counten- 
 ance. When finally the case, after dragging along, 
 plainly became continued in character, it was the cus- 
 tom of some doctors to explain to the friends that the 
 case had "changed into typhoid," an explanation that 
 in many instances "made good" as the slang of today 
 goes, and satisfied all concerned. Others, too proud 
 to adopt such means for getting out of the diificulty, 
 either frankly confessed their confusion, or else held 
 their tongues, "looked wise" and breasted the storm 
 as best they could. It was these seemingly simple, yet 
 really confusing cases that often gave the young man his 
 first "black eye" from a professional standpoint. 
 
 Before I had been in practice a year, I met my first 
 case of puerperal fever. Labor was completed before 
 I arrived on the scene, as the patient lived some miles 
 in the country. I became greatly interested, followed 
 its progress closely and meanwhile read and re-read 
 all the literature on the subject I could lay my hands 
 on. The disease followed the usual course. First a chill, 
 then a high fever, pain in the bowels, tympanites, per- 
 itonitis, a dry tongue and the usual accompaniments of 
 septicemia. The case dragged along ; I treated it accord- 
 ing to the best authorities of the day, had two or three 
 consultants at different times, but its course was steadily 
 towards the grave, where such patients nearly always 
 speedily found their last resting place. As said before 
 we did not understand the true nature of this disease, 
 and such prominent authorities as Meigs and Hodge,
 
 102 Sixty Years in the Medical Hakness 
 
 both of Philadelphia and shining lights in the obstetric 
 world, steadily and persistently maintained that it was 
 not contagious. This too, in the face of the fact that the 
 brilliant Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes had more than 
 twenty years before demonstrated its infectious nature, 
 but these men and practically none others of promin- 
 ence in the profession, would receive this medical gos- 
 pel from so wise a prophet who, unfortunately for wom- 
 ankind, was compelled to wait many years before the 
 truths he had proclaimed, were adopted and their teach- 
 ings put in practice. 
 
 As I now look back at this, my first case of puerperal 
 fever, I can see no reason to make me think that I was 
 the infecting agent, a thing I would be glad to be sure 
 of in some of my subsequent experience, and in which 
 last I would be more than happy could I definitely prove 
 an alihi. 
 
 I had not long been in my first location till I began 
 to hear a great deal of the skill and success of a practi- 
 tioner of medicine in a neighboring village. Being at 
 this time so new upon the medical stage that I had 
 scarcely "cut my eye-teeth," in the professional way, 
 I was naturally interested in all that was said about one 
 so capable, hoping thereby to get some suggestion that 
 might possibly help me in making my own career more 
 successful. I learned one day that this physician, of 
 whose skill I had heard so much, had come to our village 
 on some errand, not of a medical character, and I took 
 this occasion to meet one of whom I was curious to 
 have answered the question : 
 
 "Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed, 
 That he is grown so great?" 
 
 Judge of my surprise when I found the person so 
 much talked of to be a thick-set, leadened-faced man, 
 utterly besotted with long drinking. Later I learned 
 that such was the faith of some of his country patrons
 
 My First Patients 103 
 
 in his skill that they were not in the habit of waiting for 
 the spree to go off, in which he might be found, but 
 putting him in a wagon would haul him, like a dead 
 hog, to the home of the patient where time would be 
 given him to sober up when he would be taken to the 
 ease, his diagnosis received with the greatest confidence, 
 and his treatment carried out with absolute faithfulness. 
 
 For a time I had board and rooming privileges in the 
 home of a prominent citizen by the name of C. B. Smith. 
 This man in certain particulars, was a unique character. 
 He was a very popular and successful business man in 
 the community, and for that time and place, had an 
 elegant home and attractive surroundings. His family 
 consisted of a wife and a five-year-old daughter, and 
 furthermore, his brother, a man about forty years of 
 age, made his home there. A well trained Irish woman 
 did the cooking and kept the table well supplied with 
 edible food at each of the three daily meals. A faithful 
 Irishman kept things about the yard and barn in apple- 
 pie order. 
 
 Mr. C. B. Smith, my landlord, was at all times well 
 dressed and was a courteous, suave, gentleman, kindly 
 disposed to everyone. He had excellent literary taste 
 and in his sitting-room was a well-selected library, in 
 which only appeared the works of the best authors. At 
 the close of each volume was the date when it had been 
 read through by its owner, — as he always promptly read 
 a book immediately after its purchase. But Mr. Smith's 
 reading was by no means confined to his own private 
 library ; once or twice a week he boarded a train on the 
 Alton and Chicago railway, went to Springfield, ten 
 miles away, and at the City Library got a number of 
 high-class books, brought these home, read them, and 
 procured more as his desires and literary taste indi- 
 cated. 
 
 In the fullest sense my landlord was a lover of good 
 books, and reading these and thinking over their con-
 
 104 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 tents made him a very intelligent, and to a degree, a 
 cultured man. Talking with him and seeing how much 
 satisfaction he got from reading good literature, was 
 a most useful object lesson to me. I had, since a school 
 boy, a taste for good books, but my three years of army 
 service, and the nomadic life I had since led, afforded 
 little opportunity for gratifying this. My association 
 with my landlord had the effect to thoroughly revive 
 and invigorate what up to this time was little more than 
 a dormant love of books. Since that winter, which I 
 spent in the home of C. B. Smith (now nearly sixty 
 years in the past), I have devoted no little of my spare 
 time to the reading of good books and the better class 
 of magazine articles. And for this, I can but think I 
 am the better, and am very certain I have been all the 
 happier. Meantime, I have grown into a confirmed 
 bibliophile. I agree perfectly with Sir John Herschell 
 when he said, " If I should pray for a taste, which might 
 stand me in stead under every variety of circumstances, 
 and be a source of happiness and cheerfulness through 
 life, and shield against ills, however things might go 
 amiss and the world frown upon me, it would be a taste 
 for reading. ' ' 
 
 But sad to have to relate, there was another side to 
 the life of my suave, kindly, cultured landlord ; he was a 
 periodic, and about once in two or three weeks, he would 
 get on a drunken spree. At such times the usually intel- 
 ligent countenance would wear a silly smile, the correct 
 dress would show every evidence of neglect ; the kindly, 
 soft spoken word would become harsh, and the cordial 
 greeting changed to a rebuff. 
 
 Fortunately for all concerned, when on one of these 
 sprees a night's rest would work an almost magical 
 change in the condition of my landlord and next morn- 
 ing he would appear at the breakfast table, neatly 
 dressed, cleanly shaven, in immaculate linen and with his 
 usual amiability and gentlemanly manner.
 
 My FmsT Patients 105 
 
 Sometimes during these drunken fits he would be 
 seized with hallucinations. One evening upon returning 
 to my boarding place I found him just within the front 
 gate with a shotgun on his shoulder and pacing to and 
 fro. He seemed excited and said there were robbers 
 about and before he would permit them on his premises, 
 they would have to step over his dead body! For- 
 tunately, Mr. Smith's brother appeared and in a little 
 time succeeded in getting hold of the gun, which was 
 found loaded in both barrels. 
 
 As, during my then recent service in the army, I had 
 seen enough of armed men to do me for a time, I con- 
 cluded it better to change my boarding place and thus 
 part company with my usually very agreeable, but 
 sometimes very disagreeable landlord. 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Smith's dual life ran its course. He 
 attended to his business affairs, read good literature, 
 greeted his friends and acquaintances and for the most 
 part, enacted the part of an exceptionally agreeable gen- 
 tleman. Then came his fit of periodical drunkenness, 
 fortunately short, when too often he was more hog than 
 human. 
 
 One November day, about a year subsequent to the 
 above experience, I was called to see Mr. Smith pro- 
 fessionally, and upon reaching his bedside, I found 
 him with a burning fever, which had been preceded by 
 a hard chill, headache, and a "stitch" in his side. He 
 soon developed a very serious case of pneumonia, and 
 in spite of my best efforts, grew steadily worse with 
 short breathing, rapid pulse, prune- juice expectoration 
 and some delirium. The best consultant available was 
 called in and while this was helpful in more ways than 
 one, no permanent relief was obtained, and it soon be- 
 came evident that death was inevitable. I was present 
 when he died, and just before the end, his pallid fea- 
 tures, prominent eye-balls and gasping for breath were 
 all indelibly photographed on my memory. The moment
 
 106 Sixty Years in the IVIedical Harness 
 
 before he expressed a desire to raise up in bed for a 
 bowel-movement (bedpans were not yet in use), and 
 was raised to the half-sitting position, when feeling 
 much worse, he was leaning on one elbow; he gasped 
 several times, then with the words, "I can't, I can't," 
 dropped back on his pillow and all was over. 
 
 He was the most prominent, and, in spite of his ap- 
 petite for drink, and at times unseemly indulgence in 
 this, he was by far the most beloved man in the village ; 
 consequently, his serious sickness was the cause of much 
 anxiety and in passing to and fro, I was beset with no 
 end of anxious inquiries. Towards the latter part of the 
 second week of my patient's illness, some of the older 
 citizens observed that now, that the ninth day had 
 passed with no improvement in the case, death would 
 almost certainly be the result. At this period the most 
 advanced medical scientist had no thought that pneu- 
 monia was an infectious and contagious disease and that 
 it had a regular course to run, and was hence a self- 
 limited ailment. Thus in a sense, the common people of 
 that time were to a degree ahead of the profession in 
 indirectly rating it as self -limited, which the nine days 
 time allowed a patient for improvement, in effect did. 
 
 In the many years I have engaged in practice, I have 
 had all sorts of cases, and patients in all conditions in 
 life, but I cannot recall one among them all whose life, 
 final illness and death interested me, on the whole, as 
 much as was the case of my old landlord, the courteous, 
 gentlemanly, book-lover, the popular citizen, the success- 
 ful man of business, and finally the drink addict. 
 
 When I first located at Chatham, I realized that on 
 the social side, I was lame. While yet in my nineteenth 
 year, I enlisted in the Union Army, serving till the war 
 ended three years later, and for three years following, 
 indeed, up to the time I went to Chatham, I was here, 
 there, and elsewhere, but in all places not in touch so- 
 cially. The result was that when I began practice I was
 
 My First Patients 107 
 
 an awkward, timid, unsophisticated stripling, and as 
 bashful as could well be imagined. 
 
 Not long after I began practice, I heard a great deal 
 of old Dr. Lewis, who a few years before, had passed to 
 the Great Beyond, and whose son, Dr. Charles H. Lewis, 
 was the ' ' young doctor ' ' who was referred to during my 
 first visit to the village, and whose removal to the West 
 left the vacancy I was trying to fill. Besides the young 
 doctor, there were two sons, a daughter and a widow, 
 left behind in the family, when the older Dr. Lewis died. 
 One day while I was in the drug store, where I had my 
 office, an attractive young woman came in and made a 
 purchase. When she had passed out the druggist said, 
 "Did you notice that young woman?" 
 
 "Yes," I answered, "I did, and I liked her looks." 
 
 "WeU, " said the druggist, 'that was Dr. Lewis's 
 sister. ' ' 
 
 I said little, but began to do some thinking. 
 
 Some months later I noticed two very neatly dressed 
 and nice looking young women with Miss Lewis, passing 
 to and fro about the village, and shortly after a hand- 
 some young man came in the store, whom the druggist 
 recognized and introduced as Dr. Lewis, my immediate 
 predecessor and who had come from the West on a visit. 
 Two or three days later he approached me, and after a 
 moment's conversation said, 'By the way, the folks at 
 the house are going to have some company tomorrow 
 night and asked me to invite you. ' ' I thanked him and 
 said that I would be pleased to respond, or words to 
 that effect. 
 
 After my caller had gone, I realized that I was with- 
 out proper clothes to go out among refined people, and 
 worse yet, I was short on the money side. But thinking 
 I must have something fit to wear, I went down to the 
 village store, which happened to have on hand a 'hand- 
 me-down ' ' suit of black cloth that fitted me indifferently 
 well. I frankly told the merchant I would have to be
 
 108 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 credited for a time if I took the suit and he very kindly 
 obliged me. When the hour approached for the party at 
 the "Widow" Lewis's residence I carefully went over 
 with a razor the thin growth of beard on my face, put 
 on my best "boiled" shirt and nicest tie, got into my 
 new "store-clothes' and pulled on my specially well- 
 blacked boots. Then, after brushing my hair carefully. 
 I put on my hat and started for the Lewis home, and 
 after arriving at the door I tremblingly made my pres- 
 ence known by a timid hesitating knock. The door was 
 promptly opened by Dr. Lewis who greeted me with a 
 hearty handshake, took my hat and then, taking my 
 arm, led. the way into the parlor where, among others 
 to whom I was presented was his sister and two other 
 attractive young ladies, his cousins from Massachusetts. 
 These were the young ladies I had seen in company with 
 Miss Lewis and who had come West to visit their rela- 
 tives. Their dress was up-to-date and they were good 
 looking and nice in every way. Dr. Lewis was a graduate 
 of Yale, handsome, and several years my senior, and in 
 his every movement was grace and ease. By comparison 
 I could but realize that I was awkward, ill-at-ease and 
 immature looking. 
 
 But somehow, someway, I managed to live through 
 it and at the end, reached home none the worse for my 
 experience, save the mortification for the figure I could 
 but feel I had cut. 
 
 In a little time Dr. Lewis returned to his new home 
 in the West ; and before long his charming cousins. Miss 
 Florence and Miss Katie Lewis, returned to their New 
 England home. Of the Miss Lewis of Chatham I in- 
 wardly resolved to see and know more, if possible. I 
 could but feel that she was worth knowing ; she was at- 
 tractive in person, and her father had long served his 
 community as its best physician and, moreover, was 
 recognized as its leading citizen. Her mother was an 
 educated woman, and many years before had come West
 
 My First Patients 109 
 
 to teach in an Academy at Jacksonville, then called 
 the "Athens" of Illinois. 
 
 I "screwed" up my courage and from time to time 
 for the purpose of engaging her company, to such sim- 
 ple functions as the village afforded, would write little 
 notes to Miss Lewis. One of these was at the Baptist 
 Church, and later I learned from her lips that instead of 
 a "p" in the third letter of Baptist I had inserted a 
 " b. " How and why she should be free enough to tell me 
 of my mistake in spelling, will appear later. 
 
 I think I have referred to the fact that when I found 
 my cousin teaching in Chatham he had just married a 
 young wife, who a year later became the mother of a 
 fine boy. Later I had the privilege of "bouncing" this 
 boy-babe on my knee, little dreaming that he was to 
 become a member of Congress from the Third Washing- 
 ton District, and later "make good" as chairman of 
 one of the most important committees, namely, immi- 
 gration. 
 
 Since the above was written Congressman Johnson 
 after giving the matter a great deal of study and inves- 
 tigating its many phases, matured an up-to-date Immi- 
 gration Bill, introduced this in Congress in 1924, had 
 the satisfaction of seeing The Johnson Immigration Bill 
 pass both Houses and receive the signature of President 
 Coolidge.
 
 HOW PEOPLE LIVED IN THE SIXTIES AND 
 SEVENTIES 
 
 Along the cool sequestered vale of life, 
 They kept the noiseless tenor of their way. 
 
 Oray. 
 
 POSSIBLY some of my readers are curious to know 
 how people lived in the Civil "War Era, and in the 
 years immediately following, and in a brief space I shall 
 endeavor to show this. Those who were accounted well- 
 to-do, whether in the country or in the villages, for the 
 most part lived in two-story frame-houses, usually with 
 a porch across the front, an el in the rear, containing a 
 dining room, kitchen and back porch. The front door 
 opened into a hall, upon each side of which was a room, 
 and from which led a stairway reaching a hall and two 
 rooms above. These houses were nearly all painted white 
 with green window-blinds, — all unblemished by coal- 
 smoke, smut and dirt incident to the burning of coal, and 
 which was obviated by the fact that practically everyone 
 burned wood. Most of the creeks and branches were 
 heavily fringed with timber which afforded an abun- 
 dance of firewood for the trouble of chopping down, 
 hauling and finally cutting into firelengths. For the 
 most part, fireplaces had been displaced by box-stoves, A 
 large heating-stove was used in the sitting-room for 
 general warmth in winter and a smaller stove had a place 
 in the parlor in which a fire was kindled when there was 
 company and upon other special occasions. With the 
 coming of warm weather all the heating stoves would be 
 taken down and put in a dry place till needed again. 
 Taking down stoves was relatively an easy job, but put- 
 
 110
 
 In the Sixties and Seventies 111 
 
 ting them up on the approach of cold weather often tried 
 the patience of the men-folks, mainly for the reason that 
 the stovepipes had grown cantankerous and often re- 
 fused to go back in place. In doing this "chore" I am 
 afraid that pater familias often used language he would 
 not have wanted his Sunday school class to hear. 
 
 As no fire in the bedrooms was the rule, gettting in 
 bed in zero weather between two ice-cold sheets was al- 
 most like taking a cold bath ; and of mornings getting 
 out of a warm bed into a cold room, was always attended 
 with a sense of dread. Most of the beds were of ticks 
 filled with feathers, under this was another tick filled 
 with straw and all rested upon a small rope crossed and 
 crisscrossed many times from rail to rail. After a little 
 use the rope would stretch, the bed would drop down in 
 the middle and when occupied by two persons, the ten- 
 dency was for them to roll and lodge against one another 
 in the center. Later slats displaced the bedcord and 
 many of the inconvenieneies of the last-named were 
 obviated. Later still came mattresses as we have them 
 todaj^ and soon thereafter ticks of feathers and straw 
 became things of the past. 
 
 When the fires died down of nights in cold weather 
 the careful housewife saw to it that no water was left 
 standing in pitchers and other fragile vessels lest these 
 freeze and burst. Not unfrequently apples, potatoes and 
 eggs were overlooked and left in the pantry and next 
 morning would be found frozen. The better houses had 
 under them eellai's in which were kept all kinds of vege- 
 tables and likewise apples and fruits. After the Civil 
 War Era canned fruits largely displaced the dried apples 
 and also the preserves. 
 
 Speaking of fruits, nearly every house had about it 
 cherry, peach and pear trees and likewise an apple- 
 orchard, the last large or small as suited the choice of 
 the owner ; and all these bore abundantly, for the various
 
 112 Sixty Yeaes in the Medical Harness 
 
 insect-pests so destructive today were then very much 
 less in evidence. With the disappearance of wild black 
 berries, wild strawberries, wild plums, etc., people began 
 to cultivate these in their gardens and about their homes. 
 But notwithstanding the abundance of fruits of one kind 
 and another, much more meat was eaten in that day than 
 in this. Nearly everyone kept chickens, some of them 
 turkeys, and practically all fattened hogs and had one or 
 more cows. These conditions very generally obtained in 
 the villages and that they did in the country, goes with- 
 out the saying. 
 
 Few homes in the villages were without one or more 
 horses, and as the bam was in most instances near the 
 house, the flies, which found an ideal incubator in the 
 stable manure, fairly swarmed in the kitchen and dining- 
 room. But strange to say in some quarters flies were yet 
 regarded as scavengers and for this reason deemed the 
 friend of man, rather than one of his worst enemies as 
 is known to be the case today. Even medical men 
 esteemed flies as essentially harmless as the following 
 from an up-to-date physician in the early eighties wiU 
 show. 
 
 "Go throw the shutters open wide and lift the windows high. 
 Let out the silence and the gloom, let in the jolly fly — 
 I'm weary of this stale repose, and long to hear again 
 The sweetest sound of all the year, the fly upon the pane. 
 I long to see him bobbing up and down the sill and sash, 
 
 I long to feel his tickling feet upon my soft mustache. 
 Then throw the shutters open wide and lift the windows 
 
 high, 
 Let out the gloom and silence, and let in the jolly fly. 
 
 "Oh the old house-fly! Oh the jolly house-fly! 
 A-straddling o'er the butter-dish, a-sprawling o'er the pie 
 A-jogging thro' the jell and jam, and jouncing round the 
 
 cream 
 As prone to risk a summer sail upon the milky stream; 
 A roving life the rascal leads thro' all the rosy hours,
 
 In the Sixties and Seventies 113 
 
 A-sipping only of the sweets and skipping all the sours. 
 Then throw the shutters open wide and lift the windows 
 
 high, 
 Let out the gloom and silence, and let in the jolly fly." 
 
 In the early seventies people began to realize that the 
 fly was a great nuisance and meantime some ingenious 
 benefactor of mankind invented v^ire-screen and began 
 to put it in their doors and windows. However, it was 
 not tiU late in the nineties that the world came to realize 
 that the house-fly was one of the worst of disease car- 
 riers; and because it not unfrequently transports ty- 
 phoid fever it has most properly been re-named the Ty- 
 phmd-fly. 
 
 People in more moderate circumstances lived in 
 houses of two rooms, one in front and a lean-to with a 
 shed-roof in the rear. Here and there along the streams 
 in the timber could be found log-cabins in which people 
 were living in as primitive a way as did the earliest 
 pioneer. This included cooking the meals on the fire- 
 place-hearth, all sleeping in one room and carrying the 
 water from a spring a long distance, or maybe dipping 
 it from a nearby stream. 
 
 However, the great majority of people lived in rela- 
 tively comfortable frame houses and had about them 
 fairly well-kept lawns, though the lawnmower had not 
 yet come in use. But in that period practically every 
 home had its three regulation holes, namely, the cellar, 
 the well and the excavation beneath the privy; and too 
 often for the best sanitary results these holes were much 
 too near each other. In the spring, with the coming of 
 heavy rains, the cellar would often be flooded with water 
 and this would be contaminated with spoiled potatoes, 
 rotten turnips and apples and maybe decayed cabbages, 
 and what the over-flowing privy vault contained need 
 not be specified. That the nearby well suffered from the 
 percolations from the cellar and excavation beneath the
 
 114 Sixty Years in the Medical Hakness 
 
 privy is known to all who have investigated such mat- 
 ters. Many years ago when I was ser\dng as Health Offi- 
 cer of Champaign City I found the vilest privy vault 
 within ten feet of a well, both of which were full of water 
 as it was in the rainy season, and both were used by the 
 owner of the premises. This was long before Champaign 
 got its sewer system, while it was as yet only a big village 
 and when practically all so-called privy vaults were sim- 
 ply uncemented holes in the ground. 
 
 In the late seventies the more progressive people be- 
 came cognizant of the foul privy menace and, to in some 
 degree minimize this, made use of boxes so that the con- 
 tents meantime! well saturated with lime, could be re- 
 moved at intervals. Others built the privy over a vault, 
 made watertight by cement. 
 
 Later soft coal displaced wood as a heat producer in 
 which it was more effective and could be purchased for 
 less than cutting the wood into firelengths would cost, 
 but it had the great fault of being dirty. However, as 
 time passed hard coal base burners were introduced and 
 those in better circumstances began the use of these and 
 found that while cleaner they also heated much more 
 evenly than soft coal-heaters. That this innovation added 
 much to the comfort of the home need not be said. 
 
 Very few people made use of ice in hot weather and 
 the poorer class being without cellars had no means of 
 preserving fresh meat and preventing milk from souring 
 and butter from getting strong and going bad. From 
 these and other causes, not so apparent, people in that 
 day, much more than now, suffered from 'bilious' at- 
 tacks and cholera morbus — practically all of which corre- 
 sponds to what today we call auto-intoxication. For 
 similar reasons infants were vastly more liable to cholera 
 infantum. 
 
 The Civil War Era was emphatically the period when 
 the two-horse wagon "was in flower." A new two-
 
 In the Sixties and Seventies 115 
 
 horse wagon with a well-groomed and neatly-harnessed 
 pair of horses hitched to its front was by many deemed 
 good enough to convey the family to church, to the Fair, 
 to the Circus or to the County-Seat. Then of course this 
 vehicle was used for a thousand and one purposes, such 
 as for hauling wood, corn, hay, fodder and numerous 
 other products and commodities. 
 
 In the late sixties came the spring-wagon, a sort of 
 open buggy which supplanted the more cumbersome two- 
 horse wagon for conveying the family to church and else- 
 where. In the late seventies the more well-to-do pro- 
 vided themselves with family carriages, which in turn 
 displaced the spring-wagon. However, as late as the 
 early seventies in certain "back-woods" districts the 
 side-saddle for women was the chief means of transpor- 
 tation for such members of the family as were too in- 
 firm or too easy-going to walk. 
 
 In these same remote localities the coming in of the 
 decade of the seventies found certain families yet living 
 in one-room log houses and more than once I had oc- 
 casion to spend long houi*s in this kind of a habitation in 
 rendering much needed professional service. I recall a 
 lying-in case that I had in one of these one-room log 
 houses. Near the center of one end of the one room was 
 a large open fireplace, which besides affording heat in 
 cold weather served the family as the only place for pre- 
 paring meals. In one corner near the fireplace was a 
 walnut cupboard, which contained the dishes and the 
 greater part of the cooking-utensils, used in the simple 
 culinary operations. Nearby was a two-leaved table 
 which, when opened out, served a useful purpose for the 
 family to gather around and eat their frugal meals. One 
 of these meals I saw prepared from its inception till it 
 was placed on the cloth ready to be eaten. First of all a 
 brisk fire was gotten underway till a goodly supply of 
 red coals were produced, then these were pulled out in
 
 116 Sixty Years in the JMedical Harness 
 
 front of a newly-dressed white-oak board that stood on 
 edge on the hearth near the fire and upon which had been 
 spread some properly-spread cornmeal dough, all in 
 readiness to be cooked by the heat from the red coals in 
 front. This I learned was to be a real "Johnny-cake," a 
 most popular method of cooking corn bread in the South, 
 and when so prepared by the natives, especially relished. 
 Meanwhile a teakettle of water was heating on the wood- 
 fire, on some coals on the hearth, some savory ham was 
 being fried in a skillet provided with legs to admit of 
 coals being placed under it. On some more coals on the 
 hearth was a "spider," covered with an iron lid upon 
 which were live coals. In due time this lid was removed 
 and a well-cooked and toothsome apple-pie was revealed. 
 On another pile of coals on the hearth was a steaming 
 coffee pot. Meanwhile the folding-table had been put in 
 the center of the room, a white spread put over it and 
 on this were put the blue-edged dishes, spoons, knives, 
 forks and tumblers. And though the tablecloth was of 
 coarse material, knives and two-tanged forks with 
 wooden handles and tumblers of the commonest grade of 
 glassware, yet all were so clean and spotless, one could 
 easily read through and beyond them the thrift and in- 
 dustry of the housewife who cared for all. In a little 
 time, the Jonny-cake, ham and coffee all found their 
 places on the table and in addition there were a number 
 of dishes containing preserves of several kinds, jams, 
 peach, apple and plum butter. Such was the abundance 
 of good things that this one-room log-cabin could place 
 before its guests. 
 
 In the end of the room opposite the fireplace and in 
 its opposite corners, were two beds, in one of which was 
 the wife and expecting-to-be, again a mother, conse- 
 quently an obliging neighbor-woman had prepared the 
 meal at the fireplace while two or three more stood near- 
 at-hand to help at the bedside, table or fireplace, as the
 
 A Doctok's Conveyance in the Sixties and Seventies
 
 A I)(H lOli's Vo^\\:\ASVE IS THK Eu.IlTlKS AM) Nl.NHTlKS
 
 In the Sixties and Seventies 117 
 
 need indicated. So obliging and helpful were the neigh- 
 bors in that period, not to say, sympathetic. 
 
 Not more than a half mile away, but a little further 
 in the timber and a little further down the creek, was 
 another one-room cabin where I was once detained with 
 the care of a patient through one night and part of the 
 day following, and 0, how different from the one just 
 described! Dirt, grime, grease everywhere. Biscuit 
 nearly as large as saucers and yellow with saleratus. 
 Side-meat swimming in its own fat. Coffee that was evi- 
 dently "made over" from "grounds" that had seen use, 
 and with about the strength of normal dishwater. 
 Finally this far-from appetising food was served on a 
 much-used and dirty tablecloth, the dishes were cracked, 
 some of them with pieces broken out and some of the 
 greasy knives and forks were in part devoid of handles. 
 People of the kind who lived in the class of cabins last 
 described were lazy, shiftless and as they always "hug- 
 ged" the streams and lived in the woods, were known as 
 "timber-rats," and were notorious for never paying a 
 doctor bill. Such as these were said to be "nuts" for 
 young doctors whose patients were few, but old, estab- 
 lished physicians were wise enough to "give them the 
 goby." 
 
 In lieu of cellars, some people in hot weather, were 
 wont to put their butter and cream in small tin-con- 
 tainers and let these down in the well, where the tem- 
 perature was low, but sometimes the lid would come off, 
 and maybe out in the well would go cream or butter, as 
 the case might be, — this to the unsettling of the house- 
 keeper's temper and to the temporary contamination of 
 the water. 
 
 As to screening the house, this was sometimes im- 
 perfectly done, and in other instances became defective 
 with time, and as a result, the wire seemed more effective 
 in keeping flies in than keeping them out. Here let it be
 
 118 Slkty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 observed that in that period there were twenty typhoid- 
 flies (house-flies) where there is one today, — ^largely from 
 the fact that the automobile has displaced the horse in 
 no small degree. 
 
 Kerosene for lighting purposes was introduced just 
 prior to the outbreak of the Civil War and a little later 
 fully displaced the tallow candle that had long served its 
 purpose in dissipating night-time darkness, to a degree 
 at least, in most homes. Coal oil lamps and chimneys 
 properly cleaned gave a satisfactory light, but when 
 neglected and the lamp allowed to become greasy and 
 chimney permitted to become clouded with dirt and 
 grime the light diffused was correspondingly disappoint- 
 ing. One objectionable feature of coal-oil lighting is the 
 characteristic kerosene smell at all times given off, but 
 which the thrifty housewife, by the exercise of care and 
 cleanliness always managed to reduce to a minimum. 
 
 Working hours were much longer than is the case 
 today. On the farms in the working season the men 
 often worked fourteen hours out of the twenty-four and 
 the women sixteen ! Indeed, in the fullest sense, these 
 people "slaved" as some very aptly expressed the situa- 
 tion, who were fully cognizant of all that was involved. 
 
 Amusements were few and simple and Sunday- visit- 
 ing was much in vogue and served to, or in some degree, 
 relieve the toil and tedium of the previous six days. 
 Going to meeting on Sunday was a distinct ' ' let-up ' ' to 
 those in the country. It gave the opportunity to meet 
 friends and neighbors, all of whom wore their "good" 
 clothes, and came in their best vehicle, whether this was 
 a newly-painted two-horse wagon, a spring-wagon, or a 
 top-buggy, and of course it was an especial satisfaction 
 to the religiously inclined.
 
 XI. 
 
 I CHANGE MY LOCATION AND FIND WORK 
 
 AMONG THE PIONEERS OX THE 
 
 PRAIRIES 
 
 Is there no balm in Gileadf 
 
 Is there no physician there* — Jeremiah. 
 
 AFTER practicing my profession in Chatham about 
 two years I became restless and decided if a tempt- 
 ing door opened to change mj^ location. Some of my 
 former patrons had removed from Sangamon County, 
 to Champaign County, then a relatively new country, 
 and had written to me and asked if I would not like 
 to come where they were and go into practice among 
 them? The suggestion induced me to pay a visit to my 
 friends in Champaign County and make a personal in- 
 spection of what seemed to my former patrons a veri- 
 table land of promise. And a "land-of -promise" I cer- 
 tainly found it to be, for most of its good and substan- 
 tial conveniences, and indeed not a few of its comforts 
 were as yet in the future. A large portion of it was vir- 
 gin prairie. Most of the houses on the land that had 
 been brought under the plow were simple "shacks," a 
 one-room shanty built of up-and-down, rough, unpainted 
 boards with a ' ' lean-to ' ' in the rear for a kitchen. About 
 these, prairie grass was still growing and seemed ready 
 to smother out the few very small fruit and shade trees 
 that the owner had set out with hope, centered in the 
 future. Stables for the horses were built of the same 
 up-and-down boards and covered with slough-grass 
 which made a kind of thatched, but very serviceable 
 roof. 
 
 In winter weather these shacks were heated with 
 
 119
 
 120 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 bituminous coal and corn cobs, — the coal hauled from 
 the nearest railway station and the corn cobs a most 
 abundant by-product of the corn raised and shelled on 
 the premises. In some of the homes were heating stoves, 
 but in many of them a cook stove was made to do double 
 duty in keeping the people warm and cooking the food 
 for the family. 
 
 The people, all of whom were pioneers, worked 
 hard, dressed very plainly and lived simply, neverthe- 
 less, something about them appealed to me and so I 
 decided to cast mj^ lot among them and take my chances, 
 let the outcome be what it might. Accordingly I engaged 
 board and lodging at a large and newly built brick 
 house on the prairie, the home of an extensive farmer, 
 stock-dealer and trader, and which was nearly five miles 
 from the nearest railway station and postoffice. This 
 done, I returned to Chatham and set about making pre- 
 parations for closing up- my business and leaving that 
 place. My books, trunk and other possessions I shipped 
 by rail and my horse I decided to mount and ride across 
 the country to my destination, something like one hun- 
 dred miles a little northeast from Chatham. 
 
 Finally after spending my last evening in Chatham 
 with "my best girl" I early one morning towards the 
 last of January, 1871, got in the saddle, rode to Spring- 
 field, there took the road east and just at nightfall 
 reached the village of Illiopolis, where I put up for the 
 night. Illiopolis has the distinction of at one time being 
 the rival of Springfield in seeking to become the State 
 Capital. Everyone who has spent the greater part of 
 a cold day in riding realizes that this conduces to sleep 
 the night following. But notwithstanding this experi- 
 ence when my head touched the pillow that night in 
 Illiopolis I was wakeful for a time for the reason that 
 my mind was occupied with the thought that after all, 
 I was maybe making a mistake in leaving Chatham and 
 some good friends I had made there. But of course one
 
 Prairie Pioneers 121 
 
 never knows and trusting all would be well and hoping 
 I would find just as good ones, and maybe better, for 
 the old adage tells us there are just as good fish in the sea 
 as those taken out, I fell asleep and slept soundly till 
 daylight when I hurriedly got up, saw to the feeding of 
 my horse, ate a hasty breakfast and was again in the 
 saddle. A little after noon I passed through Decatur 
 when for the first time the sun came out since I had 
 started on my journey. About sunset I reached Bement, 
 and spent the night there. Next morning I was again in 
 the saddle. Before noon I had reached the west border 
 of Champaign County, passed through the villages of 
 Ivesdale and Sadorus, then reached Tolono, where I left 
 the road, I had for the third day been on since leaving 
 Springfield and which paralelled the line of the Wabash 
 Railway, and rode across the country nine miles south- 
 east to the brick farmhouse which was destined to be my 
 temporary home and the center of literally a country 
 practice for nearly three years. 
 
 The season of my arrival was mid-winter and in 
 that new country everything was as bare and uninviting 
 as one could well imagine, but I resolved to make the 
 best of it, and the thought of the agreeable people I had 
 met made this seem the easier. 
 
 And now a word relative to my immediate surround- 
 ings. My boarding place, as elsewhere stated, was a 
 large brick farmhouse in which I was given a large up- 
 stairs room for an office and sleeping apartment. The 
 house had been recently built and was heated by a crude 
 furnace in which only wood was burned, with the result 
 that in cold weather the up-stairs was seldom warm 
 enough for comfort. In a large closet that opened out 
 of my room I kept my medicines and other furnishings 
 needed in my work. 
 
 My landlord, a Mr. A., was a unique character. He 
 was one of the most energetic men I ever knew, worked 
 early and late and strove to have every one about him
 
 122 Sixty Years in the JVIedical Harness 
 
 do the same. He had a section of land, (six hundred and 
 forty acres) in his home place, raised large crops of 
 com and oats and fed large droves of hogs and cattle. 
 When he desired to go anywhere, or do any particular 
 thing no weather, however cold or stormy, was permitted 
 to prevent the accomplishment of what he had in mind. 
 He was hospitable and kept "open house" after the 
 manner of Virginians of which he was one. His educa- 
 tion had not gone beyond the three "R's" and to say 
 that he "murdered right and left the King's English" 
 is only stating a naked truth. However, he was bright, 
 had a fine sense of humor, could tell a story well, and in 
 doing so his eyes would twinkle and his face light up 
 with enjoyment and appreciation. On a sideboard in 
 the sitting room he always kept a bottle of whiskey and 
 this he unfailingly offered to his guests, let them be 
 whom they might. His table was always abundantly 
 supplied with plain, but hearty food and no one who 
 came about the place at or near meal-time was allowed to 
 go away without a cordial invitation to dine or sup as the 
 case might happen to be. For certain ones in the com- 
 munity who were parsimonious about the cupboard and 
 table he had utter contempt. But while he was a hos- 
 pitable and generous host woe be to him with whom he 
 drove, or attempted to drive, a trade, — unless the "par- 
 ty to the second part" was especially alive to the situ- 
 ation and "had his wits about him." In the winter 
 months my landlord was frequently the victim of colds ; 
 and when one of these "settled on his lungs" as he 
 expressed it, he expectorated a great deal of frothy 
 mucus; and this he deposited promiscuously, — pro- 
 miscuously in the fullest sense of the word. Little was 
 the difference where he might be, whether in the kitchen, 
 the dining room, the sitting room, the parlor, or the 
 spare bedroom, when he felt the impulse to expectorate, 
 out it came on the floor, on the best carpet, on the walls, 
 and, in fact the bed and table were often in danger of
 
 Prairie Pioneers 123 
 
 this contamination. At such times his coughing fits were 
 of aggravating intensity, especially resounding in tone 
 and served to almost shake the house. This bronchial 
 trouble attended him through much of the time in the 
 winter season and all he could be persuaded to use for 
 it was Balsam of Fir which had been recommended and 
 which, nothwithstanding his faith in it, seemed to have 
 no effect in the way of bettering the more persistent and 
 annoying symptoms. 
 
 Following the medical history of my landlord it is 
 proper to say that he lived past his three score years and 
 ten and finally died from the results of a stroke of 
 apoplexy. 
 
 In some particulars I find I am ahead of my story. 
 I shall never forget my first patient after locating at the 
 farmhouse. It was a woman who had recently been con- 
 fined and was suffering with an inflammed breast. The 
 standard treatment for such cases in that day was Phy- 
 tolacca decondra internally and an ointment of belladon- 
 na externally. Phytolacca it will be recalled is our well 
 known poke root. I prescribed a tincture of the last 
 named and this with the belladonna ointment properly 
 applied seemed to effect a cure ; at any rate the patient 
 recovered after using the medicines. Most of the troubles 
 I was called upon to treat were those usually incident 
 to the winter season, such as colds, coughs, bronchitis 
 and other lung troubles. With of course now and then 
 a labor case. As practiced in that pioneer locality ob- 
 stetrics was a very simple art, and at the risk of some 
 repetition I wiU now describe it in detail. 
 
 It need hardly be said that asepsis and anti-sepsis, 
 as we have them today, were neither understood theor- 
 etically, nor made use of practically. The trained nurse 
 had not yet appeared on the scene and even the "prac- 
 tical nurse" was to all intents and purposes unknown. 
 Two or three female neighbors came in and did what they 
 could in the way of assisting where and when needed.
 
 124 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 When the "pains" came to be persistent the doctor was 
 sent for and as soon as he arrived he called for hot water 
 and in this he washed his hands and next made a digital 
 examination. If the os was found but little dilated he 
 would maybe return to his office, or at any rate tell the 
 patient that his services would not be needed for a 
 time as the case had not progressed far enough for him 
 to be of assistance. In the event the doctor's office was 
 miles away the attendant remained and passed the time 
 as best he could. Perhaps he would get his hat and go 
 out and look at the various things about the place, such 
 as horses, hogs, cattle, etc., or if it was in the growing 
 season he would maybe look at the crops, fruits, vege- 
 tables and growing things generally. On the other hand 
 if he was "bookishly" inclined he would come as near 
 "ransacking" the house as circumstances would allow, 
 for a possible "find" in the literary way, and some- 
 times he would be richly rewarded in the most linex- 
 pected ways and places. I recall once finding a nice, 
 leather-bound copy of Irving 's life of Columbus in a 
 shack occupied by a famity who had no idea whatever 
 of literary values. 
 
 Meanwhile if the doctor was wise he would show his 
 interest by now and then looking in on his patient and 
 thus keeping "in touch." This leads me to say that in 
 that day frequent digital examinations were made and 
 were deemed harmless. We now know that the greater 
 part of these were uncalled for and M^ere attended with 
 more or less risk. But the teachings of that time were 
 different and we were expected to note the progress of 
 the case by means of repeated examinations. 
 
 Finallj^ when the os was well dilated and the pains 
 became strong and regular all present realized that 
 labor had begun in earnest and that they must act 
 accordingly. One of the patient's hands was grasped by 
 a woman, who held it firmly during a pain, and at the 
 same time the patient's other hand was seized by a 
 second woman in the same way. Meantime the ac-
 
 Prairie Pioneers 125 
 
 eoucheur made himself useful in any manner that 
 seemed most needed. Too often, as we see it today, with 
 his index finger, he was noting the progress of the 
 occiput on its way through the parturient canal. 
 
 Among the means of preparation a clean sheet folded 
 upon itself several times was placed under the patient 
 where later fluids would appear in greater or less quan- 
 tity. Under this folded sheet and next the bed, in lieu 
 of rubber, was placed sometimes, and indeed, almost 
 anything, that would absorb fluids, such as an old calico 
 dress, an ancient skirt, a ragged quilt, and I came near 
 saying an old horse blanket, but this would be "stretch- 
 ing the truth" a little, though not a great deal. In due 
 time a cry more or less lusty would proclaim the fact 
 that a new life had begun its existence ; and at this 
 stage it was always the doctor's duty to announce the 
 sex of the new arrival. Sometimes when this was done 
 a shade of disappointment would pass over the mother's 
 face if a girl came on the scene when a boy was pre- 
 ferred, and visa nersa. In not a few instances the fact 
 developed that a name for the new-born had been 
 selected, as James, or some other masculine cognomen, 
 if it proved to be a boy; and Mary, or some similar 
 appellation, if a girl. 
 
 Next the cord was cut and then the infant was 
 handed over to one of the women to be washed with the 
 admonition to be careful and not get soap in the little 
 one's eyes. After the washing the cord was dressed by 
 placing a piece of old cotton or muslin duly scorched 
 and greased on the infant's navel and over this was 
 pinned the binder. The youngster was now ready for its 
 baby clothes which the mother had prepared with due 
 care and pride. When fully dressed the babe was placed 
 beside its mother who looked it over with a smile of 
 satisfaction, — an almost unequalled smile of satisfaction 
 in the event the babe was a first-born. 
 
 While the infant was being washed the doctor bus-
 
 126 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 ied himself in removing the afterbirth, securing the de- 
 sired contraction of the uterus, putting in place the 
 mother's binder, and applying a compress saturated 
 with a weak solution of carbolized water. This was di- 
 rected to be renewed from time to time. A solution of 
 ergot was left to secure uterine contraction in the event 
 undue hemorrhage occurred. In case the "after-pains" 
 were unduly severe some powders of morphine were left 
 to be used as needed. 
 
 This done the doctor took his leave with no expecta- 
 tion of making a subsequent visit unless sent for. 
 Such in brief was the manner and method of conducting 
 a labor case in the third quarter of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury and for an ordinary normal confinement the attend- 
 ant was expected to charge ten dollars. Well, maybe this 
 was all he earned but sometimes it seemed that he 
 earned his fee two or three times over. Forceps were 
 seldom used and in some instances the doctor would be 
 detained from twenty-four to forty-eight hours. 
 
 When abortion occurred a reasonable attempt was 
 made to rid the uterus of its contents, but to attain this, 
 curetment was never resorted to. And I am here to 
 testify that, notwithstanding our relative ignorance of 
 the use of antiseptics we got better results than do the 
 over-meddlesome practitioners of today who with their 
 ever-ready curettes scratch, scrape and painfully de- 
 nude an already wounded and sensitive surface. Later 
 on in my professional life, more than once I have known 
 a highly-trained and high-priced specialist come from 
 his home in a large city and proceed to curette a poor 
 woman who had had the misfortune to miscarry and 
 who later had the further misfortune to go to her grave ! 
 Under similar circumstances with patients no worse I 
 have seen in country practice patient after patient make 
 a good recovery; and this with nothing but rest in bed 
 and the exercise of ordinary cleanliness.
 
 Prairie Pioneers 127 
 
 What was the degree of our success in obstetric 
 practice ? Fairly good, — at any rate most of the mothers 
 went steadily on having child after child and these all 
 healthy, or at least substantially so. In my practice on 
 the prairies I can recall but two cases of puerperal sepsis 
 following confinement, and in both instances another 
 physician was the accoucheur. In one of these cases the 
 house had burned down just before labor occurred and 
 the family moved into a little old shack that happened 
 to be on the premises. About a month after the confine- 
 ment the patient fell in my hands and on my first visit 
 I found her surroundings almost indescribably filthy; 
 and what was worse there were no means to effect much 
 improvement in these. The result was I was compelled 
 to "trust to luck"; and, strange to say "luck" was on 
 my side and after a time my patient began to improve 
 and finally at the end of long weeks was able to sit up 
 and in the end made a good recovery. 
 
 The second case of puerperal sepsis that fell in my 
 hands after confinement was a large German woman 
 whose symptoms were less acute than were those of the 
 patient described above, but she was in bed for a long 
 period and was months in making a complete recovery. 
 
 Speaking of Germans, there was a considerable set- 
 tlement of German peasants on the prairie and their 
 mode of living was as far as possible from sanitary. 
 Their bed furnishings were simple in the extreme and 
 consisted of two ticks, one of straw upon which they 
 slept and one of feathers which they pulled over them 
 in cold weather. To say that these ticks from use became 
 dirty would not express half the truth, for they became 
 vile and filthy almost beyond belief. In many instances 
 I have seen them literally encased with black, sticky 
 filth, — not even relatively decent dirt ! 
 
 But no matter with what disease they were afflicted, 
 nor how severely, strange to relate they nearly all re- 
 covered. Indeed, among these people with their filthy
 
 128 Sixty Years in TEm Medical Harness 
 
 beds and surroundings to match I can now recall but 
 one death and that was in the case of a child with men- 
 ingitis. The only way I can account for this is to con- 
 ceive that these people had somehow acquired a high 
 degree of resistance, or as we would say today their 
 opsonic indices must have registered very high, and 
 consequently to many things they must have grown 
 immune. 
 
 In sharp contrast to the above I recall a German fam- 
 ily who were noted far and near for the immaculate 
 manner in which the home and surroundings were kept. 
 The house was a one-room shack with a lean-to built 
 of up-and-down rough boards, but within, the floors 
 fairly shone, they were so clean; the door and window- 
 cases were likewise, and the window panes were so clear 
 and spotless as to seem almost invisible. As to the kitch- 
 en and all that came from it, — well, it was an unmixed 
 pleasure to have meal-time fall due during the period of 
 a professional visit. 
 
 All my patrons and newly-made acquaintances were 
 engaged in farming. At the farmhouse where I roomed 
 and boarded was a school teacher who temporarily made 
 his home there. He was two or three years my senior 
 and I soon learned that teaching was but a pastime 
 with him and that he was engaged in the, to him, much 
 more attractive vocation of making money. He was 
 the owner of several farms and loaned money to such as 
 could furnish satisfactory security. Later he finished 
 his school and changed his boarding-place to another 
 farmhouse. While his tastes were quite different from 
 mine, yet being near my own age, he proved to be the 
 most fit associate I found while practicing on the prai- 
 rie. Later he removed to a part of Iowa noted for rich 
 soil where his money-making instinct found full play 
 and the last I heard of him he was a millionaire. 
 
 Notwithstanding the off-and-on companionship this
 
 Prairie Pioneers 129 
 
 young man afforded me, during nearly the whole of my 
 stay at the prairie farmhouse I was a pronounced suf- 
 ferer from social starvation. There were several nice 
 girls in the neighborhood, most of whom were several 
 years my juniors, but while I felt kindly towards all 
 of them I did not go out of my way to seek their com- 
 pany. About the only chance for meeting these people 
 when at their best was at church, or as called in that 
 day, "meeting." Most of the farmers' families were 
 Methodists, or at any rate gave their adhesion to that 
 sect. That was an era of church-building in this part of 
 Illinois and on the prairie new churches could be seen 
 going up in whatever direction one traveled. Indeed, 
 these were so numerous that one could be found in about 
 every fourth mile. There was a large barn so situated on 
 the prairie that it was said that from its cupola no less 
 than six of these newly erected churches could be count- 
 ed in the farming country around. 
 
 I attended the dedication of one of these churches 
 at which the Rev. Hiram Buck preached the sermon and 
 at its close went at the congregation, " teeth-and-toe- 
 nails" for the remainder of the funds needed to com- 
 plete paying for the cost of the church. It was inter- 
 esting to see and hear him as he asked, pleaded and liter- 
 ally begged for what was needed. At last subscriptions 
 were promised till only ten dollars were lacking. In a 
 moment a sturdy farmer arose and directed that his 
 subscription be increased ten dollars. Before the last 
 subscriber could take his seat a broad smile lighted up 
 the countenance of the preacher and rising on his tip- 
 toes he exclaimed, ** Bully! Bully!" 
 
 The premises all about the hospitable brick house 
 were fairly alive with yellow-legged chickens, which 
 when dressed and fried, were reputed to be a favorite 
 dish with all Methodist preachers. As the mistress of 
 the brick house was an expert at frying chicken no one
 
 130 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 of her preacher-guests could ever find cause for com- 
 plaint on that score. 
 
 In the last days of 1873 I bade good-bye to my prai- 
 rie location and a young preacher very soon after suc- 
 ceeded me as a boarder at the brick farmhouse. 
 
 In that day Edward Eggleston was a popular and 
 very much read author and one of his numerous stories 
 was the "Circuit Rider." I happened to know that my 
 preacher-successor at the farmhouse, whom we will call 
 the Reverend B. had just been reading with very great 
 interest this book, then just out. One of the chief char- 
 acters in the "Circuit Rider" was a crude, shrewd, 
 forceful man and a successful Indiana farm^er in pion- 
 eer days. It so happened that this coarse, sagacious 
 hoosier-farmer, this diamond-in-the-rough, had a daugh- 
 ter who in her way was one of nature's queens, for 
 she was modest, good-looking, amiable, bright and in 
 every way winning. Well what should happen but that 
 a young circuit rider, an especially promising man, who 
 frequently accepted the hospitality of the Hoosier farm- 
 er, "took a shine" to his fair daughter, courted her, 
 married her and found in her a faithful wife, a good 
 home-maker and later on a model mother. 
 
 It so happened that Mr. A., alreadj^ referred to as 
 the owner of the brick house on the prairie, the wonder- 
 fully energetic farmer and stock-raiser, the shrewd, 
 crude, forceful, unique character and for two years my 
 landlord, had for his eldest daughter a sweet, modest, 
 comely young woman. And what should happen ? What 
 should happen? Why history repeated itself not long 
 after the young Reverend B. had read and and a num- 
 ber of times re-read the Circuit Rider. History repeated 
 itself when young Reverend B. straightway made love 
 to the eldest daughter of his rough, shrewd, landlord, 
 — the prairie "diamond in the rough". Well the young 
 preacher 's advances were favorably received and in due 
 course a big wedding was celebrated at the brick farm-
 
 Prairie Pioneers 131 
 
 house on the prairie, attended by all the neighbors 
 around. Again historj^ repeated itself and subsequently 
 recorded several facts among which was that the comely 
 daughter of the rough landlord of myself and the Rev- 
 erend B. made a most faithful wife, a good home-maker 
 and a devoted mother. So it is that good old Mother 
 Nature manages to solve some of her problems. 
 
 Later came summer with its heat and drought for 
 there was a long period with little rainfall. The coun- 
 try was new and being all prairie was of course wholly 
 devoid of forest trees and most of those which had been 
 planted were as yet small. However, a few of the longer 
 settled homes had about them trees which had attained 
 some size and their rich green leaves and the cool shade 
 they cast during the long hot summer days were almost 
 unspeakably alluring as seated in the saddle I rode past 
 to visit some newcomer who was sick almost to death 
 in his little shack about which was neither tree nor shrub. 
 
 As is usually the case in newly settled countries 
 most of the wells were shallow and with the coming of 
 dry weather many of them failed in their water-supply. 
 However, some of the more well-to-do already had 
 driven-wells, hollow-iron tubes reaching down fifty to 
 two hundred feet to an inexhaustible supply of water 
 which was lifted to the surface by a pump driven by a 
 wind-mill on a strong frame some twenty feet above the 
 ground-level. Cisterns were very few and the rain-water 
 barrel beside the kitchen door furnished an uncertain 
 supply of soft water which too often became alive with 
 "wiggle-tails" which later became mosquitoes, and many 
 of them carrier of the Plasmodium malaria with which 
 in late summer and early autumn most of the dwellers 
 on the prairies were doomed to be infected. But in 
 that period the most advanced physician was ignorant of 
 the fact that such a thing as a malarial parasite existed ; 
 and consequently never so much as dreamed that the 
 seemingly harmless mosquito literally vaccinated its
 
 132 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 unsuspecting victims with what later produced some 
 form of malarial fever. Most frequently the tertian, 
 or as the common people had it, " every-other-day 
 ague"; the quartan, or "third-day-ague", and which 
 one old German always called the "shree day ager. " 
 The quartan type w^as so rare as to be almost a curiosity. 
 Then there was the estivo-autumnal, commonly called 
 remittent or bilious fever. Of all these different forms 
 of malarial fever we now know the innocent-looking 
 "wiggle-tails" in the pioneer's rain-water barrel a little 
 later in their life-histories, became the guilty purveyors. 
 But of all this, as said above, patient and doctor alike 
 were absolutely ignorant in the period of which I write. 
 The region of country where I had found my new 
 location was the heart of the Illinois corn-belt and the 
 soil was eighteen to tAventy-four inches deep with a yel- 
 low, jointed clay underneath. With the breaking up 
 of winter, the simultaneous melting of snow, ice and 
 frozen ground, the roads in all this locality became 
 almost impassable, indeed, not infrequently were ab- 
 solutely so for wheeled vehicles. Sometimes too, after 
 a general thaw-out it would turn cold, a light "freeze" 
 would occur that would result in a one or two inch 
 crust over a deep layer of mud beneath, and a rider 
 attempting to guide his horse over this would find the 
 animal struggling and floundering as it broke through 
 at each successive step. Wlien this was the condition, 
 and an urgent call was received, the doctor would take 
 his medicines and start out on foot, and by picking 
 out his pathway along the fences and in the edge of 
 the fields, would after much effort and labor finally 
 reach the bedside of his patient. Later would come 
 the spring-rains when the whole country, an almost un- 
 broken level surface, would be flooded with water, and 
 in visiting his patients the doctor would find his route 
 through sloughs and ponds in which the water would 
 in places come up to his stirrup straps. Again his way
 
 Prairie Pioneers 133 
 
 would be across unbridged streams swollen out of their 
 banks and if the doctor escaped with no worse mishap 
 than a cold footbath he could count himself fortunate. 
 Occasionally in the months of February and March, 
 heavy snows would fall and the roads would fill with 
 drifts and the way would have to be found around 
 through the fields or by the way of some out-of-the-way 
 lane. So much in the way of background in the country 
 doctor's life, but fortunately his days had their lights 
 no less than shadows and some of the former came with 
 the soft air and warm showers of April which touched 
 and quickened the roots of the prairie grass till these 
 sent up tiny shoots which later grew and in due course 
 put forth the rich, green blades upon which the herds 
 fed and grew slick with fatness. Meantime in these early 
 spring days the violets, cowslips and buttercups covered 
 the earth with their rich colorings and made of the 
 prairie wilderness one vast flower garden. All this while 
 the farmer was busy plowing his lands and planting 
 his crops and a little later his eyes met ' ' the little germ- 
 inating seeds, just thrusting their pale heads up through 
 the soil, saw the clustering green shoots, numerous in 
 the signs of plenty and all crowding together and 
 clamoring for light, for air, and room. He saw the pre- 
 vailing of the tall and strong upthrusting stalks, after 
 the way of life, saw the others dwarf and whiten, and 
 yet cling on at the base of the bolder stem, parasites, 
 worthless, yet existing, after the way of life. 
 
 ' ' He saw the great central stalks spring boldly up, so 
 swiftly that it almost seemed possible to count the suc- 
 cessive leaps of progress. He saw the strong-ribbed 
 leaves throw out, waving a thousand hands of welcome 
 and assurance, these blades of the corn, so much might- 
 ier than any blade of steel. He saw the beckoning ban- 
 ners of the pale tassles out atop of the stalk, token of 
 fecundity and the future. He caught the wide-driven 
 pollen as it whitened the earth, borne by the parent
 
 134 Sixty Yeaejs in the Medical Harness 
 
 west wind, mother of increase. He saw the thickening of 
 the green leaf at the base, its swelling, its growth and 
 expansion, till the indefinite enlargement showed at 
 length the incipient ear. He noted the faint brown 
 ends of the sweetly-enveloping silk of the ear, pale- 
 green and soft underneath the sheltering and protecting 
 husk. He found the sweet and milk-white tender kernels 
 row upon row, forming rapidly beneath the husk, and 
 saw at length the hardening and darkening of the husk 
 at its free end, which told that man might pluck and 
 eat. And then he saw the fading of the tassels, the 
 darkening of the silk and the crinkling of the blades, 
 and there borne on the strong parent stem, he noted 
 how many full-rowed ears, protected by their husks 
 and heralded by the tassels and the blades : ' ' Come, come 
 ye, all ye people ! Enter in, for I will feed ye all ! ' '* 
 
 A song for the plant of my own native West, 
 
 Where nature and freedom reside, 
 By plenty still crowned, and by peace ever blest. 
 
 To the corn! the green corn of her pride! 
 
 Bordering the prairie on the east was the Embarass, 
 familiarly called the "Ambraw" River a little larger 
 than the average creek, and both banks of which were 
 skirted with timber. On the western edge of the prairie 
 was the Kaskaskia, commonly called the "Okaw" and 
 of much the same size and character as the ''Ambraw" 
 a number of miles to the east. Like its neighbor stream 
 both of its banks were heavily timbered. In this wooded 
 region were a number of ''timber-rats" or "squatters" 
 who lived in one-room log cabins with half a dozen or 
 more children, as many dogs of miscellaneous breed, 
 though one or more was sure to be a yellow deer-hound. 
 The head of the family was usually hatchet-faced, with 
 long upkempt hair and whiskers, sallow complexion, an 
 unwashed face and hanging to and about his usually 
 
 • Emerson Hough.
 
 Prairie Pioneers 135 
 
 long, lank form, was an ill-fitting suit of faded butter- 
 nut. 
 
 The wife and mother was more often than otherwise 
 tall, slender, with untidy hair, a tired, woe-begone 
 countenance and with an old faded calico dress clinging 
 to rather than fitting her ungainly form. Fortunately 
 for the country, progressive farmers on contiguous prai- 
 rie land bought out these "timber-rats" and they 
 "moved on." No doubt the growing scarcity of game 
 and wild animals made these people all the more willing 
 to sell out, for hunting and trapping had furnished 
 them most of their employment and from it they derived 
 the greater part of their income. The more thrifty 
 raised a few acres of com on "cleared" land and this 
 supplied meal for their "lodgers" and feed for a few 
 hogs. Meantime the "range" all about afforded grass 
 for a cow and a few sheep. The wool from the last was 
 spun and woven in the cabin into jeans and linsey- 
 woolsey. In an earlier day possums, raccoons, wild tur- 
 keys, deer and squirrels were found in the timber in 
 greater or less numbers. Meantime prairie chickens 
 were in great plenty on the prairie and quail were found 
 everywhere. After I came to Champaign County an 
 occasional deer would come to the pastures in winter 
 time and eat corn and fodder with the cattle and 
 horses. Today save rabbits and a few squirrels, game of 
 all kinds has practically all been banished from our 
 limits.
 
 XII 
 
 AGAIN IN THE AMPHITHEATER 
 
 Men must he taught as if you taught them not, 
 And things unknown proposed as things forgot. 
 
 Selected. 
 
 AS I had now rounded out three years of practice 
 while still an undergraduate it seemed that the 
 time was ripe for me to attend a course of lectures and 
 finish my education — that is, finish it in a sense, for a 
 right thinking man is always a learner and from this 
 standpoint, should never regard his education complete. 
 As I now lived within one hundred and thirty-five miles 
 of Chicago, I made up my mind to visit that city, to 
 spend the winter of 1871-2 there, attend a course of lec- 
 tures at one of its two leading schools, namely the Chi- 
 cago Medical College and Rush, and as I had recently 
 formed some friendships that led me to regard the last 
 named school in a favorable light, I made up my mind to 
 sit on its benches during the ensuing course of lectures. 
 
 Accordingly, with this object in mind, I began to 
 make my arrangements to get all in readiness, so that 
 when the longed-for time came for me to make my con- 
 templated trip to Chicago and matriculate at Rush Medi- 
 cal College, there would be no hitch or break in my plans. 
 Of course, as always in the career of a struggling young 
 country practitioner of medicine, the paramount ques- 
 tion to be considered was the financial one. Conse- 
 quently, I set about collecting up bills closely and find- 
 ing I was on safe ground in this direction, felt com- 
 paratively easy and patiently waited for the time of my 
 expected trip to come round. However, as things turned 
 out, I was unexpectedly delayed on account of a patient 
 
 136
 
 Again in the Ampitheatre 137 
 
 I had on hand, but after a little circumstances were such 
 that I could leave and I was ready to go to the railway- 
 station and board a train for Chicago when, like a flash 
 of lightning from a clear sky, came the news that that 
 city was on fire and was likely to be all consumed ! Two 
 or three days later, word came that the flames were sub- 
 dued, but not till a large portion of the city had been re- 
 duced to ashes. Of course, thus I found all my plans 
 disconcerted and in my particular case, history had re- 
 peated itself, to an extent at least, as the following will 
 show. In the autumn of 1867 I was planning to go to 
 Chicago and matriculate at the Chicago Medical College, 
 attend the winter course of lectures in that institution 
 and in the end, possibly get my name on its list of 
 Alumni, but my financial plans miscarried and I was 
 compelled to bow to what then seemed to be the in- 
 evitable ; in the autumn of 1871, four years later, I had 
 all arrangements made to go to Chicago, attend a course 
 of lectures at Rush Meidcal College and in the spring 
 maybe have the good fortune to be enrolled among its 
 graduates. But, 
 
 The best laid schemes o' mice an' men 
 Gang aft a-gley, 
 
 and the Fates seemed to have decreed, for the time being 
 at least, that I go elsewhere than Chicago to get my 
 medical degree. 
 
 It was under these circumstances that, after due 
 consideration, I concluded to go to Cincinnati and at- 
 tend the winter course of lectures, given at the Medical 
 College of Ohio. One bright morning, I parted with my 
 good country friends, bade goodbye to the prospects of 
 long rides and hard trips over the country during the 
 ensuing winter, drove to the railway station, took an 
 Illinois Central train for Odin, Illinois, a crossing on 
 the Ohio and Mississippi railway, where I boarded a
 
 138 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 train directly for Cincinnati where I arrived just before 
 day the following morning. The forenoon was rainy 
 and dreary for a time but later the sun came out. as 
 likewise did I, and found my way to the office of Dr. 
 W. W. Dawson, who filled the chair of surgery in the 
 Ohio Medical College. Dr. Dawson was in his prime, 
 a thick, heavy set man, a skillful surgeon and a genial 
 agreeable gentleman. He was about to step in his car- 
 riage and make some calls and very kindly asked me to 
 accompany him. I recall one of the patients, a young 
 wealthy Jew, who had sarcoma of the upper jaw, and 
 who had already passed into an anemic, broken-down 
 state that betokened an early death, and really, under 
 the circumstances, much to be hoped for. 
 
 Before taking leave of Dr. Dawson he directed me to 
 the Building of the Ohio Medical College, and going 
 there and making some inquiries, an obliging student 
 took me to the Secretary of the faculty, Dr. James T. 
 Whittaker, and I matriculated as a student and paid 
 my fees. I went at once to the amphitheater and heard 
 a lecture on anatomy from Professor Gobrecht, who 
 filled that chair. He was a very learned man in his de- 
 partment and was the American editor of Wilson's 
 Anatomy, an English work which later was largely 
 displaced by Gray's recent volume on the same subject. 
 For the last named contribution to the field of Anatomy, 
 Dr. Gobrecht, never had much use and in his lectures 
 subsequently was constantly referring to it in reproach- 
 ful terms. At this time he was perhaps fifty years of 
 age, but was quite gray and seemed older. As a teacher, 
 he was excessively prolix and seemed utterly devoid 
 of the faculty of separating the wheat from the chaff, 
 or in other words, seizing the essentials that a student 
 should learn, while ignoring useless minutia. However, 
 I found many students enthusiastic in his praise. Mean- 
 while, I wisely kept my tongue but could not help men- 
 tally contrasting him with Dr. Ford of Michigan Uni-
 
 Again in the Ampitheatre 139 
 
 versity, and very greatly to the letter's advantage. As 
 I remember it, Dr. Gobrecht spent nearly the whole 
 winter on the bones of the skeleton. Fortunately we got 
 a great deal of practical knowledge from another source 
 namely, from Dr. P. S. Conner, who filled the chair of 
 Surgical Anatomy. Dr. Conner at this time was in the 
 prime of young manhood, gave us good instruction and 
 always impressed me as a man especially well informed 
 in all that pertained to both surgery and anatomy. 
 Dr. W. W. Dawson who filled the surgical chair, was 
 a clear, concise lecturer, never worried us with useless 
 details that we would surely forget anyway. 
 
 Dr. Thaddeus A. Reamy had just come to the college 
 where he was filling the chair of Obstetrics, was finely 
 formed, very nice looking and dressed well and was a 
 good teacher and was well liked by the students. 
 
 Dr. Roberts Bartholow was in the prime of his career 
 and at this time filled the chair of Therapeutics and 
 Materia Medica. He was known to be a hard student, 
 and impressed us with the idea that he knew all about 
 drugs and their actions that was to be known. While he 
 was a good lecturer, his talking in the amphitheater was 
 not as easily followed as that of some others. 
 
 Dr. W. W. Seely, filled the chair of Otology and 
 Ophthalmology. He was well versed in his specialty, 
 operated skillfully in his chosen field, and was in the 
 prime of young manhood, dressed like a dude and parted 
 his hair in the middle, a thing few men did in that day. 
 
 Dr. C. D. Palmer filled the chair of Diseases of Fe- 
 males most acceptably. He was a clear, forcible talker 
 and an excellent instructor. He was in the prime of 
 young manhood, and was at that time rather slender in 
 stature. 
 
 Dr. Nickles was Professor of Chemistry and was a 
 good instructor and gave interesting demonstration be- 
 fore the class. At this period, laboratory work in chem-
 
 140 Sixty Yeaks in the Medical Harness 
 
 istry was not required of students, or at least it was not 
 obligatory. 
 
 Dr. James T. Whittaker filled the chair of Physiol- 
 ogy and though probably not then thirty years of age, 
 was nevertheless, one of the student's particular favor- 
 ites in the amphitheater. He was finely educated, a hard 
 student, and already enjoyed a large practice and his 
 future seemed especially promising. He was a good 
 teacher, spoke to the point and upon occasion could 
 make use of beautiful language. Later he filled suc- 
 cessively the chairs of Therapeutics and Practice. He 
 died very soon after the beginning of the twentieth 
 century with cancer of the rectum. 
 
 Dr. James M. Graham filled the chair of Practice 
 and was exceptionally interesting as a lecturer. He was 
 at this time beginning to be an elderly gentleman, al- 
 ways appeared cleanly shaven, not then in the fashion ; 
 at all times he was immaculate and dressed elegantly. 
 He made the impression of being a " gentleman-of-the- 
 old-school," and was a great favorite with the students, 
 by whom he was familiarly known as "Jimmy" Gra- 
 ham. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that there were ten professors 
 in the Medical College of Ohio at this time. This school 
 had exclusive control of the Good Samaritan Hospital 
 and its faculty gave clinical lectures in its amphitheater 
 regularly. We were also admitted to clinical lectures 
 at the Cincinnati Hospital, a much larger institution 
 than the Good Samaritan. At that period, Cincinnati 
 was relatively a much more important city than is the 
 case today, better built up and larger than Chicago and 
 St. Louis, Its hospitals were much superior to those 
 of its more western rivals. 
 
 I made it a practice to attend the sessions of the 
 Cincinnati Academy of Medicine, where I had oppor- 
 tunity to listen to the presentation of able papers, the
 
 Again in the Ampitheatre 141 
 
 report of interesting cases and finally their discussion 
 by the brightest men in the city. Of the latter, in addi- 
 tion to certain members of the faculty of the Ohio Med- 
 ical College already enumerated, I recall Drs. Com- 
 egys, M. B. Wright and W. B. Carson. Dr. Comegj's 
 was a very fine looking man and just beginning to ap- 
 pear elderly, and always talked interestingly on internal 
 medicine. Dr. M. B .Wright, a veteran obstetrician, was 
 already up in years and listened to attentively by all 
 students. Dr. W. B. Carson was called the ablest 
 diagnostician in the city in those days — he was not a 
 fluent speaker, but the fact that he always had some- 
 thing to say and was known to be so able, caused him 
 to be heard with due interest at all times. He also gave 
 us lectures at the Good Samaritan. 
 
 Dr. Dawson not unfrequently operated in the amphi- 
 theater of the Good Samaritan, and while he was a good 
 surgeon and a judicious operator, I sometimes thought 
 him a little brusk and rough with his charity patients. 
 I remember one day of his bringing in a man with large 
 ulcers on both legs and below the knee, so large indeed 
 that a great deal of the surface over his shins and calves 
 was denuded. Skin grafting was just coming in use 
 and it was proposed to try and heal the denuded parts 
 in this case. Accordingly, the patient's legs were ex- 
 posed, some points freshened in the denuded surfaces, 
 some bits of cuticle snipped from the arm of a man 
 who had just raised his sleeve for that purpose, the bor- 
 rowed tissue put in place, appropriate dressings applied 
 to recipient and doner, the latter dismissed, and the 
 former returned to his ward. From first to last there 
 was no preparation in the cuticle that was transferred 
 nor in the point where it finally rested ; what we call 
 anti-septic precautions were then utterly unknown in 
 practice. When the patient was brought in the amphi- 
 theater and the nature of the intended operation re-
 
 142 Sixty Years m the Medical Harness 
 
 vealed, a student who sat next to me whispered in my 
 ear, "If those big patches heal over that man will die 
 just as sure as shooting ! ' ' This was in conformity with 
 a popular belief of the day, or rather with the day 
 that was then passing, which taught that it was always 
 hazardous to suddenly stop a discharge from a large sur- 
 face over the denuded cuticle, be this discharge from 
 whatever cause. Strange to say, two or three weeks 
 later, we had an autopsy in the amphitheater, and who 
 should the subject prove to be, but the man with the 
 large denuded patches on his legs ! If I remember right- 
 ly, in those days when little or nothing was known of 
 practical asepsis and anti-sepsis, autopsies and opera- 
 tions followed each other promiscuously and as circum- 
 stances might dictate, in the one amphitheater, of the 
 Good Samaritan. But this is not suggesting for a mo- 
 ment that those in authority were not fully abreast with 
 all the medical advances of the day. Indeed, I got the 
 impression that Cincinnati at this period was especially 
 progressive in the medical way. 
 
 It is a sad thing that, with possibly one or two ex- 
 ceptions, all the men named above — my teachers and 
 certain other leaders of the Cincinnati profession of that 
 day — have crossed to the Great Beyond. 
 
 While attending this course of lectures at Cincinnati 
 during the winter of 1871-2, I had two room mates, both 
 of whom gave me occasion to never forget them. The 
 first one whom we will call Charley Phelps, was a young 
 man about twenty-one years of age, a fine handsome 
 fellow who always dressed nicely. His father was a 
 physician in good practice and furnished his son with 
 all the money he needed. Charley, for so I came to 
 call him, was bright, companionable, played the flute 
 with great skill and had so many ways of making him- 
 self agreeable, that I concluded I had been especially 
 fortunate in the selection of a room mate. Matters went 
 on in this pleasant way for a considerable time, till one
 
 Again in the Ampitheatre 143 
 
 evening Charley was not at the room to go to supper 
 with me, did not come home after I had returned, and 
 finally bedtime came and still he was away. I waited till 
 a late hour, then undressed and went to bed and after 
 sleeping for a time was aroused by the door suddenly 
 opening and closing, with a bang, and some one at the 
 same time giving a whoop like a Comanche Indian. At 
 first I was frightened, but by the flickering flame in the 
 open grate, I soon saw that the supposed intruder was 
 none other than Charley, gloriously drunk, as the phrase 
 goes. There was nothing to do, but to make the best of 
 a bad situation, so I got up and spoke to him kindly 
 and got him to lie down with his clothes on, as he was 
 much too limp to undress. In a moment, he was snor- 
 ing, and I returned to bed, but could sleep but little. 
 When morning came I got up, went to breakfast, then 
 to lectures, leaving Charley in bed. When I returned 
 to the room at dinner, he had gotten up and gone away 
 and I saw no more of him until after supper, when he 
 was very sober and penitent as well. He talked very 
 frankly of his besetment, saying that these fits came over 
 him about so often and that they seemed utterly irresist- 
 ible. I was very sorry for him and resolved to try to 
 help him to reform. But later he got another drunk; 
 and finally, one spree followed another a little too fre- 
 quently for my own comfort, so I left the room to him 
 and found other quarters. He graduated with the rest 
 of us and I have wondered what afterwards became of 
 him; he always insisted that drunkenness was a disease, 
 and should be so treated. 
 
 When holidays came, the two weeks vacation was 
 given the students, a period that made many glad, but 
 that to me was only so much wasted time, as I was too 
 far distant to make the trip home without incurring 
 more expenses than I cared to, and so there was nothing 
 for me to do but to pass the long days alone as best I 
 could.
 
 144 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 In due time the end of the course approached and 
 many candidates for graduation were fearful lest they 
 would not get through. As I had long been a student 
 and had also been in practice several years, I enter- 
 tained no such fears. Among those who were especially 
 nervous, was my second room mate, a worthy man and 
 very different in every respect from the above-mentioned 
 Charley Phelps, my first room mate. This second room 
 mate whom I will call Burton, was a man somewhat 
 older than myself, and who had taught school a num- 
 ber of years. He was a good student, tried very hard, 
 but was slow to learn and altogether had come to be 
 muddled in regard to medicine. However, he was a man 
 of most excellent common sense, careful and painstaking 
 by nature and one who it seemed to me would make a 
 good, practical physician. He told me quite frankly 
 that he thought he would fail. The examinations were 
 all written, each of the ten professors giving ten ques- 
 tions which were written on a black-board before which 
 we took our places in the amphitheater, all duly pro- 
 vided with pencils and paper. In all of these examina- 
 tions Burton took his place immediately to my right, and 
 as I wrote a plain hand, he could see my answers but 
 was of course too wise to copy them literally. I got 
 through without any trouble and so did my room mate, 
 and he seemed grateful for the assistance I had afforded 
 him, and I have never suffered any conscientious stric- 
 tures for having extended it. Not a great while before 
 the close of the term, Burton got out of money, the re- 
 sult of being disappointed in not receiving a remittance 
 from his friends at home. I had a little more than was 
 needed for my immediate wants and was glad to divide 
 with him. But time went by and still his money failed 
 to arrive, and to meet his necessities, I loaned him fur- 
 ther from my fast diminishing shekels. Matters contin- 
 ued thus till the arrival of the day, the evening of which 
 was to witness our graduation. I had planned to start
 
 Again in the Ampitheatre 145 
 
 home that same night, but between meeting my own 
 expenses and those of my room mate as well, I now had 
 scarcely enough to board us two days, to say nothing of 
 paying my expenses home. I went to the hall where the 
 commencement exercises were to occur, with a heavy 
 heart, for I was "broke," and among strangers. In this 
 frame of mind I approached a feUow graduate older 
 than myself, and who was likewise a practitioner of 
 medicine, and though I was not well enough acquainted 
 with him to ask a favor, yet I frankly stated my case 
 and was delighted to see him put his hand on his pocket- 
 book and draw forth the amount needed to take me 
 home. I thanked him with all the good grace I could 
 command, and promised to recompense him as soon 
 as I arrived at my home, a thing I lost no time in doing. 
 A little later, a letter arrived from Burton, containing 
 every cent he had borrowed from me and an expression 
 of the regret he had felt in putting me to so much in- 
 convenience and uneasiness, all of which goes to show 
 that medical students in my day were frequently close 
 run and "put to it" to meet their expenses. I have 
 recently looked through the National Directory of Phy- 
 cians if possible to find the name and address of my 
 benefactor whose cognomen was Shackleton, but without 
 success. Well, perhaps he is no longer an earthly dwel- 
 ler, and, if so, I can but think he has gone to that 
 Better Land where all doers of good deeds fijially reap 
 their just reward. By the way, this leads me to say 
 that in the long life I have lived, I have never yet 
 needed a friend that one did not turn up at just the 
 right time and place. I am something of an optimist, — 
 more correctly, — a good deal of an optimist and long 
 ago reached the conclusion that after all this is a pretty 
 good old world, much as it is maligned in some quarters. 
 Further than this, long observation and contact 
 with many people has led me to believe that in a very 
 large measure, one finds in life about what one is looking
 
 146 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 for. If one is expecting people to be agreeable, one is 
 sure to find them so. If one is hoping to meet friends 
 they can be found all about and in all classes. A wise 
 man will not fail to recognize a friend be he ever so 
 humble, black or white. 
 
 Furthermore, happiness is the goal to which we are 
 all bound and one of the surest and most direct ways of 
 reaching this much desired haven is to be at substan- 
 tially all times usefully employed, either with head or 
 hand. For, as Saint Benedict has so truly stated, ' ' Idle- 
 ness kills the soul."
 
 XIII 
 
 I RESUME MY PRACTICE ON THE PRAIRIES 
 
 Trained in the holy art whose lifted shield 
 Wards off the darts a never slumbering foe 
 By hearth and fireside toaits to throw. 
 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes. 
 
 HAVING received my degree at the end of the course 
 of lectures at the Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati, 
 in the spring of 1872 I came back to Illinois, and re- 
 turned to my friends on the prairies and set about 
 gathering up the threads I had dropped the previous 
 autumn. 
 
 And here a brief survey of medicine as it was under- 
 stood at that period, now many years in the past, may 
 not be uninteresting. In the way of newer drugs that 
 later found a permanent place in the physician's arm- 
 amentarium may be mentioned bromide of potassium, 
 hydrate of chloral and carbolic acid. Bromide of 
 potassium had been in general use for several years 
 and had about displaced such well known nervines as 
 asafoetida, valerian, musk, etc. Hydrate of chloral was 
 new and soon became popular as a hypnotic for which 
 I am sure it was used much more commonly than today. 
 Carbolic acid was almost the only local remedy that 
 was considered capable of quickening the process of 
 healing in wounded or incised surfaces, but how it 
 contributed to this end no one seemed to know, or at 
 least no one had definite ideas. In too many instances 
 it was used in too strong solution. Indeed, in a clinical 
 lecture I heard Dr. W. W. Dawson of the Ohio Medical 
 College, Cincinnati, recommend its use in full strength 
 in the case of a compound fracture. Of course, there 
 
 147
 
 148 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 were many new remedies, but those mentioned were 
 the only ones I can recall which won a permanent place. 
 
 Among new appliances were the fever thermometer 
 just coming into general use and the hpyodermic syr- 
 inge that was given to the profession some years pre- 
 viously and was now in the hands of most progressive 
 practitioners. In the field of surgery Esmarch's elastic 
 bandages for driving the blood from an extremity and 
 the aspirator for drawing of fluids from cavities were 
 of recent origin. At this time much more was expected 
 from the aspirator than ever has been realized. 
 
 The ordinary practitioner of medicine necessarily 
 limited his surgical practice to the reducing of disloca- 
 tions and fractures, the dressing of wounds, the open- 
 ing of abscesses, the amputation of a finger or toe and 
 rarely the amputation of an arm or leg. Appendectomy, 
 hysterectomy, gastrectomy and many more in the long 
 list of ectomies were unheard of and some of them not 
 so much as dreamed of, even by the boldest and most 
 enlightened surgeons. A wound or operation that in- 
 volved the brain, or abdomen was almost necessarily 
 fatal ; and one that involved the larger joint cavities 
 generally resulted in blood-poisoning. 
 
 During the spring months after returning from lec- 
 tures, I had but little in the way of professional work, 
 but with the approach of mid-summer a good many 
 cases of bowel trouble developed among the babies. The 
 most serious of these we denominated cholera infantum, 
 and the milder ones we called infantile diarrhea. 
 
 Doubtless the way the pioneers on the prairie were 
 compelled to live had much to do with the etiology of 
 these cases. No one had ice and very few had cellars for 
 keeping their milk and butter sweet; and to accomplish 
 the latter many were in the habit of putting both the 
 above-named articles in vessels with ropes attached and 
 lowering the containers to the much cooler atmosphere 
 towards the bottoms of the well. However, at best this
 
 Again on the Prairies 149 
 
 was but a temporary make-shift that could not always 
 be carried out, so that in cases where infants were 
 hand fed, the approach of hot weather never failed to 
 be accompanied with conditions that developed digestive 
 troubles among them. But why were there many cases 
 of bowel trouble among babes that took their nourish- 
 ment from the mother's breast only? Perhaps an in- 
 quiry into some of the attending circumstances will 
 shed a ray of light upon this matter. These mothers on 
 the prairies bore their full share of the burdens of 
 pioneer life, and consequently were invariably hard 
 workers. Upon one of the long, hot summer days per- 
 haps a young mother is hard at work over the wash tub 
 which she leaves to respond to the persistent crying of 
 her first-born for nourishment which she supplies from 
 her hot breasts, while her cheeks are glowing and her 
 blood is bounding on its course. Meanwhile the urgent 
 need of hurry in her work is occupying the full atten- 
 tion of the young mother, and maybe she takes little or 
 no pains to wipe and properly clean her nipples; and 
 before the child takes them in its mouth again, a drop 
 of milk remaining on their outer surface may ferment, 
 and at the next nursing-time be as the ' ' little leaven that 
 worketh the whole lump," resulting in first fermenta- 
 ion and then in severe bacterial poisoning and there 
 follows the whole train of symptoms that the older au- 
 thors grouped and described under the name of cholera 
 infantum. 
 
 If called in the early stages, a brisk cathartic of cas- 
 tor oil would oftentimes clean out the intestinal canal 
 and thus the disease would be relieved. Sometimes the 
 mother had already given this remedy before the phy- 
 sician 's arrival so that he had nothing to do but supple- 
 ment the treatment. Small doses of calomel and large 
 doses of subnitrate of bismuth were the most efficient 
 remedies for the more advanced cases. If there was 
 much pain, camphorated tincture of opium judiciously
 
 150 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 given was always helpful. But despite our best efforts 
 the great majority of the more serious eases terminated 
 fatally, and some of those less severe became chronic 
 and the child was reduced to a skeleton to drag out a 
 few miserable months and then perish. Sometimes, how- 
 ever, the chronic cases after a long, tedious convalescence 
 would at last recover. In that period there were many 
 more infants with cholera infantum and bowel trouble 
 than in our time and these cases were much more severe 
 owing to inferior modes of living. 
 
 Better knowledge of sanitation has brought higher 
 standards of living and the putting of these in practice 
 has greatly improved the health of infants and pre- 
 served and prolonged the lives of an untold number of 
 little ones. Not a great while since I was talking with 
 a veteran undertaker and he told me that while there 
 had been very great increase in population, infant mor- 
 tality in the past third of a century had steadily de- 
 creased, if experience in his business was any criterion, 
 and, of course, it was. 
 
 Towards the close of the summer of 1872 came the 
 last general, extensive endemic of malarial fever experi- 
 enced in central Illinois. This endemic lasted from the 
 last days of July till the coming of a killing frost, and 
 within the bounds of my practice I think almost no 
 one escaped an attack. All suffered sooner or later, from 
 the infant at the breast to the white-haired grandsire 
 sitting in the shade of the up-and-down board "shack" 
 in which the family lived. As elsewhere noted there were 
 three general types of this disease, recognized by the 
 physician, and of these the most common was chills 
 and fever, or the ager of the unlettered, and the intermit- 
 tent fever of medical authors. Oftentimes with no warn- 
 ing whatsoever, the patient would all at once be seized 
 with a chill, his teeth would chatter and upon taking to 
 his bed no amount of cover would in any manner add 
 to his warmth. Later he would have fever, headache,
 
 Again ox the Prairies 151 
 
 aching in his back and legs, and finally he would seem 
 to be burning up with a degree of heat, that throwing 
 off one cover after another till he was next to naked, 
 would in no sense abate. In due time came the sweating 
 that was as profuse as the degree of cold had been se- 
 vere and the sense of heat, intense. Next morning the 
 patient, feeling little worse for his previous day's ex- 
 perience would get up and go about his usual business. 
 But the second day, cold, heat and sweating would fol- 
 low one another in regular succession, beginning at the 
 same hour as that of the previous attack. This the 
 usual type of intermittent fever the common people 
 called ague, or "ager, " as their mode of speech might 
 dictate. 
 
 Sometimes, however, the attack would recur upon 
 each succeeding day, and in this form the disease was 
 denominated every-day-ague. 
 
 A third variety but one much less common would 
 attack the patient, and then leave him free the next and 
 the next, returning upon the third. This type was com- 
 monly known as third-day-ague, and was popularly 
 supposed to be harder to break up than the other forms. 
 
 During this endemic I met a number of cases of 
 remittent, or "bilious" fever, the attacks of which be- 
 gan much like those of ague, but did not go off at once, 
 and, indeed, often kept the patient in bed for a period 
 of a week or ten days, and when he did get up he would 
 be much reduced in flesh and very weak. 
 
 Severe and general as this endemic of 1872 was, I 
 do not remember of meeting a single case of malignant 
 fever, or as the people termed this type, congestive 
 chills. Of course quinine was the sovereign remedy in 
 all acute cases of whatever type malarial fever might 
 assume ; and as it was before the days of tablets or cap- 
 sules the drug had to be given in powder-form, a most 
 intensely bitter and unpleasant dose, and to overcome 
 this, in a measure, some patients were in the habit of
 
 152 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 enveloping the medicine in scraped apple and others 
 made a crude wafer out of wheaten dough browned 
 and made palatable by heat and in this wrapped the 
 powder so that it could be swallowed in one dose. 
 Sometimes quinine was dissolved in one of the stronger 
 mineral acids as sulphuric, muriatic or nitric, properly 
 diluted and administered. But like most remedies, 
 quinine was not equally weU received by all and there 
 were some patients who found fault with this drug. 
 
 In this connection I have in mind one man who had 
 a severe attack of intermittent fever and when I was 
 about to put him on the stereotyped treatment had a 
 good deal to say against quinine and as he did not re- 
 cover promptly sent for a physician who lived at a con- 
 siderable distance and who was furthermore something 
 of a charlatan. This man came, looked the patient over, 
 fell in with the latter 's abuse of quinine, put out a large 
 number of powders very blue in color, collected a good 
 fee and took his departure. The patient took his medi- 
 cine and got better, but he happened to show some of 
 his powders to a neighbor to whom he boasted of the 
 fact that he didn't have to depend on doctors who would 
 give quinine for ague. The neighbor heard the sick man 
 through but could not refrain from smiling meanwhile, 
 and when it came his turn to speak, demonstrated to 
 the satisfaction of all present that the powders left by 
 the last physician were composed of quinine and Prus- 
 sian Blue, the latter being used as a disguise solely. 
 
 When the endemic had spent its force so far as 
 acute manifestations were concerned there were still a 
 number of chronic cases with sallow complexion, con- 
 gested livers, enlarged spleens and dropsical limbs, the 
 latter the result of derangement of the kidneys; each 
 ease had to be carefully examined and treated on its 
 merits, but arsenic, iron and strychnia were indicated in 
 a considerable proportion of instances. One not unfre- 
 quent sequella of malarial poisoning was "night
 
 Again on the Praibees 153 
 
 "sweats" a peculiar tendency the patient had of perspir- 
 ing profusely during the night-time. For this trouble 
 dilute sulphuric acid came as near being a specific as 
 any remedy I ever used for any disease whatsoever. 
 
 As to the etiology of malarial fever the profession 
 was as yet in the dark and no progress in finding its 
 origin had been made since Lancisci, an Italian, more 
 than one hundred and fifty years ago, had assigned its 
 cause to be marsh miasm, or bad air, hence, the term 
 malaria. 
 
 In the days when this disease was prevalent, ob- 
 servers were wont to give it a wider field of influence 
 than it perhaps fully occupied, though the true scope of 
 its sphere of action was in no sense limited. Pervaded 
 with this idea many in malarious regions were in 
 the habit of speaking of malarial pneumonia, malarial 
 dysentery, malarial hysteria, malarial neuralgia, and 
 so on through the whole list, not to speak of malarial 
 typhoid which is elsewhere discussed. Doubtless to a 
 degree at least, malarial infection was hydra-headed, 
 so to speak, and was capable of assuming varied forms 
 of manifestations, one of which was neuralgia of the 
 fifth nerve, which was so universally periodic in its 
 manifestations that it received the common name of 
 "brow-ague." However, it is certainly true that most 
 physicians in malarial districts unconsciously fell into 
 the habit of calling many obscure cases malarial, so that 
 this term like the much referred to "grip" of today 
 became too often in the mind of the physician a sort of 
 "Banquo's ghost" that would never down. Malaria 
 in the old days, too, like the "grip" of today, served 
 many as a convenient cloak to cover up their haste, 
 negligence, ignorance, or perhaps all of them. 
 
 I was called upon one hot summer day to reduce and 
 dress a CoUes' compound fracture which had occurred 
 to a boy about twelve years of age. After a few days 
 the father requested that a consultant be called in and
 
 154 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 to this I readily consented. The consultant was a man 
 some fifty years of age and was much given to the use of 
 the surgical knife, a rather unusual thing in that lo- 
 cality and in that pre-antiseptic era. He hailed from 
 a county-seat some nine miles from where I was then 
 located at a farm house. I was young in years and 
 consequently comparatively inexperienced in my pro- 
 fession, and a new-comer in that locality, in striking 
 comparison to this the man who was called in consulta- 
 tion was well established in and about his environment, 
 had some twenty-five years' experience on the credit- 
 side of the ledger and, moreover, had a due amount of 
 nerve and assurance to "tackle anything," as the slang 
 has it. 
 
 Well he came in what to my eyes at that time seemed 
 an especially fine doctor's rig, looked the case over and 
 said the only thing to be done was to make a re-section 
 of the broken bone, the radius. There was nothing for 
 me to do in my relative inexperience but to give my 
 consent. Accordingly after duly anesthetising the pa- 
 tient, the operation was performed. The consultant 
 used the knife, saw, bone-forceps and needles, taking 
 all from a full assortment of instruments which at that 
 time "bulked large" in my eyes. Meanwhile I played 
 the part of a modest assistant at best, and a looker-on 
 for most of the time. 
 
 In the way of preparation we washed our hands in 
 an ordinary way and as the weather was warm took off 
 our coats and with no other preparation "waded in." 
 The operation over, my consultant put on his broad- 
 cloth coat, donned his plug-hat, pulled on his kid gloves, 
 seated himself in his nice "rig," touched his good 
 steppers with the whip, and headed them for the coun- 
 ty-seat, his home some nine miles distant. I got in 
 the saddle, and started my horse in a moderate walk for 
 my medical headquarters, the farmhouse some three 
 miles away, meantime, wondering if I should ever be
 
 Again on the Praibebs 155 
 
 so fortunate as to reach the place in the profession that 
 my consultant, seemingly, had. However, tempting as 
 his position looked to a young aspirant there was un- 
 fortunately a "flaw in the marble," the consultant, at 
 times drank to beastly intoxication, an unfortunate fact 
 that was destined to later on make me some very an- 
 noying troubles. 
 
 As time went by it became apparent that the re-sec- 
 tion of the boy 's radius would not result as favorably as 
 the chief operator had expected and as I had hoped, and 
 one day the father of the boy happened to meet my erst- 
 while consultant when he was in his cups and while 
 in this condition he denounced me as the one who was 
 primarily to blame for the final none-to-favorable out- 
 come of the case. As he was prominent in the profession 
 and I, as yet, a mere boy-doctor, his words, drunken as 
 they were, carried enough weight to move the father 
 of the boy to bring against me a mal-practice suit, and 
 how can I find it possible to describe my feelings when 
 the sheriff served the papers on me ! To say that I was 
 both surprised and shocked only half expresses what 
 I at the time experienced in the way of mortification 
 and humiliation. By nature I was very sensitive, more- 
 over, I was timid and afraid of people and anything 
 that pointed in the direction of conspicuosity. Hence I 
 lost no little sleep in wondering how I would manage 
 to comport myself creditably on the witness stand before 
 the searching eyes and "prickeel" ears of a learned 
 judge, twelve jurors and the alert and prying attorneys 
 of the prosecution. 
 
 Well in due time I manged to * * pull myself together ' ' 
 sufficiently to have a "heart-to-heart" conference with 
 a wise and kindly brother practitioner in mature life 
 and with many years' experience in practice.* With en- 
 couraging words he "braced me up" and finally went 
 with me to the office of a hard-headed attorney to whom 
 I gave fifty dollars as a retainer \s fee. Time ran its 
 
 * Dr. J. T. Pearman of Champaign, Illinois.
 
 156 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 course and all too soon the time for trial of my case 
 approached. However, not long before the date of the 
 trial a ease of illness developed in my family which nec- 
 essitated my remaining close at home. These facts were 
 embodied in a brother-physician's certificate, forwarded 
 to the " powers-that-be, " and the case was postponed. 
 Meanwhile my erstwhile consultant realizing what trou- 
 ble he had made me became penitent and sought an in- 
 terview with the boy 's father who was prevailed upon to 
 withdraw the suit, pay the costs and call it all "quits." 
 All of which was of course a great relief to me, as can 
 readily be imagined. As said before, I can think of 
 nothing that will bring one nearer and more threaten- 
 ingly, to the gates of hell than a mal-practice suit. 
 
 Nevertheless, some of the ablest men in the profes- 
 sion, have been made defendants in cases of this class ; 
 others of less prominence have been ruined in this man- 
 ner. I have in mind a medical acquaintance who for 
 a charity patient that came to him one day for treat- 
 ment recommended the local use of tincture of iodine. 
 Later, for some unexplained reason, something Hike 
 sloughing occurred in the parts where the application 
 had been made and in consequence suit was brought 
 and the defendant was mulcted in a sum that practically 
 broke him up. While on a train one day I found myself 
 a fellow-passenger with the attorney who had success- 
 fully prosecuted this case and he gleefully recounted his 
 experience from beginning to end in this suit. I have 
 since looked over all the authorities within reach and 
 have so far failed to find any instance referred to where 
 iodine applied locally had produced such untoward re- 
 sults as the prosecution claimed and, technically, proved 
 had occurred in that particular case. 
 
 From what I have experienced and know of mal- 
 practice suits, I wish to repeat again and again that if 
 any medical man is curious to learn what hell-on-earth 
 is, his curiosity can be promptly satisfied by his becoming 
 a defendant in one of these suits.
 
 XIV 
 
 FROM THE PRAIRIE TO THE VILLAGE 
 
 For fell disease and death rode on the air 
 And found their ready victims everywhere. 
 
 T. P. Wilson. 
 
 As elsewhere intimated while my practice among the 
 pioneers on the prairie afforded a due amount of things 
 interesting in a professional way, yet I had no colleague 
 to share this with me. Furthermore for want of congen- 
 ial companionship my life was a lonely one. Indeed, I 
 was a sufferer from what was only a little short of 
 social starvation. Moreover, outside of what mental 
 stimulation my professional work excited I was, to 
 put it mildly, a sufferer from mental hunger. True I 
 browsed on all the books, magazines and papers that the 
 bounds of my practice afforded, but these at best were 
 small in quantity and often sorely lacking in quality. 
 In that day publications of all kinds were not nearly 
 as plenty nor as cheap in price as they grew to be to- 
 wards the end of the 19th century ; hence my small bank 
 account would not admit of my indulging overmuch in 
 literary extravagances. At least so it then seemed, but 
 as I see it today this was an instance of " penny- wise, " 
 and had I to live my prairie professional life over again 
 I would subscribe for several good magazines and lay 
 in a good stock of readable books and from time to time 
 add to these liberally. But fortunately for me I had a 
 fair correspondent who afforded me no little comfort 
 and satisfaction, — that served to solace me through 
 many a lonely hour, to lift me up when depressed and 
 cheer me when discouraged. This fair correspondent 
 was Miss Maria L. Lewis of Chatham, Illinois, who to 
 my agreeable surprise and extreme satisfaction had 
 promised to become my wife while I was a resident of 
 her village three years previously. With the approach 
 of the end of the year 1873 I made up my mind to get 
 
 157
 
 158 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 married and move to the village of Tolono nine miles 
 northeast of the farmhouse where I had my office for 
 nearly three years. My thought was that many of my 
 old patrons would continue to employ me and as events 
 fell out this proved to be true. Most of the prairie pio- 
 neers were plain and unlettered, but they were genuine 
 and truer friends I never had before and have never had 
 since. Hence lonely as I had been, privations that I 
 had suffered and inconveniences that I had put up with 
 all could not keep me from feeling more or less regretful 
 that the time had come to sever my more intimate rela- 
 tions with most of my prairie patrons. 
 
 In the closing days of December, 1873, I got together 
 my belongings at the prairie-farmhouse where for 
 nearly three years I had been a dweller and took them 
 in a two-horse wagon to Tolono. Next day I boarded 
 a train for Chatham, Illinois, where January 1, 1874, 
 I was united in marriage to Miss Maria L. Lewis who 
 had been my fiancee for three years; and who for more 
 than fifty-one years since has been a faithful wife, an 
 admirable home-maker and a good, noble mother. 
 
 During her physical prime she became the mother 
 of six children all of whom, largely due to her good 
 sense and unerring judgment and devotion, grew up 
 and are all now in mature life. All six are graduates of 
 the University of Illinois. Our only daughter is yet 
 with us and is a great stay and help in every way. Our 
 five sons are all stalwart men all out in the world and 
 faring reasonably weU in the general battle of life. Only 
 one of my sons. Dr. George T. followed in my footsteps. 
 After the wedding in Chatham, I at once brought my 
 young wife to Tolono and we began housekeeping in a 
 cottage we had meanwhile purchased. Other than 
 myself there were four physicians in Tolono, two of 
 whom were active and two on the semi-retired list. In 
 due time all of these became and remained my good 
 friends, but they have since all crossed to the Great
 
 From Prairie to Village 159 
 
 Beyond. However, two of them lived to be octo- 
 genarians. 
 
 As the summer of 1874 advanced the country suf- 
 fered greatly from drought, and as all the wells were 
 shallow, ranging from eight to twelve feet deep, these 
 practically all went dry and what was but little short of 
 a water-famine resulted. Scattered about the prairie 
 were the dry beds of ponds and in the bottoms of these 
 holes w^ere dug and the water secured in this way was 
 put in barrels, carted round and sold to households 
 for drinking and cooking purposes. In some cases con- 
 siderable would be bought and put in an empty well or 
 cistern and pumped in the usual way when needed. This 
 water, really the leechings of the various pond-beds from 
 which it came was a poor makeshift. But the people 
 were glad to get it and willingly paid the price. Just 
 what effect this peculiar water-supply had on the health 
 of the people is not easy to say. However, a severe epi- 
 demic of diphtheria broke out and prevailed during 
 its continuance, and by some was thought to be due to 
 the "swamp-water" as it was not inaptly named by 
 certain ones among its users. 
 
 During this epidemic it was my fortune to see and 
 treat a great many cases of this dread disease, some 
 relatively mild, some severe and eight that proved fatal. 
 In the treatment of diphtheria in that day it was the 
 custom to rely largely on iron, quinine and alcoholic 
 stimulants given internally and chlorate of potash lo- 
 cally. For internal use chlorate of potash was also dis- 
 solved in tincture of iron to the point of saturation and 
 to this glycerine or simple syrup was added to make a 
 palatable solution. Despite our best efforts, however, 
 about twenty young patients died in and about Tolono 
 during the prevalence of the outbreak. As it was before 
 the days of quarantine and efforts at disease-prevention, 
 no systematized attempt was made to separate the sick 
 from the well. I recall an Irish family to which I
 
 160 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 was called and finding one of the children infected with 
 diphtheria I suggested to the parents that the child be 
 taken to an upstairs room and that save attendants, 
 no one should have access to the sick room. But to this 
 the father replied, "No doether we'll jist let 'em all doi 
 tigither. ' ' The house was small, the sick child occupied 
 a small downstairs room to which all had access and 
 before the end came all of the five children were in- 
 fected and of these three died. All this in about two 
 weeks' time. Looking back from the standpoint of today 
 I feel sure that had my suggestion been accepted and 
 carried out the disease would not have extended beyond 
 the first patient. As the weather was warm the sick 
 child could easil}^ have been made comfortable upstairs, 
 and at the same time the remaining children could have 
 spent much time out of doors, which would have con- 
 duced to their escape from infection. But as said before 
 it was before the days of quarantine, and had this been 
 attempted there were no laws to secure its enforcement. 
 
 In that day the public, and in no small degree the 
 doctors, had not as yet been aroused to the need of 
 disease-prevention. So true was this the case that dur- 
 ing the prevalence of this outbreak public funerals were 
 held of those dead of this disease. The same was true 
 of all other contagious diseases. A medical man who 
 would venture to protest strongly against these public 
 funerals would have been branded as heartless and ut- 
 terly lacking in a proper consideration for the dead. 
 
 In most instances when a case of typhoid fever oc- 
 curred in a family where there were young people all 
 would be apt to become infected before the disease had 
 spent its force. In no particular has the present era 
 shown its great advance on the one just gone by than 
 in the thoroughly awakened public sentiment which de- 
 mands the prevention of disease to the greatest degree 
 possible. 
 
 The Klebs-Loefler bacillus and the Ebert bacillus as
 
 From Prairee to Village 161 
 
 the causative factors in diphtheria and typhoid fever 
 respectively, were as yet wholly unknown, and theories 
 as to the underlying cause of contagious ailments were 
 as numerous as were the people who propounded them. 
 For a time a popular theory for the origin of typhoid 
 was that of Pettinkoffer which maintained that certain 
 strata entering into the formation of the earth contained 
 the infecting material and gave rise to typhoid and that 
 in the fall season when water in wells, springs, streams 
 and other sources of supply reached a low-stage, the in- 
 fecting nidus in certain earth strata came to be dissolved 
 in the water and consequently susceptible persons were 
 infected. The fact that the late summer and fall, coinci- 
 dent with a low stage of water, is likewise the period 
 when typhoid is more than usually prevalent, gave some 
 measure of support to Pettinkoffer 's theory of its origin. 
 
 Another theory was known as Murchison's and at- 
 tributed the origin of typhoid to putrescence. Conse- 
 quently according to this putrid matter from whatever 
 source under favorable conditions could and did origin- 
 ate eases of typhoid. The word pythogenetic was coined 
 to express Murchison's theory of the origin of typhoid. 
 
 Diphtheria was believed to originate in much the 
 same manner and filth in any form, and putrid matter 
 from any source whatsoever, was thought under certain 
 unknown circumstances to generate this disease in all 
 its forms from the mildest cases to the most malignant. 
 In this period sewer-gas came to be a terrible '*boog-a- 
 boo, " a most dangerous factor in the production of 
 numerous diseases, but frequently diphtheria and typh- 
 oid. Likewise defective drains, decaying vegetables, put- 
 rifjing meats, etc., were deemed fruitful sources or 
 more correctly, direct generators of disease in practical- 
 ly all forms and varieties. 
 
 About this time, 1877, I atttended a popular lecture 
 by the celebrated preacher and orator Henry Ward 
 Beecher on the "Wastes and Burdens of Society." He
 
 162 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 was in the prime of ripe manhood and in the full power 
 of his wonderful gifts and consequently was in almost 
 immediate touch with the most up-to-date knowledge in 
 all lines. Among other things he touched on the ravages 
 of disease and in graphic language described the grief of 
 a family whose only child had died from diphtheria. 
 Referred to the reverential awe with which they at- 
 tributed it to the very sad but no doubt just dispensa- 
 tion of an all-wise Providence. I never shall forget the 
 speaker's countenance when he said, ''A dispensation 
 of Providence ! Why it was nothing in the world but 
 rotten cabbage and turnips in the cellar!" 
 
 During these years I recall one period when I con- 
 cluded I was about to face an epidemic of fractured 
 femurs as three occurred in my practice in succession 
 one right after another. Two of these happened to young 
 girls just budding into womanhood and I could not help 
 contrasting them. The first received her fracture in a 
 runaway accident and when I was called found her 
 suffering intensely. I dressed the limb with a long 
 Physick splint and tried in every way to make the pa- 
 tient comfortable, but despite my exertions she was mis- 
 erable from beginning to end and her disposition had 
 nothing to do with this for she was naturally amiable and 
 good natured. She recovered with a shortened limb and 
 walks with a limp to this day. Before my first patient had 
 fully recovered I was called to the second young lady 
 who while milking an evilly disposed cow received a vio- 
 lent kick from this animal that broke one of her femurs. 
 I was called and dressed the injured limb on a long 
 Physick splint and left the patient comfortable ; found 
 her in that condition at all my subsequent visits and she 
 made a good recovery, and the last time I saw her she 
 said her broken femur was as good as the other. What 
 made the difference in these eases? Doubtless the exact 
 site and nature of the two injuries as regards obliquity
 
 From Prairie to Village 163 
 
 of fracture and maybe torn nerves and lacerated tis- 
 sues were very different in the two cases* 
 
 I recall a case of ascites in a hardy Irish woman 
 which became purulent and which at different times 
 discharged large amounts of pus and in the end proved 
 fatal. I have since wondered if the bolder surgical meth- 
 ods of today could have saved her life. "Would the opera- 
 tion of laying her abdomen wide open and clensing it 
 thoroughly have obviated her death ? It is quite possible 
 that it would, but maybe not. 
 
 In this period I had my first case of senile gangrene 
 which occurred to an old English woman. The case 
 lingered for weeks and weeks, first occurred in the toes 
 of one foot and later involved the foot and leg up to 
 the knee before death occurred. The trouble was prob- 
 ably due to embolism of the popliteal artery, but such 
 things were less understood a generation ago than they 
 are today. Of course the question of operation came up. 
 Would a comparatively early amputation have saved 
 this patient's life? Probably not, as she was old and 
 doubtless had more or less general arterio-sclerosis. 
 
 This year I became a member of the local County 
 Medical Society and the year following, 1875, joined 
 the Illinois State Medical Society at a meeting held in 
 Jacksonville, 111. Dr. J. H. Hollister, then in his prime, 
 was the presiding officer and at the close of his term 
 of office delivered a beautiful valedictory address. The 
 next meeting of the State Medical Society was held in 
 Champaign, 111., in the Centennial year, 1876, and as 
 I had been chosen to officiate as local Secretary, I met 
 most of those in attendance. Among the prominent 
 Chicago men present I recall the names of Drs. N. S. 
 Davis, W. H. Byford, Moses Gunn, J. W. Freer, E. L. 
 Holmes and J. H. Hollister, all of whom are now dead. 
 
 *The reader must bear in mind that these cases antedated the 
 discovery of the "Crookes Tube" or X-Ray by nearly twenty years.
 
 164 Sixty Years ix the Medical Harness 
 
 Indeed, few of those who took a prominent part in this 
 meeting are alive. 
 
 This session was notable for setting in motion the 
 measures that led up to the passage of the first Medical 
 Practice Act. enacted in Illinois and under which was 
 organized the fii'st State Board of Health. A committee 
 was appointed to ^nsit Springfield during the approach- 
 ing session of the legislature, appear before that body 
 and show the necessity for the legislation proposed. With- 
 out going into unnecessar\' details let it suflSce to say that 
 this committee did its work so thoroughly that the act 
 was passed, received the Governor's signature, became 
 a law in 1877 and the same year Governor CuUom 
 appointed the members of the State Board of Health 
 and as soon as the latter organized for business, we all 
 sent in our diplomas and in due time received certifi- 
 cates to practice medicine. Dr. John H. Rauch, long 
 connected with the Chicago Health Department was 
 the leading spirit in the first State Board of Health 
 and at once set about distributing literature and mak- 
 ing use of all means in his power to institute sanitary 
 precautions and put in operation proper measures for 
 preventing the spread of contagious diseases. The re- 
 sult was a new era in practical sanitation and preven- 
 tive medicine. 
 
 The Memorializing Committee who appeared before 
 the legislature was made up as follows: Dr. E. TV. 
 Gray. Bloomington ; Dr. Wm. M. Chambers, Charles- 
 ton ; Dr. S. H. Birney, Urbana ; Dr. Wm. Massie, Paris ; 
 Dr. F. B. HaUer, Vandalia. Of them it may be said, 
 that while they are all dead, their "work lives after 
 them." 
 
 I took little or no part in the discussion that led up 
 to the appointment of the committee, nevertheless I 
 have always been proud of the fact that I was present 
 and heard aU that was offered and said in favor of the
 
 From Prairie to Village 165 
 
 most important movement ever made by the medical 
 profession in our State. 
 
 One experience during this period may interest the 
 reader. One raw, rainy morning a messenger came for 
 me saying that Dr. D., a fellow practitioner, and a very 
 large man wanted me to come to his assistance at once 
 in a difficult labor case some five miles in the country. 
 I got in the saddle and in due time met the accoucher 
 and a little later was at the bedside of the patient, who 
 proved to be a fleshy Irish woman who had been in labor 
 some twelve hours. 
 
 As said before, the attending physician was a very 
 large man who must have weighed not less than two 
 hundred and seventy-five or three hundred pounds. His 
 hand was so large that it looked like a smoked ham, 
 and hence was the worst possible for obstetric work. At 
 his request I made a digital examination and found 
 a breach presentation, which coincided with what Dr. D. 
 had told me on my arrival. We succeeded in bringing 
 down a foot, but this was after much effort for the pelvis 
 was almost abnormally narrow. A little later the other 
 foot was brought down and traction made on these ex- 
 tremities. Meanwhile uterine contraction was encouraged 
 by manipulating the lower abdominal region. Finally 
 we succeeded in delivering all but the head but this 
 seemingly defied our best directed efforts at bring- 
 ing the proper dimensions of the occiput to the corre- 
 sponding dimensions of the canal — at any rate at 
 this stage labor was arrested for hours. Meanwhile, 
 we sent for additional help and in due time Dr. H. came 
 to our assistance. In that period Dr. H. was supposed 
 to be the "court of highest resort" in difficult cases, 
 medical advice and counsel. In due time Dr. H. began 
 trying to adjust the occiput so it could be delivered and 
 next endeavored to apply the forceps (as we had en- 
 deavored to do before he came) but unfortunatelv all
 
 166 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 without success. Finally Dr. H. suggested that Dr. D., 
 he of the gigantic stature and heroic strength should 
 make traction on the body of the infant while he and I 
 exerted counter force on the woman. And what does 
 the reader suppose was the result? Dr. D. was all at 
 once endeavoring to steady himself from falling over 
 backwards while his hands were grasping a headless 
 infant ! So there we were. The trunk and extremities 
 delivered but the head somewhere in the vicinity of the 
 upper strait ! Fortunately after no little effort Dr. H. 
 succeeded in grasping the head with the forceps and 
 bringing it in the world. 
 
 At the termination of this long protracted labor the 
 patient was made as comfortable as circumstances would 
 allow with the help of the several neighbor women who 
 had stood by us all through. Here it may be well to 
 observe that in that day no attempt was made at im- 
 mediate repair of any "tears" or ruptures that may 
 have occurred during labor. Indeed, the great majority 
 went through life with these injuries, not even so much 
 as aware, oftentimes, that their condition was any worse 
 than that of those who had gone through labor with 
 parts left wholly intact. "Where ignorance is bliss 
 'twere folly to be wise." 
 
 Just what the Catholic priest did with himself 
 while we were working with the patient I do not now 
 recall, but can but wonder as the house was small and 
 the out-of-doors weather not inviting. While located 
 in Tolono it was my fortune to do quite a good deal of 
 business for Irish Catholics and soon got on to the fact 
 that when one of their number was stricken with any- 
 thing that threatened to be serious one messenger was 
 sent for the physician and another for the parish priest 
 who in practically all serious cases administered extreme 
 unction. My people were all Protestants and in no 
 small degree I grew up with the impression that the
 
 From Prajrie to Village 167 
 
 average Catholic had "horns and hoofs" metaphor- 
 ically speaking, but contact with these people and, more 
 especially, attending them professionally through all 
 kinds of ailments, being with them in childbirth and 
 standing with others at the bedside of the dying, all 
 conduced to make Protestant and Catholic realize that 
 the same blood courses through the veins of each, the 
 same aches tortured the flesh of the Catholic that made 
 miserable the Protestant, and as a rule the same balm 
 would ease and the same salves soothe each and all 
 alike. All breathed the same air, all trod the same soil, 
 all had substantially the same environment, and, finally, 
 all would return to the same Mother Earth. Then why 
 dispute and "chew the rag" over really, minor differ- 
 ences ? 
 
 Here I may say that when I was a medical student 
 the only female attendants were Sisters of Mercy and 
 these early impressed me with their willingness to wait 
 upon the sick and desire to alleviate suffering in all its 
 myriad forms. In that period the Protestants had no 
 corresponding representatives in the field of this form 
 of altruism. 
 
 Elsewhere I spoke of the fact that I visited my 
 country patients very frequently on horseback. While 
 located in Tolono, I one night not long after supper 
 got in the saddle and started to see a patient some miles 
 distant. It was in late summer, there had been no rain 
 for some time and the roads were dry and hard. My 
 horse was going along in a canter when for some reason 
 he stumbled, fell down and threw me with some violence 
 on the hard ground. The main force of the fall came 
 on my left shoulder which soon became quite painful. 
 Rising to my feet I managed to catch my horse and 
 once more get in the saddle. Meanwhile realizing that 
 I had received a severe injury I turned my horse 's head 
 toward home and arriving there two of my neighbor 
 physicians were called in and it was soon discovered
 
 168 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 that the outer end of my left clavicle was dislocated. 
 After some efforts at readjustment of the parts a dress- 
 ing was applied and I was put in bed and directed to 
 lie there most of the time for some weeks. But who 
 ever knew a sick doctor to obey his medical attendant? 
 I got up next day and did not go to bed save when the 
 regular bed time came. Finally I recovered with the 
 outer end of my left clavicle detached from its articula- 
 tion. Of course the ligaments may have been so rup- 
 tured and torn from their attachments that no amount 
 of time spent on my back would have remedied matters. 
 Dr. Livingston, the great African discoverer, at the 
 end of years and years spent in "Darkest" Africa, fin- 
 ally died in its interior with no white man any where 
 accessible when the end came. He was not immediately 
 buried and his remains were some how kept from decay 
 by his faithful native attendants till they came under 
 the observation of European eyes. It was known that 
 in a fight for his life with a lion Dr. Livingston had sus- 
 tained an injury of the humerus of one of his arms 
 that resulted in a permanent ununited fracture and up- 
 on examination of the dead body in the care of the na- 
 tives this ununited fracture was found and thus identi- 
 fication of the remains was unquestionable in character. 
 I have sometimes had the gruesome thought that should 
 some terrible calamity befall me and identification of 
 my old carcass become necessary the unreduced dislo- 
 cation of the outer end of my left clavicle might "be 
 called in court", so to speak, to give unimpeachable 
 testimony. 
 
 Tolono is situated one hundred and forty miles south 
 of Chicago at the junction of the Illinois Central and 
 Wabash Railways, both important lines. The cottage 
 in which I lived was near the Illinois Central and not 
 far distant from the Union Railway Station of the two 
 roads.
 
 From Prairie to Village 169 
 
 At one period during my stay in Tolono there came 
 to be almost an "epidemic" of railway accidents to 
 individuals. Some writers have advanced the theory 
 that things of this kind go in cycles, but as to this I 
 cannot say. However, at the period referred to there 
 was certainly a cycle of personal railway injuries at 
 Tolono. So frequently did these occur at this time that 
 when my doorbell rang I went to it with the expectation 
 of finding a messenger summoning me to the railway 
 station to minister to the wants of some poor, mangled 
 sufferer. More frequently than otherwise these injuries 
 were of so serious a character that death resulted. 
 Most of the injuries were due to falling under the 
 wheels of the moving trains. Tolono was the crossing 
 of two important lines, and facilities for making the 
 crossing relatively safe were much less adequate than 
 today, furthermore, airbrakes had not yet come to be in 
 use and the work of a brakeman on a freight train was 
 dangerous in the extreme. 
 
 In the event the injured had to be dressed and oper- 
 ated upon our facilities for this were none of the best 
 and no hospital worthy of the name could be reached 
 nearer than Chicago. Under these circumstances I 
 could ''but thank my stars" when our "cycle" of 
 accidents came to an abrupt ending and surgical peace 
 reigned in and about the environments of our railway 
 station, for a period at least. 
 
 During my two years' service in the medical depart- 
 ment in the Civil War it was, as noted elsewhere, my 
 fortune to see men torn and mangled in almost every 
 way by shot and shell, yet I am compelled to say that 
 for horrible mangling many railway injuries out-class 
 the greater number of battle wounds and injuries that 
 came under my eye in the great struggle of the sixties, 
 terrible as was some of the human wreckage upon many 
 hardly contested fields in that fratricidal war.
 
 XV 
 
 A VETERAN MEDICAL SOCIETY AND SOME OF 
 ITS CHARACTERS 
 
 An old-time doctor rises into view 
 A well-read man he was and much he knew 
 For he was "college-bred", and in the eyes 
 Of simple folks no man could be more ^mse. 
 
 T. P. Wilson. 
 
 In the midsummer of 1872 I had an important sur- 
 gical case and being young and relatively inexperienced 
 I called Dr. E. B. Cannon of Tuscola in consultation. 
 Dr. Cannon had a large practice, gave much attention 
 to surgery and had the courage to operate whenever 
 and wherever a door opened opportunely. Dr. Cannon 
 was an older brother of the Honorable Joseph 6. Can- 
 non, who by the way, that very year entered on his long 
 and distinguished career in Congress. 
 
 Dr. Cannon very promptly came to my assistance 
 and when through with the case said to me " By the way, 
 Dr. Johnson, the Aesculapian meets in Tuscola this fall 
 and you must come down and join us." 
 
 "The Aesculapian, what is that?" I enquired. 
 
 "Why, it's a Medical Society," he answered. Its 
 full name is the Aesculapian Society of the Wabash 
 Valley and it has the distinction of being the oldest 
 medical organization in the state. It is a District Soc- 
 iety and its membership is made up of physicians, from 
 counties as far north as Vermillion, as far south as Law- 
 rence, and as far west as Moultrie, and likewise by medi- 
 cal men who reside in contiguous counties in Indiana." 
 
 I kept the date of the meeting in mind and when 
 it came round went to Tuscola, enquired for the place 
 
 170
 
 The Aesculapian Society 171 
 
 of meeting and went there and found a few doctors 
 assembled in a small hall. It was about 2 p. m. and the 
 afternoon session had opened. An essayist, who I soon 
 learned was Dr. Wm M. Chambers of Charleston, Illi- 
 nois, was reading a paper on malarial fever, which had 
 been especially prevalent that year. Dr. Chambers' 
 paper was well written and he read it so that he was eas- 
 ily understood, but at the end of nearly every sentence 
 he would pause for a brief moment and cast his eyes 
 up towards the ceiling. His paper finished, before he sat 
 down, he apologized for any and all shortcomings his 
 report might have, by saying it had been written amidst 
 the confusion necessarily arising during constant inter- 
 ruptions by patients. 
 
 Dr. William Massie of Grandview, Illinois, occupied 
 the chair with benign dignity and decorum. 
 
 If I remember correctly. Dr. A. J. Miller of Paris, 
 Illinois, followed Dr. Chambers with a paper, but upon 
 what topic I do not now recall. Later I came to realize 
 that these three men were of sterling worth and were 
 important pillars in the make-up of the Aesculapian. 
 Moreover, as time went on, I came to revere them and 
 was glad to sit at their feet, in a metaphorical sense, and 
 regard them as masters. When I saw them for the first 
 time that afternoon in November, 1872, they were all in 
 mature life, growing a little gray and all not far from 
 the half-century line. Upon further acquaintance I 
 found Dr. Chambers to be a suave, courteous gentleman, 
 a native of Kentucky and very fond of good Kentucky 
 whiskey. However, he was always so nice about the use 
 of his favorite beverage that his most devoted temper- 
 ance friends could take no exception to his indulgence. 
 
 Dr. William Massie was of a far different type. He 
 was a large rawboned man, very plain in dress and in- 
 clined to be brusk in manner. However, he was always 
 so intelligent and was such a brainy man with a faculty
 
 172 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 of impressing his personality on all that you soon for- 
 got his plain dress and brusk manner. 
 
 Dr. A. J. Miller was a small man with clear-cut 
 features, that impressed those with whom he came in 
 contact that he was just what he was — an honest, de- 
 pendable man. 
 
 I think there were less than a dozen physicians in 
 attendance that afternoon, but as it was the first session 
 of a medical society that I ever had the privilege of 
 attending, I, very naturally paid close attention to all 
 the proceedings and studied faces closely. 
 
 Next to Drs. Chambers, Massie and Miller, my atten- 
 tion was most drawn to Dr. G. T. Ragan, the Secretary, 
 in the prime of manhood, rather below the average in 
 size, but closely built with dark hair and eyes and hand- 
 some features. 
 
 Some one proposed my name for membership and 
 in due course I was elected, signed my name in the reg- 
 ister, and paid the initiation fee of two dollars. I was 
 young, timid and never dreamed that later I was 
 destined to succeed Dr. Ragan in the Secretary- 
 Treasuryship of the Aesculapian and sit by and receive 
 the sheckles while sundry new members signed in due 
 form and paid their fees. 
 
 In the evening there was a public meeting at which 
 Dr. Massie delivered his valedictory address on some 
 metaphysical subject that overshot most of his hearers, 
 professional and lay alike. 
 
 The next morning's session was well attended, sev- 
 eral papers were read and delegates appointed to both 
 the State Society and National Association as was then 
 the custom. At the hotel where I stopped I met Con- 
 gressman-elect Joseph G. Cannon, who was about to start 
 to Washington, and for the first time take his seat in 
 Congress. In that day no one so much as dreamed of 
 the unequalled long period young Congressman-elect
 
 The Aesculapian Society 173 
 
 Cannon was destined to serve nor of the unique and en- 
 viable career that he had before him. 
 
 The last day of the meeting of the Aesculapian was 
 Thursday and Thanksgiving day. Dr. Cannon invited 
 those of us who lived elsewhere and could do so, to 
 attend a Thanksgiving dinner at his home. We were in- 
 troduced to Mrs. Cannon whom we found to be a noble 
 woman and a good home-maker, as was evidenced by 
 what we saw and by the most appetizing turkey-dinner 
 she had prepared for us. 
 
 We all sat down to a long table and there was so 
 much in front of us that Dr. Cannon had to have the 
 turkey, a very large one, placed on a side-table where 
 he carved it properly and helped our plates bountifully. 
 While this was going on, an incident occurred which I 
 will narrate to show what things people tolerated in 
 those days. One of the physicians seated at the table, 
 a man near my own age, and who, as I learned later, 
 prided himself on his breeding, coughed, turned about 
 in his chair and expertorated a mouthful of mucus on 
 the carpet ! 
 
 As said above I do not know the exact number pres- 
 ent at that Thanksgiving dinner fifty-three years ago, 
 but I think it was about twelve. So far as I can learn 
 I am the only one living who sat down to that table. Dr. 
 Ragan, who passed away a few years ago, was the last 
 one to go. By the way, Dr. Ragan was especially kind 
 to me during this meeting and this I greatly appreciated, 
 as I was young, backward, and a stranger ; moreover, till 
 the day of his death, he remained one of my staunchest 
 friends. 
 
 In May following I attended a meeting of the Aes- 
 culapian at Charleston, and for the first time visited that 
 interesting place. Dr. Chambers, Dr. Massie and Dr. 
 Miller were all present, and of course my friend Dr. 
 Ragan, the most efficient Secretary-Treasurer. The
 
 174 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Aesculapian Society of the Wabash Valley was organized 
 in 1846, before the day of railways and consequently, 
 to attend its earlier sessions some of the members had 
 to drive, twenty, thirty, forty, nay, fifty miles to reach 
 the meetings, two of which were held every year and the 
 sessions always continued through two days. Thus it 
 will be seen that attendance upon these necessitated the 
 absence from their business of nearly a week on the part 
 of certain members who lived farthest away. However, 
 the brave men of those pioneer days shouldered their 
 burdens, made their tedious journeys and kept the 
 Aesculapian on its feet. 
 
 As I learned more of the Aesculapian I discovered 
 that Drs. Miller, Chambers and Massie were the second 
 generation of members and that the founders of the or- 
 ganization were all dead or removed to distant localities. 
 
 One doctor that I met at both of these meetings de- 
 serves notice. This was Dr. J. M. Steele of Grandview, 
 Illinois, a native of Virginia, who had come to the 
 "Prairie State," as Illinois was then called, acquired a 
 large body of land and had grown wealthy. 
 
 A number of years before Dr. Steele had retired from 
 practice, but he liked to attend medical socieities and 
 throw his influence for the preservation of ethical medi- 
 cine. The embodiment of hard, practical sense and in- 
 dependent as General Jackson; said what he thought, 
 when and where he pleased; and as he always thought 
 rightly, no one was the worse, but on the contrary bene- 
 fited. Although in that day every one wore beards. 
 Dr. Steele, who was at that time about sixty-five, al- 
 ways appeared clean-shaven. He was so weU and fav- 
 orably known that he was at one time called upon to 
 serve the Illinois State Medical Society as its President. 
 
 I missed the next two meetings of the Aesculapian, 
 and in the early fall of 1874, this fact brought a letter 
 from Dr. Ragan, the Secretary, asking why I had not
 
 The Aescul.vpian Society 175 
 
 been at the sessions of the society and urging my at- 
 tendance at the forthcoming meeting. I replied and 
 among other things stated that I had just passed through 
 a severe epidemic of diphtheria. As quick as return mail 
 could bring it, came a letter from him urging me to 
 write up the epidemic and read the paper at the meet- 
 ing in November. I wrote back that I had never written 
 a paper and that if I had one written I would be too 
 timid to read it. In reply Dr. Ragan wrote a more ur- 
 gent letter than ever, and said that if necessary, he 
 would read the paper if I would write it. 
 
 This last letter was the feather that "broke the 
 camel 's back ' ' and as a result, I fell a victim to Dr. Rag- 
 an 's generous interest and kindly offer and soon went 
 about doing what I could in the way of writing up the 
 diphtheria epidemic. 
 
 Up to that time I had never so much as written an 
 essay and my whole experience with my pen was con- 
 fined to such letters as it had from time to time been 
 necessary to write. However, I got busy, as the phrase 
 goes, and scribbled a good deal — as much, in fact, as I 
 could recall of my experience in the then very recent 
 epidemic. Finally I went through my scribblings and 
 endeavored to differentiate the essential from the unim- 
 portant and after writing and re-writing it all several 
 times till I was measurably satisfied with the result, 
 copied it in as fair and plain a hand as I could write and 
 forwarded it to Dr. Ragan, who lived at Neoga, Illinois. 
 
 At this time I lived at Tolono, Illinois, and as the 
 diphtheria had found its victims in that village and in 
 the surrounding country, I took the liberty of calling the 
 outbreak, "The Tolono Epidemic of Diphtheria." The 
 date for the meeting came, a beautiful day in late Nov- 
 ember, and as passenger service was then not nearly 
 as good as today, I entered a caboose attached to the 
 rear of a freight train on the Illinois Central, bright
 
 176 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 and early, and started for Neoga, fifty miles south 
 where the meeting was to be. In the caboose I was sur- 
 prised and gratified to find Dr. J. T. Pearman of Cham- 
 paign City, who, like myself, was headed for the Ae&- 
 culapian at Neoga. Fortunately our train was a 
 ' ' through freight ' ' and made almost as good time as the 
 average "accomodation" passenger trains of that day. 
 
 In due time we reached Neoga and found Dr. Ragan 
 at the train waiting for us. He invited us to his house 
 for dinner. After a short morning session Dr. Pear- 
 man and I went with Dr. Ragan and at his home I for 
 the first time met his wife, a bright, interesting woman. 
 Later I learned that she was originally a Miss Osborne, 
 and a sister to the Mr. Osborne who married the lady, 
 whom he later divorced and who then became the wife 
 of Robert Louis Stevenson. 
 
 After a good dinner we went to the place of meet- 
 ing and among others that I met were the "three pil- 
 lars", Drs. Chambers, Massie, and Miller. These men 
 were true medical stalwarts and by precept and exam- 
 ple, exercised a good influence upon all the younger 
 members of the society. The afternoon session was well 
 attended and an especially good one it proved to be. 
 
 At the evening session, Dr. Ragan read my paper 
 entitled, '"An Epidemic of Diphtheria at Tolono" and 
 it was listened to attentively and later discussed freely. 
 It received no little praise and when Dr. Chambers said, 
 "This report is not only interesting and instructive but 
 its diction is fine", my cup was full and I felt that I 
 had been rewarded a hundred fold for any and all pains 
 I had exercised in the preparation of this, my maiden 
 effort, at medical essay writing. 
 
 Very much to my surprise when the election of offi- 
 cers came at this meeting my name was proposed for 
 Vice-President and I was elected, and, as matters turn- 
 ed out, this meant much more to me than I at the time
 
 The Aesculapian Society 177 
 
 realized. Later Dr. Ragan did my paper the honor 
 to send it to the American Practitioner of Louisville, 
 Kentucky, for publication, and it appeared in that jour- 
 nal for May, 1875. 
 
 Dr. J. M. Hinkle of Mattoon, Illinois, was elected 
 President, but before the next meeting he disposed of 
 his practice at Mattoon and removed to San Diego, 
 California, where he was to have charge of a branch of 
 "The Indianapolis Surgical Institute", a first water 
 quack concern. As Dr. Hinkle 's name was promptly 
 dropped from the rolls of the Aesculapian, I, as Vice- 
 President, became Acting President of the society. 
 
 The meeting for May, 1875, was held in Terre Haute, 
 Indiana, and this took me to that city for the first time. 
 The profession of Terre Haute gave us a royal recep- 
 tion. A large opera house was provided for sessions, 
 and the whole faculty of one of the Indianapolis Medi- 
 cal Schools were invited to meet with us and partici- 
 pate in our proceedings. 
 
 The professors all came and gave every evidence of 
 being able men and thoroughly competent to fill their 
 several chairs. Further than this, there was a large at- 
 tendance of members, and, as might be expected, the 
 medical men of Terre Haute were present at most of our 
 sessions. Taking it all in all, I think I am safe in say- 
 ing that this was one of the largest meetings in the his- 
 tory of the Aesculapian. But large as was the meeting, 
 and dignified and imposing as were some of the medical 
 magnates from Indianapolis, it was my duty to preside ; 
 to say that I approached this with literal fear and trem- 
 bling, only partially expresses the full truth. Fortunately 
 in the Secretar^^, Dr. Ragan, I had ideal support and 
 assistance. I was in my thirty-third year and a very 
 young looking man for my age, and in front of me, 
 while in the chair, were many grave white-haired men 
 of over twice my age, and with ten times my knowledge
 
 178 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 and experience of the world and the men who dwelt in 
 it. Nevertheless with Dr. Ragan's help and loyal sup- 
 port I managed to blunder through some way. Doubt- 
 less the "way" was not always well chosen and at times 
 was not parliamentary, but, proper or improper, it was 
 kindly accepted and tolerated by my colleagues whom 
 fate had decreed that I preside over for a few hours. 
 
 One of those in front of me was Dr. Ezra Reed, 
 a sort of medical autocrat, from Terre Haute. Dr. 
 Reed had a personality that would attract attention 
 anywhere. He was fully six feet in height, large in 
 proportion and had a head as big as a half-bushel. Then 
 he had a way of speaking that would seem to affirm that 
 his was the last word that could be uttered on any given 
 subject. 
 
 Another character among the Terre Haute profession 
 was Dr. John E, Link, who was at one time Professor 
 of Anatomy in one of the Indianapolis Medical Schools. 
 Dr. Link had no little skill as a surgeon and at this 
 meeting read a paper advocating whiskey as an anesthe- 
 tic in place of chloroform and ether. Of course, to be 
 effective profound drunkenness would have to be pro- 
 duced. Nevertheless, Dr. Link narrated a number of 
 operations in which he had produced the needed insensi- 
 bility by exhibiting whiskey freely and on the other 
 hand he gave several instances in which chloroform had 
 produced fatal narcosis. 
 
 When the next morning's papers came out what was 
 our surprise to find in one of them a full copy of Dr. 
 Link's paper with big head-lines at the top of the col- 
 umn. Some thought this was with Dr. Link's conni- 
 vance. 
 
 Among others present at this meeting was Professor 
 Theophilus Parvin, then, I believe, connected with one 
 of the Indiana schools. Dr. Parvin, one of the hand- 
 somest men I ever saw, was brilliant, ready on his feet
 
 The Aesculapian Society 179 
 
 and a gifted writer. His specialty was Obstetrics and 
 Diseases of Women. But with all his gifts and accom- 
 plishments he seemed to be a kind of peripatetic and 
 during a not very long professional life, gravitated be- 
 tween Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louisville and finally 
 ended up in Philadelphia, if I remember rightly. But 
 wherever, or whenever he appeared, his taking per- 
 sonality won friends for him. 
 
 As this session neared its close a committee was ap- 
 pointed to draw up suitable resolutions expressing our 
 appreciation of the manner in which the profession of 
 Terre Haute had treated us. Dr. John Morgan McKown 
 as chairman wrote and presented the following : 
 
 "Whereas, the semi-annual peregrinations of The 
 Aesculapian Society of the Wabash Valley have brought 
 us, most fortunately, to this beautiful queen of the 
 Wabash Valley, the ^dgorous city of Terre Haute, and, 
 Whereas, on the principal of fair dealing and good 
 neighborhood one kind act deserves to bring forth its 
 own harvest of kindred fruit, remembering always that 
 he who eateth should give thanks, and impressed pro- 
 foundly with the courtesy and kindness which have 
 taken from us the sense of being strangers in a strange 
 land, Therefore be it 
 
 Resolved, that the unanimous thanks of the society be 
 and are hereby tendered to the medical society and pro- 
 fession of Terre Haute for the courtesy and kindness 
 which have made our stay here so delightful; and that 
 in the extension of thanks we desire to remember par- 
 ticularly the committee of arrangements, who have con- 
 tributed so much by their efforts to our comfort ; 
 
 Resolved, that we tender to the Press of Terre Haute 
 our thanks for the gratuitous advertising which in the 
 publication of the proceedings of our society they have 
 given the medical profession, and that we feel very grate- 
 ful for the exceptionally few ridiculous utterances,
 
 180 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 scientifically regarded, which they have put into our 
 mouths, the secular press being notoriously inaccurate 
 in reporting scientific discussions; 
 
 Resolved, that we tender to the citizens of Terre 
 Haute, whose latch-strings have been out and whose 
 doors have opened to us, our thanks for the courtesy 
 and hospitality which make us long to come again, and 
 to her fair daughters who give tonight with their charms 
 these banquet halls, the assurance that the memory of 
 their kindly courtesy and gracious presence, like the 
 aroma of some beautiful flower, shall linger in our hearts 
 and be enshrined there along with the affection which 
 we bear our mothers, our wives, and our sweethearts 
 who await us at home, and the assurance to all the 
 ladies, the citizens and our professional brethren, that 
 amid the rugged duties to which our profession shall 
 call us, in the discomfort and fatigue, and anxiety of 
 our professional life, we shall look back to our stay 
 here as the foot-sore and weary traveler does to the 
 bubbling spring by whose side he has rested and refresh- 
 ed himself!" 
 
 The fall meeting of the Aesculapian for the year 
 1875 was held at Paris, Illinois, when it again was my 
 duty to preside and at the close of the meeting deliver 
 a valedictory address. For this purpose I prepared 
 something that I trusted would not be wholly inapprop- 
 riate and when the time came, with trembling voice and 
 quaking knees delivered it. Notwithstanding my trep- 
 idation in delivery what I had to say was well received 
 and very naturally I was gratified. 
 
 In November, 1876, the Aesculapian met at Tolono, 
 my home. The weather was cold and gloomy and the 
 meeting was not well attended. However, I recall that 
 Dr. Chambers, one of the stalwarts, was there and that 
 I entertained him. One of the first things that occurred 
 after he crossed my threshold was to open his valise,
 
 The Aesculapian Society 181 
 
 take out a bottle and ask for a glass and some water. 
 When this was given him, he poured out about a half a 
 glass of whiskey, drank it "raw" and then followed it 
 with a "swallow" of water. 
 
 This was a new experience in my home, but Dr. 
 Chambers was such a courteous gentleman and so agree- 
 able in every way, that my folks passed the drinking 
 incidently and as we say today, "forgot it." 
 
 At the election which occurred at this meeting Dr. 
 Ragan was made President and I was given the Secre- 
 tary-Treasurership of the Society. I felt a little loath 
 to take the position, but was afterwards glad that I 
 did it, as it gave me a kind of experience that I needed. 
 I remained in the Secretary-Treasurer's place ten years. 
 
 The time and service I gave the Aesculapian as its 
 Secretary I have never regretted. Indeed, I can but 
 regard it as an important contribution to my medical 
 and literary education. It brought me closely in con- 
 tact with capable and successful practitioners and creat- 
 ed within me higher professional ideals than I might 
 have fallen heir to had lower standards been set before 
 my eyes than those afforded by the Aesculapian. 
 
 During my incumbency of the position of Secretary- 
 Treasurer of the Aesculapian, Dr. William Massie was 
 stricken with pulmonary tuberculosis and he was thereby 
 prevented from attending the meetings during several 
 sessions. Finally, however, at a meeting in Paris he 
 came to the place of meeting, took each one by the hand, 
 bade us all goodby, broke down with grief, tears trick- 
 ling down his cheeks and few dry-eyed men witnessed 
 his grief, turned about and left us. He was pale, ema- 
 ciated, had a harrassing cough, and we all felt, asi he 
 did, that the end was not far off. Most of us never saw 
 him again. 
 
 As time went by Dr. W. M. Chambers began to show 
 the grip of age. He was stooped over, till he seemed
 
 182 Sixty Years est the Medical Harness 
 
 almost doubled upon himself. Later he, too, passed on 
 to the Great Beyond. 
 
 Meanwhile, Dr. Miller, the third of our stalwart 
 triumvirate, grew older and older, and finally joined 
 his colleagues, Massie and Chambers on the Other Shore.
 
 XVI 
 
 I LOCATE IN CHAMPAIGN CITY 
 
 Of all the ills that suffering man endures 
 The largest fraction liberal nature cures; 
 Of those remaining 'tis the smallest part 
 Yields to the efforts of judicious art. 
 
 Holmes. 
 
 Fthe spring of 1879 I removed from Tolono to Cham- 
 paign City, only ten miles away and in the same 
 County of Champaign. This move was made to secure 
 a larger field for professional work and better educa- 
 tional opportunities for my family which were available 
 at the University of Illinois, very near which I would 
 have my home. 
 
 During my first three years in Champaign City I was 
 a partner of Dr. J. T. Pearman, some fifteen years my 
 senior and a genial, pleasant gentleman and a native of 
 Kentuck3\ Our relations were pleasant during the 
 period of our partnership and remained so until his 
 death nearly seventeen years later. He was the local sur- 
 geon of one of the railroads that ran through Champaign 
 and I often assisted him in the ' ' rough and tumble ' ' sur- 
 gery much more incident to railway work in that day 
 than this. As we had no hospital in that period these 
 patients were taken to a room, usually in the hotel adja- 
 cent to the railwa5^ and if an operation was to be per- 
 formed, a table was brought in, sheets and blankets 
 spread upon it, the patient placed upon these, chloro- 
 form administered and the knife and other instruments 
 used with no anti-septic precautions other than ordinary 
 cleanliness. Hot water and soap were of course always 
 available, but, at best, these were used only in a very 
 perfunctory manner. True, over in Edinburgh, Scot- 
 
 183
 
 184 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 land, Joseph Lister was at that time striving to material- 
 ize his dream of clean surgery. But while in this his suc- 
 cess was encouraging, yet it was not of so pronounced 
 a character as to command the attention of medical men 
 generally. 
 
 In the early eighties the time of my professional part- 
 nership expired and I began practicing on "my own 
 hook," as it were. I felt some hesitancy in doing this 
 as my three years' association with an old and estab- 
 lished physician had made me a little timid and had not 
 been conducive to a spirit of independence, and self- 
 reliance. However, this did not last long and after 
 awhile I "got my nerve,' as the slang has it, and went 
 about my business with a due amount of confidence. 
 
 Not long after I began to "hoe my own row" (1884) 
 I ran up against an endemic of typhoid fever, unusual in 
 character. A young man went west with the hope of 
 bettering his fortune, located in Kansas and was en- 
 gaged in opening up a new farm when he was stricken 
 with a severe attack of sickness and thinking home and 
 his mother's care were desirable, took the train and came 
 back to the old farm-house. Soon after his return I was 
 sent for and learned that several days previously he had 
 been attacked with a hard chill followed by high fever 
 and later feeling able to travel, took the train and two 
 days subsequently reached home and took to his bed. 
 His symptoms pointed to malaria, moreover, his sur- 
 roundings in the new country, when first attacked and 
 also the season of the year, were precisely those condu- 
 cive to an attack of malarial fever and this upon my 
 first visit I thought the case to be. I prescribed for my 
 patient and left with directions to be called if my ser- 
 vices were further needed. Two days later I was hur- 
 riedly sent for with the information that the patient, by 
 mistake, had been given carbolic acid. When I reached 
 the bedside of the sick man I found that while his lips 
 and tongue had been burned by the drug, he was clear
 
 In Champaign City 185 
 
 of any serious symptoms this might have produced, and 
 prescribing some palliatives I took my leave. His mother 
 previous to my arrival had administered sweet milk and 
 this no doubt had an ameliorating effect, as it in no small 
 degree relieved the burning and other disagreeable re- 
 sults of the carbolic acid. 
 
 Two days later I was called and now realized that my 
 patient had typhoid fever. The history and symptoms 
 at my first visit pointed to malaria; and at my second 
 visit the swallowing of the carbolic acid had put all else 
 in the background. In that day we made our diagnoses 
 by clinical s>Tnptoms alone, — the Widal test for typhoid 
 came a number of years later. 
 
 When the young man came from the west a steam- 
 thresher was running at the farm-house and the machine 
 was attended by twenty-nine young men and boys, five 
 of whom were the patient's brothers and the remainder 
 neighbors and friends. 
 
 In the following two or three weeks sixteen of this 
 party of threshers were stricken with typhoid fever ; two 
 others had symptoms that indicated an attack in mild 
 form, and four more were to a greater or less degree in- 
 disposed, presumably from mild infection. I say "pre- 
 sumably" advisedly for as intimated above, we, in those 
 days, were compelled to make our diagnoses, in no small 
 measure, in the dark, so to speak. 
 
 Of the sixteen well-marked cases, eleven were under 
 my care, eight of whom made good recoveries and three 
 died. The remaining six patients were treated by other 
 physicians with a result of three recoveries and three 
 fatalities. 
 
 After all was over I wrote a full report of this out- 
 break and sent it to the Louisville Practitioner and 
 News in which it a little later appeared and I shall take 
 the liberty of quoting from this with a view to throwing 
 some light on medicine as it was understood and prac- 
 ticed in the eighties.
 
 186 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 After giving the history of the endemic and certain 
 facts pertaining thereto the report said : 
 
 "Here it may be well to state some facts regarding 
 typhoid fever upon which recent authorities are pretty 
 well agreed : 
 
 "1. Typhoid fever is never communicated from per- 
 son to person. 
 
 "2. The disease never comes up spontaneously; no 
 amount of filth, and no degree of decomposition can 
 originate the disease. 
 
 "3. Typhoid fever is a miasmatic, or infectious, 
 disease, the poison from within the body of a person 
 suffering with typhoid must pass through, in process of 
 development, a nidus outside the body before it becomes 
 capable of propagating the disease (Ziemsen). 
 
 "4. The discharges from the bowels of a patient 
 affected with typhoid in a few hours after they are void- 
 ed, pass through some process by which they become in- 
 fectious, and when allowed to enter wells or cisterns, 
 cause those who drink the water to have the disease. 
 
 "5. The susceptibility to typhoid depends largely 
 upon the age of the person exposed, those under thirty 
 being very liable to contract it. 
 
 "At the period when the young man arrived from 
 the west (the first case) a prolonged drought had pre- 
 vailed with extremely hot weather. The water in all the 
 wells was at a very low stage, but at the farm-house 
 where the initial case occurred there were two wells 
 whose supply of water seemed practically inexhaustible. 
 One of these wells was in the door-yard about fifty feet 
 from the house ; the other about two hundred feet from 
 the dwelling in the barn-yard. The bam-lot was sep- 
 arated from the dooryard by a fence some thirty feet 
 from the house and in it ran at large horses, cattle and 
 hogs. 
 
 ''Shortly after the arrival of the young man from the 
 West (the first patient), the tank which supplied the en-
 
 In Champaign City 187 
 
 gine of the threshing-machine with water was cleaned 
 out and filled with water from the barn-lot well and 
 taken to the oats-field where the men drank from it 
 freely. As this water from the barn-lot was contami- 
 nated with filterings from the urine and feces of the 
 hogs, horses and cattle all about, there were not lacking 
 those who attributed the outbreak to this cause. 
 
 "It wiU be recalled that the diagnosis was obscured 
 for a time by the accidental administration of carbolic 
 acid, and during this period the discharges from the 
 patient's bowels, it was later learned, were thrown in 
 the barn-lot. Hogs running at large in this enclosure 
 may have conveyed portions of the discharges to the 
 near vicinity of the well, where waste-water from filling 
 the thresher engine may have trickled in the well. 
 
 "Two thirds of those having unmistakable typhoid 
 were under twenty-five. Of the seven persons not at- 
 tacked three were past forty-five years of age, one was 
 thirty-four, the age of another is not known, and but two 
 were under thirty. As sixteen of the typhoid patients, 
 when in the full vigor of health, were attacked of the 
 threshing party and at the farm-house where the young 
 man came home sick, and some of them were at his bed- 
 side, the people in the community (some of them) con- 
 cluded the disease was contagious." 
 
 Another possible source of infection should not be 
 overlooked: The first patient's mother was housekeeper, 
 cook and nurse all in one, and as we have seen, she gave 
 the patient carbolic acid by mistake instead of his medi- 
 cine, who shall say she did not make some such break 
 as giving a drink out of a dipper or cup and forget to 
 throw out what was not used by the patient ; then need- 
 ing some water in her cooking operations, she possibly 
 used that which a moment before had been in contact 
 with the patients' lips. In this or in some similar man- 
 ner thousands of typhoid germs may have contaminated 
 the food that the threshers ate.
 
 188 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 The reader may smile at some of the typhoid-etiology 
 advanced in the quotation from the report published 
 in the Louisville Practitioner and News, but, all the 
 same, I shall have to assure him that it was up to date 
 only a little more than a generation ago. Furthermore 
 in that period inflammation of Peyer's glands was re- 
 garded as the very essence of typhoid fever ; indeed, so 
 much was this the case that one would feel justified in 
 saying, "No inflammation of Peyer's glands, no typhoid 
 fever. " 
 
 Needless to say that in the period of which I write 
 the trained nurse had not as yet materialized. True she 
 could be found here and there in the larger cities, but in 
 the country districts she was absolutely unknown. This 
 being true it can readily be seen how great was the han- 
 dicap under which patient and physician labored in the 
 old days. There is no disease in which a faithful, well- 
 trained nurse can render more efficient and more next 
 to indispensable service, than in typhoid fever. 
 
 As regards the cause of this endemic there was one 
 person who entertained no doubts whatever. This was 
 the mother who insisted that the outbreak was due to the 
 decree of a just Grod Avho in this manner inflicted upon 
 her a punishment for her sins and general wickedness! 
 Think of it ! A visitation such as this upon a good, faith- 
 ful mother and a consistent member of a Christian 
 church ! Fortunately the general knowledge of the germ 
 theory of the origin of disease with which most people 
 are today familiar has served to minimize the possiblity 
 of conclusions such as the above being arrived at. 
 
 Some years after locating in Champaign I was 
 chosen a member of the Board of Education and I had 
 not been serving long when reports came in that children 
 in certain parts of the city were afflicted with obscure 
 symptoms accompanied with a slight rash. The reports 
 were confusing but on the whole suggested mild scarlet
 
 In Champaign City 189 
 
 fever. But owing to the fact that Champaign had no 
 Health Officer the course to pursue was not as plain as 
 could be desired. Finally I was appointed a committee 
 of one to wait on our Mayor and see what could be done 
 in the direction of appointing a competent Health Offi- 
 cer. I called on his Honor, an ethical physician, and he 
 listened to my suggestion patiently and when I was 
 through said they had a Health Committee made up of 
 three aldermen and that they ought to be able to care for 
 practically any emergency. After hearing what he had 
 to say I began talking as one medical man to another 
 and finally got him to promise to appoint a competent 
 physician as city Health Officer. I took my leave and 
 what was my surprise a day or two later to receive no- 
 tice that I had been appointed to the place suggested. 
 Furthermore, I was requested to call on the city at- 
 torney and make needed suggestions relative to a set of 
 ordinances that would have to be drawn up to meet the 
 new situation. In due time this was done and the or- 
 dinances were duly passed by the city council and signed 
 by the mayor. 
 
 This done I got in touch with Dr. John H. Ranch, 
 Secretary of the Illinois State Board of Health, and he 
 very promptly supplied me with reprints and other lit- 
 erature telling me what to do and how to do it. Among 
 other things there were specific directions how to disin- 
 fect a patient, how to disinfect a room, how to proceed 
 in case a patient was dead after an attack of contagious 
 disease. All this may sound strange to the professional 
 reader of today. But he must recollect that everything 
 must have a beginning, and that to this rule disease- 
 prevention is no exception. Furthermore, all this was 
 under the shadow of a great educational institution, the 
 University of Illinois. Yet this educational center the 
 home of a great State University allowed the decade of 
 the eighties to run well through its length before its im-
 
 190 Sixty Yeaks in the Medical Harness 
 
 mediate environs could claim the protection of a regular 
 Health Official. 
 
 Not a great while after my term of service began, a 
 local practitioner came in my office one day and said he 
 guessed that he had a family in the northeast part of 
 town in which there was a pretty well-marked case of 
 diphtheria and that there were more of the children be- 
 ginning to complain. I accompanied him to the house 
 named and sure enough there was an outbreak of diph- 
 theria. About two weeks before the oldest son had 
 come home from attending a parochial school in a town 
 some distance away, bringing with him his clothes, trunk 
 and other belongings. In about a week he began to com- 
 plain and later his case developed as narrated above. 
 
 The family was quarantined and as far as practic- 
 able the well children segregated from the sick, but in 
 spite of all our efforts five of the nine children in the 
 family died from the disease with which all were 
 stricken. (This was in the late eighties.) 
 
 Despite our trying the hardest to enforce quarantine 
 and disinfect properly the disease spread, found numer- 
 ous victims in the Twin Cities of Champaign and Ur- 
 bana and in the country surrounding and before it had 
 burned itself out, so to speak, scores of children and 
 some older fell victims to its fatal inroads. In that per- 
 iod Behring's serum for the treatment of diphtheria had 
 not yet come in use, though it did just a little later. The 
 treatment consisted mainly of topical applications of 
 such agents as chlorate of potash, carbolic acid, etc. 
 Meanwhile quinine and various preparations of iron 
 were given internally. While our earlier efforts at iso- 
 lation and quarantine were not what we hoped for our 
 later work secured better results. I recall one large 
 family of children in which one of these was attacked 
 with diphtheria and I prevailed on the family with the 
 hearty concurrence of the medical attendant, to put the 
 patient upstairs in a room to itself with the fewest pos-
 
 In Champaign City 191 
 
 sible furnishings. As the weather was warm, we easily 
 persuaded the children to spend most of their time out of 
 doors. The up-stairs patient finally recovered from a 
 long serious attack of the epidemic ailment, but happily 
 to say not another member of the family was stricken. 
 This experience in less degree was repeated during the 
 prevalence of the epidemic. Health-measures and 
 health-enforcement were all new in that period and in 
 many instances the people did not take kindly to these. 
 Notwithstanding, however, and in spite of other handi- 
 caps that I was compelled to labor under I yet look back 
 to my pioneer work during that diphtheria outbreak, 
 now a full third of a century in the past, as quite pos- 
 sibly the most satisfactory in my long professional life. 
 
 Up hill, as most of my work was, yet I am sure that 
 our quarantine and isolation, incomplete as it was, by 
 preventing the infection of many, saved not a few lives 
 as a final outcome. This, under the circumstances, I 
 could but regard as cause for congratulation. 
 
 Very naturally after this experience in segregating 
 the sick from the well my mind reverted to the Tolono 
 epidemic of 1874, when we had no health laws, but when 
 notwithstanding I wanted to put the first patient in an 
 Irish family in an upstairs room but the father would 
 not consent and as a result three out of the five fine chil- 
 dren went to their graves. 
 
 Speaking of remedies employed in this epidemic, I 
 recall one case of my own where I had the patient in- 
 hale the smoke from burning bituminous coal, a heroic 
 measure that I had seen recommended in this disease. 
 
 During this epidemic I got the first Intubation Outfit 
 in my county and was called in consultation a number 
 of times to use it. As is not infrequently the case my 
 first attempt at intubation was a "ringer" that is, a 
 pronounced success. This was in a well-marked case of 
 laryngeal diphtheria where I was called as the consult- 
 ant. The child recovered and as I could but think I had
 
 192 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 saved its life when asked for my bill I said one hundred 
 dollars. At this the father "went up in the air," said 
 I was a highway robber and more to that effect. He 
 finally paid me fifty dollars and I let it go at that, 
 though he was a thrifty farmer and land-owner. 
 
 I did a number of intubations but none of the results 
 were as satisfactory as the first one. I recall one in 
 which the operation was followed by the coughing up of 
 a membranous tube and we all thought we would surely 
 win, but the case terminated fatally, notwithstanding. 
 I recall another in which death occurred very shortly 
 after the operation, and I was blamed. Undoubtedly 
 the child would have died anyway as its system was 
 loaded ^^^th toxins and this fact should have deterred 
 me from operating. But as things were I yielded to the 
 desires of both the doctor and friends and tried to in- 
 troduce the instrument. 
 
 In one case of larj^ngeal diphtheria where I was 
 about to operate both parents kissed the child before I 
 could stop them and when I remonstrated I think they 
 thought me a brute. 
 
 In that day many believed croup and diphtheria were 
 distinct diseases and in addition contemporary writers 
 described what they termed membranous pharyngitis. 
 During the prevalence of this epidemic my little girl 
 aged about seven years began to complain of sore throat 
 and to be on the safe side we put her in an up-stairs 
 room to herself. In a few days she had a fit of cough- 
 ing and calling to her mother said, "O, see what came 
 out of my mouth ! ' ' And this proved to be what does 
 the reader think ? A membrane nearly half as large as a 
 lead pencil. Meanwhile the patient's brother five years 
 of age was attacked with sore throat and later coughed 
 up a membrane precisely like his sister had done. For- 
 tunately both patients made a good recovery. The boy 
 grew to manhood, became an alumnus of the University 
 of Illinois and a graduate of the Medical Department
 
 In Champaign City 193 
 
 of the University of Chicago, served an internship in 
 Cook County Hospital, was a Captain in the medical ser- 
 vice overseas during the World "War and is now practic- 
 ing in Terre Haute, Indiana. The daughter now in 
 mature life is Reference Librarian in the University of 
 Illinois. All of which last would have been blank had 
 their throat trouble, which I later recognized was real 
 diphtheria, proved fatal. Furthermore, I was no doubt 
 the unwitting purveyor of the disease to my two chil- 
 dren, yet in their years of innocence. 
 
 I said above that a generation ago the profession 
 was pretty well divided on the question of the identity 
 of croup and diphtheria. Indeed, a number, perhaps 
 the majority, of the older practitioners always believed 
 that croup and diphtheria were separate and entirely 
 distinct ailments. And to be fair, they had much on 
 their side of the argument. 
 
 Not one of the older physicians but what time after 
 time had a case of well-marked croup that four times in 
 five would go on to a fatal termination, and not another 
 child, in what was often a large family, would be at- 
 tacked. Again these cases nearly always developed 
 quickly (I came near saying suddenly) with high fever, 
 bounding pulse and all the other sj^mptoms of what the 
 older authors were fond of calling a sthenic condition. 
 On the other hand no one who has seen much of diph- 
 theria cases but will bear testimony to the very general 
 asthenic condition of the patients. However, time 
 brings about many changes, and today the profession is 
 practically of one mind in believing that what the older 
 men were wont to call croup was laryngeal diphtheria. 
 Fortunately the almost universal use of Behring 's serum 
 that has come about has effected a wonderful influence 
 in saving life in this dread disease. Meantime more 
 rigid and better managed quarantine has had the ef- 
 fect to abolish epidemics of this disease such as were
 
 194 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 known to practitioners of a bygone era. For all which 
 let us be duly thankful. 
 
 Many, many years ago, Charles West, a famous Eng- 
 lish physician and author, wrote a work on Ulceration of 
 the Os Uteri which had a world wide circulation and 
 created a "vogue." A vogue for the treatment of ul- 
 cerated ostii with topical applications. Many were the 
 doctors who stocked themselves with a set of uterine 
 speculams, applicators of various kinds, swabs, sponges, 
 and a due supply of astringents and caustics. Duly 
 provided with this armamentarium not a few went on 
 the war-path with seemingly the sole object of securing 
 all the patients possible for treatment in this way. One 
 man of my acquaintance who was in full mature life 
 and had enjoyed a large obstetric practice became an es- 
 pecially enthusiastic worker in this field and the local 
 applications he made to seemingly badly inflamed ostii 
 were all but innumerable. Moreover, as it was in the 
 days of pre-asepsis most of his work was to put it mildly, 
 unclean. 
 
 Like most others, I in a measure "tumbled to the 
 racket," provided myself with a modest outfit and did 
 some of this work. However, as I never had much taste 
 for gynecological practice patients thought to be afflicted 
 in the way named, did not come to me in droves, so to 
 speak, as they flocked to some of my confreres. Conse- 
 quently my conscience is relatively clear, because in that 
 pre-aseptic era with my limited number of topical ap- 
 plications I did not run the risk of making many worse 
 after treatment than before as was the case with some 
 of my competitors whose offices were at times crowded 
 with patients of this kind. 
 
 However, this vogue for the local treatment of uter- 
 ine ostii, that had been in full sway, in our "neck-of- 
 the-woods," at least, was destined to sudden and com- 
 plete eclipse when in 1879, or thereabouts. Dr. E. C. 
 Dudley, a prominent Chicago gynecologist, fresh from
 
 In Champaign City 195 
 
 the clinics of Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet of New York, 
 brought to us the startling information that all of this 
 supposed ulceration was not ulceration but a "tear" 
 which the mother had experienced in childbirth, and 
 Jhat instead of caustic and astringent applications for 
 its relief the true cure was an operation. This oper- 
 ation was necessary and in the end curative because in 
 childbirth the uterine cervix had been lacerated and at 
 best had only healed in part. The torn surfaces as ex- 
 posed were denuded with knife or scissors, drawn to- 
 gether and stitched with wire sutures which last were 
 removed when healing had taken place. This operation 
 had been given the name trachelorrhaphy, a sort of 
 "jaw-breaker" it seemed at first. Dr. Dudley had grown 
 to be an expert in performing it and likewise a most 
 willing demonstrator of all that pertained to its tech- 
 nique. My confrere who had so long and so industri- 
 ously been applying his astringents and caustics, speed- 
 ily became a convert to Emmet's recently devised opera- 
 tion on the lacerated uterine neck and under the tute- 
 lage of Dr. Dudley, twenty-five years or more his junior, 
 in due time came to be almost as skillful in operating as 
 his teacher. Finally, the result of Dr. Dudley's frequent 
 visits to our community and the marked aptness of his 
 pupil was an epidemic, if one may so speak, of trache- 
 lorrhaphies which started in with the eighties, ran 
 through the nineties and well into the twentieth century. 
 I recall an operation for the removal of a malignant 
 growth from the abdomen of a middle-aged woman, made 
 by two prominent Chicago surgeons in the late eighties. 
 Antiseptic surgery had but recently come in vogue 
 and one of its latest edicts was that all major opera- 
 tions must be performed under a warm, heavily 
 carbolized spray and in a heated atmosphere. The 
 patient operated upon was not mine, but that of a 
 brother physician who verj'- kindly asked me to be pres-
 
 196 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 ent and witness an up-to-date operation. As there were 
 many adhesions the operation was a long and tedious 
 one, and before it was finished the atmosphere of the 
 room in which it occurred became heavy with the fumes 
 of carbolic acid and so heated that the thermometer must 
 have run away up in the nineties. Out of doors was a 
 winter atmosphere and I never felt anything more grate- 
 ful than the breathing of this seemed after leaving the 
 heavily drugged and stifling atmosphere of the apart- 
 ment in which the operation had occurred. I was but 
 an ordinary country practitioner, nevertheless when I 
 recovered from the extreme depression which I felt just 
 before leaving the scene of operation I said to myself 
 "Well, if that is the latest and best environment up-to- 
 date medical and surgical science can supply may an 
 ever-kind Providence deliver me from it." In marked 
 contrast to the foregoing I recall an operation I wit- 
 nessed in Cook County Hospital, Chicago, some ten 
 years later. It was an appendectomy by a skilled sur- 
 geon and in an atmosphere so cold that we all felt 
 obliged to wear our heavy winter overcoats. The last 
 named patient died as did the former. In the first case 
 there were diseased conditions that made death in- 
 evitable.
 
 XVII 
 
 MEDICINE IN THE EIGHTIES AND NINETIES 
 
 No oalling in life is so sublimely epic as that of the physician. 
 — Journal of the American Medical Association. 
 
 THE decade of the Eighties was in medicine a period 
 of transition, from the old to the new. At the be- 
 ginning of this decade comparatively few in the pro- 
 fession at large admitted the truth of the germ theory 
 of the origin of disease ; at its close a very much smaller 
 few had the temerity to question its truth and correct- 
 ness. 
 
 Likewise at the coming in of the Eighties compara- 
 tively few practitioners made the endeavor to make use 
 of asepsis and antisepsis. At the going out of the 
 Eighties the physician who did not practice medical and 
 surgical cleanliness was branded a "back number." 
 
 At the coming in of this decade Preventive Medicine 
 may be truthfully said to have started on the quest to 
 secure its own. State after State was added to the list of 
 Commonwealths which put Medical Practice Acts on the 
 pages of their Statute Books, and sought to add to the 
 public weal with properly organized Boards of Health. 
 Then too, at about the beginning of this Era the Na- 
 tional Board of Health was organized, ran a brief 
 existence and finally perished from want of funds and 
 likewise from State Rights jealousy. 
 
 However, practically all public health endeavor and 
 work were curtailed and handicapped for the lack of 
 adequate financial backing. It was the old, old story, 
 the welfare of cattle, horses, hogs and other livestock, 
 in far too many instances, by the average legislator, was 
 deemed of more significance and consequently received 
 
 197
 
 198 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 more financial and other consideration than did the hu- 
 man animal. 
 
 While as intimated above the profession in general 
 did not come to recognize the full truth and importance 
 of the germ theory of disease till about the beginning of 
 the eighth decade of the Nineteenth Century a number 
 of earnest men, for a dozen years or more, had been 
 working industriously to advance our knowledge along 
 scientific and likewise more definite lines. Among the 
 more prominent of these may be named Louis Pasteur of 
 France and Robert Koch of Germany. Pasteur was born 
 in 1822 and died seventy-three years later in 1895. 
 Robert Koch was born in 1843 (the same year in which 
 I for the first time saw the light of day) and died in 
 1910, aged sixty-seven years. 
 
 In 1882 Koch made his world renowned investigation 
 that resulted in the discovery of the tubercle bacillus 
 with its necessary corollary, namely, that tuberculosis 
 was and is an infectious and contagious disease. The 
 next year Koch discovered the cholera vibrio and demon- 
 strated that its transmission most frequently occurred 
 through the ingestion of contaminated drinking water 
 and food. In this period Koch also formulated his fam- 
 ous postulates as follows : First, the organism suspected 
 of causing a given disease must he found in all cases of 
 that particular disease. Second, this organism must he 
 isolated from the diseased individual and reproduced in 
 pure culture. Third, pure cultures of the organism ivhen 
 injected in a suitable animal must reproduce the disease. 
 Fourth, the specific organism in question must again he 
 isolated from the individual in which the disease had 
 been reproduced. 
 
 About 1880 Eberth discovered the typhoid bacillus 
 since which time this organism is often called by the 
 name of its discoverer, that is to say, the Eberth bacillus. 
 Furthermore in the decade of the Eighties the diphtheria
 
 In the Eighties and Nineties 199 
 
 germ, familiarly knowm as the Klebs-Loefler bacillus, was 
 discovered. Edwin Klebs by the way was no common 
 man and, indeed, was a true pioneer in working out the 
 germ theoiy of the origin of disease, and consequently 
 in this field no one is entitled to more honor. It is said 
 that Klebs antedated Eberth in the discovery of the ty- 
 phoid bacillus, investigated the pathology of traumatic 
 infections before Koch and inoculated monkeys with 
 syphilis before Metehnikoff. By the way it was in the 
 Eighties that Metehnikoff in his studies of inflammation 
 unearthed the fact that the white blood corpuscles have 
 the power of absorbing bacteria, technically called 
 phagocytosis, and thus curtailing disease generation. In 
 this era Louis Pasteur evolved his vaccine therapy for 
 the prevention of some ailments and the arrest and treat- 
 ment of others. His methods were especially effective in 
 hydrophobia and anthrax. 
 
 In May, 1886, The American Medical Association met 
 in Saint Louis, Missouri and during the session Dr. Regi- 
 nald H. Fitz read an epoch-making paper, entitled, "Per- 
 forating Inflammations of the Vermiform Appendix, 
 ^\ith special Reference to its Diagnosis and Treatment." 
 The paper was based upon an analysis of 257 cases of un- 
 questionable perforating ulcer of the appendix, and 209 
 cases diagnosed as typhilitis, perityphlitis and peri- 
 typhlitie abscess. 
 
 In the way of treatment. Dr. Fitz recommended rest, 
 liquid diet and opium to quiet pain. However, if the 
 sjTnptoms were of a character to threaten peritonitis in- 
 cision and removal of the appendix was thought to be 
 indicated. 
 
 This paper of Dr. Fitz attracted world-wide atten- 
 tion, the trouble soon came to be known as appendicitis, 
 and very soon thereafter this disease received general 
 recognition, the operation of appendectomy was devised 
 and in due time became popular, — much too popular it
 
 200 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 is feared with some operators. I was long ago fully per- 
 suaded that appendectomy when used in properly se- 
 lected cases is as legitimate an operation as any other in 
 the whole domain of surgery. Nevertheless, and not- 
 withstanding the legitimacy of appendectomy, some 
 practitioners are disposed to resort to it for each and 
 every ache and pain any where in the vicinity of Mc- 
 Burney's region which is supposed to define the limits 
 involved in an attack of appendicitis. 
 
 No doubt that on the whole properly performed ap- 
 pendectomies have been the means of curtailing much 
 suffering and saving many lives. Furthermore for nearly 
 a generation it has added greatly to the net income of 
 physicians, well earned in most cases. However with 
 some, fortunately a small minority, it has been greatly 
 and sadly overdone. 
 
 Naturally the epoch-making paper of Dr. Fitz made 
 him famous. He was very near my own age. He died 
 in 1913 from ulcer of the stomach, aged 71. 
 
 It is an interesting fact that the need for operation 
 in many appendeceal cases came to be apparent, near 
 the same time that antiseptic surgery became of practi- 
 cally universal application, let the case be of whatsoever 
 character. 
 
 Notwithstanding the fact that it may be said that 
 Pasteur's discovery of the germ theory of the origin of 
 disease is only a little less important in the field of medi- 
 cine than was Newton's discovery of the law of gravita- 
 tion in the world of physics yet it took some time to con- 
 vince many in the profession of its truth and tremendous 
 significance. It is said that when Harvey, three hun- 
 dred years ago, announced his discovery of the circula- 
 tion of the blood it met with such opposition that no 
 physician beyond forty years of age would accept it. In 
 the end the great majority of physicians a generation ago 
 accepted the germ theory but even many of the most
 
 In the Eighties and Nineties 201 
 
 prominent were slow to do this, "felt their way," as it 
 were, which was only proper. 
 
 When in 1885 Dr. William Pepper of Philadelphia 
 brought out his most admirable System of Medicine, in 
 his preface he referred to the germ theory as a " matter 
 which is still suh judice, and which demands much more 
 critical and skillful investigation before its true scientific 
 position has been finally determined." Dr. Pepper was 
 one of the ablest medical men of his generation and died 
 all too soon, July 28, 1898 of cardiac dilatation while yet 
 in his fifty-fifth year. He, too, was very near my own 
 age being forty-six days my senior. Query ? Wliy was 
 I, just an ordinary country doctor, left and he, so able, so 
 useful, and so much needed, taken ? At the time of Dr. 
 Pepper's death he was Provost (President) of the great 
 University of Pennsylvania, filled the chair of Practice 
 in its Medical Department and was a leader in a num- 
 ber of other important movements. He was an untiring 
 and ceaseless worker and was wont to throw his whole 
 soul and energies in whatsoever he was engaged. 
 
 Dr. Henry Hartshorn wrote the chapter on Etiology 
 in Pepper's System of Medicine and referring to the 
 germ theory said, "So far this inquiry is not yet 
 terminated, while experiments and observations become 
 more and more numerous and elaborate, opinions con- 
 tinue to differ; and we must await the time when, by 
 successfully excluding, one after another, all the sources 
 of error, a truly scientific conclusion may be obtained." 
 
 While the decade of the Eighties was the period in 
 which the germ theory of the origin of disease was in 
 the fullest sense suh judice the decade of the Nineties 
 was the period that marked its full acceptance by practi- 
 call}" all up-to-date physicians; all of whom were made 
 happy in the realization that this theory lighted up very 
 many hitherto dark corners and crannies in medicine, 
 explained much that had been puzzling and enabled
 
 202 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 them to see many things clearly that heretofore they had 
 seen only as "through a glass, darkly." 
 
 In the Eighties Dr. Alfred L. Loomis, Professor of 
 the Practice of Medicine, University of the City of 
 New York, and one of that city's most able prac- 
 titioners, published an excellent work on Theory and 
 Pi-actice in which he at first hesitated to adopt the germ 
 theory, but in his 1890 edition made use of it in toto 
 and did what few other authors did, included in his 
 opening chapter a brief summary of the science of bac- 
 teriology. 
 
 Dr. Osier in his hard-to-equal work on Theorj'^ and 
 Practice, the first edition of which appeared in 1892, ac- 
 cepted the germ theory so completely that he did away 
 entirely with the usual preliminary chapters on patholo- 
 gy with its well-worn (but now scrapped) theories of in- 
 flammation which hitherto had been regarded as little 
 short of the very corner-stone in practically all disease 
 processes, and instead, started boldly out with a descrip- 
 tion of typhoid fever. 
 
 While I am not sure that Dr. Osier was the pioneer 
 in thus ''taking the bull by the horns," as it were, and 
 started boldly out in his description of individual dis- 
 eases at the outset, I have observed that most authors 
 since have adopted the same policy. 
 
 He was a very able man, the ablest internist I can 
 but believe in the English-speaking world of his day. 
 Later he accepted the chair of Practice in Oxford, and 
 a little later was knighted and became Sir William Os- 
 ier, In the great world war he lost a son on the 
 firing-line, if I remember rightly, and this grieved 
 him much. Not long after the end of the great war he 
 was stricken with pneumonia and died, aged 71 years, 
 regretted by the whole medical world and many laymen. 
 Osier was a fine looking man, was gentlemanly in his ad-
 
 In the Eighties and Nineties 203 
 
 dress and in every way filled one 's ideal of what a manly 
 man should be. 
 
 One of the great medical men of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury was Dr. Austin Flint author of one of the very best 
 text-books on Theory and Practice. Dr. Flint had the 
 faculty of presenting what he had to say in clear, terse 
 English and knowing when he had said enough. 
 
 Furthermore in example, if not in words, he entered 
 his protest against the polypharmacy of many, perhaps 
 most, of his predecessors and contemporaries. Dr. Flint 
 died in 1888 and not long before his death expressed his 
 conviction that the germ theory of disease, that was then 
 being "weighed in the balances," as it were, was des- 
 tined to have an almost unbelievable influence on future 
 medicine. 
 
 It was said that Dr. Flint originally qualified himself 
 for surgery and practiced it exclusively for a time, but 
 later abandoned it for internal medicine because of his 
 dread of mal-practice suits, much more liable to follow 
 in the wake of the first-named branch than in that of 
 the latter. 
 
 In 1880 Dr. Roberts Bartholow became the author of 
 an admirable work on Theory and Practice, which like 
 Flint's work was clear and concise and like Osier's 
 Practice a number of years later began the description 
 of disease "right off the reel" without a preliminary 
 chapter on inflammation, pathology, etc. Furthermore 
 he was favorably disposed towards the germ theory and 
 so expressed or implied his belief in many of his descrip- 
 tions of contagious diseases. Dr. Bartholow died in 1904 
 at the age of 72 years. His friends thought he should 
 have lived longer and some of them questioned the wis- 
 dom of his resigning the chair of Practice in the Medical 
 College of Ohio, Cincinnati, to accept the one of JMateria 
 Medica and General Therapeutics in Jefferson Medical 
 College, Philadelphia. As matters turned out he found
 
 204 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 competition very much more strenuous in Philadelphia 
 than in Cincinnati and his friends believed that this 
 conduced to a nervous trouble which later developed and 
 finally contributed to his death. Dr. Bartholow was a 
 hard student, an industrious worker, a good teacher and 
 in addition to his work on Practice, was the author of a 
 number of text-books, one of the most popular of which 
 was on Therapeutics. Unlike Dr. Flint Dr. Bartho- 
 low was a \ery pronounced believer in the power and 
 efficiency of drugs. 
 
 Speaking of works on Therapeutics one of these by 
 Ringer, an English physician was very popular and em- 
 phasized the use of drugs in much smaller doses than 
 had hitherto been the custom. To no little extent Bartho- 
 low in this particular, followed in the footsteps of Rin- 
 ger. 
 
 As said before many were slow to accept the germ- 
 theory of the origin of disease and some refused to do 
 so to the end. Notably among the objectors was a no 
 less personage than Dr. N. S. Davis of Chicago who in 
 the late seventies wrote a long article strongly con- 
 demning the germ theory and which appeared in the 
 American Practitioner of Louisville, Kentucky. Later 
 in his major work. The Principles and Practice of Medi- 
 cine he lost no opportunity to express his dissent from 
 this theory and in the second edition of this book issued 
 in 1885, five years after the discovery of Eberth's bacil- 
 lus, in his article on typhoid said, "And we are assured 
 by these authors that the disease (typhoid) never origi- 
 nates in any house or locality until these specific germs 
 have been introduced from previous case or cases. They 
 contend that the poison never originates de novo, from 
 any amount or kind of decomposing animal excrements 
 unless the specific typhoid germ be present. . . . Indeed, 
 gentlemen we have no direct or positive evidence that 
 this much-talked of "typhoid germ" has any existence 
 except in the human imagination. ' '
 
 In the Eighties and Nineties 205 
 
 So much for one of the most prominent "objectors" 
 and his attitude towards the germ theory. Dr. Davis had 
 long been Chicago's most prominent physician, was the 
 Father of the American Medical Association, and lived 
 to become the Nestor of American Medicine, notwith- 
 standing the fact of his adverse views on what proved 
 to be the most important medical discovery of modem 
 times. 
 
 But while Chicago's most eminent physician uncom- 
 promisingly opposed the germ theory, one of her promi- 
 nent surgeons, an eminent pathologist, Dr. Christian 
 Fenger did perhaps more than any one else to prove to 
 all within the sphere of his influence, the truth of this 
 then new conception in the medical world. 
 
 During the mid-nineties, or a little earlier, Rontgen 
 discovered the X-Ray which has proved a most valuable 
 aid in the diagnosis of troubles in the interior of the 
 body. 
 
 In the late nineties Pierre Curie and his wife dis- 
 covered radium which has seemingly cured some cancer- 
 ous cases and relieved others. However both the x-ray 
 and radium are powerful agents and the former in tlie 
 early daj^s of its therapeutic use cost the life of more 
 than one medical man, in his zeal to test and prove the 
 virtues of the new and yet-to-be-tried remedy. 
 
 In 1898 came the Spanish- American War and as the 
 germ theory had come to be generally accepted by the 
 profession and supposedly great progress made in dis- 
 ease-prevention all, seemingly, had good reason to ex- 
 pect a much less relative prevalence of the infectious 
 ailments than was the case in the Civil War. Unfor- 
 tunately these hopefully minded people were all doomed 
 to disappointment. Shortly after the soldiers began to 
 assemble in camps typhoid fever began to show itself 
 and before the end of the struggle a surprisingly large 
 per cent of the men were infected and manv deaths oc-
 
 206 Sixty Years in the Medicvl Harness 
 
 curred. Indeed, many more died from typhoid than 
 from the enemy 's bullets. This experience was very un- 
 fortunate and to an extent, was a reflection on the Army 
 Medical Department, but it had the effect to stir those 
 in charge to make a most thorough and scientific investi- 
 gation and if my memory serves me correctly a special 
 Commissin was appointed for this purpose of which Dr. 
 Victor C. Vaughan of The Medical Department of the 
 University of Michigan was a most active and efficient 
 member. One of the important revelations of this work 
 was that the common housefly, since most properly called 
 the typhoid- fly, was the purveyor of this disease in very 
 many instances. Powdered lime was sprinkled on the 
 excavations (called latrines in army circles) made in the 
 soil not far distant from the cook-tents, for the toilet uses 
 of the men. In due time flies with powdered lime on their 
 wings and feet were found crawling over the food in the 
 nearby cook-tent. Thus was one made to see how easily 
 the typhoid bacillus could be carried to food that would 
 later be ingested by the men. Moral: Screen the food 
 and likewise, when possible screen the latrines as well. 
 
 This Commission for the first time brought out the 
 fact that certain individuals after recovering from an 
 attack of typhoid became and for long, remained "car- 
 riers" of that disease. In fact it developed that certain 
 soldiers had suffered from typhoid while in civil life, re- 
 covered, passed the physical examination, donned the 
 army uniform and to all appearances were healthy, yet 
 M^ere "typhoid carriers," — real purveyors of that very 
 serious disease. Subsequently it developed that certain 
 individuals have the misfortune to act as "carriers" of 
 any one of the contagious diseases from which they were 
 attacked. ' ' Strange but true, ' ' indeed, too true one feels 
 constrained to say. 
 
 During this period the patent medicine man was in 
 flower and numerous cities in this country had within
 
 In the Eighties and Nineties 207 
 
 their limits palatial homes that the maker and vendor of 
 some cheap cure-all had built and furnished from his ill- 
 gotten earnings. In that period the patent medicine 
 man was as soulless as one well could be. Some inert 
 compound he did not hesitate to advertise as a specific 
 for tuberculosis, cancer and other ailments that the most 
 advanced science had failed to find a remedy for. But 
 what cared the unprincipled patent medicine man so he 
 could induce the poor victim to buy and make use of his 
 boasted cure. 
 
 But the sex field was where the patent medicine man 
 reaped his biggest harvest. He would get up little book- 
 lets detailing the awful effects of certain youthful prac- 
 tices. And having seen that this got in the hands of his 
 intended victim he had ready another "screed" explain- 
 ing how the free and long continued use of a certain one 
 of his cure-alls would surely and in time bring relief to 
 the poor deluded youth. In this period I had a housefuU 
 of boys in or near the high school age and either I or my 
 wife watched the front door to get hold of this vile litera- 
 ture that our front porch was regularly besmirched with. 
 
 Fortunate!}^ before the nineties had run their full 
 course the Journal of the American Medical Association 
 began the exposure of some of the more flagrant methods 
 of the patent medicine man and in due time things be- 
 gan to look better. Indeed, under the continuous ham- 
 mering and pounding of the Journal of the A. M. A. 
 our front porch, along, I take it with thousands of others 
 in this broad land, has become absolutely free from the 
 old-time filth with which it was once polluted. This class 
 of vicious patent medicine men were wont to get the 
 names of high-school pupils from the printed catalogs 
 and mail them their nasty publications. Fortunately 
 the propaganda of the Journal of the A. M. A. has been 
 the means of showing up and driving to their hiding-
 
 208 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 places most of the vile wretches who plied their vicious 
 game. 
 
 As said elsewhere the whiskey or some other form of 
 alcohol that entered into the make-up of most patent 
 medicines was, and is, the chief element in their popu- 
 larity in many instances.
 
 XVIII 
 
 MOSTLY ABOUT THINGS, HORSES AND PEOPLE 
 
 Hour alter hour has found 
 
 The good physician on his round. 
 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes. 
 
 CHAMPAIGN County is in the heart of the Illinois 
 corn-belt and the soil is a black loam wonderfully 
 fertile and productive, but 0, what a muck and mire 
 it becomes after a heavy rainfall. Indeed, the roads at 
 times become impassable. Especially was this true forty 
 years ago. Sometimes in February and March there 
 would be a rainy season or melting snow and then a 
 moderate freeze with the result that a horse would break 
 through at every step which rendered the going as bad 
 as could well be imagined. More than once under these 
 circumstances I have left my horses in the stable, put on 
 my rubber boots and visited my patients on foot. When 
 the roads were bad for a wheel vehicle I always pre- 
 ferred to make my way on horseback. I had a pair of 
 hand-made saddle bags that I got from an older physi- 
 cian, who had cut out his country practice, that served 
 me admirably for a long period. I have gone in the sad- 
 dle in all kinds of weather and of the darkest nights — so 
 dark on some occasions, indeed, that the horse's head 
 was next to invisible. Under these circumstances I 
 would give full rein to my trusty four-footed friend and 
 he never failed to carry me safely to my destination. 
 
 I cannot recall that I ever lost my way or failed of 
 a dark stormy night to answer the call as requested. 
 However, one of my competitors was called to visit a cer- 
 tain family one very dark night and as he did not get 
 there as expected I was called up over the phone and in 
 
 209
 
 210 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 response got in the saddle and in due time ministered to 
 the patient's wants as seemed needed. Next morning 
 my competitor came in my office and asked if I had last 
 night visited Mr. Blank's in the country. I answered 
 that I had. 
 
 "Well," he said "I tried to, spent half the night 
 trying to find the place but finally gave it up as a bad 
 job and came home. ' ' Then he took occasion to make the 
 air all about blue with "cusswords." He was a man 
 with much energy and perseverence and I wondered that 
 he would permit himself to "fall down" as he had on 
 this occasion. However the roads were very bad and as 
 he was in a cart he was in this waj'- under a handicap as 
 compared to the saddle in which I found my way suc- 
 cessfully. 
 
 Speaking of the one-wheeled cart there was a period 
 in the late eighties and early nineties when this vehicle 
 was popular with the country practitioner and likewise 
 with the people at large. And by-the-way I recall a very 
 sad ease where a young woman, a very capable school 
 teacher, was driving in one of these carts when the horse 
 became frightened and jumped suddenly which threw 
 the occupant out and most unfortunately she fell with 
 her head between one of the wheels and the step and as 
 the horse was running the poor woman was found later 
 in the position described with her neck broken. 
 
 After a period of eight or ten years these carts went 
 out of use and all returned to four-wheeled vehicles and 
 remained true to these till the coming in of automobiles 
 in the twentieth century. 
 
 I got used to the saddle and came to use it a great 
 deal in my country practice. This mode of travel served 
 to bring one in much closer relations with the faithful 
 horse upon which every physician had necessarily to de- 
 pend entirely in the old days, especially of nights; if 
 one was in the saddle the horse seemed to be real com-
 
 Various Things 211 
 
 pany, so intimate, at such times, was the relation of horse 
 and rider. 
 
 The best doctor's horse I ever knew was "Old Jack," 
 the property of one of my physician friends. "Old 
 Jack," so called from his long and faithful serAnce, was 
 jet black, was near thirteen and one-half hands high, 
 weighed about one thousand pounds, was clean limbed 
 and muscled like a prize-fighter. "Old Jack" never 
 seemed to get tired and was hence always fresh and 
 ready for service. His owner retired from practice and 
 for a time I had the use of this remarkable animal and 
 found great satisfaction therein. He rendered good ser- 
 vice till he passed his twenty-fifth year and finally died 
 of old age when well in his thirties. 
 
 When a boy much of my time was spent on the farm, 
 consequently I saw and learned much of horses and this 
 added to about forty years' contact with them in my 
 professional life has made me think that the average 
 person does not realize what this noble animal has been 
 in the life of man. Indeed, next to the dog no animal 
 comes in such intimate contact with humanity as the 
 horse. Yet how the poor horse has been abused ! I think 
 there are few men who have used horses much who can- 
 not look back and wish that, in certain instances, they 
 could have been kinder to this most useful servant and 
 here I will insert something from an unknown writer, 
 though especially pertinent, namely : 
 
 The Prayer op the Horse 
 
 ' ' To Thee, My Master, I offer my Prayer : Feed me 
 and take care of me. Be kind to me. Do not jerk the 
 reins : do not whip me when going up hill. Never strike, 
 beat or kick me when I fail to understand what you 
 want, but give me a chance to understand you. 
 
 "Watch me and if I fail to understand your bidding, 
 see if there is not something wrong with my harness. Do 
 not give me too heavy loads. Never hitch me where
 
 212 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 water will drop on me. Keep me well shod. Examine 
 my teeth when I fail to eat ; I may have an ulcerated 
 tooth. That, you know is very painful. I am unable to 
 tell you in words when I am sick ; so watch me and I will 
 try to tell you by signs. 
 
 "Pat me sometimes ; I enjoy it and I will learn to love 
 you. Protect me in summer from the hot sun. Keep a 
 blanket on me in winter weather, and never put a frosty 
 bit in my mouth but hold it in your hands a moment 
 first. 
 
 "I carry you, pull you, wait patiently for you long 
 hours, day or night. I cannot tell you when I am 
 thirsty ; give me clean, cold water often in hot weather. 
 
 "Finally when my strength is gone, instead of turn- 
 ing me over to a human brute, to be tortured and starved, 
 take my life in the easiest and quickest way, and your 
 God will reward you in this life and in Heaven. Amen." 
 
 Fortunately for the horse the automobile has come 
 to stay and relieve the poor, jaded beast of many of his 
 oldtime hardships and burdens. The use of gasoline, 
 while expensive in this era of the World War and makes 
 us loosen our purse-strings, yet it does not tug at our 
 heart-strings as did the excessive use of horseflesh, that 
 was sometimes resorted to. 
 
 No one who has not "been through the mill" can in 
 any sense realize the terrible weight of responsibility 
 that at times is thrown on the shoulders of the country 
 practitioner. For illustration, he is called to attend an 
 obstetric case ten miles in the country in the month of 
 March with roads barely passable from a siege of rain, 
 snow and mildly freezing weather. The case progresses 
 slowly, midnight has come and mth its advent the 
 patient is all at once seized with puerperal convulsions, 
 and the nearest telephone is three miles distant. There 
 is but one thing to do, namely, dispatch some one to go 
 to this telephone as quickly as poor horseflesh can carry
 
 Various Things 213 
 
 one over the terrible roads, and when one's destination 
 is reached, call up a consultant and request him to come 
 as speedily as possible to the aid of the physician who 
 is meantime "sweating blood" at the bedside of the par- 
 turient woman who is scarcely out of one convulsion till 
 she goes into another. In response to the call the con- 
 sultant wraps himself up warmly, gets in the saddle and 
 starts out to make his way over the miles and miles of 
 roads that he has to traverse with his horse, meanwhile 
 now on top of the imperfectly frozen ground and now 
 breaking through. 
 
 Meantime in and about the bedside of the suffering 
 woman all is fear and anxiety. In one of the harder 
 paroxysms she has bitten her lips and cheeks and now 
 the blood is flowing from her mouth adding horror to 
 that which the family and friends have already experi- 
 enced. The physician has meantime administered bro- 
 mide of potassium in heroic doses and when possible has 
 had the patient inhale chloroform, but all to no purpose 
 for as said before the patient is scarce out of one spasm 
 till she passes into another. As the hours pass it is 
 noticed that she is growing weaker. Her pulse is much 
 smaller in volume and at last is not much more than a 
 mere flicker. Her features assume the palor of death. 
 Meantime the convulsions while much less violent are al- 
 most continuous. 
 
 A little later the countenance that was convulsed and 
 horrid to look upon became as placid as marble for all 
 was now stilled in death. A moment before the patient 
 had taken her last breath the consultant came to the 
 bedside, just arrived after as hard a ride and as diffi- 
 cult a trip as could be imagined and what could he do ? If 
 he was born with a due amount of the milk of human 
 kindness in his heart he would endeavor to *'edge in" 
 and if possible work his way just a little under the great 
 load of responsibility his brother practitioner had
 
 214 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 shouldered and if possible ease this up a little by kind 
 and sympathetic words accompanied with the suggestion 
 that such unpleasant things happen about so often and 
 that first or last every busy man will run up against a 
 case of this kind, "Misery loves company" and even 
 to be reminded that one's harrowing experience had 
 been matched by that of another mortal, carries at least 
 a grain of consolation. 
 
 In this instance this man was obliged to administer 
 chloroform without professional assistance. Some years 
 ago I knew of a doctor, a country practitioner, who 
 practiced in an adjoining county to my own, Avho had 
 some kind of an emergency case at a farmhouse and so 
 had to administer an anesthetic unaided by another phy- 
 sician. Later the people whom he had served brought a 
 suit against him for mal-practice, but when first one 
 and another country doctor went on the stand and testi- 
 fied that time and again he had been compelled by 
 circumstances to give an anesthetic without professional 
 aid the jury after a short conference found for the de- 
 fendant, and for their pains, the prosecution had to pay 
 a good round sum in the way of court-costs, besides at- 
 torney fees and other expenses. 
 
 Not many years ago in this county one of our ablest 
 country practitioners was haled into court because of 
 an alleged injury to one of the hip- joints of a woman 
 during labor complicated with convulsions. Of course 
 the indication was to terminate labor as quickly as pos- 
 sible, and it is surmisable that in striving to accom- 
 plish this, prompt, and no doubt heroic, means were re- 
 sorted to, but fortunately for all save the doctor, the 
 woman made a good recovery. Not content with this the 
 patient and their friends brought suit against the doctor, 
 who had saved her life, for mal-practice. After a long 
 and hardly contested trial the jury found for the de- 
 fendant. Here I will venture to repeat a question asked 
 before in these pages :
 
 Various Things 215 
 
 Reader have you ever been the defendant in a mal- 
 practice suit ? If you have you have been made to realize 
 how close one can go to the gates of hell and yet not be 
 pushed entirely through. 
 
 The medical man who could and would stoop so low 
 as to aid and abet in one of these suits should and would 
 for ever after be held in contempt b}- all right thinking 
 physicians. 
 
 Some pages back I started out to speak of the terrible 
 responsibility that the country doctor not unfrequently 
 finds he has to assume with no help other than his own 
 individual shoulders. Cases not so immediately "heart- 
 straining" as the puerperal-convulsions patient re- 
 ferred to, but nevertheless of a degree of gravity suffi- 
 cient to produce great anxiety, occur with comparative 
 frequency. Possibly it is a case of serious injury where 
 seemingly life and death depend on prompt and proper 
 actions. Maybe it is a puzzling diagnosis where a right 
 decision is urgently called for. Maybe it is a case in a 
 prominent family where the physician feels that his pro- 
 fessional reputation is literall}^ at stake. In all these in- 
 stances and, indeed, a thousand and one more, there is 
 not time nor opportunity to call in helpful counsel. In 
 a city or larger town how different ! A call over the tele- 
 phone and in a short time a consultant is by one "s side. 
 A consuultant, moreover, who is specially trained in the 
 line in which the case in hand belongs. 
 
 All this leads me to say that the country doctor 
 should be and, indeed, from absolute necessity not un- 
 frequently, gets to be an "all-arounder" in practice: 
 Surgeon, Internist, Obstetrician, Gynecologist, Eye 
 and Ear Specialist, Dentist, Alienist, Veterinary, and 
 more if possible. And what is more strange, the wide- 
 awake, hard-headed country doctor often-times becomes 
 something of an expert in most of these branches. 
 
 Talk about your Great City Doctor ! When it comes
 
 216 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 to facing heart-straining difficulties; to making quick 
 decisions ; to acting promptly ; to getting-by with the all 
 but insurmountable, he isn't in it with many country 
 practitioners. Yet how many of these last who answer 
 every call, and overcome every obstacle, have small in- 
 comes, live humble lives and finally go to their graves 
 "unheralded and unsung." 
 
 I have in mind one such who spent the greater part 
 of his life in a wealthy community, who never let an op- 
 portunity go by to relieve suffering, who never kept 
 books, who never presented a bill, and when some well- 
 to-do patron would come in and ask how much he owed, 
 would be answered with the words, "0 give me ten dol- 
 lars, ' ' this when fifty or more had been fully earned. I 
 am sure the reader will agree with me that this man did 
 a great injustice to himself and family alike, particularly 
 when it is stated that he never had a home of his own. 
 Had he been thrifty and charged and collected what was 
 due he could on the credit side of his ledger every year 
 have had enough to pay for a neat cottage in that day 
 and place of cheap homes. I have known more than one 
 country doctor to mistreat himself and family as did this 
 one. On the contrary I have known two or three coun- 
 try practitioners who never had charity patients (nor 
 dead-beat cases) for the reason that they had the faculty 
 of "getting blood out of a turnip," that is to say they 
 had a genius for collecting what most people would de- 
 nominate worthless bills. 
 
 I had one professional acquaintance who certainly be- 
 longed in the last-named class and who seemingly had 
 little thought or care for his cases beyond the money he 
 would derive from treating them. The community in 
 which this man lived were wont to criticize him without 
 stint for his very evident selfishness in all that he did 
 professionally, and yet when some years later he decided 
 to remove to another locality the Masons and other or-
 
 Various Things 217 
 
 ganizations to which he belonged, went to no end of 
 trouble to "speed the parting guest" with demonstra- 
 tions of ' * esteem and respect. ' ' Some years before a col- 
 league of this man's of precisely opposite type and who 
 was often spoken of as one who had "heart" in aU he 
 did for his patients, (and he was devoted to them), 
 nevertheless when some years later he moved to another 
 State, not a move was made by any one in the village to 
 show the community 's appreciation of what he had done 
 and sacrificed for its sick. And after all of his years of 
 hard labor he went away empty handed. If he had his 
 reward it was of the kind that one carries in one 's bosom. 
 
 Regarding the altruistic side of medicine I knew of 
 the following : a certain practitioner was many years 
 ago called to see a man who in the late summer season 
 had been working with a threshing machine and from 
 either the food he had eaten or the water he had used to 
 slake his thirst had become infected with typhoid. This 
 man had a wife and three children, a boy aged nine, a 
 girl aged eleven and a second thirteen years of age. The 
 family lived in an old house of four rooms and their 
 means were limited. 
 
 In that day disease prevention in this country was 
 just beginning to be put in practice and as a result most 
 infectious ailments were not arrested at the first out- 
 break as is often the case today. Furthermore, the 
 trained nurse had not yet appeared save in the larger 
 cities. But had a nurse been obtainable the sick man's 
 circumstances would have forbid the expense her em- 
 ployment would have necessitated. As matters fell out 
 the man's wife had to fill the three-fold role of house- 
 keeper, cook and nurse. In due time the patient began 
 to improve but before he was able to leave his bed for 
 only part of the time his three children were stricken 
 with typhoid. The heroic mother rose to the occasion, 
 nursed the patients, kept the house and cooked the food,
 
 218 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 and how she managed to do this clear through was the 
 wonder of everyone cognizant of the circumstances. She 
 was a little woman and so slight in stature that she 
 would have been the last one picked out for what she 
 stood up under till the end. The old adage tells us that, 
 "the back is always braced to the burden." . In this 
 little woman's case the burden turned out a terrible 
 one for no sooner had her three children passed well 
 into the second stage of typhoid than the husband and 
 father took a relapse, went from bad to worse till death 
 came and took him from a family that stood in much 
 need of his care and help. 
 
 Finally at the end of a long, tedious siege the three 
 children slowly began to recover. Meantime a friend 
 of the family collected one thousand dollars on an in- 
 surance polic}^ the deceased father and husband had car- 
 ried on his life, and before turning this over to the fam- 
 ily went to the office and asked the physician who had 
 cared for the stricken ones the amount of his bill. This 
 was looked up and when the amount was offered from 
 the insurance money, the physician said, "Wait a mo- 
 ment. What has the family besides this insurance 
 money ? ' 
 
 "Nothing," was the reply. 
 
 "Well,' said the physician, "if that is the case I will 
 take nothing at this time. ' 
 
 "Why," said the man, "you had better collect your 
 bill out of this money, you will in all probability never 
 have the chance again." 
 
 "Chance or no chance,' replied the doctor, "I would 
 be in effect taking the bread out of the mouths of those 
 poor sick children and I simply won't do it." 
 
 Time went by, the sick children all recovered their 
 wonted health, and fortunately for all concerned a de- 
 gree of good luck came to them that enabled them to 
 pay their doctor bill, though my generously-disposed 
 medical friend would not accept this till he had satisfied
 
 Various Things 219 
 
 himself that the erstwhile stricken family could afford it. 
 One of the most unpromising cases I ever had was a 
 case of puerperal sepsis that set in about a week after 
 confinement and that was under the care of another phy- 
 sician till a day or two after the occurrence of the com- 
 plications. When first called to this case it seemed to me 
 I had never seen everything connected with a case so 
 thoroughly discouraging. The patient was in an abso- 
 lutely filthy condition. Her linen was dirty, and the 
 few scanty furnishings of the bed she was lying on were 
 as filthj^ as can be imagined. The house in which she 
 was lying consisted of two small rooms, one in front and 
 one in the rear. The main room was made of "up-and- 
 down ' ' rough boards and back of this was the shed-room, 
 or '* lean-to,' that was used as a kit<3hen. The furnish- 
 ings of the house were mean and bare to the last degree. 
 The weather was cold and about the room were a num- 
 ber of dirty children ranging from a two-year old on the 
 floor to a slatternly girl of sixteen. The head of the 
 family, a man we will call Smith, was unique in appear- 
 ance, in manner and in character. He was tall and 
 slender, had a long, thin face, very dark complexion, 
 and wore a short thin beard that was always tobacco- 
 stained. Except in cold weather he was always in his 
 shirt-sleeves, and generally his trousers were held up by 
 one suspender made of bed-ticking in which the stripes 
 were almost obliterated by dirt. He was abrupt in man- 
 ner, very decided in his opinions, and very tenacious of 
 these when once formed. 
 
 When the patient had been in my charge for two 
 or three days I asked for counsel. My request wa.s 
 granted and a medical man noted for his stylish dress 
 and general handsome appearance was called in. We 
 went over the case carefully and agreed upon a line of 
 treatment and after going to the bedside of the patient 
 and saying some cheery words for her benefit and a word 
 or two of explanation to some members of the family.
 
 220 Sixty Years in the ^Medical Haeness 
 
 passed out of the door To take our departure. Before 
 reaching the gate we were accosted by Smith who ad- 
 dressing the consultant, said. "Whats the damage. Doc? 
 Don't knows I got "nuff change bout me today t-o settle, 
 but mayby I cin manige to skeer up the stuff. 
 
 The consultant, who was a very dignified man and 
 not used to being familiarly called "doc," said in reply 
 and in measured tones, '"My fee. sir. is twenty dollars." 
 With his left hand Smith gave his trousers an extra 
 lurch and ran his other hand in one of his pockets and 
 pulled out what proved to be a roll of bills as big as a 
 man's arm. Spreading these out across the palm of his 
 left hand he turned over a number of ten. five, and hun- 
 dred dollar bills before the twenty-dollar note was 
 found. Seizing this between the thumb and finger of 
 his right hand he held it out to the sirrprised man of 
 medicine saWng at the same time. "Guess I cin settle 
 with you after all, doc." 
 
 We got in the buggy and had driven quite a little 
 distance before anything was said, when the silence 
 was broken by the doctor at my side, saying much as if 
 he was talking to himself, ""Who would have thought 
 it ? " 
 
 ' • Thought what ? " I asked. 
 
 •"Why, who would have ever thought that that rag-a- 
 muffin could have had so much money!" 
 
 Returning to my patient. let it be said that a few 
 days later a large abscess pointed in the left illiac fossa 
 and when this was opened nearly a pint of pus escaped. 
 Finally, notwithstanding the many impromising circum- 
 stances connected with the case, the patient made a good 
 recovery. 
 
 Doctors are sometimes made the recipients of re- 
 markable medical information. Country doctors, when 
 away from home are most likely to be .such recipients for 
 the reason that generally being plainly dressed they are
 
 Various Things 221 
 
 frequently mistaken for members of some other vocation. 
 I was once making a considerable journey on the cars 
 and after I had proceeded some distance on my way a 
 shabbily dressed old man took his seat beside me and 
 very soon manifested a desire to be sociable and talka- 
 tive. From what he said I learned that he had spent 
 his life as a small farmer and after enlightening me for 
 quite a while about crops and soils the conversation was 
 suddenly turned in another channel by a man, that with 
 the aid of a cane, came limping in from the platform 
 of a little station where the train made a short stop. 
 
 "I 'low that feller's got the rumatiz, ' said my com- 
 panion. "I used to have purty hard twinges of that 
 complaint myself 'afore I found out how to git shet of 
 it." 
 
 And then eyeing me sharply for a moment and imag- 
 ining he saw a look of inquiry on my face he put one 
 hand in his pantaloons pocket and pulled out a little, 
 dried-up, scaly, irregular-shaped substance about the 
 size of a walnut, and holding it up before me said : 
 
 ' ' Stranger, do you know what that is ? " 
 
 I took it in my hand and noticed that it was hard, 
 dry and shriveled, consequenth^ several things suggested 
 themselves, but nothing very definitely, so I frankly ad- 
 mitted that the specimen was one that had a place with- 
 out the bounds of my knowledge. 
 
 My companion promptly came to my relief by say- 
 ing, "Why, stranger, that air is jist a common tater 
 that's got dry 'n hard by me carrin' it so long in my 
 briches pawket. A year ago la.st March I was tuk with 
 rumatiz pains in the small of my back, in my shanks, 
 and in the cuplins of both my legs and after tryin ' most 
 ev'rything sich as rubbin' camfire, hartshorn and the 
 like an old woman who was mighty handy in sickness 
 told me to git jist a common tater and carry it in my 
 briches pawket. 'Peared to me thar was no harm in 
 tryin ' such a simple thing, so I got hold of a tater 'bout
 
 222 Sixty Years in the MediCxVL Harness 
 
 the size of a pullet's egg, put it in my pawket and it's 
 ben thar every sence. Wouldn 't take ten dollars fur that 
 tater, Stranger, 'kase it hadn't ben thar a month tel my 
 rumatze was plum clean gawn. ' ' 
 
 Throughout the old man's rehearsal I listened at- 
 tentively and this must have pleased him greatly for 
 when the train whistled for the station where he was to 
 get and he rose in his seat preparatory to leaving the car, 
 he turned to me and said : 
 
 ' ' Stranger, what mought be your name ? ' ' 
 
 And when I had told him he added : 
 
 ' ' Skaggs is mine, and as I jist had some picturs tuck 
 I b 'leve I '11 leave one 'long o ' you. ' ' 
 
 And with that he handed me a photograph that I at 
 once recognized to be a very good likeness of himself. 
 
 Upon one occasion when I was returning from the 
 West I took a train at Kansas City and in the same seat 
 with me was a man who was quite inclined to be talk- 
 ative. After some conversation he began to discuss ty- 
 phoid fever. 
 
 "Seen lots of typhoid fever," he began. "It's 
 mighty cur 'us sickness. When you got it the disease 
 plugs up the little nerves that goes to the bowels and 
 you got to git hold of sumpthin' that '11 clar um out or 
 you are a goner. I had it and they all thought I 'd die 
 shore, and I guess I wouldn had'nt it ben for a acci- 
 dent. 
 
 "One day when they'd all gone out'n the rum whar 
 I was sick I all of sudden got awful thirsty for a drink, 
 jist pear'd like I couldn't wait another minit my mouth 
 and tongue was that dry and parched. In the corner 
 of the rum whar I was sick thar was a bucket of water 
 settin' on a shelf and a tin hangin' on a nail by it. It 
 look 'd mighty temptin ' when I was famishin ' fur water. 
 So I up and made fur it. But I was that weak that 
 I staggered and fell jist before I got to the water and 
 in throwin ' out my hand to ketch on to sumpun ' to hold
 
 Various Things 223 
 
 on to, got hold of the bucket, turned it over and I was 
 jist as wet as if I had jumped in the crick. The noise 
 I made in fallin' brought the folks in and they was 
 skeer'd wus'n me. 
 
 "Well, they tuck hold of me and carried me back 
 in bed, got dry things on me and next day I was better 
 and followin' that got well right along. Now my notion 
 is that fallin' down and havin' that water spillin' all 
 over me loos'd the plugs in all the little nerves where 
 the sickness had settled, and that goes to the bowels, so 
 that after that the nerves was holler clean through same 
 as afore I was sick, and resultin' from the accident I 
 got well." 
 
 Another time I boarded a train and in the car which 
 I had entered found all the seats occupied but one and 
 in the end of this, next the window, sat an old lady. 
 For quite a time my fellow-passenger said nothing, but 
 by and by when the train had crossed a bridge that 
 spanned a creek and on the further side was passing over 
 a considerable bottom land, the old lady, whose atten- 
 tion had for sometime been fixed on something she saw 
 through the car window, exclaimed, ' ' Sakes alive ! Who 
 ever see 'd so much boneset ! Whole acres goin ' to waste ! 
 If I only lived handy I 'd gether whole armsf ul of it ! " 
 
 Then turning to me she said, "Boneset 11 k'yore 
 more complaints than eny medisun I know 'bout. And 
 the Good Lord knows ef I haint had sickness plenty to 
 make me know 'bout a sight of medisuns. But you got 
 to be mighty keerf ul in getherin ' boneset 'nd that 's why 
 I nearly alers pick mine myself. I count on alers havin' 
 three bunches of boneset hangin ' in the loft. One bunch 
 with the leaves turned up when the getherin 's done, 
 that's good fur uppish like complaints, sich as coughs, 
 pukin ' and the like. Another bunch that has the leaves 
 turned down in pickin', that's good for bowel com- 
 plaints, flux, gravel and sich things as is downish like.
 
 224 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Then another bunch has the leaves straight out jist as 
 they grow, and a tea made out of this same as is the 
 case in the other bunches, '11 start the sweat straight 
 out through the skin in no time. ' ' 
 
 Adolph Plogue and Gotalope Stine were two of my 
 German patrons who always reminded me of one an- 
 other, not because they were alike, but because they were 
 so different. Gotalope Stine was polite, good humored, 
 sunny and always carried on his face a broad smile that 
 made one think of the new moon. To the judgment of 
 his wife Katherine he nearly always seemed to defer, 
 nevertheless, he was as far as possible from being a hen- 
 pecked husband as his faithful frau was as good natured 
 and as obliging as himself. Something less than a half 
 dozen little Gotalopes and as many young Katherines 
 (all of whom came by their sunny natures honestly) 
 kept the Stine household from settling down into a state 
 of dullness and hopeless insipidity. 
 
 With his cheery nature it was only natural that Got- 
 alope Stine should look on the bright side of life, and 
 see through every cloud to the silver lining "beneath." 
 Many were the times I tried to tempt him into talking 
 discouragingly by such remark as "Gotalope, the roads 
 are very muddy. ' ' 
 
 "Yaas, " he would reply, "but da sun cooms queck 
 out and da vinds plows soon 'vill be try roats, alretty. ' ' 
 
 Another time I would say, ' ' Gotalope the oats crop is 
 poor this year. ' ' 
 
 "Yaas," he would answer, "but dot's ol right, next 
 j'-ear pring, goot, pig crop, olretty. " 
 
 Upon another occasion I would remark, "Gotalope 
 they tell me the corn crop will be rather short. ' ' 
 
 "Who say'd dot? Mine is goot. Not pig on da cop, 
 but 'vays havy 'ven it is shaled out, olretty. ' ' 
 
 On the other hand with Adolph Ploque the world 
 was always awry and nothing went right. And pre-
 
 Various Things 225 
 
 cisely as I had tried to tempt Gotalope into talking of his 
 prospects discouragingly, I endeavored to beguile 
 Adolph into speaking hopefully of the future, but my 
 attempts in the latter case failed as signally as they had 
 in the former. 
 
 Meeting my Grerman pessimist on some perfect day 
 in May, when the air was soft and balmy and the sun- 
 shine mild and life-giving I would say, "Adolph, this is 
 a nice day. ' ' 
 
 "Yaas," he would reply, "but eet's a vedder breed- 
 er. Purty quek 've get storm, olretty. ' ' 
 
 As the season advanced a little, meeting him I would 
 say, ' ' Adolph, these fine rains are good for grass. ' 
 
 ' ' Yaas, but de grass is ol Vashy — too mooch 'vet 'vet- 
 ter." 
 
 With the advent of the fall months, meeting him, I 
 said, "Adolph, I was passing your place the other day 
 and noticed your apple trees were bending over and al- 
 most breaking down they were so full. ' ' 
 
 "Yaas, but dame a-puls is ol Vormy, de pig vuns, 
 und de lettel uns is ol nawty and got bat shapes. ' ' 
 
 Adolph Plogue had a large frame, big hands and 
 feet, rough features, and a loud rasping voice and a 
 brusk, gruff manner. His wife was a slender, delicate, 
 black-eyed, soft-voiced American woman. As man and 
 wife this couple were as poorly mated as a team made 
 up of a heavy Clydesdale, draft-horse by the side of a 
 trim, quick-stepping roadster. They were childless and 
 seemed to live a veritable cat and dog 's life and the do- 
 mestic jars they had were almost innumerable. 
 
 Not infrequently Adolph unloaded his family trou- 
 bles on me and in so doing would at times wax eloquent. 
 One day he came in my oflfiice bringing a note from Mrs. 
 Plogue describing her condition that for some little time 
 had been that of indisposition. When I read the note 
 and gave Adolph such medicines as the patient needed
 
 226 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 the long-suffering (from his point of view) husband 
 broke loose. 
 
 "Tauchter! I 'vas 'von tame fool 'ven I gits dot 
 'voman. 01 de tim's she mecks troobles mit me. She 
 schnaps at me mit her plaek ise, she shake her haines 
 clos' py mit mine face, she col me old tuch tivel, und ol 
 de tim 's I yust say 'd nuttings. 
 
 "Ven she's veil she mecks troobles mit her oxpense, 
 mit her new ponnets, mit her rippins and mit her new 
 draases, und ol de tim's I say'd nuttings, ust pay'd de 
 pills, dot's ol. 
 
 "Ven she's seek she mechs troobles mit her mout' 
 mit her 'vurds und mit her eyes. Mine Himely Tauch- 
 ter! I shust vish you hear some dinks dot 'voman 
 say'd. She ust tauch und taueh, und old de tim I yoost 
 say'd nuttings. I yoost dinks mit her tauch dot 'voman 
 drif me cressy, olretty. Mine Got Tauchter dot time 
 'ven I man^s dot 'voman I 'vas 'von tame fool, olretty."
 
 XIX 
 
 THE ALCOHOL PROBLEM 
 
 In vain I trusted that the fioiving bowl 
 Would banish sorrow and enlarge the soul. 
 
 Prior. 
 
 MY life has been a long one, so long, indeed, that I am 
 now in the eighties. But long as I have lived my 
 memory does not reach back to a period when the alco- 
 hol problem was not one that demanded serious consid- 
 eration. In the fifties, just previous to the outbreak of 
 the Civil War, whiskey was sold in the village and coun- 
 try stores as freely as molasses, and nothing was thought 
 of buying it by the jug, taking it home and using it 
 when it was thought to be needed. Notwithstanding the 
 ease with which this intoxicant could be procured, most 
 men continued relatively temperate in its use. More- 
 over, there were a good many total abstainers. Others 
 at times would put a tablespoonful in a cup, add a little 
 sugar and at breakfast-time, take it ' ' for their stomach 's 
 sake." Yet others in the spring when it was thought, 
 that for some reason, the blood was impure and needed 
 ' ' cleansing ' ' would put tansy, or some other, preferably, 
 bitter herb in a little whiskej^ and take this at breakfast 
 time. 
 
 However, anything that brought a number of men 
 together as a sale, election, etc., was almost sure before 
 the day was over, to produce a crop of drunken men and 
 one or more fist-fights. Moreover, there was not a com- 
 munity that had not one or more "drunken sots." These 
 were invariably looked down on for in that day every 
 one believed that there was no man who could not resist 
 drink if he only would. In this era most well informed 
 
 227
 
 228 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 people realize that with certain persons the lure of 
 strong drink is next to irresistible and individuals of 
 this class will indulge let follow what may. 
 
 With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 came 
 a wave of dissipation that followed through that strug- 
 gle and continued for long years after. During the con- 
 tinuance of the war all energies were bent towards the 
 preservation of the Union and little thought was given 
 to such minor matters as drunkenness and equivalent 
 forms of dissipation. 
 
 While it would be an exaggeration to say that in that 
 period everyone drank, yet the drink-habit was widely 
 prevalent, particularly was this the case in the army. 
 So much the case indeed, that men, who while at home 
 had been exemplary in their habits, did not hesitate to 
 indulge after enlistment and not unfrequently to the 
 point of intoxication. In this class were not a few offi- 
 cers ; with examples such as these, what wonder is it that 
 many youthful soldiers should form habits that in all 
 probability wrecked their future lives. 
 
 When a little past my eighteenth year I enlisted as 
 a private soldier and for a few times responded to the 
 invitation of officers, or some more mature than myself, 
 to drink at some bar. Some little time after I had 
 passed my nineteenth year, however, I one day reasoned 
 with myself somewhat in this wise, "You care so little 
 for drink that when responding to an invitation to in- 
 dulge, you simply touch the glass to your lips and set 
 it down with practically all of its contents remaining 
 untouched. You accept the invitation to ^have some- 
 thing' because you have not got the manliness to decline 
 by saying, 'No, I thank you.' " Well the result was that 
 I then and there became a total abstainer. This occurred 
 sixty-two j^ears ago and I have ever since lived up to it. 
 However, I never was a third-party prohibitionist, but, 
 nevertheless have always opposed the saloon.
 
 The Alcohol Problem 229 
 
 In 1873 while a resident of Tolono, 111., that village 
 voted "dry' and I was elected a member of its Board 
 of Trustees. Previous to this Tolono had been an ex- 
 ceptionally "wet" town and had supported more sa- 
 loons than should normally have fallen to its share. 
 
 For a time after our "drj^" Board of Trustees came 
 in office the village was fully as ' ' wet ' ' as before in spite 
 of the fact that no licenses had been issued. We adopted 
 the policy of ' ' giving the saloon rope, ' ' that is of letting 
 them sell as freely as they might. 
 
 The law provided that for selling liquors without li- 
 cense the offender in addition to paying a substantial 
 money fine had to go to jail for a stated period. Very 
 naturally after the saloon keepers had been running 
 wide-open for a time there was little difficulty in secur- 
 ing evidence against them. This we did and when they 
 were brought to trial everything went against them and 
 the judge enforced the penalties, to the terror of other 
 would-be law violators, but much to the gratification of 
 our better class of citizens. After this for a long season, 
 Tolono was a law-abiding town and although later at in- 
 tervals it sometimes voted license, yet it was ever after 
 a much more desirable community in which to live. It 
 fell to my fortune to take the lead in prosecuting these 
 illegal liquor vendors, and as in that day people of this 
 class were not unfrequently vicious and vindictive, I no 
 doubt incurred a very tangible danger of injury to my 
 person or property. Of this spirit we a little later reaped 
 some experience. 
 
 That we might be measurably independent, the anti- 
 saloon people bought at a very reasonable price an old 
 church which had been discarded by its former congre- 
 gation, fitted it up, christened it "The Tabernacle" and 
 held their meetings there. We thought we had cause to 
 congratulate ourselves on our purchase and were begin- 
 ning to enjoy our new home when lo and behold ! one
 
 230 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 dark night the heavens all about were lighted up and 
 upon looking out of our windows what should we see, 
 but our much prized "Tabernacle" in flames! As we 
 had no fire department there was nothing to do but see 
 it reduced to ashes. We employed detectives to ferret 
 out, if possible, and run down the ones who were guilty 
 of starting the fire, but without avail. No one doubted 
 that the whiskey interests did the job, but who it was 
 remains an unanswered question to this day. 
 
 To what indecencies drunkenness will degrade an 
 otherwise worthy man the following will show. After 
 the loss of our ' ' Tabernacle ' ' we returned to the custom 
 of holding our meetings in some one of the village 
 churches. At one such gathering one evening I was 
 called to the chair and after the meeting had been in 
 progress one of our citizens who at times drank to intox- 
 ication came in and found a seat with no one near him. 
 After a time I heard a noise in his near vicinity which 
 convinced me that he was even more under the influence 
 of liquor than was supposed. Later when the meeting 
 was over it was found that this drunken man had uri- 
 nated on the church floor, and this at a time when ladies 
 were a part of the audience. Two or three days later 
 this man with the word "shame" written all over his 
 face came to me and apologized as humbly and contritely 
 as could have been wished for. 
 
 He was well to do, had grown children, and when 
 away from drink was a likable man in every way. Cases 
 such as this leads one to ask, ' ' What cannot strong drink 
 do? What may it not do? Indeed, what has it not 
 done ? ' ' 
 
 Little wonder that a long-suffering people have at 
 last risen in their might and said to "booze" in all its 
 forms and guises, ' ' Get thee behind me Satan ! ' ' 
 
 Elsewhere I have told how a drunken physician by 
 his irresponsible statements induced a former patient of
 
 The Alcohol Problem 231 
 
 mine to bring a mal-practice suit against nie which al- 
 though it never came to trial, yet made me no little ex- 
 pense and a world of worry and annoyance 
 
 About twenty years after my experience with the To- 
 lono saloon keepers I was a resident of Champaign and 
 a newly-appointed member of the Illinois State Board 
 of Health. At our first meeting which was convened for 
 organization Dr. B. was elected President of the Board. 
 A little later occurred our first regular meeting for the 
 transaction of current business. Dr. B., president-elect, 
 came to the chair reeling drunk. At the next meeting 
 his condition was likewise. And strange to say at sub- 
 stantially all the meetings during his occupancy of the 
 chair he was more or less (too often more) under the in- 
 fluence of intoxicants. 
 
 Meanwhile, I was permitted to see enough of Dr. B. 
 in the very few occasions when he was himself to re- 
 alize that he was really a gentleman and well-informed 
 in his profession. 
 
 This experience with him caused me to reflect and 
 say to myself, ' ' If drink will so degrade a man with the 
 admirable qualities that Dr. B. possesses as to cause him 
 to come to the honorable place he has been elected to in 
 a beastly condition, it (drink) is none else than dam- 
 nable and should be condemned by all right-thinking 
 people." 
 
 But while the ease of Dr. B. brought the drink-evil 
 nearer to me than it ever had been before it was by no 
 means the solitary instance that had come under my ob- 
 servation. One among a number of these was that of 
 an able young lawyer who had achieved a high place at 
 the bar, had a good home, a nice wife and two promising 
 boys. But sad to say all at once he came to be a slave to 
 the drink habit and down, down he went. This in spite 
 of his family, in spite of his professional standing, in 
 spite of the fact that his father was a Federal Judge and
 
 232 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 his standing the very highest in judicial circles, indeed, 
 in spite of almost every conceivable thing this able and 
 successful young attorney went to the devil and that on 
 a down-hill grade that led directly through a saloon. 
 Another able attorney I knew was a gifted orator, was 
 well started on a promising political career, so promis- 
 ing indeed, that the Grovernor 's Mansion or a seat in the 
 United States Senate was not impossible of attainment, 
 but drink lured him and then led down, down until the 
 grave opened and swallowed him while he was yet in 
 the prime of young manhood. 
 
 All this so impressed me that I began the study of 
 the drink-problem from the standpoint of the physician 
 and as the way opened I read papers before medical so- 
 cieties and made talks before popular audiences iji 
 which I endeavored to show the great evil that the li- 
 censed saloon was working. Finally, under the title, 
 "The Alcohol Problem and the Health Conscience," I 
 read a paper before the Illinois State Medical Society 
 that attracted a good deal of interest when it was read 
 and was frequently referred to and quoted from after- 
 wards. 1 had some reprints made and later the same 
 mail brought requests for copies, one from far-west 
 Kansas City and the other from far-east Boston. All 
 this time, however, I had the wisdom never on the street 
 or other public place to be drawn into an argument on 
 this topic. This course I think I was led to adopt from 
 seeing how two or three of my over-zealous prohibition 
 acquaintances erred in the opposite direction and thus 
 neutralized all influence for good that they might other- 
 wise have exerted. Moderation here, as elsewhere, is 
 the wisest and most effective course. 
 
 Twenty years ago it was a very general rule to find 
 one or more drunken doctors in almost every town or 
 village and some of these were popular practitioners and 
 when sober were capable of relieving much suffering, but
 
 The Alcohol Problem 233 
 
 when intoxicated the harm they were liable to do can 
 well be imagined. 
 
 Fortunately for the unquestioned good of all, general 
 prohibition has come to stay and when the "old soaks" 
 have all passed off the stage the world will be the better 
 in at least some particulars. When the saloon was in 
 flower those engaged in this nefarious business "made 
 no bones" of the fact that no pains must be spared to 
 entice young persons to develop an appetite for strong 
 drink. Indeed, in some of their publications they ad- 
 vocated this openly and came out with the bold state- 
 ment that when the older drink-habitues died off these 
 young recruits would be ready to take their places and 
 thus could the saloon business be perpetuated. Early in 
 the twentieth century I happened to be in Springfield 
 when a Liquor Dealers' Association was in session and 
 during this those in charge were unwise enough to have 
 a parade and such a display would be hard to imagine 
 outside of a comic paper. Such a collection of bloated, 
 besotted, blear-eyed, rum-distorted countenances one 
 would scarce see in a lifetime. And strange to say, 
 these miserable, deluded people could not realize that 
 they were advertising their business in precisely the op- 
 posite way from the one intended, for the most ardent 
 prohibitionist could not have asked for a more perfect 
 exhibition of what strong drink had wrought than these 
 parading saloon keepers plainly displayed in their sev- 
 eral persons. 
 
 When I began the practice of medicine in the Civil 
 War Era alcohol in some form was deemed indispensible 
 in the treatment of the later stages of typhoid fever, 
 pneumonia and all diseases where a stimulant was indi- 
 cated, and so devoted were we to this custom that I think 
 I am safe in saying that the average practitioner of that 
 time used a pint of wine, whiskey or brandy where a tea- 
 spoonful is not given today. 
 
 Some years ago, however. I was cognizant of a case
 
 234 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 that did not accord full}' with the last statement. A 
 medical man about seventy years of age and who all his 
 life had been a total abstainer had a badly infected hand 
 and the doctor who treated him literally "soaked" him 
 in whiskey, so large were the quantities he had him im- 
 bibe. The theory avowed was that alcohol was the quick- 
 est acting and surest antidote for blood-poisoning. For- 
 tunately in due time the doctor recovered from his in- 
 fection and heroic doses of alcohol, thanks to a vigorous 
 constitution that a clean, simple life had kept strong and 
 capable of exerting the needed resistance. Strange that 
 this man's physician, himself a total abstainer, should 
 make almost drunk and keep thus for several days, his 
 total-abstainer patient, he of the three score years and 
 ten, and he of the simple, exemplary life. 
 
 ''No medical man of experience but has seen and 
 known enough of the e\dl results of drink to furnish al- 
 most enough material to fill a considerable volume in 
 size. ' ' 
 
 Among a number of similar cases I select the fol- 
 lowing : One dark, drizzly, raw morning in November I 
 was called to one of the cheaper boarding houses in our 
 city and upon reaching this was met by a frowsy maid 
 who conducted me up a rickety stairway at the top of 
 which I met the late Dr. J. T. Pearman, in his lifetime a 
 prominent practitioner and my fellow townsman. To- 
 gether we were shown into a small room and upon its 
 towsled and dirty bed we found our patient. Her face 
 was Ihnd, she was breathing heavily and an effort to 
 arouse her made it verj^ plain that she was in a deep 
 comatose state probably the result of some drug; and 
 further that her pupils were contracted to a pin's point 
 made it more than probable that a large quantity of some 
 opiate had been swallowed. A moment later the remains 
 of a white powder, presumably morphine, made matters 
 almost plain. 
 
 Notwithstanding the extreme narcotism that existed
 
 The Alcohol Problem 235 
 
 we set about trying to put in practice such measures as 
 would possibly overcome the effects of the poisonous 
 drug. As the patient was far past swallowing we in- 
 jected under the skin apomorphia and furthermore fol- 
 lowing the teachings of Roberts Bartholow, we injected 
 atropine hypodermically hoping this would antidote the 
 morphine. We also made the effort to use remedies per 
 anum, but the sphincter was paralyzed. 
 
 Despite our best directed efforts our patient's condi- 
 tion grew steadily worse. Her breathing grew shal- 
 lower and shallower and slower and slower till finally it 
 stopped and death ended all. 
 
 When all was over I took occasion to look about the 
 place where a tragic death had put out a young life for 
 it was learned later that although married she had but 
 lately passed out of her teens. The floor of the room was 
 uncarpeted, the sash in the windows was loose and rat- 
 tled in the November wind, a rickety bedstead and two 
 old and much scarred wooden chairs made up the furni- 
 ture. On the bed was a filthy straw tick, and towsled 
 over this were dirty sheets and quilts and on a yet more 
 filthy uncased pillow rested the head of the one who had 
 just crossed to the Great Beyond, and now that death 
 had passed its quieting hand over her features these 
 were seen to be far from uncomely. Indeed, despite the 
 discoloration wrought by the poisonous drug her coun- 
 tenance despite its bloated condition was certainly not 
 bad. Notwithstanding the uncared for condition of her 
 hair this was seen to be of a rich glossy brown, her eye- 
 lashes were long and beautifully curved. Despite her 
 cheap calico dress, sleazj' stockings and coarse shoes 
 there were yet about her certain evidences of womanly 
 grace and comeliness, hard to describe. 
 
 Now that death had set its relentless seal on all, we 
 were naturally curious to learn why this should have 
 come about in the way we had just witnessed. But we
 
 236 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 had not long to wait till our curiosity was satisfied by a 
 piece of thin wrapping paper which the maid put in our 
 hands and on which, poorly typewritten and illy coeq- 
 posed, was the following : 
 
 "Champaign, 111., March, 1888. 
 ' * Dear James : 
 
 ' ' I am going to do something which I know is wicked 
 in the sight of the good, but nevertheless it is death or 
 something worse than death. I have tried every means 
 that I can think of and nothing will stop your drinking, 
 and you know what it has done for us and I can stand it 
 no more. But I ask you as the last request I will ever 
 make to you, 'Do not drink no more.' And please bury 
 me as you find me, do not make any change at all. I 
 know I could be put away a great deal nicer, but I want 
 this way. Take care of my things, do not throw them 
 away and do not take me home. I do not want to go and 
 whenever you come to meet me be laid by my side. 
 
 "Dear, do not think for a moment because I do this 
 you were not kind to me, for you are one of the best men 
 on earth to your wife, but the drink has the upper hand 
 of you. But try for the sake of your dead wife to do 
 better. I know you can. Dear. I will watch you to- 
 night till the last breath leaves me and I will die by your 
 side because I can die happy that way. Now, James get 
 my trunk and take care of it and all that is in it, es- 
 pecially the toilet set that you gave me, for I love every- 
 thing that you gave me. Oh, Dear, I wish you was sober 
 so I could tell you of this, but then I have told you I 
 would do it. I know you love me as well as any man 
 can love and I do not regret a moment I spent with you. 
 Now, please, do not let this letter be published. 
 
 "I always said nothing but death could separate us, 
 so I saw that our time was not long to be together, and 
 I could not live without you. I should have stuck to you 
 as long as the money lasted if it had been a century, but
 
 The Alcohol Problem 237 
 
 you know it is gone and we are penniless. Tell my 
 mother I forgive everything and ask her forgiveness in 
 return and tell her and brothers I have gone to meet 
 dear father and sisters ; and, James dear, I will wait for 
 you, come soon, I love you to death. It is through love 
 for you I have taken my life. I have taken a dose of 
 morphine. Goodby my Dear Husband, Give my re- 
 gards to Uncle G. and tell him through his kindness we 
 were together longer." 
 
 No signature was attached to this ungrammatical, 
 but certainly heart-melting letter. The husband was not 
 present when his wife died, and so far as I know, no 
 relatives came to see or claim the body, and where, how 
 and by whom interment was made I never learned. So 
 far as I know I never met the husband before or after 
 his wife's tragic death, but I can but believe that if his 
 heart was other than stone he must have suffered ter- 
 ribly from remorse when he learned how and why the 
 end came to one who had given her all to him.
 
 XX 
 
 TUBERCULOSIS 
 
 The knowledge which the people possess of the art of 
 healing is the measure of their refinement and civiliza' 
 tion. — Caelyle. 
 
 IN 1912 a number of the citizens of the Twin Cities of 
 Champaign and Urbana got together and organized 
 the Champaign County Anti-Tuberculosis League with 
 the object of fighting the "Great White Plague" in its 
 many forms. Judge J. 0. Cunningham, an eminent cit- 
 izen of Urbana, was elected President, I was chosen Vice- 
 President, and W. W. Earnest of the Champaign City 
 Schools was named for Secretary-Treasurer. 
 
 Our first care was to find where tuberculosis cases 
 were located and then to assist them in the way that 
 seemed most feasible. To accomplish this in the most 
 practicable way, a Visiting Inspector was secured in the 
 person of Dr. Carrie Noble White, who for a number of 
 years had practiced in the Twin Cities of Champaign 
 and Urbana, and hence was well and favorably known in 
 both of these communities. Later, a room was secured 
 where twice each week, clinics were held for the exam- 
 ination of suspected cases. The clinics were under the 
 immediate charge of physicians, who had had experience 
 in tubercular work, and who generously gave their ser- 
 vices. 
 
 When the League was first organized it was hoped 
 that fees from membership would defray all the expenses 
 incurred in the work. An annual payment on one dollar 
 was the ordinary membership fee, five dollars a sustain- 
 ing fee, and fifty dollars a life membership fee. As time 
 went by, however, it was discovered that our income 
 from this source would be inadequate, consequently we 
 
 238
 
 Tuberculosis 239 
 
 had to solicit funds from generously disposed friends of 
 the work. 
 
 Our very competent Visiting Inspector gave her ser- 
 vices at the low price of $75.00 per month. She served 
 us faithfully for a time when feeling no longer equal to 
 the work she resigned and in her stead we employed Dr. 
 Maude E. Nichols, who served us faithfully for a period 
 of six years when she too resigned that she might have 
 a much needed change. 
 
 A little later we employed two trained nurses, called 
 Visiting Nurses, and were thus able to enlarge our work 
 and give better service, though we realized that more 
 faithful work than what we had been having could not 
 well be rendered. 
 
 In addition to membership fees, and donations we 
 got some funds from the sale of red-cross seals, but at 
 best, we were always put to it to meet our expenses 
 which necessarily increased as our work broadened. 
 Finally the Board of County Supervisors voted us an 
 annual budget of $5000.00 which additional sum was 
 likewise swallowed up in meeting our ever increasing 
 needs. Our survey of the county uncovered a number 
 of cases that were in need of sanatorium treatment and 
 these we sent to any sanitorium within convenient 
 reach which had a spare bed. The price per week in 
 these ranged from twelve to twenty-five dollars, and as 
 the number wanting to go to one of these was constantly 
 increasing we found our finances meanwhile running 
 lower, all of which emphasised the fact that there was a 
 growing need in our county for a Tuberculosis Sani- 
 torium. 
 
 The law in Illinois provides that if a majority of the 
 voters in any one county decide by ballot that a sani- 
 torium should be provided this must be done, through 
 the action of the County Board of Supervisors whose 
 duty it is to levy a tax therefore.
 
 240 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 For a number of sessions our Board refused to take 
 any action. Indeed, at first they were so obdurate that 
 a mandamus suit was brought to eompell them to do this, 
 but notwithstanding from one cause and another the 
 matter was delayed. It should perhaps have been stated 
 before that the Illinois law provides for a Board of three 
 Sanitorium Directors to be named by the Board of Su- 
 pervisors and very early in the movement in our county 
 I was made one of these. Immediately after the three 
 directors were named we met and organized and I was 
 chosen president of the Board. Meanwhile the Board of 
 Supervisors voted ten thousand dollars for the purchase 
 of a site for the sanitorium. But notwithstanding this 
 action they for a time refused to make the levy needed 
 to raise the money for the sanitorium building. 
 
 Meanwhile we employed a competent architect who 
 drew up plans and after considering these carefully we 
 submitted them to the chief architect of the Illinois 
 Tuberculosis Association and to the State Department 
 and they received the approval of both. 
 
 I should have said earlier that with our survey of the 
 tuberculosis situation our field of operations widened, 
 our dispensary work increased correspondingly and we 
 had to provide ample accommodation for the patients 
 who came for examination and advice. We were fortu- 
 nate in getting suitable quarters for this and a little 
 later I moved my office and secured a suite of rooms 
 where I could be in touch with the work through the 
 greater part of the day. 
 
 Some of the cases that came in were pathetic. One 
 day a young woman came in my office bearing a letter 
 addressed to me from a physician in the southeast comer 
 of the county, requesting me to have the bearer of the 
 letter examined and cared for as we might see fit. A 
 glance at the young woman showed at once that she had 
 character and was hence worthy. 
 
 Her personality was winning, she was tall, graceful.
 
 Tuberculosis 241 
 
 had regular features, bright blue eyes and a most in- 
 telligent countenance, but with it all she had a jaded 
 look. She told me that she had not long before gradu- 
 ated from a High School, but in order to do this she had 
 been obliged to work for her board and study at night. 
 Later she had taken up stenography and, — well to be 
 plain she had simply broken down. She said she was 
 very weak and had fever evenings. 
 
 As soon as it could be arranged we examined her 
 carefully and found she had a tubercular focus in her 
 right lung. As promptly as possible we got her in a 
 sanitorium and the most possible was done for her. She 
 wanted to get well and live and all who had to do with 
 her were most desirous that she should, so attractive was 
 her personality and so useful in life did she promise to 
 be. But sad to say, she went down, down, down into an 
 early grave. One more victim of the Great White 
 Plague. Could she have lived she would no doubt have 
 developed into a noble woman and possibly have attained 
 the proud position of mother of a family of children, for 
 be it knoAvn that the true Queen of this earth is the Good 
 Mother. 
 
 Verj' naturally our survey of the county revealed 
 the fact that no class, no walk in life, no condition is 
 free from the inroads of tuberculosis. We found cases 
 in well-to-do families under the care of competent and 
 faithful physicians. We found them in poor families 
 where all the surplus funds were paid out for patent 
 medicines carrying the delusive promise that a few more 
 bottles would surely effect a cure ! We found tubercular 
 cases in families too indifferent to make the effort to 
 seek relief from any source whatever. We also found 
 an undue proportion of eases in the families of our col- 
 ored population, a considerable colony of whom have 
 homes in our midst. We of course realized that these 
 people are entitled to care and consideration, not only 
 because they are human beings, but from the further
 
 242 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 fact that they, too, are liable to sow broadcast the seeds 
 of the disease. 
 
 In the old days it was very generally thought that 
 pulmonary consumption, or just "consumption' as it 
 was then almost invariably called, was almost never cur- 
 able, and yet in that period there were some notable re- 
 coveries. In the middle period of the nineteenth century 
 one of the most prominent phj^siciaus and writers in 
 this country was Dr. George B. Wood, Professor of 
 Theory and Practice in the Medical Department of the 
 University of Pennsylvania and author of a popular 
 treatise on that subject. In this work he relates at 
 some length how a generation before Dr. Joseph Parrish, 
 when a young man was stricken with pulmonarj' tuber- 
 culosis and, in effect, given up to die by his physician 
 and friends. But the young man being of a different 
 mind, went to the country, ate hearty countrj^ food in 
 plenty, breathed country air freely, began to improve, 
 to gain in weight and strength, kept this up till he prac- 
 tically recovered. Later he returned to the city, resumed 
 his studies, became a successful practitioner and finally 
 eminent in his profession. He died in old age and a 
 post-morten revealed a considerable cicatrix in his lungs 
 where an old tubercular inflammation had healed. 
 
 When in the prime of his successful career, George 
 B. Wood became the student and life-long friend of Dr. 
 Parrish, whose honored career in medicine young Wood 
 was destined to surpass. 
 
 The nineteenth century was yet j^oung when Richard 
 Henry Dana, who belonged to an old honored Massa- 
 chusetts family of that name, a very young man, a grad- 
 viate of Harvard, found himself a victim of pulmonary 
 tuberculosis and, as his medical adviser and friends 
 thought soon to go to his grave. Not so thought young 
 Dana who was determined to put up a stiff fight for his 
 life. In that period the ship propelled by wind im- 
 pinging against its wide-spread sails was in flower and
 
 Tuberculosis 243 
 
 the American clipper found no equal in the whole area 
 of "The Seven Seas." Young Dana bethought himself 
 that a season spent on the sea might prove beneficial. 
 Carrying out this idea he found employment as a com- 
 mon sailor on a ship. Thus employed he ate the coarse 
 hearty food, wore the plain simple dress, did the hard 
 service and finally breathed the fresh salt-laden air, all 
 of which for better or for worse were the heritage of the 
 common sailor. This was a hard, strenuous life for the 
 high-bred, smartly trained, and well educated young 
 man from Boston ! 
 
 The life was certainly a hard one for those who had 
 long been inured to it, and that the young high-bred 
 Boston graduate found it especially so, can easily be 
 imagined, but he stuck ; and sticking he had his reward 
 in a much improved physical condition which continued 
 till ultimate recovery was attained. Later Dana be- 
 came the author of the world-famous book, "Two Years 
 Before the Mast. ' ' Later still he developed into an em- 
 inent lawyer and jurist. Finally he reached a satis- 
 factory old age — a thing one can well believe he could 
 not have done had he not changed his environment for a 
 time and resolutely made up his mind to literally fight 
 for life. 
 
 When I was yet a youth Washington Irving died, 
 well past his three score years and ten, regretted and 
 recognized as America's most popular prose writer. 
 When I was a pupil in our district school the reading 
 exercise was in one of McGuffy's advanced readers and 
 the lesson was ' ' The Wife ' ' by Washington Irving. Our 
 teacher, who was quite well versed in literature, pointed 
 out the merits and beauty of the essay and at the close 
 remarked that it was strange a man who had lived a 
 long unmarried life, as had Irving, should be able to 
 write so knowingly and so appreciatively of one of the 
 partners in wedded life. 
 
 Later I learned that when a young man Washington
 
 244 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Irving became engaged to Matilda Hoffman, a beautiful 
 and charming young woman and seemingly just the 
 right one for so handsome and promising a young hus- 
 band. But alas, ' ' there 's many a slip twixt the cup and 
 the lip. ' ' The engagement had not run a great while 
 when Miss Hoffman was stricken with that terrible 
 enemy of the human race, pulmonary consiunption. 
 Yes, charming and young as she was, fortunate as she 
 was in her fiance, promising as seemed her future, the 
 Great White Plague claimed her for its own. Youth, 
 charm, and the promise of a future of joy and happiness 
 were as nothing in the face of this grim destroyer that 
 claimed the beautiful Matilda Hoffman and doomed her 
 to her grave. 
 
 The death of his beloved-intended, left its lasting 
 mark on Washington Irving and he ever after held 
 sacred her memory. In his secretary was a drawer 
 which he kept religiously under lock and key during 
 the whole of his life after the death of his sweetheart. 
 After his own death in 1859 this drawer was opened and 
 found to contain a portrait of Matilda Hoffman, a lock 
 of her hair, an ornament last worn by her and a tribute 
 of her worth and character in the hand-writing of her 
 gifted lover. 
 
 Late in the year 1920 the Champaign County Board 
 of Supervisors appropriated the sum of money needed to 
 build the sanatorium. Meantime, the Sanatorium Board 
 of Directors had selected a site for the institution and 
 had secured plans for the builders to follow, all was 
 ready to let the contract for its construction and in due 
 course this w^a.s done and near the end of the year the 
 structure was finished and ready for occupancy. 
 
 Meanwhile Dr. Anna Johnson, of Chicago, was em- 
 ployed as superintendent and soon got busy selecting 
 equipment and making up an organization for the insti- 
 tution and time has proved that in the prosecution of 
 these duties she exercised good judgment.
 
 Tuberculosis 245 
 
 In February, 1921, the doors of the sanatorium were 
 thrown open for the reception of patients and those ad- 
 mitted proved to be in all stages of the disease. Indeed, 
 one was so far advanced that death occurred in a few 
 days after admission. 
 
 The Board of Directors have come to realize that in a 
 broad sense tubercular patients can be divided into three 
 classes. First the very mild, or incipient cases, second 
 the moderately advanced, and last the far advanced 
 cases. 
 
 The incipient cases can in a large number of instances 
 be promptly restored to health, but death is the natural 
 and usually inevitable, outcome of all far advanced cases. 
 Patients with the disease in moderately advanced form 
 are the ones on which, very naturally, the curative ef- 
 forts of physicians, nurses and attendants are concen- 
 trated. For these being hopeful cases they unfailingly 
 excite interest and stimulate effort in their behalf. 
 Hence it follows that the care of the moderately ad- 
 vanced cases resolves itself into a sort of fight which all 
 concerned most earnestly hope to win. But even under 
 the best management so long drawn out does this fight 
 become that it assumes the nature of a siege rather than 
 that of a fight, and as a result many faces became very 
 familiar as I from time to time visited the sanatorium 
 wards. Sad to say on some of these visits I would maybe 
 miss a familiar countenance and upon inquiry would 
 learn that its owner had crossed to the Great Beyond. 
 
 Some of these cases were especially pathetic as the 
 following will show. A young man from this commun- 
 ity with the hope of getting better of his tuberculosis 
 had gone to Colorado. Later he learned we were about 
 to build a county tuberculosis sanatorium and in conse- 
 quence I, from time to time, received letters from him 
 inquiring about the progress we were making. Finally 
 learning that the institution was completed and ready 
 for occupancy he made a huurried trip to his home
 
 246 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 county and was one of the first patients to enter the 
 sanatorium. Here, after recovering from the fatigue of 
 his journey, he settled down and began the business of 
 getting better, to which he devoted himself only a little 
 short of religiously. But in spite of all that could be 
 done for him and in spite of his devoted cooperation, it 
 was later seen that all effort on the part of patient and 
 attendants were destined to fail and in the end he went 
 to his grave. 
 
 This young man belonged to a good family and had 
 set his heart on making a good recovery, and further- 
 more, his friends and acquaintances took exceptional in- 
 terest in his case and felt that he was one especially 
 worth saving, but unfortunately the disease had made 
 serious inroads before any treatment had been under- 
 taken. 
 
 Later another case came to attract the particular in- 
 terest of a large circle of friends and acquaintances. 
 This was that of a young woman about nineteen years 
 of age who was in the Sanatorium for some time and im- 
 proved nicely. Indeed her improvement was seemingly 
 so steady and satisfactory in every way that she had 
 begun making plans for entering the University of Illi- 
 nois as a student. But "man proposes and God dis- 
 poses," and all at once, when least expected, this young 
 woman became faint, turned deadly pale, blood gushed 
 from her mouth and in a moment all was over. It was 
 thought that the coat of a blood vessel had been thinned 
 and weakened by a contiguous ulcerated surface, to a 
 degree, that caused it to give way and produce fatal 
 hemorrhage. 
 
 But fortunately there is a brighter side to tubercu- 
 losis work. As I go about my usual affairs I from time 
 to time meet some individual with countenance lighted 
 up with a broad smile as he or she stops and greets me 
 in a joyful mood and all because of treatment at the 
 ' ' Outlook, ' ' as the institution has come to be called. 
 
 Later we equipped the second pavillion and provided
 
 Tuberculosis 247 
 
 the additional nurses and other help to put it in run- 
 ning condition. Two of the practical nurses employed, 
 by reason of this extension of the work, were at one time 
 patients in the Sanitorium and their cheerful counten- 
 ances, quick movements and healthy appearance gener- 
 ally, were so many mute witnesses to the fact that tu- 
 berculosis if taken in time is certainly curable. 
 
 Really a properly conducted tuberculosis sanatorium 
 is a school for the dissemination of knowledge pertain- 
 ing to the care and treatment of patients suffering from 
 that disease. So true is this that certain intelligent and 
 well disposed patients can go to an up-to-date sanator- 
 ium, acquire a working knowledge of the care and treat- 
 ment of patients, return to their homes, carry this out 
 and later have the satisfaction of reaping its full bene- 
 fits. However, this is presuming that the patient has at 
 least an average good home to return to but unfortu- 
 nately some victims of this disease have not so much as 
 a roof over their heads. 
 
 The Outlook Tuberculosis Sanitorium has come to 
 be a well recognized and acceptable institution in our 
 county and many of our citizens express their appre- 
 ciation of its work by gifts of various kinds. Most of 
 these are without much intrinsic value but they serve 
 to show the interest and good will of the donors. 
 
 Every Sunday evening a picture show gives an en- 
 tertainment adapted to the day and character of the 
 audience. In the middle of the week a minister or 
 capable layman gives a short talk on some proper topic. 
 A radio set has been installed and head phones con- 
 nected with every bed. 
 
 For nearly three years Dr. W. C. Martini has been 
 rendering most satisfactory service as Superintendent 
 of the Outlook Sanitarium and furthermore has 
 charge of the dispensarj' and the county tuberculosis 
 work.
 
 XXI 
 
 A MEMBER OF THE ILLINOIS STATE 
 BOARD OF HEALTH 
 
 Life is arched with changing skies; 
 Rarely are they what they seem — 
 
 William Winter. 
 
 ONE day in April, 1897, I received a telegram from 
 Governor Tanner in the State House at Springfield, 
 notifying me that I had been appointed a Member of 
 the State Board of Health and that there would be a 
 meeting next day in his office for the purpose of organi- 
 zation, which I was expected to attend. 
 
 As I was at the time quite busy in practice I did not 
 think it necessary to start at once for Springfield but 
 took a train next morning which landed me in that city 
 about noon, when I learned that the meeting for organi- 
 zation would occur at 2 P. M. At the hour appointed I 
 went to the Governor's office where I found the other 
 newly-appointed members, none of whom I had ever 
 before met. After mutual introductions and hand- 
 shaking Governor Tanner said, "Gentlemen you will 
 please come to order for the purpose of organization." 
 
 Complying with this, Dr. French of Lawrenceburg, 
 Illinois, arose to his feet and put Dr. B. in nomination 
 for President of the Board. Someone seconded this and 
 in a moment he was unanimously elected by receiving all 
 six of our votes, he being the seventh member. This 
 done Governor Tanner stated that he had offered the 
 Secretaryship of the Board to Dr. Riley of Chicago, a 
 man with a wide experience in public health work and 
 moreover, like Governor Tanner and myself, a Civil 
 War veteran. Speaking further Governor Tanner said 
 
 248
 
 The State Board of Health 249 
 
 that he regretted to have to report that Dr. Riley had 
 finally declined acceptance of the position and that he 
 would have to look for a substitute which would take 
 time. Meanwhile, he had arranged for the retiring Sec- 
 retary, Dr. Scott, to continue in service till his successor 
 was fixed upon. This much accomplished, we adjourned 
 to meet at a future date. 
 
 As we were retiring from the room Governor Tanner 
 spoke to me aside and said, "Why, Dr. Johnson, I in- 
 tended that you should be President of this Board and 
 I am disappointed that you are not." I expressed my 
 thanks for his kind intentions and said that I was late 
 getting on the ground, that the other members came 
 earlier and had, I supposed, got things "cut and 
 dried. ' ' On my way to Springfield I met a friend who 
 said, "Why, Dr. Johnson, you have not only been ap- 
 pointed a Member of the State Board of Health, but 
 are evidently intended for its President." Then he 
 called my attention to a fact that I had overlooked, 
 namely, that in the Chicago papers my name appeared 
 in place of Dr. B. M. Griffith, the retiring President. 
 For once the papers were correct and their report coin- 
 cided with Vv'hat I later had from Governor Tanner's 
 lips. 
 
 In due time Governor Tanner appointed Dr. James 
 A. Egan, Secretary of the Illinois State Board of Health 
 and a little later a meeting was called to convene at the 
 Palmer House. When the first session occurred and Dr. 
 B., the president-elect, took the chair to preside all soon 
 realized that he was intoxicated. Indeed, he was so 
 much under the influence of "booze" that he was not 
 equal to the task of presiding while the business of the 
 meeting was disposed of. Seeing this, the Secretary 
 suggested that the Board adjourn to meet at a little 
 later date. When this second meeting convened it found 
 us again with an intoxicated chairman on our hands.
 
 250 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 However, he managed to somehow preside, but in a 
 blundering manner. At all the subsequent meetings of 
 the Board, during 1897, history repeated itself in the 
 fact that our president always came to the chair intox- 
 icated, indeed, sometimes reeling. But notwithstanding 
 these facts, Dr. B. was a candidate for re-election at 
 the coming-in of the new year and what was remarkable 
 he was re-elected. Dr. B. voted for himself and four 
 other members voted for him likewise. I voted for Dr. 
 F. and he, like the successful candidate voted for him- 
 self. But all the good this did was to take two votes 
 from Dr. B. It will be recalled that Dr. F. was the 
 member who put Dr. B. in nomination when the Board 
 was organized, and championed his election. Dr. F. did 
 this after making an agreement with Dr. B. that at the 
 end of the year he was not to be a candidate for re- 
 election and furthermore, was to vote and throw his 
 influence for Dr. F. for the presidency of the Board. 
 
 The Board meetings of 1898 were like those of 1897 
 in all that pertained to the president who persisted in 
 coming to the chair intoxicated.* Finally these facts 
 came to the ears of Grovernor Tanner, who asked for and 
 received Dr. B.'s resignation as president. Meantime 
 Dr. Carr of Carlinville, 111., who had recently been 
 appointed a member of the Boarad, was elected its 
 president and served out the remainder of the year 
 1898, when he retired from the Board. At the first 
 meeting of the Board in January, 1899, I was elected 
 president, seemingly much to the satisfaction of Gov- 
 ernor Tanner, who a little later said to me, "Dr. John- 
 son 3'^ou are now where I wanted you all along and had 
 I done my full duty at the start and put you in the 
 chair you would have saved the Board a good deal of 
 trouble." Governor Tanner was near my own age. like 
 
 • Although these facts are mentioned elsewhere, their reiteration 
 here is necessary to the narrative.
 
 The State Board of Health 251 
 
 myself a Civil War soldier and always seemed to have a 
 friendly feeling toward me. 
 
 The Illinois State Board of Health had a great deal 
 of work to do, for not only was it a Sanitary Board, 
 but likewise had charge of Medical Education in the 
 State as well. We had not long been members when a 
 new medical practice act went in force which required 
 every new medical graduate to submit to an examina- 
 tion even though he might be a Johns Hopkins alumnus. 
 Examining and licensing these graduates involved much 
 work and no little responsibility, particularly the licens- 
 ing. As time went by this last came to have attached to 
 it a certain degree of scandal in which was entangled 
 the name of our Secretary, Dr. James A. Egan. I 
 learned of this and as I had to sign my name as pres- 
 ident to every license issued by the Board I was very 
 naturally a little disturbed. 
 
 As the members of the Board were all in active 
 practice and knew nothing of the Board business save 
 what they learned at some half dozen yearly meetings 
 of a day's duration, this was little to be wondered at. 
 It was under these conditions that Dr. Egan was made 
 Executive Officer of the Board, and as this necessarily 
 put much power in his hands his critics had, as they 
 believed, all the more reason to become suspicious. If 
 Dr. Egan was ever guilty of selling licenses or making 
 use of ' ' graft ' ' in any other Board transactions he cer- 
 tainly kept it covered up so securely that no one was 
 able to let in upon it the real sunlight of fact, — that is 
 fact of the kind that would establish guilt. 
 
 Dr. Egan was a most adroit politician and managed 
 to get "next to" every incoming Governor, beginning 
 with Tanner and ending in the midst of Dunn's admin- 
 istration, when Dr. Egan died, about eighteen years in 
 all. In politics Dr. Egan was a Republican, but dur- 
 ing the eighteen years of his incumbency of the Secre- 
 taryship of the Illinois State Board of Health he in-
 
 252 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 variably managed to ingrain himself into the good 
 graces of each incoming Governor, let said Governor be- 
 long to what party or what party-faction he might. Dr. 
 Egan was a bright man and few medical men could get 
 on their feet and speak more to the point than he. More- 
 over, as a rule he was suave and gentlemanly. But 
 whatsoever were his winning qualities he and I were 
 some way not drawn to one another. I could put my 
 finger on no fact that compromised his integrity, yet I 
 somehow distrusted him, and this last was true of the 
 great majority of the best men in the profession in Illi- 
 nois. Nobody had anything that would incriminate Dr. 
 Egan, but a great many had their suspicions. 
 
 In 1904 my term of service on the Board ended. I 
 had served four years under Governor Tanner and four 
 years under his successor, Governor Yates, who in turn 
 was succeeded by Governor Deneen. Just before his 
 term ended Governor Yates appointed in my stead a 
 young man whom all regarded as unfit for the place. I 
 was indignant and wrote the Governor a "piece of my 
 mind." 
 
 It of course did no good and after a little I, in a 
 measure got over my disappointment. Later I read a 
 paper before the State Historical Society, in which I 
 paid a high compliment to the older Richard Yates, the 
 "War Governor," and which was listened to by his son, 
 the younger Governor Richard Yates, who happened to 
 be present. Meeting the son a year later he said he never 
 had gotten the opportunity to thank me for the kind 
 things I had said of his father, which he then did. I 
 "countered" by saying that I desired to thank him in 
 a way that would prove a surprise, I wanted to thank 
 him for not reappointing me in 1904 on the State Board 
 of Health when my time had expired, for since that date 
 the Board had come to be more and more a subject for 
 criticism at the hands of the better men in the profes-
 
 The State Board op Health 253 
 
 sion, and no man who cared for his peace of mind would 
 care to serve under such circumstances. 
 
 To speak a little more of State Board matters: My 
 experience as a member convinced me of one thing, 
 namely, that the perfunctory way in which the several 
 members were obliged to serve and perform their duties 
 was a mistake. We hurried from our various fields of 
 practice, hurried to our chairs at the sessions, hurried 
 the business through, took the Secretary's word for 
 everything, and then hurried back to our several homes 
 and to the bedsides of our patients. All this gave the 
 Secretary a great deal of power, particularly as he was 
 made Executive Officer of the Board. Board Members 
 should have been paid at least an ample sum per diem, 
 our patients should have been put temporarily in the 
 hands of brother practitioners so that our minds would 
 have been easy and free from anxiety on that score. 
 
 Dr. Egan died during the administration of Grover- 
 ner Dunn and was succeeded by Dr. C. St. John Drake, 
 who at once won and retained the confidence of the 
 medical profession of the State. Upon the accession of 
 Governor Lowden, however, the State Board of Health 
 was abolished and in its place a Director of Public 
 Health was appointed. To this place Dr. Drake was 
 appointed and served with satisfaction to all concerned 
 till the coming in of Governor Small's administration, 
 when Dr. J. D. Rawlings became Director of Public 
 Health and he, like his predecessor, is filling the posi- 
 tion admirably. 
 
 While on the Board I had some unique experiences 
 and one that had to do with a smallpox epidemic that 
 soon after the Spanish War pervaded the entire country. 
 At or near the beginning of the present centurj^ I one 
 day received a telephone message from Dr. Egan, the 
 Secretary, at Springfield, asking me how far I lived from 
 the village of Downs, McLean County. I answered.
 
 254 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 "about thirty miles. " After learning this the Secretary 
 continued the conversation over the wire by saying they 
 were having a strange disease in the village of Downs 
 that puzzled the doctors and they could not agree on 
 its nature. Finally it was arranged that I should meet 
 him, another member of the Board and Dr. Nelson, an 
 expert physician employed by the Board at Blooming- 
 ton, from whence we would all go to Downs and see if 
 we could decipher the difficulty the doctors were in 
 over the unrecognized outbreak. Accordingly after we 
 had all reached Bloomington a two-horse carriage was 
 procured, automobiles not j^et having come in use, into 
 this we all seated ourselves and started for Downs about 
 ten miles distant. It was a warm bright day, the coun- 
 try was beautiful and we all enjoyed the drive. 
 
 Arrived at Downs we met one physician who led the 
 way to the houses where the infected were, and it seemed 
 that half «the homes in the village had one or more 
 patients, none of whom seemed very ill. Among the 
 rest we noticed a number of babies who were suffering 
 from the trouble but in such mild form that they were 
 out of doors in their baby carriages. Upon inquiry we 
 learned that the great majority of adults who were at- 
 tacked had never been vaccinated, but smallpox as we 
 had seen it and been taught concerning it was a very 
 severe disease and practically none of the many patients 
 we saw seemed much sick. True, they were all broken 
 out, some freely, some very little. The ailment seemed 
 much too mild for smallpox and too severe and too much 
 in the way of a general outbreak to be chickenpox. 
 What then was it? We finally came to a kind of in- 
 definite conclusion to call the disease "suspicious," 
 quarantine it and await results. To this the physician 
 who first met us agreed willingly, but his colleague, 
 whom we met later protested against this course and 
 insisted that the disease was trivial in character. How- 
 
 V.
 
 ^ The State Board of Health 255 
 
 ever, we ordered the quarantine and departed for onr 
 several homes. 
 
 A few days later I saw in the Journal of the Amer- 
 ican Medical Association a paper entitled, "The Pres- 
 ent Mild Epidemic of Smallpox that is prevailing in 
 this Country," from the pen of Dr. W. M. Welch of 
 Philadelphia. This article accurately described the 
 disease we had seen and quarantined at Downs, and 
 consequently I called Dr. Egan 's attention to it as soon 
 as I could get in touch with him. There were no serious 
 cases at Downs before or after our visit, the disease 
 burned itself out, so to speak, and in due time the quar- 
 antine was raised. Well, however much the Downs out- 
 break troubled the citizens of that village it in the end 
 served several professionals, of which I was one, a good 
 turn, namely, it taught them how to recognize mild 
 smallpox when they ran across it. 
 
 Later it was my fortune to run into a town that was 
 literally "alive" with smallpox of the type referred to, 
 and this came about as follows: I was sitting in my 
 office one winter day when my telephone rang and at 
 the other end of the line I found Dr. Charles E. Wil- 
 kinson of Monticello, Illinois, who said he wished I would 
 come over and see what was the matter with about half 
 the citizens of his town who had some sort of a suspicious 
 "breaking-out." Responding to Dr. W's request I took 
 the first train for Monticello, called on Dr. Wilkinson, 
 who went with me to the City Physician, Dr. W. B. 
 Caldwell, since noted as the originator of Dr. Cald- 
 well's Syrup of Pepsin, a well known patent medicine. 
 With Dr. Caldwell I saw a number of the cases and at 
 once pronounced them smallpox. He seemed incredu- 
 lous and really, I did not wonder at this, for the cases 
 were practically all mild. However, I explained what 
 I had seen at Downs and other places, and how Dr. Wm. 
 M. Welch 's article in the Journal of the American Med-
 
 256 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 ical Association had made all plain to my mind, so plain 
 indeed, that I was as confident of my diagnosis as I was 
 of my own existence. 
 
 Finally we went to John E. Andrews, the Mayor 
 of Monticello, who like myself, was a Civil War veteran 
 and moreover, a sterling character. I explained to him 
 the situation and told him the cases must all be quar- 
 antined and general vaccination be put in force. He, 
 with some reluctance, consented to follow my order 
 though, I was at that time President of the State Board 
 of Health. Having done this much I boarded the train 
 and returned to Champaign, my home. 
 
 Two or three days later I received copies of the two 
 local Monticello papers and the way they roasted me was 
 a fright. They published interviews with certain of 
 their physicians stating in detail how wide of the mark 
 I was in pronouncing the exceedingly mild trouble in- 
 festing Monticello so grave a disease as smallpox. I can- 
 not now recall the names of the doctors who had the most 
 to say in this way. However, I recall that one Dr. Tid- 
 ball, now deceased, but in his time a typical moss-back, 
 was an especially wiseacre in pouncing upon my diagno- 
 sis. Another, only a little less pronounced in opposition 
 was Dr. J. D. Knott. But my meanest and most ven- 
 omous persecutor was one John Burgess, editor of the 
 Monticello Republican. He could, it seemed, hardly 
 find language strong enough to belittle and villify me. 
 I am by nature sensitive and John Burgess' attacks 
 "struck in" and I developed a fellow-feeling for the 
 man who bought two new, heavy cow-hides, took an 
 abusive editor by the collar, and Avore them out on his 
 back. Burgess, some years later, retired from the news- 
 paper business with the contempt and hatred of hun- 
 dreds of good, decent people whom he had abused and 
 villified in his nasty, venomous sheet. 
 
 Reports were sent from Monticello, detailing the
 
 The State Board of Health 257 
 
 so-called "blunder" I had made iu my diagnosis and 
 the hardship I had put upon the Montieello community 
 by putting them under quarantine. This report in 
 milder form was repeated in the papers of Champaign, 
 my home town. This gave me an opportunity to fully 
 explain in the public prints the situation and start the 
 ball rolling that, in the end, set things to rights. 
 However, there was no let-up in Burgess and his villifi- 
 cation in his vile sheet, copies of Avhich he kept me well 
 supplied with. Finally he got his community so worked 
 up that I was hung in effigy from one of Montieello 's 
 telephone poles. However, the Mayor of Montieello 
 promptly had "my double" cut down as soon as he 
 learned of it. A little later I paid another visit to Mon- 
 tieello to see how well the quarantine was enforced, and 
 when through \vith my inspection managed to get away 
 without being mobbed. In conclusion I will say that 
 great as was the indignation of Montieello at my course 
 in putting them under quarantine, numerous pock-marks 
 on sundry men and women residents of that city and 
 elsewhere today bear mute, but indisputable, testimony 
 to the correctness of my diagnosis, however bitter it was 
 to the palates of many Monticellonians of some twenty 
 odd years ago — some of whom long since had at least 
 one forcible illustration of the old adage which tells us, 
 "Truth crushed to earth will rise again." 
 
 Dr. Chas. E. "Wilkinson, not long after reporting con- 
 ditions in Montieello and requesting me to come over, 
 removed to Danville, Illinois, — removed, as I have al- 
 ways believed to escape the reproach that Montieello 
 subjected him to for informing me of the local situa- 
 tion. Be this as it may Dr. Wilkinson now lives in a 
 much better to^vn than Montieello, and enjoys a much 
 more extensive and lucrative practice than the last- 
 named place could ever have afforded. So it would seem 
 that the Montieello outbreak helped the fortune of at
 
 258 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 least one of its then residents. ''It's an ill wind that 
 does not bring good to some one, ' ' says the old adage. 
 
 About this time one of our wealthy citizens, A. C. 
 Burnham, provided the funds for the building of a 
 general hospital for which our community stood in need. 
 In due time the building was completed and given the 
 name of Julia F. Burnham Hospital in honor of the wife 
 of the man who had financed the enterprise. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1895 the institution was 
 finished, a medical staff named and a full organization 
 provided. It was my fortune to furnish the first patient 
 — a well advanced case of typhoid fever which a little 
 later died. In due time the "Burnham" as it came to 
 be called, was filled to its capacity, and has ever since 
 been doing good work. I was a member of its first medi- 
 cal staff and served in that capacity till my resignation a 
 number of years later.
 
 XXII 
 
 MY MEDICAL LIBRARY 
 
 For as great a store 
 
 Have we of books as bees, of herbs or more; 
 And the great task to try, then know, the good 
 To discern weeds and judge of wholesome food. 
 Is a rare scant performance. 
 
 Henry Yough, To His Books. 
 
 IN the course of a long professional life I have ac- 
 cumulated many medical books and periodicals. I 
 have always aimed to have up-to-date standard works 
 on every subject pertaining to medicine. 
 
 The first work I got on practice was "Watson, the next 
 Flint, then Ziemsen's Cyclopedia, and then followed in 
 succession Bartholow, Loomis, Osier, Thompson, Lock- 
 wood and last Edwards. 
 
 As time went by I became interested in the history 
 and progress of medicine and when opportunity offered 
 added to my collection any work that had been a stand- 
 ard in its day. Among other books on Practice I have 
 Mason Good's two-volume work first published a hun- 
 dred years ago, under the title, ' ' Good 's Study of Med- 
 icine. " Dr. Mason Good was a learned man and espe- 
 cially well versed in the classics and dead languages. 
 His Study treats of about every disease that poor hu- 
 manity is heir to. Everything from toothache, which 
 he terms. Dolorosa, to insanity, upon which he bestowed 
 the name, Echpronia. In the classification of disease he 
 broke away from all precedents and worked out a classi- 
 fication modeled on that of Linneus for plants. He 
 divided disease into six classes; subdivided these into 
 scores and scores of Orders, the Orders were separated 
 into many Genera, and finally the Genera were separated 
 
 259
 
 260 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 into nearly or quite a thousand species. For illustration 
 under Class IV, Neurotica, and Order II, Aesthetica 
 (Affecting the Sensations) was Parapsis (Morbid 
 Sight), Species I, was Paropsis Lucifuga (Day Sight) 
 Species II Parsis Noctifuga (Night Sight) ; Species II, 
 Parapsis Longiuaua (Long Sight) ; Species IV Parapsis 
 Propinqua (Short Sight) ; Species V, Propinaua Lat- 
 eralis (Skew Sight), and so on through twelve species of 
 Genera I, (Paropsis), Order II, (Aesthetic), Class IV, 
 (Neurotica). But notwithstanding Mason Good's over- 
 learned and unnatural classification his Study of Med- 
 icine is a veritable mine of curious and interesting in- 
 formation, contained in two royal octavo volumes with 
 double-columned closely printed pages in small tj^De, 
 interlarded all through with foot-notes in yet smaller 
 type. All this is trjnng to the eyes, particularly to the 
 older reader, yet I venture to say that in all medical 
 literature few works of the same compass contain as 
 much rare and interesting information. 
 
 Another work on internal medicine in my possession 
 is Eberle's Practice in two volumes, first published in 
 1845 and popular for a considerable time. John Eberle 
 was Professor of Theory and Practice in Jefferson Med- 
 ical College, Philadelphia, and was the author of several 
 works other than the one on Practice. His chapter on 
 Contagion is especially interesting, and his definition of 
 it especially apt for its day. "By contagion is under- 
 stood a deleterious agent secreted by the animal body in 
 a state of disease, which, when brought to act on a 
 healthy individual, will produce a disease specifically 
 similar to the one from which it derives its origin." 
 
 Substitute specific microbe for deleterious agent in 
 the first line of the above and you have an absolutely 
 up-to-date definition of contagion. 
 
 Nor are Eberle's rules, which he quotes from Hay- 
 garth, for the care of contagious diseases much behind 
 our time, and which are as follows :
 
 My Medical Library 261 
 
 1. The chamber in which the patient lies must be 
 kept cool and freely ventilated. No bed curtains must 
 be allowed to be drawn around the patient. 
 
 2. Dirty clothes, utensils, etc., should be often 
 changed, and immediately immersed in cold water; and 
 washed clean when taken out. 
 
 3. The discharges from the patient must be in- 
 stantly removed ; and the floor around the patient should 
 be rubbed clean once a day with a wet cloth. 
 
 4. Avoid the current of the patient's breath, as well 
 as the effluvia which arises from his body, and from the 
 evacuations. 
 
 5. Visitors ought not to go into the patient's cham- 
 ber with an empty stomach, and in doubtful cases on 
 coming out they should blow from the nose and spit from 
 the mouth any contagious poison which may adhere to 
 these passages. 
 
 Speaking of the extreme activity'- of contagion at 
 certain periods and its relative torpidity at others, 
 Eberle said, "At times it would seem impossible for a 
 contagious disease to extend the sphere of its ravages; 
 for, although sporadic cases may occur here and there, 
 yet no neglect in relation to proper exclusion will enable 
 the disease to assume an epidemic or endemic character. 
 During other periods, on the contrary, the accidental 
 importation of fomites (disease virus?), or the occur- 
 rence of a case of contagious disease, acts like a spark 
 of fire thrown among combustible materials and spreads 
 disease among the people." 
 
 Dr. Eberle has a chapter on Typhus fever which 
 included what has been universally recognized as ty- 
 phoid fever. In a foot-note, however, he devotes con- 
 siderable space to a notice of Dr. W. W. Gerhard's 
 epoch-making paper published some years before in the 
 American Journal of Medical Sciences and clearly point- 
 ing out the marked differences of typhus and typhoid 
 when these are closely studied.
 
 262 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Another interesting old work in my library is "The- 
 ory and Practice of Physic," by Dr. David Hosack, who 
 taught this branch of medicine in the University of New 
 York. In this volume of less than 700 pages two full 
 chapters are devoted to "Contagion and Its Laws." 
 Like all the older clinicians Dr. Hosack makes much of 
 the pulse ; and after referring to the extreme import- 
 ance that the Chinese attach to this, and likewise, the 
 very considerable emphasis that Dr. Benjamin Rush 
 gave to it, the author said : 
 
 1. The full pulse which dilates itself unrestrained. 
 
 2. Small pulse, scarcely to be perceived. 
 
 3. The soft pulse, readily yielding to pressure. 
 
 4. Hard or corded, tense wirey or quilled pulse; 
 that is not easily compressed, but making great resist- 
 ance under the finger. 
 
 5. The frequent or quick pulse, in which one pul- 
 sation rapidly succeeds to another. 
 
 6. The slow puis*" — one beat succeeding to another. 
 
 7. The regular p alse — the intermissions between the 
 beats being the same. 
 
 8. The irregular pulse — the intervals being irregu- 
 lar. 
 
 9. The intermittent — where some pulsations are 
 wanting. 
 
 10. The gaseous pulse — giving the idea of air instead 
 of blood filling the vessel — the soap-bubble pulse of Dr. 
 Rush, as it was unfortunately called. 
 
 Following this Dr. Hosack adds, "The manner of 
 feeling the pulse merits some attention." 
 
 1. Do not feel the pulse too soon after you have 
 entered the room. Allow the first impressions made 
 upon your patient to subside by referring him to some 
 new object. 
 
 2. Let your patient's arm lie in an easy position,
 
 My Medical Library 263 
 
 so that the pulse may not be excited by the action of the 
 muscles, as would be the case in extending the arm to 
 the physician. 
 
 3. For the reason, if your patient has just been 
 getting out of bed, or has been moved in bed, wait for 
 the subsidence of such movement. 
 
 4. Do not exclusively confine yourselves to the 
 pulse at the wrist — sometimes the carotids or temporal 
 arteries manifest the chief irritation of the disease. 
 
 5. In feeling the pulse, make use of two fingers 
 instead of one — they correct each other's sensations. 
 
 6. This leads me to observe that for this purpose it 
 will be important for you to cultivate a nice sense of 
 feeling at the extremities of your fingers. This you will 
 best do by the practice of wearing gloves — at the same 
 time that you thereby preserve your hands at a proper 
 temperature, so as thereby to ascertain the temperature. 
 (As the reader will bear in mind, this was long before 
 the fever thermometer had come in^ general use. ) 
 
 Among other works on internal medicine I have a 
 two-volume treatise by George B. Wood of the Univer- 
 sity of Pennsylvania and which I prize very highly. 
 Wood's Practice was first issued in 1847, and was a 
 standard for twenty-five or thirty years thereafter. 
 
 Like all works in what may be termed the pre-bac- 
 terial period Wood devotes his two or three first chap- 
 ters to General Pathology and the chief foundation 
 stone in this was inflammation ; for in the old days In- 
 flammation occupied as important a place in pathology 
 as do micro-organisms in the pathology of today. I 
 have no purpose to minimize the importance of inflam- 
 mation ; for while it was made much of in the old day, 
 it was nevertheless of great consequence then and it is 
 yet to be reckoned with. 
 
 As the reader will notice below I quote liberally 
 from Watson the favorite author of my student-days
 
 264 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 — so much of a favorite indeed, that I used to call 
 the copy I possess my Medical Bible. This copy 
 by the way was published in 1858, through the 
 course of lectures from which it was made up was de- 
 livered twenty years previously, but of course brought 
 up-to-date. Watson was, however, always in advance of 
 his day as the following first propounded in 1837 will 
 show. "Indeed I believe that these cases of puerperal 
 fever occurring in succession to the same practitioner, 
 are examples of something more than ordinary con- 
 tagion through the medium of the atmosphere. I believe 
 them to be instances of direct inoculation. Recollect that 
 the hand of the accoucher is brought, almost of necessity, 
 into frequent contact with the uterine fluids of the newly- 
 made mother. Recollect — those of you who have ex- 
 amined the interior of the dead body with your own 
 hands — recollect with what tenacity the smell, which is 
 thus contracted, clings to the fingers in spite of re- 
 peated washings ; and whilst this odor remains there 
 must remain also the matter which produces it. Rec- 
 ollect how minute a quantity of an animal poison may 
 be sufficient to corrupt the whole mass of blood, and fill 
 the body with loathsome and fatal disease. Illustrations 
 will occur to you in the inoculated smallpox, in hydro- 
 phobia, in the viper bite, in the scratches and punctures 
 of the dissecting-room. Recollect the raw and abraded 
 parts ocncerned in parturition; the interior of the 
 uterus forming a large wound and presenting, as Cru- 
 veilhier has observed, an exact analogy to the surface 
 of a stump after amputation ; the more external parts 
 bruised and sore. Bear in mind the remarkable fact, 
 that this contagion does not affect other persons, but 
 only lying-in women. Reflecting upon these facts, you 
 will see too much likelihood in the dreadful suspicion, 
 that the hand which is relied upon for succor in the 
 painful and perilous hour of childbirth, and which is 
 invoked to secure the safety of both mother and child,
 
 My Medical Library 265 
 
 but especially of the mother, may literally iecome the 
 innocent cause of her destruction; innocent no longer, 
 however if after warning aand knowledge of the risk, 
 suitable means are not used to avert a catastrophe so 
 shocking. 
 
 ''In these days of readij invention, a glove, I think, 
 might he devised, which should he imprevious to fluids, 
 and yet so thin and pliant as not to interfere materially 
 with the delicate sense of touch required in these manipu- 
 lations. One s^ich glove, if such shall ever he fahricated 
 and adopted, might well he sacrificed to the safety of the 
 mother, in every labor." 
 
 Think of these sentiments and suggestions uttered 
 and made ninety-odd years ago ! Uttered, too, when 
 practically every prominent obstetrician the world- 
 over believed puerperal sepsis to be an essential fever — 
 as much so, indeed, as typhus or typhoid. Uttered five 
 or six years before Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes pub- 
 lished his remarkable paper in 1843, emphasizing the 
 fact that puerperal fever is contagious and is often con- 
 veyed by both physician and nurse. Uttered ten years 
 before the immortal Semmelweis did his era-making work 
 in demonstrating that child-bed fever is a highly con- 
 tagious malady and that he and his fellow students in 
 the great Lying-in- Hospital of Vienna had all been inno- 
 cent purveyors of decaying animal matter that was the 
 deadly infecting agent. 
 
 The reader may wonder that Watson would include 
 puerperal fever in his list of subjects on Practice; but 
 for this there were two reasons. First in that day puer- 
 peral fever, as said elsewhere, was deemed an essential 
 fever ; secondly, lecturers on practice in that day pre- 
 sented many diseases given over to the specialists later. 
 
 Flint's Practice I did not come to appreciate until 
 later. But in addition to being the most concise work on
 
 266 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Practice in the Civil War era, it was, moreover, the best 
 arranged and more systematic than many of the others. 
 Speaking of conciseness, however, Hartshorn's Essen- 
 tials of Practice headed the list. This was a small 12mo 
 that got at the pith of ailments both as regards descrip- 
 tion, diagnosis and treatment. 
 
 Loomis' Practice, which came out first in the mid- 
 eighties was beyond criticism; and the same could be 
 said of Bartholow's work which appeared some years 
 earlier. Osier's Practice appeared in the nineties and 
 was for its day what Flint had been in his time — plain, 
 concise, complete. Indeed, Osier was the Flint of his 
 day as Flint was the unconscious prophet and forerunner 
 of Osier in his. 
 
 The publication of Ziemsen's Cyclopedia of Prac- 
 tical Medicine began in 1874 and I subscribed for it and 
 have never had occasion to regret it. This was printed 
 in large clear type and bound in sheep. It was the first 
 work to herald the germ theory of disease, then just 
 being accepted by a very few, in this country. The 
 work was made up of a series of monographs by able 
 German physicians. 
 
 The introductory chapter was on infectious diseases 
 and in this all that was known relative to this class of 
 ailments was set forth and much that has since come to 
 be known was predicted. Liebermeister, the author of 
 this chapter, boldly asserted that "The poisons of in- 
 fectious diseases can reproduce themselves, and to an 
 unlimited extent." All the monographs in Ziemsen 
 were full and embraced a well-considered history of the 
 disease under discussion together of course with its na- 
 ture, pathology, causation, symptoms, diagnosis and 
 treatment. Liebermeister 's article on typhoid, written 
 full fifty years ago, is in large degree up to date. The 
 typhoid bacillus had not then been discovered, but Lieb- 
 ermeister predicted that it soon would be, and a very
 
 My Medical LroRABY 267 
 
 few years revealed him a true prophet. Liebermeister 
 called typhoid abdominal typhus, and, as we have seen, 
 George B Wood bestowed upon it the name enteric 
 fever, but the appelation typhoid, given the ailment 
 by Louis, the celebrated French clinician, nearly one 
 hundred years ago, perhaps will always endure. 
 
 The last volume of Ziemsen, Volume XX, was 
 wholly devoted to a very full and satisfactory index. 
 What was unusual in a Cyclopedia of the Practice of 
 Medicine coming from the press when Ziemsen did, one 
 volume was devoted to diseases of females and another 
 to diseases of the skin. My experience has been that the 
 German does not translate into as readable English as 
 does the French, nevertheless I have found in Ziemsen 
 a veritable mine of useful and helpful information. 
 
 Many years ago I bought a copy of Dr. J. M. Da 
 Costa's Medical Diagnosis and I have always found it 
 very, very helpful — this notwithstanding the fact that I 
 have since added Butler, Cabot and Hare. But DaCosta 
 as a diagnostician was my first love and I have never 
 swayed from my devotion to him. Like Flint, he is 
 clear-cut, concise, knows when he has made his point and 
 quits when he has made it. 
 
 My work on the obstetrics was by Bedford of New 
 York, made up of lectures delivered to his classes at 
 Bellevue Medical College. His style was attractive 
 and what he had to say made easy reading. Unlike 
 Hodge and Meigs of Philadelphia, Bedford was a be- 
 liever in the contagious character of puerperal fever 
 and he inculcated care and cleanliness on the part of 
 doctors and nurses. Naturally I have added later works 
 on obstetrics to my library, but none of them have wholly 
 displaced Bedford who long ago ingrained many of his 
 teachings into my medical make-up. 
 
 Druitt's System of Modern Surgery, a veritable 
 multum in parvo, answered my purposes admirably in 
 my student days and when I was a young practitioner,
 
 268 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 later I purchased Bryant, Ashurst's three volume work 
 and Wythe. Meanwhile I added other works on surgery 
 to my collection. Among these were John Syng Dor- 
 sey's Surgery which appeared in the early part of the 
 19th century and was the second work on surgery issued 
 from the American press by a native author. Dr. Dor- 
 sey was a nephew of Philip Syng Physick, the "father 
 of American Surgery," and a pupil of John Hunter. 
 I also have a copy of the Surgery of James Syme, a 
 great Scottish surgeon of a hundred years ago. He is 
 said to have been one of the most dextrous and rapid 
 operators in all surgical history. Moreover, he was 
 spoken of as a "genial, happy, even-tempered man, who 
 ' never wasted a word, a drop of ink, nor a drop of blood, ' 
 yet a broad-minded, liberal spirit withal, welcoming all 
 surgical innovations of value." He was one of the first 
 European operators to adopt ether anesthesia (1847). 
 He was the preceptor and father-in-law of the world- 
 renowned Joseph Lister and moreover, one of the first 
 to accept listerism (antisepsis) in surgery. 
 
 I have a copy of George McClellan's surgery. George 
 McClellan was a noted Philadelphia surgeon near the 
 middle of the 19th century and he was the father of 
 General George B. McClellan of Civil War fame. Furth- 
 ermore I have Miller's surgery whose author was an 
 eminent London surgeon two generations ago. I also 
 have the two-volume work of S. D. Gross, one of the 
 fullest and most complete works in the English language 
 in its time. This like all else that Gross put in print 
 was very readable. 
 
 I have Paget 's Surgical pathology, which is all but 
 as readable as Watson. Sir James Paget was a great 
 English surgeon whose life covered the greater part of 
 the 19th century. 
 
 Another English work of the middle of the 19th 
 century is a small volume embodying the lectures of
 
 My Medical LreRARY 269 
 
 John Simon on General Pathology. Simon defined 
 disease as follows, "Nature gives a certain habit and 
 method of working to the body — a certain law or norma 
 of action ; any departure from this norma — anything 
 abnormal in the action of the body constitutes disease." 
 In this connection it may not be out of place to give 
 the definition of disease by C. J. B. Williams, a noted 
 English clinician of the last century and which is as fol- 
 lows: "Disease is a changed condition or proportion of 
 function or structure of one or more parts of the body. ' ' 
 Williams' definition I can but regard as one of the most 
 complete and yet concise of any that I can now recall. 
 
 Williams' Principles of Medicine was a classic when 
 I was a student and was highly recommended by some 
 of my instructors, but I fear I failed to get as much 
 from it as I might. 
 
 I have a number of old classics among which I may 
 name Cullen's First Lines of the Practice of Physic. 
 Cullen was a great English Physician who lived in the 
 18th century and exercised a profound influence on the 
 medicine of his day. 
 
 Another classic is Commentaries on the History and 
 Cure of Disease by William Heberden, a contemporary 
 of Cullen and a fine classical scholar and withal a close 
 and careful clinical observer. He was the first to de- 
 scribe angina pectoris and bestow upon it the name it 
 yet retains. Speaking of this disease he says in his 
 Commentaries, "I have seen nearly a hundred people 
 under this disorder, of which there have been three 
 women, and one boy twelve years old. All the rest were 
 men near, or past the fiftieth year of their age." He- 
 berden describes pulmonary tuberculosis under the 
 name of Phthisis Pulmonum and he says, "A consump- 
 tion appears by the London bills of mortality to be in 
 the city the most destructive of all maladies to adults; 
 one in four of those that grow up to manhood being re-
 
 270 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 ported to be carried off by this distemper." Thus two 
 hundred years ago tuberculosis would seem to be nearly 
 twice as deadly in its ravages as it is today. 
 
 Heberden says further, "In England we have little 
 apprehension of the contagious nature of consumption; 
 of which in other countries they are fully persuaded." 
 
 Wlien Heberden wrote his Commentaries the desig- 
 nation tubercle had no existence as we now know it, 
 hence the following sage observations, "Dissection of 
 those who have died of pulmonary consumptions, have 
 acquainted me, that their lungs are full of little glan- 
 dular swellings, many of which are in a state of sup- 
 puration. They appear to be of the same nature as the 
 strumous swellings in the neck, but must always be more 
 dangerous, because the texture of the lungs disposes 
 them to spread, and because the office of the lungs is 
 necessary to life, so that they cannot be greatly injured 
 without the worst effects upon life." 
 
 Great as were the ravages of pulmonary consumption 
 in Heberden 's day, yet he notes some remarkable recov- 
 eries from that ailment as the following shows: "This 
 was the case with that very ingenious and learned phy- 
 sician, Sir Edward Wilmot, who, as he told me, when 
 he was a youth, was so far gone in consumption, that the 
 celebrated Dr. Radcliffe, whom he consulted, gave his 
 friends no hope of his recovery ; yet he lived to be above 
 ninety years old." 
 
 If we should meet a medical friend and he should 
 say he had just been waiting on a patient who had been 
 the victim of lipothymia ; we should be at a loss to un- 
 derstand what the nature of the ailment was; yet lipo- 
 thymia was Heberden 's designation for sjmcqpe, or a 
 fainting fit. 
 
 I can think of no old author more pleasant to read 
 than Heberden. He died in 1801 in his 91st year. 
 
 I have an old work by Sydenham, "On Acute and 
 Chronic Diseases," printed in 1668, which is interesting
 
 My Medical LroRARY 271 
 
 mainly from its quaintness. Sydenham lived in the time 
 of Charles I and Cromwell. He was undoubtedly a 
 great clinician and insisted that the only place to leam 
 medicine is at the bedside. He was a contemporary of 
 Harvey, the discoverer of the circulation, but took no 
 interest in this achievement as the scientific side of 
 medicine offered no attractions to him. He had very 
 much to do in introducing the use of Peruvian bark in 
 England. He regarded horseback riding as an almost 
 certain cure for consumption, and of this he says, "But 
 the best remedy hitherto discovered in this case, is rid- 
 ing sufficiently long journeys on horseback, provided 
 this exercise be long enough continued; observing that 
 the middle-aged must persist in it much longer than 
 children or young persons. For, in reality the Peruvian 
 bark is not more curative of an intermittant fever, than 
 riding is of consumption at this time of life. ' ' 
 
 Sydenham's ideals in his profession may in part be 
 gathered from the following quotation from his works: 
 "In writing therefore a history of diseases, every 
 philosophical hypothesis, which hath prepossessed the 
 writer in its favor, ought to be totally laid aside, and 
 then the manifest and natural phenomena of diseases, 
 however minute, must be noted with absolute accuracy, 
 imitating in this the great exactness of painters who in 
 their pictures copy the smallest spots or moles in the 
 originals. ' ' 
 
 Among a number of books in mj^ possession dating 
 back to the last half of the 18th century and the first 
 half of the 19th, may be named James Lind's Essay on 
 "Diseases Incidental to Hot Climates with the Method 
 of Preventing their Fatal Consequences." 
 
 Yellow fever was the disease most frequently en- 
 countered and a routine treatment at the inception of 
 this disease was a free administration of James' powders 
 made by combining in a heated crucible horn-shavings 
 and tersulphate of antimony which left a white powder.
 
 272 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 This was freely administered until purging followed, 
 meantime the patient was bled, blistered and later 
 purged again if the need arose. Such was the heroic 
 treatment recommended by Dr. Lind who was a recog- 
 nized authority on tropical diseases. 
 
 Dr. Lind refers to a curious custom resorted to by 
 some of his predecessors in the treatment of tropical 
 diseases. On the theory that the blood was the vulner- 
 able part in the bodies of early-arrived persons, they 
 were subjected to frequent bleedings while yet in health, 
 till as much blood was removed as it was thought their 
 bodies contained, meantime they drank freely of water 
 and ate heartily of food ; this on the theory that native 
 water and native food would create native blood, so to 
 speak, that would have the power of resisting native 
 diseases. This was what might be called heroic pre- 
 ventive medicine. It need hardly be added that about 
 all the effect it had was to weaken the subject and make 
 all the more liable to infection — or, as we would say 
 today it lowered resistance. 
 
 Lind 's Essay is a classic and there is appended to the 
 fine old leather-bound volume containing it an extended 
 article on Intermittent Fever. 
 
 Speaking of intermittents reminds me that I have 
 another fine old leather-bound book entitled "A Treat- 
 ise on Malignant Intermittents" by J. J. Alibert of 
 Paris and who describes among other varieties a ceph- 
 alic intermittent in which, ''Two sides of the body ex- 
 hibited different symptoms, the right was affected with 
 paralysis ; the left with catalepsy. ' ' 
 
 Another work corresponding in appearance to the 
 two last-named above dates back to the last years of 
 the 18th century and is entitled, "Practical Observations 
 on the Diseases of the Army in Jamaica." (As they oc- 
 curred between the years 1792 and 1797) by William 
 Lampier. In addition to malarial cases of malignant 
 form and yellow fever the soldiers and inhabitants alike
 
 My Medical, Library 273 
 
 in Jamaica were subject to ulcers of an obstinate and 
 often fatal type. It is quite possible that this ulceration 
 was a peculiar manifestation of scrofula. However, an 
 ulcer frightful in extent and seriousness would often 
 result from the merest scratch or abrasion of the skin. 
 
 The poison, or infecting virus, of these ulcers was 
 believed to have been often conveyed by flies. Says the 
 author, "In a country where ulceration so easily is in- 
 duced, and where the discharges of ulcers often are of 
 the most acrid and offensive kind, a communication of 
 this matter to the sound part of the patient from whose 
 ulcer it is produced, or to that of any other of the sick, 
 frequently will give rise to fresh ulcerations; and when 
 applied to other ulcers it never fails to render them 
 worse. The dressing of ulcers never should be intrusted 
 to the charge of orderly men who act as nurses; and 
 certainly it is important that each patient has a sponge, 
 water, and dressing to himself ; that the surgeon is ex- 
 ceedingly cautious in cleaning his instruments after he 
 has used them, and that the bandages and linen be not 
 intermixed, and be as frequently washed as circum- 
 stances will admit." For its time this advice was cer- 
 tainly remarkable no less than valuable and in many 
 particulars far ahead of the procession, as it were.
 
 XXIII 
 
 ''OUR SINGING DOCTOR" 
 
 And How I Came to be the Author of a 
 Beautiful Poem 
 The singer who lived is always alive; we hearken and 
 always hear. 
 
 John Boyle O'Riley. 
 
 AS elsewhere stated, I served as Secretary of the Aes- 
 . eulapian Society of the Wabash Valley for a period 
 of ten years — from 1876 to 1886. 
 
 During this period the Society had a rare accession 
 to its membership in the person of Dr. James Newton 
 Matthews of Mason, Illinois, a gifted poet. In the truest 
 sense of the word Dr. Matthews was a Country Doctor, 
 and as such spent his life in the little Southern Illinois 
 village where he grew up and later gave his professional 
 services to the plain, simple folks that made up the com- 
 munity. Those who knew Dr. Matthews best could but 
 feel that he was well worthy of more of the good things 
 of life than came to him from the material side, for he 
 was one whom to know was to love. He was a born poet 
 and of the Whittier stamp, and though he wrote and 
 published no little, yet never printed a bad line. 
 
 The year 1886 was the Fortieth Anniversary of the 
 organization of the Aesculapian and in honor of this it 
 was decided to have a banquet, toasts and the usual 
 etceteras. It devolved on me to get up the program 
 and in assigning toasts I sent Dr. Matthews the follow- 
 ing : ' ' They had no poet and so they died. ' ' 
 
 In a few days I had a letter from him asking who the 
 quotation was from and making some further inquiries. 
 
 274
 
 OuB Singing Doctor 275 
 
 In reply I said the line was from Horace and answered 
 his other questions as satisfactorily as I could. 
 
 In due time came the date for our banquet and 
 brought with it a raw, cold night. But we braved the 
 weather and soon after getting rid of our hats, overcoats 
 and other wraps, sat down to a table loaded with the 
 good things common to the hoard a generation ago in 
 that fattest of fat lands, the Illinois Corn Belt. Whether 
 it was the sharp edge of the "snappy" weather, or 
 ^ whether it was the exceptionally tempting quality of the 
 food, at any rate, all feasted till the inner man was fully 
 satisfied. Next, cigars were brought in and the atmos- 
 phere that had been roasted by a red-hot stove was 
 saturated and darkened by tobacco smoke till the dim 
 light of the three or four coal oil lamps could hardly 
 penetrate it. Then it was that with guests unduly 
 feasted with the room unduly heated, with its atmos- 
 phere unduly clouded, the Toastmaster with his 
 knuckles, duly rapped attention on the table before him. 
 
 In response to the toast, "Our Older Members", good 
 old Doctor M. read a long paper that from beginning to 
 end was devoid of both pith and point. Moreover, dur- 
 ing the delivery, or rather reading, of this he kept his 
 seat, kept on his hat and pulled this down over his ears 
 under the plea that he was "afraid of catching cold." 
 An unsympathetic brother whispered in my ear that in 
 that room there was vastly more danger of "catching 
 heat," — an observation that I could but endorse. 
 
 A little later in response to the toast, ' * Our Younger 
 Members," a young and recently graduated M. D. read 
 a paper in a trembling voice and meantime remained 
 seated and kept on his hat as had his older predecessor 
 during his response. All this was too much for the self- 
 contained, sarcastic speaker who followed and spoke for 
 the ' ' Stalwarts. ' ' This was none other than the brilliant- 
 minded and fluent speaker, Dr. John Morgan McKown,
 
 276 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 referred to elsewhere as the writer of the remarkable set 
 of resolutions at the first meeting of the Aeseulapian at 
 Terre Haute, Indiana. He always spoke extempore and 
 on this occasion began by saying, "The course pursued 
 by other members this evening tempted me when my 
 time came, not only to remain seated, not only to put on 
 my hat, but to put on my overcoat, my muffler, my gloves 
 and my overshoes, as well. For when thus attired Mr. 
 Toastmaster, if I am to profit by examples set before me 
 on this occasion, I would be in fit array to address you." 
 Following the always interesting Dr. McKown were 
 other speakers who like most country doctors were ill at 
 ease when trying to think and talk on their feet. Finally 
 when all the toasts but the last had been responded to, 
 the Toastmaster* arose and said he ' ' deemed the Aeseula- 
 pian especially fortunate in having among its members a 
 most gifted poet, and hence for not being blessed in this 
 way we could but look with pity upon most of our Sister 
 Medical Societies. However, being ourselves possessed 
 with a 'Singing Doctor' it is now my most enjoyable 
 privilege to introduce our most esteemed colleague, Dr. 
 James Newton Matthews who will respond to the toast, 
 * They had no poet and so they died. ' ' ' 
 
 Our ' ' Singing Doctor ' ' modestly arose and in earnest 
 tones read the following : 
 
 THEY HAD NO POET AND SO THEY DIED 
 
 In the dim waste land of the Orient stands 
 
 The wreck of a race so old and vast, 
 That the grayest legends can not lay hands 
 
 On a single fact of its tongueless past; 
 Not even the red gold crown of a king. 
 
 Nor even a warrior's shield, nor aught beside, 
 Can history out of the ruins wring, — 
 
 They had no poet and so they died. 
 
 Babel and Nineveh, what are they, 
 
 But feeble hints of a passing power 
 That over the populous East held sway, 
 
 * Dr. Z. T. Baum of Paris, Illinois.
 
 Ja:me.s Newton Matthews 
 
 ArsTix Flint
 
 Illinois State Medical Society 
 Badge 1916
 
 Our Singing Doctor 277 
 
 In a dream of pomp for a paltry hour? 
 A toppled tower and a shattered stone, 
 
 Where the satyrs dance and the dragons hide, 
 Is all that is known of the glory flown, — 
 
 They had no poet and so they died. 
 
 Down where the dolorous Congo slips. 
 
 Like a tawny snake, thro' the torrid clime, 
 Man's soul has slept in a cold eclipse. 
 
 On the world's dark rim since the dawn of time; 
 And if ever an ancient Nubian wrought 
 
 A work of beauty, or strength or pride. 
 It was unrecorded and goes for naught, — 
 
 They had no poet and so they died. 
 
 And even here in the sun-crowned West, 
 
 In the land we love, in the vales we've trod, 
 Where the bleeding palms of the world find rest 
 
 On freedom's lap, at the feet of Gk)d, — 
 Even here, I say, ere the world waxed old, 
 
 A race Titanic did once abide, 
 But, ah! their story is left untold, — 
 
 They had no poet and so they died. 
 
 The same old tale! and so it will be. 
 
 As long as the heavens feed the stars, — 
 As long as the tribes of men shall see 
 
 A lesser glory in arts than wars; 
 And so let us live and labor and pray, 
 
 As down we glide with the darkling tide, 
 That never a singer of us may say. 
 
 They had no poet and so they died. 
 
 My feelings while Dr. Matthews was reading his 
 beautiful poem and for a time after he had sat down 
 can perhaps be better imagined than described. I was 
 thrilled, through and through, and hard, indeed, was it 
 for me to realize that the seemingly simple line I had 
 selected for a toast for our poet-doctor should be as the 
 planting of the seed for the production of an exquisite 
 composition. I felt like I imagine one feels who is per- 
 mitted to withdraw the curtain from a rare painting and 
 for the first time allow the world to look upon its beauty. 
 
 Up to this time I had enjoyed only a little more than
 
 278 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 a speaking acquaintance with Dr. Matthews. Later a 
 contribution I had made to a literary periodical drew 
 from him a friendly letter. Just a little while before I 
 had seen his poem, "The Old Fireplace," and as I read 
 it with great delight it was only fair that I should write 
 him about it. Later still he was my guest and his mod- 
 esty and amiability in every way won and ever after 
 retained my esteem and friendship. Another time he 
 was my guest when James Whitcomb Riley gave one of 
 his famous readings in Champaign and he, too, became 
 my guest for a night and day, and to see and hear these 
 two truly-born poets was a rare treat. 
 
 Recurring to the poem read at the Aesculpian in 
 response to the toast, "They had no poet and so they 
 died," I met Dr. Matthews shortly after its delivery and 
 told him I owed him an apology. And when he asked 
 what for, I said I had been guilty of a misquotation, 
 that in the line given him from Horace, "so" was inad- 
 vertently supplied by me, and that its proper reading 
 was, "They had no poet and they died." He smiled 
 and said in reply, "Why I never could have written the 
 poem had the so been left out. ' ' 
 
 Thus my reader will see that there is a double reason 
 why I can justly claim to be the "author of a beautiful 
 poem," — though no poet myself. 
 
 I cannot forbear quoting some things from my gifted 
 poet-friend now long since gone to his reward. One of 
 his poems is entitled : 
 
 WITH THE DOCTOR 
 
 "Mother, make room in the bed for me," 
 
 A shivering child in the garret cried, 
 As the plague swept up like a crimson sea 
 
 To his face so faded and hollow-eyed. 
 Into her lifted and withered arms 
 
 He crept, and there on her wasted breast 
 Was cradled away from the world's alarms, 
 
 To the dreamless calm of a perfect rest.
 
 Our Singing Doctor 279 
 
 It mellowed my heart like a shower of prayers, 
 
 When the morning rose with a lurid glare 
 On the empty town, and I climbed the stairs 
 
 And gazed on the pale, cold sleepers there. 
 As I galloped away with a stifling sigh 
 
 From the pest-house gates, I fashioned this plea, 
 With a sad face fixed on the sunless sky, 
 
 "Thus, Father, Father, make room for me." 
 
 In another poem Dr. Matthews refers to the old time 
 doctor as follows : 
 
 Tho' the future may flout them and scout them. 
 The world had been sadder without them; 
 Tho' they rest in their graves without glory, 
 Tho' they live not in song nor in story. 
 No prophet — no priest — had a mission 
 More sacred thro' all the dumb years 
 Than that of the old-time physician. 
 Whose dust we bedew with our tears. 
 
 In the following Dr. Matthews all unconsciously de- 
 picted his own gift under the title : 
 
 THE WRITER 
 Of all the arts in which the wise excell. 
 Nature's chief masterpiece is writing well. 
 
 — Buckingham. 
 
 That man is master of the noblest art 
 
 Who, with a sorcery of speech, has power 
 To draw from out the dormant soul its flower 
 
 Of warm and perfect passion, or to start 
 
 With floods of song the cascades of the heart 
 To plunging cataracts, amidst whose shower 
 Of spattering spray a thousand rainbows bower. 
 
 And beautify our lives in every part. 
 
 The following is a far different production and 
 should at least interest the medical man : 
 
 AN ODD FANCY. 
 Just back of the light of her eyes. 
 
 Just under the pink of her hands, 
 Whose velvet the lily out-vies, 
 
 A skeleton stands.
 
 280 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Beneath the gold crown of her tress, 
 
 And the clustering gown that she wears, 
 
 And under the silks that caress, 
 A skeleton stares. 
 
 Her laughter is that of a lover, 
 
 Her lips are as lush as the South, 
 
 And I shudder to think they but cover 
 A skeleton's mouth. 
 
 Her steps are as light as the low 
 
 Drip of dew from the rim of a rose, 
 
 Yet I know that wherever they go 
 A skeleton goes. 
 
 She sits at the banquet with me, 
 
 And ever her loveliness wins; 
 Yet back of her beauty I see 
 
 A skeleton grins. 
 
 She is first at the party and ball. 
 
 And the grace of her motion entrances 
 
 Like music — yet under it all 
 A skeleton dances. 
 
 Tho' shocked at the plight she is in, 
 
 One thought I have kept out of view; 
 
 Perhaps she sees under my skin 
 A skeleton too. 
 
 Under the title ' ' Our Singing Doctor ' ' is the follow- 
 ing from the well-known writer, Benjamin S. Parker: 
 
 (JAMES NEWTON MATTHEWS) 
 Dear Galen, I thank thee again for thy singing. 
 As one thanks the robins that herald the spring, 
 
 When brows that are aching 
 
 And hearts that are breaking 
 Are mended because of the promise they bring. 
 
 Dr. Matthews died about fifteen years ago greatly- 
 mourned by his little village and the community sur- 
 rounding. He was in the truest sense a poet-physician 
 and many of his most beautiful things were moulded and 
 shaped in his mind while going his professional rounds 
 and viewing the quiet landscape in his locality and 
 meeting the simple folk, his neighbors.
 
 Our Singing Doctor 281 
 
 Our Singing Poet was a bosom friend of James 
 Whitcomb Riley, the celebrated Hoosier Poet, who wrote 
 the following to — 
 
 JAMES NEWTON MATTHEWS 
 
 Bard of our Western world! — its prairies wide, 
 
 With edging woods, lost creeks aand hidden ways; 
 Its isolated farms, with roundelays 
 
 Of orchard warblers heard on every side; 
 
 Its cross-road school-house, wherein still abide 
 Thy fondest memories — since there thy gaze 
 First fell on classic verse; and thou, in praise 
 
 Of that, didst find thine own song glorified. 
 
 So singing, smite the strings and counterchange 
 The lucently melodious drippings of 
 Thy happy harp, from airs of "Tempe Vale," 
 
 To chirp and trill of lowliest flight and range, 
 
 In praise of our To-day and home and love— 
 Thou meadow-lark no less than nightingale. 
 
 After Dr. Matthews ' death his poems under the edi- 
 torship of "William Hurt were collected and published 
 with the title, "The Lute of Life." 
 
 In his preface William Hurt said, "Our poet is too 
 recent for a just renown. Contemporaneity is not fa- 
 vorable to complete appreciation. When the perspective 
 of years shall have fixed the proportions of genius, when 
 Time has affixed his appraisement, then will the balance 
 of Fame be truly adjusted. In that day will James 
 Newton Matthews come into his own. 
 
 "He went forth as a physician and ministered as a 
 priest. He healed the heart as well as the body. His 
 religion was a beautiful optimism that made better aU 
 who came within its zone. He never was known to speak 
 ill of any living creature. He looked for the good in his 
 fellow-men — and found it. 
 
 * ' His heart was a hospice for all the world 's rejected. 
 Great sinners he enfolded with his forgiving pity, and 
 the mantle of his capacious charity covered their mul- 
 titudinous defects until they seemed robed with right- 
 eousness. ' '
 
 282 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Perhaps these traits of Dr. Matthews could not be 
 better expressed than what he unwittingly said under 
 the title— 
 
 NOT A POET 
 
 However gifted, he no poet is 
 
 Who does not, in his amplitude of soul. 
 Infold with pity, and with tears condole. 
 
 The faults and failings of a world like this — 
 
 Who does not, with the God-like grace that's his, 
 Give love unto the loveless, and console 
 The helpless and the hopeless, making whole 
 
 The broken-hearted with brave dreams of bliss. 
 
 The following by the Editor of "The Lute of Life" 
 speaks for itself, and will conclude the selections from 
 the many tributes to Dr. Matthews : 
 
 IMMORTALITY 
 (In Memory of James Newton Matthews) 
 
 His harp is hushed and rimmed with rust, 
 
 Its music is forever mute; 
 The singer's lips are dumb in dust — 
 
 A dead hand lies across the lute. 
 
 Yet for the touch that Love has taught. 
 For sake of sweetness that it gives, 
 
 The gracious work his genius wrought 
 Shall live as long as language lives. 
 
 —Walter Hurt
 
 XXIV 
 
 "GRIP," THE GREAT PANDEMIC OF THE LATE 
 
 EIGHTIES AND EARLY NINETIES. ' ' FLU, ' ' 
 
 THE GREAT PANDEMIC OF 1918-19 
 
 still, noisome, deadly, sleeps the envenomed air, . . . 
 
 . . . One little momenVs breath 
 Bears on its viewless wing the seeds of death. 
 
 Holmes. 
 
 IN the summer of 1889 the newspapers and medical 
 jonrnals began to speak of an epidemic of influenza 
 that had its origin in the interior of Turkestan, where 
 one of the medical officers of the Russian railway recog- 
 nized the disease and appreciated its extraordinary epi- 
 demic characteristics. From Tiu'kestan the disease ex- 
 tended very slowly through Russia, but no slower than 
 travel and traffic moving in that backward region. 
 
 From St. Petersburg it extended to various places in 
 Europe and December 17, 1889 the first case was noted 
 in New York City and from thence spread over the 
 United States just as rapidly as express and accommo- 
 dation trains could carry passengers. 
 
 As the last previous great epidemic of influenza (the 
 one in 1889 was called La Grippe) was a full generation 
 in the past very few physicians had ever seen a case. 
 Indeed, I never met a physician who had seen and 
 treated cases of this disease in the last previous epidemic. 
 Thus, naturally, we were all on the alert to see what the 
 great approaching pandemic had in store for us, for by 
 this time it had practically enveloped the whole in- 
 habited world, even Greenland was not spared. 
 
 Well, in the early days of 1890 I, in common with my 
 professional brethren had all the work that could be well 
 attended to. We soon noticed that substantially all the 
 
 283
 
 284 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 cases could be embraced under three general classes, 
 namely, nervous, or febrile ; respiratory ; and abdominal. 
 By far the greater number fell in the first class, and 
 patients would go through an attack with no symptoms 
 other than what could be attributed to the toxins of the 
 disease, namely, fever sometimes reaching 104°, severe 
 headache, pain in the back and in the joints. 
 
 In the second form the patients would be seized with 
 all the symptoms of coryza, as sneezing and running 
 from the nose and eyes, then a little later there would 
 be coughing and the expectorating of mucus, or as the 
 people expressed it the disease "had settled on the 
 lungs." Meantime there would be fever, headache and 
 pains in various parts of the body. In the third class of 
 cases, in addition to fever, headache and pain in various 
 localities, there would be sick stomach and diarrhea that 
 would mainly consist of watery discharges, meanwhile 
 there would be practically no respiratory symptoms. 
 
 Most of the patients would be sick only three or four 
 days, but in substantially all instances convalescence was 
 attended by extreme, seemingly, unaccountable, weak- 
 ness, no matter what form the type of influenza that had 
 preceded. 
 
 I do not recall that any particular class of persons 
 were the favorite victims of attack. Indeed, as I recall 
 it all ages, both sexes and all conditions, high, low, rich, 
 poor, white, and black, were all alike sufferers from the 
 markedly impartial disease. I would say that two-thirds, 
 possibly three-fourths, of the population were stricken 
 first or last, for in the most literal sense the ailment was 
 upon the people, that is to say it was really and truly, 
 an epidemic. 
 
 But while the morbidity' of the disease was very great 
 its mortality was surprisingly light. Those who died 
 were in the great majority of instances invalids, very old, 
 or greatly lacking in vitality from one or another cause.
 
 The Great Pandemics 285 
 
 In about four weeks after the advent of the epidemic 
 it had spent its force and became a matter of history as 
 we supposed. But in this we were in error for with the 
 approach of cold weather during the winter of 1890-1 
 we realized that we were once more in the clutches of 
 "grip" as we had come to call the influenza epidemic. 
 During this second visitation (or trailer as epidemiolo- 
 gists name it) cases were far less numerous than in the 
 preceding outbreak, but were much more severe and more 
 liable to serious complications. In most instances the 
 complication if serious in character, was pneumonia. The 
 winter of 1891-2 witnessed the coming of another 
 "trailer" and if anything the cases of pneumonia were 
 relatively more numerous and more virulent than dur- 
 ing the visitation of 1890-1. 
 
 The winters of 1892-3, 1893-4 and 1894-5, also ex- 
 perienced visitations of "grip." The years 1889-90 was 
 however the period of the great pandemic of influenza. 
 Later the disease dropped its epidemic form and pre- 
 vailed as an endemic, that is to say prevailed in certain 
 localities only. 
 
 However, the later epidemics and endemics of in- 
 fluenza, or "grip" did not burst, or explode, upon the 
 people, as it were, as did the great pandemic of 1889-90. 
 Indeed, so suddenly would the inhabitants of a given 
 locality be attacked in the great pandemic that many 
 were impressed with the belief that the disease was con- 
 veyed in or carried by the atmosphere much as if it were 
 a gas, but the more intelligent among the laity, recalling 
 that the particular germ had been isolated and proved to 
 be the cause of a given disease came to think the in- 
 fluenza or "grip" would likewise in the course of time 
 be discovered to be a germ-spreading disease. Time 
 proved these conjectures to be correct, for in 1892 
 Richard Pfeiffer of Germany isolated a bacterium which 
 he demonstrated was the causative factor in producing
 
 286 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 the disease. This germ he named the Bacillus influenzae, 
 though it is often called the Pfeiffer Bacillus in honor of 
 its discoverer. This discovery was no surprise to the 
 profession and but little to the laity, and to both came as 
 a satisfaction. 
 
 As to treatment, we in those days had not gotten 
 over the use of quinine in many ailments as a sort of 
 routine remedy. Likewise we made use of aconite in 
 nearly all feverish conditions let the malady be what it 
 might. These facts being true quinine and aconite were 
 used freely in our grip ceses and likewise Dover's pow- 
 ders. Furthermore, the coal-tar preparations which had 
 but recently been introduced were used freely to allay 
 fever and assuage pain. Fortunately few if any bad 
 results occurred from the wholesale administration of 
 these, but this was due to good luck, for none of us were 
 as yet cognizant of the power for harm of these prepara- 
 tions. 
 
 The more I saw of the great pandemic of 1889-90 the 
 more it interested me and not a great while after it sub- 
 sided I began a study of the literature of the ailment. I 
 found that instead of being a new disease it was in fact 
 a very old one, so old in fact that Hippocrates who lived 
 in the fifth century before Christ saw and described it. 
 In A. D. 877 there was a very severe and extensive epi- 
 demic and the army of Charlemagne returning from 
 Italy suffered severely from this scourge. Following 
 this outbreak in due course were many others, but of few 
 of these, are their written records. 
 
 In 1510 influenza swept over the British Islands and 
 a description of the disease as it appeared at that time 
 by Thomas Short is, to say the least, graphic and he was 
 led to say that the ailment was "attended by a grievous 
 pain in the head, heaviness, difficulty of breathing, 
 hoarseness, lack of strength and appetite, restlessness 
 and retchings from a terrible hacking cough. Presently
 
 The Great Pandemics 287 
 
 succeeded a chilliness and so violent a cough that many 
 were in danger of suffocation. The first day it was with- 
 out spitting, but about the seventh or eight day much 
 viscid phlegm was spit up. Others, though fewer, spat 
 only water and froth. When they began to spit, cough 
 and shortness of breath were easier. None died except 
 children. In some it (the attack) went off with a loose- 
 ness, in others by sweating. Bleeding and purging did 
 hurt." 
 
 Since this outbreak in England in 1510, and by the 
 way about the same time Scotland, Ireland and in fact 
 the whole known world was invaded by the disease four 
 hundred years ago there is authenic record of three or 
 four pandemics of influenza in each succeeding century 
 and this has led to the observation that there is an inter- 
 val of from twenty-five to forty years between the great 
 world-outbreaks. However each pandemic, as noted be- 
 fore, is succeeded by several years in which local out- 
 breaks, or trailers, attended however, with much less 
 morbidity than the first onslaught of the disease, but 
 with more relative mortality, that is to say fewer cases of 
 illness but more fatality in proportion, not so many at- 
 tacked but comparatively many more deaths. 
 
 After going through the 1889-90 outbreak and 
 making a somewhat careful study of the disease under 
 the title, "Grippe, Influenza, or Epidemic Catarrhal 
 Fever," I prepared an article which was published in 
 the American Practitioner and News of Louisville, Ken- 
 tucky, in March 1890. 
 
 As I suffered from an attack of the disease not long 
 after it reached our locality in the great pandemic of the 
 late eighties and early nineties of the last century I in- 
 cluded a description of this in my article published in 
 the American Practitioner and News and from this I 
 quote as follows : About 11 a. m. January 9, 1890 I was 
 sitting quietly and alone in my office when all at once
 
 288 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 and M'ith the quickness of thought, I became conscious 
 of a sense of chilliness in the back of my neck. This 
 sensation was speedily tranformed into one of extreme 
 coldness, which passed down my back and from thence 
 radiated over my whole body. So surprising in their 
 suddenness were my sensations that I instinctively looked 
 around to see if my outside door had not blown open and 
 permitted a gust of January wind to rush in and en- 
 velop me in its penetrating coldness. But a glance 
 towards the tightly closed door was needed to convince 
 me that there was not so much as a breath of cold air 
 coming from that quarter, while a glowing hard coal fire 
 near where I was sitting caused the mercury in a ther- 
 mometer hanging on the wall some ten feet away to 
 stand at 70°. Recalling that my symptoms were in every 
 sense subjective I said aloud, "0, it's the "grip." But 
 upon second thought and with that readiness in human 
 nature to have something happen to almost everybody 
 save one's self I said, "Pshaw! I'm only taking cold!" 
 
 I soon began to sneeze and a little later warm water 
 began to trickle from my nostrils and run from my eyes. 
 At the noon hour I went to dinner and remembering the 
 old adage, "Stuff a cold," etc. I ate heartily. In the 
 afternoon I attended to business as usual, though not 
 without much physical discomfort in the way of a handi- 
 cap. Meanwhile over my entire body flashes of heat 
 seemed to be playing a kind of game of hide-and-seek 
 alternated with dashes of cold. "When the time came I 
 ate supper as usual but not with my usual relish. Next 
 I visited a patient not two blocks from my residence; 
 nevertheless in going to and from the case I became con- 
 scious that my walk was a little unsteady from a sense of 
 dizziness in my head. Upon going to bed I realized that 
 all my cold-symptoms were greatly exaggerated. In a 
 word I had a cold plus a good deal else, for my eyes were 
 painful, water was streaming from them and likewise
 
 The Great Pandemics 289 
 
 from my nostrils, and I had a severe headache centered 
 just above my eyebrows. 
 
 Upon going to bed I took a capsule containing a sixth 
 of a grain of opium, one grain of camphor and two grains 
 of carbonate of ammonia. My sleep was so far from 
 being restful that it really came under the class, broken. 
 I, however in wakeful moments attributed this to the 
 small and repeated doses of opium,though I was not un- 
 aware of the fact that my fever was all the while in- 
 creasing. About seven o'clock next morning I wakened 
 from my unsatisfactory rest with a violent headache, a 
 bitter taste in my mouth, while my tongue was clammy 
 and my lips dry. I had a half -nauseous sensation in my 
 stomache and a feeling of ' ' weakness " so to speak, in my 
 bowels. In the back of my head, in my right shoulder 
 and across the region of my kidneys I had severe pain, 
 though it is little, if any, exaggeration to say that I 
 ached in every fibre of my body and taken altogether felt 
 woefully sick. I no longer felt that there was any reason, 
 whatever, to question the fact that I was a sufferer from 
 an attack of grip of the "purest water." 
 
 I took a full dose of antifebrine and in due time ex- 
 perienced some little relief. There being some tendency 
 to constipation and noticing that the kidneys were not 
 acting freely as seemed desirable, I made use of cream of 
 tartar dissolved in water and found the acid taste of this 
 most grateful in my feverish condition. After a time I 
 began to sweat a little, but an attempt to sit upright pro- 
 duced dizziness and renewed pain across the "small" of 
 my back. During the day I took fifteen grains of quinine 
 and meanwhile by turns I had "sweats" and feverish 
 spells. 
 
 When night came I confess I dreaded the thought of 
 passing through it, but taking another full dose of anti- 
 febrine I tried to court the favor of the drowsy god. But 
 my efforts were so unsatisfactory, and my restlessness so
 
 290 Sixty Years in the Medical Haeness 
 
 marked that I found a large "double" bed much too 
 small for my stretchings and "tumblings about." 
 
 Before the close of the next day I realized that some 
 of my more acute symptoms were not so distressing in 
 character, though I suffered from utter and unaccount- 
 able prostration — now ate and relished a little orange, 
 but the mere thought of substantial food was sickening. 
 The third day I sat up a little and began taking with a 
 little effort, some light food; the mere sight of hearty 
 food, however, was as yet repulsive. The fourth day I 
 was able to be up and walk about the house but was still 
 unaccountably weak. I took iron and quinine and by the 
 exertion of some will-power, managed to get down some 
 beef and other nourishing and strength-building food. 
 
 For days and days my legs were weak and after 
 walking pained me. After the fever subsided I was left 
 with a bronchial cough which remained with me for 
 about two weeks. At the end of about a month I had re- 
 gained my wonted strength, seemingly. 
 
 Some years later during a visitation of an endemic 
 of influenza I was stricken again, but seemingly the at- 
 tack was much lighter than the one described above. 
 However, I remained at home for three days when in re- 
 sponse to a number of solicitations I resumed profes- 
 sional work. Three days later I suffered a relapse, so se- 
 vere in character that I took my bed and remained there 
 for eleven days. I did not call in a brother physician, 
 but made use of such remedies as my no doubt greatly 
 impaired judgment suggested. I have since thought 
 that maybe I had circumscribed pneumonia as a com- 
 plication, but whatever may have been the facts in this 
 regard, I finally left my bed, began to go about and later 
 in a half-hearted manner resumed professional work. It, 
 however, took me months to regain even a decent moity 
 of my former strength, and meantime a medical friend
 
 The Great Pandemics 291 
 
 accosted me and said, "Why Johnson your attack of ill- 
 ness has made you look ten years older ! ' ' 
 
 Well, however, I may have looked I certainly felt 
 older and much feebler than before. Years and years 
 after one of my sons said to me, "Well Papa at last you 
 have come to look and move about like your former self." 
 For many long months subsequent to this last attack I 
 had much pain and tenderness in my larger joints and 
 in less degree these symptoms continued for years. 
 
 Since my experience personal and clinical in this 
 disease I have had an abiding interest in it and in the 
 succeeding ^-ears have accumulated no little literature 
 pertaining to la grippe, or "grip" as the laity called it. 
 A most excellent monograph on this ailment by Dr. 
 James C. Wilson may be found in Pepper's System of 
 Medicine. But perhaps the best and fullest contribution 
 to this subject is from the pen of the late Dr. C. Leichten- 
 stern in Nothnagel's Cyclopedia of Practice. 
 
 "Flu" 
 
 The season of 1918 was not far advanced when we 
 began to read in the papers about the Spanish Influenza 
 which was prevailing in Spain. Then as time went on 
 we learned how it was spreading through contiguous 
 lands and finally through the whole of Europe and the 
 Mediterranean countries. Finally on August 28, 1918, 
 some sick soldiers (the World War was yet in progress) 
 arrived in the Port of Boston, Massachusett and were 
 transferred to Chelsea Hospital in the same Common- 
 wealth where the ailment with which the soldiers were 
 suffering was diagnosed to be the so-called Spanish In- 
 fluenza. 
 
 During the months of September and October follow- 
 ing the disease spread over practically the whole of 
 North America and meantime had bestowed upon it the 
 popular name "flu." For some time epidemiologists 
 seemed to be in doubt as to the true nature of the disease.
 
 292 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 However, in time it was seen that the ailment was at- 
 tended with the same symptoms and followed by the 
 same extreme weakness that had characterized the great 
 world pandemic of 1889-90, and which all agreed was 
 influenza, though nick-named "grip." Consequently 
 the Spanish Influenza, or "flu" of 1918-19 was finally 
 seen to be the long known influenza, or ' ' grip ' ' of 1889- 
 90, nothing less, nothing more. 
 
 However, the last great pandemic developed some un- 
 usual and unexpected characteristics: One of these was 
 the relative frequency of pneumonia as a complication. 
 This complication occurred in from 5 to 10 per cent of 
 the cases and moreover was all too frequently, virulent 
 in type. Furthermore the victims of this complication 
 were in most instances strong healthy persons between 
 the ages of 20 and 40. I recall that one day during the 
 prevalence of this pandemic three strong men in mature 
 life, all my acquaintances, were at the same time in their 
 coffins, death in each instance the result of a pneumonic 
 complication. This was in striking contrast to what was 
 observed in the great pandemic of 1889-90, when the 
 victims were in most instances people advanced in years. 
 Fortunately for those of us who had passed our three- 
 score-years-and-ten, in the last great pandemic, those of 
 our class seemed specially immune to attack in the 1918- 
 19 outbreak. 
 
 When the great pandemic of influenza struck this 
 country in 1918 we had no less than one and one-half 
 million World War soldiers in camp getting ready to go 
 overseas and do their "bit" in the great struggle. Sad 
 to say thousands and tens of thousands of these strong, 
 alert young men yielded up their lives to the inroads of 
 "flu," the complication of pneumonia in practically all 
 instances being the determining cause of death. 
 
 In looking over the literature of influenza it is in- 
 teresting to note that while in a general way all of the
 
 The Great Pandemics " 293 
 
 great pandemics of this disease have certain characteris- 
 tics in common, yet each one of these seems to be at- 
 tended with certain marks or qualities peculiar to itself. 
 For illustration in the pandemic of 1829-30 most of the 
 deaths occurred in children and old people. And what 
 was peculiar, nose-bleed was a frequent occurrence. 
 
 In some pandemics in the past children have seemed 
 to be immune, precisely as were elderly people in the 
 1918-19 pandemic as noted above. An outbreak of this 
 disease which occurred in this country in 1789-90 is in- 
 teresting from the fact that Washington was a sufferer 
 from it, a fact which is referred to by Dr. John Warren 
 as follows: "Our beloved President Washington is but 
 now on the recovery from a severe and dangerous attack 
 of it (influenza) in that city (New York)." 
 
 Among infectious diseases no one approaches in- 
 fluenza in power to spread quickly and become world- 
 wide in proportions. But what is interesting it spreads 
 much more rapidly in our time than in the old days. 
 Why? Because we have the express train on land and 
 the ocean grayhound on water. When air-ship travel, 
 with its one-hundred-miles-an-hour progress, becomes an 
 every-day experience the great pandemics of influenza 
 will envelop the ' ' ends of the earth ' ' much more rapidly 
 still. 
 
 While the great pandemics of influenza are usually 
 two, three or four decades apart, the disease in epidemic, 
 or endemic form almost never ceases to exist somewhere. 
 Said Netter, ' ' Just as cholera is endemic on the banks of 
 the Ganges, and endemic-epidemic in Indo-China, so in- 
 fluenza has its home in the interior of Asia, and its en- 
 demic-epidemic domain in the bordering countries of 
 Russia. ' ' 
 
 In some periods animals have been stricken with a 
 pandemic very similar to influenza. One such period 
 was in 1872 when the newspapers spoke of the epizootic
 
 294 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 which was attacking all the work-horses in New York 
 and in consequence traffic of most kinds and many modes 
 of travel including horse-cars, had all come to a sudden 
 halt. In due time our horses in the middle West came 
 to be sufferers from this and I recall that my favorite 
 horse was sticken with watery eyes, a free discharge from 
 the nostrils, drooping and general prostration and de- 
 pression. Fortunately the animals were seemingly as 
 good as ever at the end of two or three days. 
 
 Referring again to the great pandemic of influenza 
 its first "trailer" came back on time during the winter 
 of 1919-20 but fortunately contrary to the rule, this re- 
 turn of the disease was much less fatal than was its fore- 
 runner a year before. Fortunately again, the winter 
 of 1920-21 failed to bring a second return of influenza.
 
 XXV 
 
 MEDICAL SOCIETIES 
 
 Medicine so relates itself to humanity, that in the 
 development of his material, his intellectual and his moral 
 nature, the physician is yet to express the highest capa- 
 Mlities of man. — Dr. J U. Hollister. 
 
 The Champaign County Medical Society 
 
 IN the fall of 1874 I joined the Champaign County- 
 Medical Society and certainly have never had reason 
 to regret it. This society was organized March 4, 1859, 
 and consequently has now had an existence covering a 
 period of more than sixty years. Very few County 
 Medical Societies in the State have a longer history and, 
 indeed, few have as long. 
 
 When I joined this organization fifty years ago a 
 dozen members present at a meeting was reckoned a 
 large attendance. At that time three of its pillars were 
 Dr. J. T. Pearman of Champaign, Dr. S. H. Birney and 
 Dr. William Goodwin of Urbana. Sad to relate all 
 three of these faithful members died of cancer before 
 old age had overtaken them in their professional use- 
 fulness. 
 
 I served this society for ten years as its Secretary 
 and it would be most instructive to turn to the old 
 records and see what most interested physicians twenty, 
 thirty, forty years ago ; but unfortunately for my con- 
 venience the greater part of these records were destroyed 
 in a fire a few years since, and whatever is presented in 
 the way of old proceedings will have to be called up 
 from memory. 
 
 In that period the germ theory of disease with 
 which we are so familiar today was in its incipient 
 
 295
 
 296 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 stage, if I may so speak, and save by a few of the more 
 advanced in the profession was unknown, if indeed, not 
 unheard of. About this time, as elsewhere noted, I 
 became a subscriber to Ziemsen's Cyclopedia of the Prac- 
 tice of Medicine and with great interest read Lieber- 
 meister's Introductory article to this work in which he 
 gave a brief review of the little known, and perhaps less 
 understood, germ theory. 
 
 Inspired by Liebermeister's article and some kin- 
 dred papers I prepared a report for the County Society 
 in January, 1877, under the title, "Causation and 
 Classification of Disease, ' ' in which I endeavored to show 
 the logical importance of the germ theory and express 
 my belief that it was destined to sway the whole field of 
 medicine, little as was yet known of it. 
 
 In my paper I made use of the following: "Agassiz 
 from a single fish scale as a basis to work on, thought 
 himself justified in constructing a model of the whole 
 fish. Afterwards a perfectly fossilized specimen of the 
 species to which this fish belonged was discovered and 
 it was found to correspond in the most minute partic- 
 ulars with the model made by Agassiz. There is cer- 
 tainly a much less disproportion between the germ 
 theory of the origin of diseases and the well-authenti- 
 cated facts upon which it is based, than there was be- 
 tween the complete model of Agassiz and the single 
 fish-scale which served him as a model to build on. Or, 
 in other words, the relation between the true and the 
 probably true would seem to be more intimate in the 
 former than in the latter. And as the revelations of 
 time proved Agassiz correct, so we may hope, nay al- 
 most predict, that the disclosures of the future will so 
 substantiate this theory as to place it beyond contro- 
 versy. Of the facts, however, pertaining to the whole 
 subject, it may be said that we have only the bud, and 
 that the full-blown flower, and after it the completely 
 developed fruit are yet to come."
 
 Medical Societies 297 
 
 In that period filth of various kinds was thought to 
 be capable of developing various diseases, such as ty- 
 phoid, typhus, dysentery, etc. To combat this idea I 
 made use of the following in my paper: "It is true, 
 matter undergoing the process of decomposition often 
 produces certain forms of disease ; but the symptoms are 
 usually confined to the alimentary canal, and the disease 
 is never communicable. The following from the U. S. 
 Cholera Report of 1878 will illustrate the two classes 
 of ailments : Mrs. Brewster, sister to the celebrated Dr. 
 Henry Bennett, having gone to Vienna to attend the 
 Exposition of 1878, put up at a large commodious hotel, 
 which had just been opened to the public. She com- 
 plained of the drinking water the first day, and would 
 not even wash in it without first putting in cologne. 
 She, her niece, and maid, and several servants were all 
 attacked with diarrhea. This was thought to be a bil- 
 ious complaint, caused by heat, and was looked upon 
 as a trivial matter. Meantime the water grew worse and 
 worse, and Mrs. B. made complaint to the landlord. She 
 then resorted to milk and mineral water, till the first 
 was found to be diluted with, and the second made 
 from water on the premises. On the fifteenth day the 
 hot water for tea at breakfast smelt so badly that the 
 proprietor was sent for, who reported that one of the 
 drainage pipes had broken into the well, but that a 
 dozen men were repairing it. Her niece had refused to 
 take the tea, but Mrs. B. had already swallowed some 
 of it. She continued well all day but about 11 P. M. 
 was attacked with diarrhea and vomiting, and in six 
 hours was cyanozed and collapsed, and in fifteen hours 
 was a corpse. 
 
 "It was then found that a gentleman had died two 
 days before from cholera in the hotel. Four more died 
 the same day with Mrs. Brewster, while many of the 
 servants and guests were sent to the hospital where they 
 afterwards died. The water was now examined and
 
 298 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 found to be contaminated with sewage. The hotel was 
 at last closed by the police. "While the water was sim- 
 ply contaminated with ordinary fecal matter a compar- 
 atively trivial diarrhea prevailed, but so soon as the two 
 cases of true cholera occurred and the evacuations got 
 in the well, genuine Asiatic cholera at once broke out. 
 This disease had really been in Vienna since the previous 
 April, but the fact was concealed, so as not to compro- 
 mise the success of the Exposition." At this period 
 (1873) the reader should bear in mind the comma hac- 
 illus or cholera germ had not as yet been discovered. 
 
 Striving to show the plausibility of the germ the- 
 ory of disease I said in my paper, "To my mind, one 
 of the strongest arguments in favor of the germ theory 
 is the striking analogy between the growh of plants and 
 the course of certain diseases. Take for instance small- 
 pox: Let an unprotected person be exposed to this dis- 
 ease, and for about twelve days therefrom, which period 
 is called the period of incubation, he will suffer no in- 
 convenience. At the end of this time, however, the 
 disease will make its appearance by the patient having 
 high fever, which continues for a certain time, and is 
 followed by the stage of eruption, which is followed in 
 turn by secondary fever, and lastly comes the period of 
 desquamation. Let a grain of corn be put in the ground 
 under suitable conditions, and it first passes through 
 the process of germination, which corresponds very 
 closely to the period of incubation in smallpox. The 
 next step is vigorous growth for the development of the 
 stalk and leaves ; this finds its analogy in the primary 
 fever. Another step is the development of the flower, 
 which in popular language, is the silk and tassel, and 
 fertilization of the young shoot ; this is not unlike the 
 stage of eruptions. A fourth step is the growth and 
 development of the ear, which may be compared to the 
 secondary fever. Lastly, we have the drying out and
 
 ]\Iedical Societies 299 
 
 ripening of the ear, which corresponds to the desquama- 
 tion process in variola. Here are five stages in either 
 case and in both instances each stage is, within certain 
 limits, of definite duration, and corresponds to the car- 
 rying out of a certain process. And as we know vege- 
 table life to be at the bottom of all the phenomena in 
 the one case, it is not unreasonable to believe that or- 
 ganized action, independent of the body, is the primary 
 cause of what we see in the other. ' ' 
 
 Such were the facts, arguments and illusrations that 
 many, many years ago, I, a young country doctor, made 
 use of in an effort to convince some of my colleagues of 
 the truth of the theory of the germ genesis of contagious 
 diseases. As to my colleagues of that day, a few had 
 vague ideas of the germ theorj' derived from the casual 
 reading of brief references to it in the medical journals 
 of the period ; but if the truth must be spoken many had 
 scarcely ever heard of it. 
 
 To make the acceptance of this theory a little more 
 difiicult and likewise to delay it longer. Dr. N. S. Davis 
 of Chicago, as noted elsewhere, then in the prime of his 
 professional life, came out flatly against it in a carefully 
 prepared article which in June, 1876, appeared in the 
 American Practitioner of Louisville, Kentucky. In in- 
 ternal medicine Davis, all through the West, was looked 
 upon as an authority that we all had to reckon with. 
 For a time this view of my old teacher, Dr. Davis, had 
 its influence in making me hesitate to accept the germ 
 theory, but as I came to weigh its merits, pro and con, I 
 was convinced of its plausibility and likewise of its 
 power to explain much in medicine that had hitherto 
 been practically unexplainable. 
 
 But notwithstanding so pronounced was Dr. Davis 
 against what to him was in effect a great medical inno- 
 vation, that he most earnestly combatted the germ theory 
 in his Practice of Medicine the first edition of which 
 appeared in 1884.
 
 300 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 However, he was not alone for a great many prom- 
 inent men in the profession were slow to accept this 
 theory and while they did not combat it as determinedly 
 as Dr. Davis, were filled with doubt relative to its ulti- 
 mate truth. One, such was Dr. Henry Hartshorne, 
 author of the article on Etiology in Pepper's System of 
 Medicine which like Dr. Davis' work first came out in 
 1884. 
 
 My paper, "Causation and Classification of Disease" 
 referred to above, was especially well received by the 
 members of the Champaign County Medical Society and 
 by unanimous vote it was directed to be published in 
 the Chicago Medical Journal and Examiner and ap- 
 peared in that periodical in March, 1877. While I was 
 not ashamed of the paper, I was mortified at the way 
 it was read which in exact truth was "with fear and 
 trembling;" for as yet I had not gotten over my exces- 
 sive timidity when I had to appear before an audience 
 let it be ever so small. While reading the paper my 
 voice trembled, my mouth was so dry that my tongue 
 almost clave to the roof of my mouth, and had I not 
 taken the precaution to have a glass of water within 
 easy reach, I could not have gotten through. Finally my 
 knees were so shaky that they all but "knocked to- 
 gether." But somehow, some way I managed to get 
 through, my listeners were more than kind and as noted 
 above seemed to be especially pleased with what I had 
 offered. 
 
 In the early nineties when the serum treatment of 
 disease was in its earliest infancy I prepared and read 
 a paper on that subject before the County Society. 
 
 Some years ago when the subject of the Ductless 
 Glands began to receive attention I selected that topic 
 for a paper and read it before my County Society col- 
 leagues. 
 
 Thus whatsoever have been my shortcomings as a 
 loyal member of the above named organization I have
 
 Medical Societies 301 
 
 at least tried to be opportune in at least some of the 
 subjects I have selected for consideration. 
 
 Observation and experience covering a membership 
 of fully a half century in the Champaign County Med- 
 ical Society has caused me to realize that in his home 
 organization a man with the right spirit of "give-and- 
 take, ' ' can receive great benefit from his fellow-workers, 
 and likewise benefit them as well. 
 
 In May, 1875, I was a delegate from the Aescula- 
 pian to the Illinois State Medical Society, which was 
 held in Jacksonville, 111. When the time for the meet- 
 ing came I boarded a train on the Wabash Railway and 
 in due time reached Jacksonville and put up at its prin- 
 cipal hotel — name forgotten. My friend and neighbor, 
 Dr. A. T. Darrah of Tolono, and Dr. S. H. Birney of 
 Urbana, had come with me and we three were the only 
 representatives from Champaign County. This was the 
 first meeting of the State Society I had ever attended 
 and my delegacy made me a member. 
 
 Dr. John H. Hollister, then in the prime of mature 
 manhood, was president of the Society and presided with 
 rare dignity and fairness. 
 
 As I was a young physician and had never before 
 attended a State meeting it was only natural that I 
 should study new faces and watch the proceedings 
 closely. I do not recall many of the papers presented 
 but do have a distinct recollection of the report on Prac- 
 tical Medicine by Dr. E. B. Cook of Mendota. who was 
 then in the prime of manhood and had a most excellent 
 paper and read it well, notwithstanding the fact that he 
 did this rapidly as it was near the close of the session 
 and his time was necessarily short. One paragraph from 
 Dr. Cook's paper I quote as showing the state of med- 
 icine in 1875. "Perhaps it is worthy of mention that, 
 during the year, renewed attention had been given to 
 the view advanced long since bv Athanasius Lancisi
 
 302 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Kircher, and others and lately elaborated by Henle 
 (1840 to 1853) — but not until within the last ten years 
 has received much attention, — that of the exisence of 
 a contagium vivum, or theory that the poison of infec- 
 tious disease consists of living beings or low organisms 
 — animal or vegetable — and so recently ably defended by 
 Liebermeister, and of which he says: The prophecy 
 which I believed myself justified in making in 1865, 
 viz., that the theory of a contagium vivum would soon 
 be the prevailing one, and that under its influence in- 
 vestigations would take directions that would probably 
 lead to results of the greatest theoretical and practical 
 imporance. This prophecy has actually been fulfilled, 
 in part, during the past few years; a great number of 
 the best experimentalists are the declared adherents of 
 the theory. At any rate, it is now admitted, even by 
 those who do not unreservedly acknowledge the theory 
 of a contagium vivum, that it represents the view which 
 points, more clearly than any other, to order in the 
 chaos of facts. 
 
 "And that each of the infectious diseases, including 
 typhoid and typhus fevers, dysentery, diphtheria, etc., 
 results from a specific poison or contagium vivum, as 
 has long been admitted of the acute and chronic infec- 
 tious diseases — variola and syphilis." 
 
 Dr. Hollister's valedictory address was eloquent and 
 clothed in beautiful language. Addressing more espe- 
 cially the residents of Jacksonville among his listeners 
 he said, "Your beautiful homes have a language of re- 
 finement, and your surroundings an air of comfort 
 which charm us like music, and would beguile us to 
 rest. Jacksonville, city of beauty, of culture, of broth- 
 erly kindness. Like a bosom-bouquet, she nestles near 
 the heart of our beautiful State. May her leaves never 
 wither, her flowers never fade." 
 
 While in Jacksonville the doctors visited the various
 
 Medical Societies 303 
 
 State Institutions and found much of interest in each 
 of these. 
 
 During one of the sessions a death from chloroform 
 occurred. Dr. J. W. Freer, professor of physiology in 
 Rush Medical College, gave a demonstration of the trans- 
 fusion of blood and for this purpose used a dog that had 
 been chloroformed. Unfortunately for Professor Freer 
 but not a little to the amusement of the onlookers, the 
 first animal narcoticized died on the operator's table. 
 
 Near the close of the meeting all the doctors took 
 their places on the steps of the Insane Hospital and 
 were photographed. Meantime the delegation from 
 Champaign County extended an invitation for the next 
 meeting to be in the Twin Cities of Urbana and Cham- 
 paign and this was accepted. When all was over, ac- 
 companied by Drs. Darrah and Birney, a Wabash Rail- 
 way train was boarded and in due time we reached our 
 homes. 
 
 Drs. Darrah and Birney have long since crossed to 
 the Great Beyond. Indeed of all those I met at Jack- 
 sonville I cannot name one who is among the living to- 
 day. 
 
 In May, 1876, the Illinois State Medical Society met 
 in the Twin Cities of Champaign and Urbana, the dates 
 being May I6,- 17, and 18. The sessions were held in 
 the Chapel of the University of Illinois. As the Twin 
 Cities were on the main line of the Illinois Central and 
 less than one hundred and thirty miles from Chicago, 
 the attendance from that city was large, and included 
 such leading men as Drs. Davis, Hollister, Gunn, By- 
 ford, Holmes, A. Reeves Jackson, Andrews, Jewell, H. 
 A. Johnson, etc. In addition there were present many 
 of the old "wheel-horses" of the profession, such as B. 
 F. Haller of Vandalia, E. W. Gray of Bloomington, 
 William Hill of Bloomington, I. N. Barnes of Decatur, 
 W. M. Chambers of Charleston, J. M. Steele of Grand- 
 view, G. W. Albin of Neoga — nearly all of these had
 
 304 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 been honored with the presidency of the Society, but 
 sad to say are now all dead. 
 
 I was the Local Secretary and in fulfilling my duties 
 came in contact with practically everyone in attendance. 
 The most important business transacted was the 
 appointment of a committee to memorialize the Illinois 
 Legislature with a view to securing the passage of a 
 Medical Practice Act. Indeed, this was so important 
 that it was really epoch-making. Elsewhere I shall go 
 more into detail regarding this. 
 
 Dr. S. H. Birney, who long had been a faithful act- 
 ive member of the Society, was desirous of being made 
 president at this meeting, but the fates decreed other- 
 wise, and, as a result, he was run over by the steam- 
 roller, and T. Davis Fitch, who retired as Secretary, 
 captured the prize. Dr. N. S. Davis was offered the po- 
 sition of Secretary of the Society and to the surprise of 
 everyone, accepted. Dr. Davis was nearing his sixtieth 
 birthday and was one of the prominent medical men of 
 the nation ; hence the surprise that he should take the 
 secretaryship of the Society. 
 
 In this connection I desire to pay a passing tribute 
 to Dr. N. S. Davis, Dr. Edmund Andrews and Dr. J. 
 H. Hollister, all of whom were at this meeting and all 
 in the prime of their manly powers. In addition to be- 
 ing prominent in the profession, in addition to being 
 excellent teachers, they were each the very type of true 
 manliness and personally as clean and white as the 
 driven snow. They have all gone to their reward, but 
 their good works and noble influence have far outlived 
 them ; for of each of them it may be said, * ' that though 
 dead, he yet speaketh," and of all "their works do fol- 
 low them." 
 
 As noticed elsewhere, I was made Secretary of the 
 Aesculapian Society in 1876 and served ten years there- 
 after. This gave me opportunity to come in contact with, 
 and see much of the physicians of East Central Illinois
 
 Medical Societies 305 
 
 and West Central Indiana. In the nearly sixty years 
 that I have been in practice I have had no little to 
 do with Medical Societies, but when all things are consid- 
 ered I can but regard the Aesculapian as one of the best 
 of its kind, (I came near saying the best of any kind), 
 that I know of. The members of the Aesculapian frat- 
 ernize in the truest sense, there is no politics in the or- 
 ganization, and it has always maintained a high ethical 
 standard. The fine example in ethics exemplified in the 
 professional lives of that noble triumvirate of Medical 
 Stalwarts, Dr. William M. Chambers, Dr. William 
 Massie and Dr. A. J. Miller, has not been lost on their 
 successors in the Aesculapian. 
 
 Following the meeting in the Twin Cities I did not 
 attend the State Society very regularly as I was en- 
 grossed with my professional and private affairs. 
 
 In 1892 the State Society met in Vandalia and hav- 
 ing some relatives there and furthermore the place of 
 meeting being in the same latitude as that in which I 
 was born and raised I attended the meeting. However, 
 the attendance was small and nothing of moment trans- 
 pired that I recall. I do remember, however, that dur- 
 ing a heavy down-pour we went to the home of Dr. 
 Haller where a reception was tendered us. 
 
 World 's Fair year, 1903, the annual meeting was held 
 in Chicago and I went to this and read a paper entitled 
 "Diphtheria in Champaign County," the first I had 
 ever presented to the State Society. The report em- 
 bodied a brief history of the disease as it had occurred 
 in Champaign County and also considered the nature of 
 the disease and the best means of treating and prevent- 
 ing the ailment. The paper was very well received and 
 I can turn to it now and read its pages with some de- 
 gree of satisfaction. 
 
 For the past twenty-seven years I have not missed a 
 meeting of the Illinois State Medical Society and mean- 
 time have appeared before it with a number of papers
 
 306 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 all of which have been well received. Among these 
 papers, I recall, ' ' The Health Conscience and the Drink 
 Problem;" ''Old Age;" "Civil War Medicine;" "Lest 
 We Forget, or Dr. Crawford W. Long, the First 
 Anesthetist;" "A Study of 800 Cases in the Selective 
 Draft of 1917," and later "A Plea for the Bed-time 
 Toilet," which attracted a good deal of attention. At 
 the meeting in 1925 my topic was ' ' Fifty Years of Med- 
 ical Progress. ' ' 
 
 I had the address in State Medicine at the meeting 
 held at Quincy in 1906 and chose for my subject the 
 Discovery of Vaccination by Jenner. Although the 
 meeting occurred in the month of May the night upon 
 which my address came was hot almost to suffocation. 
 
 The meeting was held in an opera house and the 
 ventilation was none too good and two addresses came 
 before mine. One of these was by the retiring Presi- 
 dent, Dr. McNary, and the other by a notable. Dr. Ros- 
 well Park of Buffalo, and who had been one of Mc- 
 Kinley's surgeons. Dr. McNary had School Hygiene 
 for his topic and while what he had to say was good 
 in its way, he read poorly and his voice did not carry 
 beyond the front seats in the house. He was followed by 
 Dr. Park, whose subject was "The Border Lines of Sur- 
 gery." Like Dr. McNarj^'s address. Dr. Park's was not 
 bad, but on the other hand it was in effect not good ; for 
 he read it in a hum-drum manner, threw no force in it, 
 and he, like Dr. McNary, was not heard bv many in the 
 hall. 
 
 When my time came I rose to my feet resolved to 
 profit by the mistakes of my predecessor, and seeing a 
 man standing in the doorway at the farther end of the 
 hall, raised my voice to a pitch that I felt sure would 
 reach him. I soon satisfied myself that my audience was 
 listening, and thus encouraged, I finished reading my 
 paper and sat down fully impressed with the fact that 
 the indifferent manner in which my predecessors had
 
 Medical Societies 307 
 
 presented their addresses had served as a sort of back- 
 ground to mine and put the audience in a sort of re- 
 ceptive mood for what I had to give them. Not that I 
 did so well, but the fact that my predecessors did so 
 poorly, made ray address seem better than it really was. 
 However, I trust I shall not be accused of egotism if I 
 say that I still have to listen to compliments for my 
 Quincy address. 
 
 In 1916 the State Society met in Champaign City 
 and our County Medical Society made me chairman of 
 the Committee of Arrangements. For place of meeting 
 we secured the Masonic Temple, a beautiful structure, 
 then just completed and answering our purpose admir- 
 ably. Precisely forty years previously the State So- 
 ciety had met in the Twin Cities of Champaign and Ur- 
 bana and, as elsewhere stated, means were put to work 
 to secure a Medical Practice Act — in a word State Med- 
 icine was born in Champaign County. 
 
 As I was present at the meeting forty years before 
 and participation in its proceedings, I felt that these 
 should be remembered in some way. With this thought 
 in mind I designed a fitting badge for the 1916 Cham- 
 paign Meeting. 
 
 In 1877 I attended the American Medical Associa- 
 tion for the first time in my life. The meeting was held 
 in Chicago and to it I was a delegate from the Illinois 
 State Medical Society. Accompanying me were Dr. A. 
 T. Darrah, my neighbor from Tolono ; Dr. George Cal- 
 laway, Tuscola ; and Dr. John L. Polk, Areola. As all 
 lived on the Illinois Central we went up to Chicago on 
 the same train and put up at the Palmer House, then 
 but recently built and regarded as one of the finest and 
 most up-to-date hotels in the country. Less than six 
 years previously occurred the great Chicago fire in 1871 
 and the Palmer House was one of the many good struc- 
 tures that helped to build up the burnt-over district and 
 make for the real betterment of the citv.
 
 308 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Although the Palmer House was reputed to be the 
 last word in hotel construction it had no passenger ele- 
 vator for the very essential reason that this great con- 
 venience had as yet not come in use, and guests were 
 obliged to reach its top most story by climbing a goodly 
 number of stairways. I recall seeing Dr. S. D. Gross, 
 the Philadelphia surgeon, mounting the stairway, labor- 
 iously it seemed to me to one of his years, though he 
 was then several years younger than I am now. Another 
 notable that I saw at the Palmer was Dr. Marion Sims, 
 who retired from the presidency of the Association the 
 year previously. I remember just how he looked and 
 likewise his pose. He had a fine head and large full 
 forehead which showed to advantage while his hat hap- 
 pened to be pushed back on his head. He was leaning 
 back and resting his shoulders on the high desk in the 
 corridor and was talking animatedly to a friend ; and 
 while it was possibly a breach of etiquette, I managed 
 to get within ear-shot and, apparently interested else- 
 where, heard every word that dropped from the lips of 
 the renowned gjniecologist. One thing he said I shall 
 never forget, and that was if he had his professional life 
 to live over, he would by "hook or crook" try to get 
 more money out of it. These were not his exact words, 
 but they were the gist of what he said. And he was not 
 alone for many of us who have been in professional har- 
 ness a long while feel the same way. 
 
 The meeting was held in McCormick Hall and as the 
 Association in those days was nothing like as large as 
 now, all could easily assemble in one room and transact 
 any and all business in general session. Dr. Henry I. 
 Bowditch of Massachusetts was president and occupied 
 the chair most of the time. 
 
 The presidential address of Dr. Bowditch was inter- 
 esting and well received and referring to the social 
 meetings of the association he said, "Among the most 
 agreeable memories I have of our meeting at LouisArille
 
 Medical Societies 309 
 
 in 1875, is the fact that all our public entertainments 
 were conducted on temperance principles. 
 
 "This was peculiarly significant to dwellers outside 
 the limits of Kentuck3^ To have such a notable example 
 set in the land whence comes the famous Bourbon 
 whiskey was indeed a triumph for true temperance. 
 Hereafter we cannot do better than follow the lead in 
 two respects, namely : 
 
 "First: In its abstinence from all intoxicating 
 drinks, and 
 
 ' ' Second : In the invitation it extended to women to 
 meet with us in social intercourse. 
 
 "But I could go a step further, and would recom- 
 mend that the Association should now take the highest 
 ground against the use of intoxicating drinks at its 
 meetings hereafter." 
 
 These words of Dr. Bowditch were brought back to 
 me with especial force at a meeting of the Association 
 in Chicago in 1908, thirty-one years later, when I at- 
 tended an Alumni meeting of the Medical College of 
 Oliio graduates at a certain German hotel, where the 
 refreshments served consisted of beer and pretzels. As 
 I was a total abstainer who had no liking for beer, the 
 bill of fare went against the grain. I asked for a cup 
 of coffee, but this could not be had. Finally I asked for 
 a glass of water and the waiter looked at me with as- 
 tonishment, but finally got it. 
 
 During his address President Bowditch emphasized 
 the importance of State Boards of Health and urged the 
 representatives from the various States where these or- 
 ganizations were not yet in existence, to use their in- 
 fluence to secure their creation. 
 
 In that period only the following States had Medi- 
 cal Practice Acts and State Boards of Health, namely, 
 Massachusetts, Louisiana, California, Virginia, Minne- 
 sota, Michigan, Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, "Wiscon- 
 sin, Tennessee — eleven in all.
 
 310 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 One of the best addresses I listened to at that meet- 
 ing was the one on State Medicine and Hygiene by Dr. 
 Ezra M. Hunt of New Jersey. 
 
 Speaking of Sanitation he said, "Today, I think, we 
 can congratulate ourselves that progress is being more 
 rapidly made in our country than at any previous date. 
 In this good work we, as a profession, mean to go for- 
 ward. We are not afraid that Othello's occupation will 
 be gone because we teach how to avoid disease, as well 
 as alleviate and overcome it. Our science and our art 
 in order to be effective must also be precautionary. Put 
 out all the storm signals we may, there will be disasters 
 enough. *' 
 
 I thought at the time, and I have not since had 
 reason to change my mind, that it was one of the finest 
 and most scholarly addres.<»es I ever heard from the lips 
 of a physician. 
 
 I cannot refrain from quoting the following from 
 the address: "Be it known to all the people of all lands 
 that the American Medical Association meets to prevent 
 as well as to alleviate disease. Ours is not a trades- 
 union manipulating a labor system, but eleemosynary as 
 well as scientific and skillful." 
 
 Noble words, nobly uttered, was ray verdict when I 
 heard them fresh from the mouth of the cultured 
 speaker. 
 
 Another man present at this meeting was Dr. Henry 
 A. Martin of Massachusetts who interested me greatly. 
 He was doing his utmost to have animal vaccination 
 replace arm-to-arm vaccination which up to that time 
 was in vogue. For this cause he delivered a forceful 
 address and furthermore, if I remember correctly, had 
 near his home a herd of young heifers for the purpose of 
 propagating animal vaccine. 
 
 Dr. Martin was also the originator of the rubber 
 bandage so familiar to us today, but which at that time 
 had but recently been put before the profession and has
 
 Medical S<k:ieties 
 
 311 
 
 since been known as Martin's Bandage in honor of the 
 originator. 
 
 Dr. J. L. Cabell of the University of Virginia made 
 a very full report on the Etiology of Enteric (Typhoid) 
 Fever which embraced sub-reports from all over the 
 country. At that time the germ theory of disease had 
 been tentatively put forward and was. so to speak, being 
 weighed in the balance. A few accepted it hesitatingly; 
 Others were considering its merits; and yet others re- 
 jected it wholly. A number who reported to Dr. Ca- 
 bell believed that typhoid could ori'^'inate spontaneously; 
 and practically all seemed to tliink tliat meterological 
 conditions played an important part. 
 
 Among other notables at the 1877 meeting was E. 
 R. S(|uibb. skilled chemist and pharmacist and whose 
 medicinal preparatirms had attaiiuMJ the reputati(»n of 
 being exceptionally reliable. Scpiibb was in addition 
 a physician and as such was a delegate to the Associ- 
 ation from the State of New York. He was in mature 
 life and his face was little else than a hideous scar, due 
 to a chemical explosion, it was said. 
 
 Dr. S(juibl) was desirous of having certaiii radical 
 clmnges made in the U. S. Pharmacopeia, and had 
 bn)ught the matter before the Assoeiation. It seemed 
 that Dr. Squibb 's proposition if carried out would have 
 made certain radical changes which would have mater- 
 ially affected the U. S. Dispensary of which Dr. George 
 B. Wood was one of the authors and which for a long 
 series of years had been the standard. The result was 
 a vigonnis fight between Squibb and his friends on the 
 one hand and the friends of Dr. Wood on the other. 
 
 The chief representative of the Dispensatory people 
 was Dr. H. C. Wood, a nephew of Dr. George B. Wood, 
 a man then in the prime of manly vigor. Dr. H. C. 
 Wood appealed to the sentiment of the audience by 
 saying his uncle was an invalid as a result of a para-
 
 312 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 lytic stroke and that the proposed change in the phar- 
 macopeia would be a source of annoyance and grief to a 
 sadly stricken old man. 
 
 The discussion grew warm and threatened to attain 
 undue length when Dr. N. S. Davis went up on the plat- 
 form and in a brief, forceful talk, succeeded in getting 
 the undivided attention of the members and closed by 
 moving that the whole matter be laid on the table. The 
 motion carried, and in effect, was a demonstration of 
 the power and influence of Dr. Davis in the Association. 
 
 Among noted men in attendance in addition to those 
 mentioned, may be named Dr. John T. Hodgen, the 
 well-known St. Louis surgeon, Dr. Louis A. Sayre and 
 Dr. Frank H. Hamilton, prominent New York surgeons. 
 
 Dr. S. D. Gross of Philadelphia had a thoughtful 
 paper on "The Proximate Cause of Pain." Edmund 
 Andrews of Chicago presented an equally thoughtful 
 paper entitled, ''Studies on Rendering Incisions Pain- 
 less by Means of High Velocities." 
 
 For a number of years following 1877, I failed to at- 
 tend the American Medical Association; however, in re- 
 cent years I have been more regular. In 1916 I at- 
 tended the Association at Detroit, Michigan, and was in 
 the House of Delegates and was present when an invi- 
 tation came from the New York delegates to hold the 
 next meeting in New York City. I gladly cast my vote 
 to accept this invitation and so did a majority of the 
 delegates. 
 
 In 1917 I attended the meeting in New York City 
 and enjoyed it very much. One night during this meet- 
 ing a patriotic assemblage occurred in the Hippodrome, 
 a tremendously large auditorium, but notwithstanding 
 its great size and in spite of the fact that admission 
 occurred only by ticket, the great hall was filled to its 
 full capacity. As we assembled a fine band played patri-
 
 Medical, Societies 313 
 
 otic selections, ending with the Star Spangled Banner, 
 when of course we all stood up. 
 
 If I remember correctly Dr. Lambert of New York 
 presided and introduced a beautiful singer who sang 
 Britannia Rules the Waves. Meanwhile she displayed 
 the British flag and the audience cheered lustily. Mayor 
 Mitchell made a ringing speech ; short but to the point. 
 He was followed by an eloquent speaker whose name I 
 regret to say I have forgotten. Next the charming So- 
 loist came on the stage and sang the Marseillaise, a large 
 number of male voices joined in the chorus, and mean- 
 time the Soloist unfolded the French colors. The ap- 
 plause was deafening. 
 
 Dr. George Vincent next took the platform and de- 
 livered one of his characteristic addresses. Short, in- 
 cisive, to the point. 
 
 Again the Soloist came on the stage and began sing- 
 ing the Star Spangled Banner, when we all rose to our 
 feet and joined in the chorus. Meantime a fine Ameri- 
 can flag was unfolded and again the audience went wild. 
 Next Theodore Roosevelt came to the front and deliv- 
 ered the principal address of the evening. 
 
 As a patriotic meeting it was a pronounced success. 
 Indeed the atmosphere in the great Hall was so satur- 
 ated with patriotism that one almost fancied it could be 
 cut with a knife.
 
 XXVI 
 
 MEDICAL SOCIETIES, CONTINUED 
 
 The American Public Health Association 
 
 We have to change the aspect with which we look at 
 medicine. Today it is a case of preventing sickness. I 
 glory in it that ours is the only profession on earth that 
 is trying to dest-roy itself. — Dr. W. W. Keen. 
 
 IN October, 1900, I represented the Illinois State Board 
 of Health at a meeting of the American Public 
 Health Association held in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 
 time of the meeting was in the month of October, con- 
 sequently the weather was pleasant, furthermore there 
 were in attendance representative sanitarians from all 
 over the United States and from Canada and Mexico 
 as well. Under these circumstances it need hardlj^ be 
 said that I greatly enjoyed the meeting and all con- 
 nected with it. 
 
 The most important occurrence at this meeting was 
 the report of the Yellow Fever Commission by its 
 Chairman, Dr. Walter Reed, of the U. S. Army Medi- 
 cal Service. Dr. Reed's assistants on the Board were 
 Drs. James Carroll, A, Agramonte and J. W. Lazear. 
 Nearly twenty years before Dr. Carlos Finlay suggested 
 that the mosquito was an important factor in dissemi- 
 nating yellow fever and Dr. Reed and his associates re- 
 solved to prosecute their work along the lines of this 
 hypothesis. This is no place for details, but let it suffice 
 to say that Dr. Carroll and Dr. Lazear, two of Dr. 
 Reed's assistants, were both bitten by an infected mos- 
 quito and the former finally recovered from a severe 
 attack of yellow fever and the latter died from the 
 disease. Meantime a number of young soldiers volun- 
 
 314
 
 Public Health 315 
 
 teered to sleep in beds in which yellow fever patients 
 had died using the same soiled sheets and bedclothes, and 
 not one of them contracted the disease. 
 
 This and similar experiences served to demonstrate 
 that a certain mosquito, known to naturalists as the 
 Stegomyia Calopus, is the host and purveyor of yellow 
 fever; and that it gets the infecting agent by sucking 
 the blood of patients suffering from this ailment. Hence 
 it follows that to prevent the disease the essential thing 
 is to keep the particular mosquito (Stegomyia Calopus) 
 away from the yellow fever patient. 
 
 This report of Dr. Reed 's he chose to call preliminary 
 as his Committee still had some points under investiga- 
 tion. 
 
 Dr. Reed was slight in stature, had blue eyes, reddish 
 hair, very fair complexion and was a very unassuming 
 modest man. Up to that time fomites, whatever these 
 were, had been accepted by the profession at large as 
 the infecting agent in yellow fever, and at that very 
 meeting was a large illustration of a boat provided with 
 a spray of some kind for disinfecting supposedly con- 
 taminated articles. 
 
 .Some of the older sanitarians from the South where 
 yellow fever had from time to time prevailed as an epi- 
 demic, were loath to accept Dr. Reed's conclusion in 
 toto. Among these if I remember rightly was Dr. Fe- 
 lix Formosa of New Orleans. Dr. Formosa was an 
 Italian by birth, had an attractive personality, was ac- 
 complished in his profession, had seen service in the 
 Medical Department of the Confederate Army, and 
 taken altogether was a man of ripe experience whom 
 it was a pleasure and privilege to meet and listen to. 
 Dr. H. B, Horlbeck of South Carolina was another old- 
 time sanitarian who hesitated to believe that the mo- 
 squito was the sole culprit in disseminating yellow 
 fever.
 
 316 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 The next year, 1901, I was again the Illinois State 
 Board representative at the American Public Health 
 Association held in Buffalo, New York. .This meeting 
 occurred in September and early in that month Presi- 
 dent William McKinley came from Washington to at- 
 tend the Pan-American Fair at Buffalo. Sad to say 
 while he was making one of his broad humane speeches 
 on the Fair Grounds a fiend, in human-form, shot him, 
 but it was thought at first not fatally. After suffering 
 for some time and giving every promise of recovery, 
 he suddenly grew worse and died the day before the 
 meeting of the American Public Health Association. 
 The train I was on arrived at Buffalo a little after sun- 
 rise and before we who had come on it could get away 
 from the station the police suddenly put a stop to all 
 coming and going to and from the station in order that 
 the approaching funeral cortege of the dead president 
 might convey the body to a train that was in readiness 
 to bear it to Washington. There was a large crowd in 
 and about the station and when the funeral cortege ap- 
 peared, all hats were removed and the most respectful 
 silence maintained. Everj^ one regretted the death of 
 President McKinley and this included the many who 
 were present at the American Public Health Associa- 
 tion from the far South — all of whom were to a man 
 opposed to the dead president politically. President 
 McKinley had broad views, was kindly in manner, gen- 
 erous in disposition and in the fullest sense was presi- 
 dent of the whole country. Under these circumstances 
 his loss was universally deplored, South as well as North, 
 West as well as East. An especially good man had 
 fallen. 
 
 Perhaps the thing that interested me most was Dr. 
 Walter Reed's final report on the etiology of Yellow 
 Fever. This was seemingly so complete and conclusive 
 that there seemed no room for criticism. However,
 
 Public Health 317 
 
 some of the old war horses in the battles against yellow 
 fever in the past, still thought that fomites played its 
 part in the development of that disease, and a Dr. A. 
 N. Bell had quite an elaborate paper written to show 
 that this was one of the chief, if not the chief, factor, in 
 the development and spread of this disease. False the- 
 ories that have long been in vogue die slowly and hard. 
 
 At this meeting I met for the first time Rudolph 
 Herring, the noted municipal engineer. One afternoon 
 in company with him and two other gentlemen, I went 
 to the Pan-American Exposition, but really did not see 
 much of it. The Chicago World's Fair was not very 
 far in the past and those of us that had seen that were 
 hard to please. However, when six o'clock came, I felt 
 very tired from walking around a good deal and I re- 
 call the ravenous appetites we all had as we gathered 
 about a very thick and verj^ rich beefsteak with other 
 good things to match. 
 
 With the same companions I spent a day at Niagara 
 Falls. We took a boat at Buffalo and landed above the 
 Falls on the Canadian side and after viewing the Falls 
 and what else was to be seen crossed on the Suspen- 
 sion Bridge to the American side, meanwhile watching 
 the surging stream below us and viewing with great in- 
 terest a boat load of passengers that seemed to approach 
 very close to the torrent of falling water. 
 
 Goat Island and the superb trees which grew upon 
 it interested me only a little less than the resistless tor- 
 rent of water that rushed from one of its cliffs. 
 
 Two o'clock that day was the time appointed 
 for President McKinley's funeral and it was agreed 
 that as far as possible all business should cease for the 
 space of a specified time all over the United States. In 
 Niagara City every thing was silent and motionless 
 when the time came, but the Falls, which by contrast 
 seemed to roar all the louder.
 
 318 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Dr. Benjamin Lee, President of the Association, no 
 longer among the living, delivered a splendid address, 
 which was scholarly, interesting and well adapted to the 
 occasion. 
 
 In October, 1903, the American Public Health As- 
 sociation met in Washington, D. C, and I had the good 
 fortune to represent the Illinois State Board of Health. 
 
 It was interesting to note progress in certain direc- 
 tions. For illustration practicallj'^ all present accepted 
 the mosquito as the active, and only agent, in the spread 
 of yellow fever, and a number of reports were made 
 showing the pronounced success of measures for pre- 
 vention of the disease which involved the keeping of 
 the patient and the insect as widely separated as pos- 
 sible. For this purpose every case was carefully 
 screened and all places where the stegomyia calopus 
 could use as a breeding spot were screened, treated with 
 coal oil, etc. 
 
 The rigid enforcement of these means practically 
 stamped out the disease in Havana and a number of 
 Mexican cities. 
 
 Sad to say, Major Walter Reed whose epoch-making 
 work in demonstrating that the mosquito is the active 
 agent in the spread of yellow fever, had sickened and 
 died not long after his final report on this subject to 
 the American Public Health Association. In fact, ru- 
 mor had it that exposure while making his j^ellow fever 
 investigations was a contributing cause to his early 
 death. 
 
 At the time of the meeting Theodore Roosevelt was 
 president and he consented to give the Association a 
 reception and fixed a time for this. Some of the mem- 
 bers from the South were loath to attend for the reason 
 that a little time before President Roosevelt had invited 
 Booker Washington to lunch with him. However, when 
 the hour came I think practically all the members went 
 to the White House and met the president. We formed
 
 Public He^vlth 319 
 
 in line and Dr. Wyman, the president of the Associa- 
 tion, presented us. When my time came Dr. Wyman 
 said, '*Dr. Johnson of Illinois." President Roosevelt 
 grasped my hand, pressed it and said in his earnest 
 way, "Dr. Johnson, I am (idighted to meet you," and 
 strange to say, his manner was so magnetic that for a 
 few seconds it seemed to me that I was the only one in 
 the room that he was especially glad to see. In that day 
 he was of medium stature and had not grown heavy as 
 was the case later in life. He was dressed in a gray suit 
 and seemed and acted like a plain, every-day American 
 citizen. 
 
 During the meeting one day after dinner we took a 
 boat at the wharf and went down the Potomac river to 
 Mount Vernon. Upon landing we went first to Wash- 
 ington's tomb and when looking at the sarcophagus and 
 reading the inscriptions I had a strange feeling come 
 over me, — a kind of awe which I never felt before. We 
 went in the house, looked at the many interesting things, 
 visited the kitchen and could not resist thinking how 
 greatly behind our day the people of the Revolutionary 
 period were. We visited the old barn and stables and 
 were amazed at the great size and apparent clumsiness 
 of Washington's family coach or carriage. We stood in 
 front of the old mansion, looked up, down and across 
 the Potomac and realized that we were viewing the same 
 scenery that so often met Washington's eyes and in 
 which he took such pride and satisfaction. We turned 
 our steps toward the large garden kept as nearly as pos- 
 sible as its distinguished owner had it, perhaps nothing 
 in this was more striking that the box-hedge trimmed 
 in the old-time way. 
 
 Near the garden fence we were shown a tree, of some 
 hardwood variety, planted by President Buchanan 
 nearly a half century before, and now about two feet 
 in diameter.
 
 320 Sixty Years in the IMedical Harness 
 
 Recalling the circumstauces of "Washington's death 
 in December, 1799, some of us went back in the mansion 
 and with much interest inspected the upstairs, half -story- 
 room in which he died. On a raw winter's day ^Vash- 
 ington rode out on his plantation to inspect some work, 
 it began to drizzle, then a light snow fell and when he 
 got back to the mansion his clothes were damp and his 
 wife noticed there was snow in his hair, but he refused 
 to put on dry things. Next morning he got up with 
 symptoms of a cold and remained about the house and 
 at bedtime retired as usual. The members of his house- 
 hold suggested the propriety of his taking something 
 for his cold; meanwhile no little hoarseness had devel- 
 oped. In the middle of the night the patient began to 
 chill and felt a verj- disagreeable tightness about his 
 throat. Mrs. Washington wanted to get up and do 
 something for his relief but the patient would not per- 
 mit this, fearing the exposure of his wife in the cold 
 room in which the fire had died down on the hearth not 
 long after bedtime. 
 
 However, when morning approached a servant was 
 called and a fire started. ^Meanwhile a messenger had 
 been sent for the foreman who under "Washington's di- 
 rection bled the patient, not as freely, however, as was 
 desired, owing to Mrs. Washington's interposition and 
 request that no more blood be drawn. A trusted servant 
 on horseback went as speedily as circumstances would 
 permit, to Alexandria for Dr. Craig, the physician and 
 life-long friend of Washington, who hurried to the bed- 
 side of his distinguished patient as fast as horseflesh 
 could take him. Arrived at his destination Dr. Craig 
 soon realized that Washington was suffering from acute 
 lar%Tigitis and in accordance with the teachings of the 
 day the patient was once more bled — this time very 
 freely. As soon as they could be procured two physi- 
 cians were called in consultation, additional bleedings
 
 Public Health 321 
 
 were resorted to and calomel and tartar emetic admin- 
 istered freely, but in spite of all Washington grew worse 
 and worse and on the morning of December 14, 1799, 
 took his last breath; and to use his own words, "paid 
 the final debt which we all owe to nature. ' ' 
 
 When a youth I had with great interest read Irving 's 
 life of Washington and this charming writer in his in- 
 imitable way had described Mount Vernon, Washing- 
 ton's home-life there and family, his last sickness and 
 death. As I had read all this in what was my most 
 impressionable years, it stuck, as a boy would say. This 
 being true I especially enjoyed my visit to Mount Ver- 
 non though not made till fifty years later, or thereabouts. 
 
 Nothing about the premises impressed me more than 
 the bareness and general dreariness of the room in which 
 Washington died and in looking at it I called to mind 
 the inadequate means that were necessarily brought to 
 bear in his fatal illness. In comparison I could but 
 think of the well equipped sick room of the commonest 
 citizen of our time and of the little that was at Wash- 
 ington's command. Of the trained nurse, furnace heat, 
 hot and cold water, electric light, not to speak of many 
 other conveniences ; while near at hand was the tele- 
 phone, telegraph and automobile (not to name airships 
 and the radio), now at the command of practically all. 
 
 In only one thing did the old time sick room compare 
 favorably with the modern and that was in love and 
 devotion to the patient. The humanities have always 
 been the same. 
 
 While in Washington I took occasion to visit the 
 various places of interest and among these the Wash- 
 ington Monument. At its base I took the elevator and 
 went to its top, something like five hundred feet 
 above the earth, and as a fierce wind was blowing at the 
 time the height seemed all the more dizzy. 
 
 I went out to Rock Creek and saw the arch across 
 this, said to be the longest of its kind in the country,
 
 322 Sixty Years in the Medicat> Harness 
 
 and, furthermore, had the distinction of having been 
 erected when Jefferson Davis was Secretary of War, 
 and once his name was engraved at the base to express 
 this fact to any who cared to know, but in Civil War 
 days his name was erased in view of the fact that he be- 
 came one of the country's most inveterate enemies. 
 
 I went across the Potomac and visited Arlington, the 
 home of General Robert E. Lee before the Civil War, 
 and the gift of Washington to George Washington Park 
 Custis, the father-in-law of Lee. As all the world knows 
 Arlington is now a Federal Cemetery and literally cov- 
 ered with the graves of Union soldiers, some of whom 
 were distinguished officers. A Union soldier myself 
 all this appealed to me with peculiar interest. As is 
 customary with all visitors I went in the interesting old 
 mansion and duly recorded my name, and from its 
 porch looked across the river and viewed the beautiful 
 picture presented by the capital and its many famous 
 structures and other notable objects. In doing this I 
 could but think what Robert E. Lee had lost when he 
 decided to turn his back on his country, that had edu- 
 cated him, and make war on its flag, for which he had 
 fought in all the conflicts since he left West Point and 
 under whose folds he had sought and obtained protec- 
 tion since his first breath. I said to myself, verily the 
 way of the transgressor is hard. The time of my visit 
 was October and the leaves of many of the trees at Ar- 
 lington had turned to most beautiful gold and the rich- 
 est crimson. 
 
 Speaking of General Lee I was greatly impressed 
 by a picture I saw in the Corcoran Art Building entitled, 
 if I remember correctly, * ' Sunset at Appomattox. ' ' The 
 artist had represented Lee in superb manly maturity, 
 sitting on a fallen log, his noble war-horse. Traveler, 
 nearby, and his handsome face wearing an expression of 
 becoming sadness, which the just transpired surrender 
 to Grant would explain and justify.
 
 Public Health 323 
 
 As the reader has doubtless already inferred this 
 was my first visit to Washington and that I was greatly 
 interested in all I saw goes without saying. I went over 
 the Baltimore and Ohio and greatly enjoyed the scenery 
 as we passed through the Alleghanies, both going and 
 coming. The reader will all the more realize my appre- 
 ciation of this when I say that I was prairie-born and 
 for the greater part of my existence, in fact all of it 
 save the three years I passed in the South in the Union 
 Army, I have lived a prairie-life in scenery-tame Illi- 
 nois. When we reached the AUeghanies on our way to 
 Washington I had made the acquaintance of a man from 
 Texas, who had a son attending the Virginia Military 
 Institute and who had been stricken with typhoid fever 
 so serious in character that his early death was antici- 
 pated. In the heart of the AUeghanies we reached the 
 place where my Texas acquaintance was to transfer 
 and as I bade him bood-bye I could but think of the sad 
 mission he was going on ; for a physician I knew that 
 if his son was yet alive, he would in all probability be 
 found in that heavy, comatose condition which the ty- 
 phoid toxins always produce. 
 
 The forest trees all through the AUeghanies were 
 in gorgeous October colors. The oaks and dogwoods in 
 bright crimson, the maples in resplendent gold, and the 
 woodbine in richest purple. 
 
 Fate decreed that this Washington meeting of the 
 American Public Health Association was to be the last 
 which I was to attend for many long years. Indeed, 
 fifteen years intervened between the Washington meet- 
 ing in 1903 and another in Chicago, in 1918, when I 
 was present. The date of this meeting had been set for 
 October but the prevalence of the "flu" caused its post- 
 ponement till the second week in December. 
 
 This 1918 meeting was well attended and the first 
 thing that attracted my attention on going in the place
 
 324 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 of meeting in the new Morrison Hotel was the absence 
 of familiar faces. I recalled among the doctors I used 
 to see and meet the names of William Bailey, Benjamin 
 Lee, Walter Reed, Alvah H. Doty, George M. Sternberg, 
 Walter Wyman, P. H. Bryce, Jesus Chico (Mexican 
 representative), H, B. Horlbeck, Felix Formenta, H. 
 M. Bracken, J. N. Hurty ; and in addition D. E. Salmon, 
 W. H. Brewer, and Rudolph Herring. Of this list few, 
 very, very few, w^ere present to answer to their names 
 had there been a roll-call. And the scarce three or four 
 present of those named, had somehow grown aged since 
 I last saw them. But the good and sufficient reason why 
 the greater part of those named were absent was be- 
 cause they had crossed to the other shore. 
 
 The principal disease discussed at nearly all the ses- 
 sions was the great pandemic of Influenza from whose 
 throes the country was not yet wholly free. As I else- 
 where treat of these discussions at lengh, I will not con- 
 sider them here. 
 
 Near noon-time one day in response to an invitation 
 by the Swift people, we boarded an elevated train and 
 went out to the stockyards and in one of the Swift 
 Buildings, entered a large dining-room and in due time 
 were served with a so-called luncheon — in fact a good 
 dinner for which we all had not neglected to have along 
 our several good appetites. 
 
 After this we all — for there were several hundred of 
 us — went up, up, up, in an elevator and saw live hogs 
 start down, down, down, till they became sausage, prop- 
 erly dressed feet and joles and well salted sides, should- 
 ers and hams. We were given opportunity to see live 
 cattle start in and come out as had the hogs, but I had 
 seen enough of this for one day and so declined the last 
 bit of sightseeing, with due thanks to our obliging 
 hosts. 
 
 Dr. Charles J. Hastings of Toronto, Canada, was the
 
 Public Health 325 
 
 presiding officer at this meeting of the American Public 
 Health Association. He was gray, his face was much 
 cris-crossed by wrinkles and altogether he had a ven- 
 erable look, but he was alert and attentive to his duties 
 as presiding officer. I met him and after a little con- 
 versation took occasion to ask his age and found him 
 to be sixty-one, about fourteen years my junior. Think 
 of it ! Well, ' ' the good die young, ' ' and the old some- 
 how manage to "carry on." 
 
 Reverting to the Illinois State Medical Society it 
 may be said of that organization that it has this j'ear 
 (1925) celebrated its Diamond (75th) Anniversary and 
 the Historical Committee, of which I happen to be one, 
 is publishing a history of the Society and likewise a 
 historical sketch of medicine in the State. Of this So- 
 ciety I am the oldest active member and, as far as I can 
 ascertain, am the only member living who attended the 
 Jacksonville meeting fifty years ago. While it may 
 smack of egotism, yet that I have prepared and read be- 
 fore the Society more papers than any other one of my 
 colleagues is but a historical fact. 
 
 Finally it has been my fortune to witness the passing 
 to the Great Beyond of many, many friends and col- 
 leagues in the profession, the last two of whom were Dr. 
 Norman Bridge, my class mate and friend for nearly 
 sixty years, and Dr. D. W. Graham, long my beloved 
 friend and Civil War comrade. The last time I saw 
 Dr. Graham, December 3, 1924, I had occasion to refer to 
 several of our medical friends who had died not long be- 
 fore, when he spoke up and said, " I '11 be the next one. ' ' 
 Naturally I was surprised and shocked but ventured to 
 ask, "Why do you say this?" "Because," said he, "I 
 have carcinoma of the esophagus." His prediction 
 proved to be all too true, for in less than three months 
 he, too, had joined the Silent Majority. 
 
 In my youthful days, Tom Moore, the Irish Poet,
 
 326 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 was very popular and I recall some lines of his that are 
 
 apropos : 
 
 When I remember all 
 
 The friends so linked together 
 
 I've seen around une fall 
 
 Liike leaves in wintry weather; 
 
 I feel like one 
 
 Who treads alone 
 Some banquet hall deserted, 
 
 Whose lights are fled, 
 
 Whose garlands dead, 
 And all but he departed.
 
 INDEX 
 
 Abstainer, an, 228 
 
 a "soaked", 233-4 
 Abstainers, 227, 309 
 Abstinence, 309 
 Academy, Pocahontas, 12 
 Act, Illinois Medical Practice, 84, 
 164 
 
 Committee to secure, 164 
 Acts, Medical Practice, 309 
 Address, an eloquent, 78-9 
 Aesculapian Society of Wabash Val- 
 ley, 170, 182, 274 
 Again a citizen, 8 
 Ann Arbor, 11, 12-20 
 "Ager," 150 
 
 Agromonte, Dr. A., 314 
 Ahead of his times, 261, 265, 272 
 "Ambraw" river, 134 
 Anatomy, 18, 19, 26-8 
 
 Gray's, 1, 80, 138 
 American Journal of Medical Sci- 
 ences, 72, 80 
 
 Medical Association, 307, 310, 
 312, 313 
 
 Public Health Association, 314, 
 316, 323 
 
 Practitioner, 177, 185, 204 
 Andrews, Dr. Edmund, 38, 304, 312 
 
 John E., 256-7 
 Aneurism, 65-6 
 
 Anesthesia, first operation under, 73 
 Angel of Mercy, 3-4 
 Appendicitis, 199-200 
 Appendectomy, 199, 200 
 Appliances, some medical, 83, 148 
 Asepsis, 123, 142 
 Anti-sepsis, 5, 8, 43, 123, 141-2 
 Atlee, John L.., 74 
 
 Washington L., 74 
 Accidents, cycle of, 169 
 Advice, remarkable, 221-3 
 Altruism, professional, 217, 218 
 
 327 
 
 Ampitheatre, in the, 12-20 
 
 again in the, 136-146 
 Abortion, 126 
 Ann Arbor, 11-30 
 
 "Alcohol Problem and Health Con- 
 science," 232 
 
 Problem, 227-237 
 
 some victims of, 231-5 
 All-arounder, an, 215 
 Appliances, new, 82, 148 
 Armor, Samuel G., 16-19 
 Army bed, 2-3 
 Atmosphere, a loaded, 196 
 Anopholes mosquito, 9 
 Author, a favorite, 263 
 "Ague-Cake," 98 
 Autocrat, a medical, 178 
 
 B 
 Badge, a fitting, 307 
 "Batch," keeping, 33-38 
 Ball, Minnie, 5 
 Balances, weighed in, 201-2 
 Banquet, 274-282 
 
 Bartholow, Dr. Roberts, 74, 203-4 
 Baum, Dr. Z. T., 276 
 Beau, an awkward, 23-4 
 Bed-fellow, a drunken, 142-3 
 Bedford, Dr. Gunning S., 267 
 Beecher, Henry Ward, 161-2 
 Bell, Dr. A. H., 317 
 Beer and Pretzels, 309 
 Bernard, Claude, 76 
 Bevan, Dr. (sr.), 38-9 
 Bible, my medical, 264 
 Bibliophile, a, 104 
 Bilious fever, 9, 48, 97, 158, 151 
 Birney. Dr. S. H., 164, 301-3 
 Bridge, Dr. Norman, 32-3, 83 
 Bond County, 9, 12 
 Books, some, 1, 8 
 Boneset (plant), 213 
 Bowditch, Dr. I. H., 308-9 
 Brown-Sequard, 76
 
 328 
 
 Slxty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Buck, Reverend Hiram, 129 
 Buffalo, N. Y., 316 
 Blue quinine, 152 
 "Bully!" "Bully!" 129 
 Business, a vile, 207 
 Burying Ground, soldiers', 4-5 
 Butler, General B. F., 30 
 Byford, Dr. W. H., 40 
 
 C 
 Caldwell, Mrs., 3-4 
 
 Dr. W. B., 255-6 
 Cairo, 111., 7-8 
 Calls, answering, 209, 211 
 Camp Butler, 8 
 Cannon, Congressman Joseph, 170-2 
 
 Dr. E. B., 170 
 Carroll, Dr. James, 314 
 Carson, Dr. W. B., 141 
 Case, a pathetic, 242 
 Chambers, Dr. W. M., 171, 180 
 Champaign City, 113, 183 
 
 County, 119, 121 
 Character, a unique, 121-3 
 Chatham, 111., 89, 90-98, 120 
 Clarke, Dr. Horace, 67 
 Clavicle, a dislocated, 168 
 Class, a very large, 15 
 Circuit, rider, a, 130-1 
 Citizen, a shame-faced, 230 
 Civil War, 1, 2, 9, 39, 198 
 
 bed, 2 
 
 blanket, 2-3 
 
 bullet, 5 
 
 diseases, 1-4 
 
 experiences, 1-8, 29 
 
 Era, 3, 114, 233, 266 
 
 injuries, 5-6, 29 
 Cincinnati, 138-147, 179 
 
 Clinicians, 141-2 
 Chicago, 10-11, 32-46 
 
 fire, 137 
 Medical Journal and Examiner, 
 
 300 
 Chill, congestive, 10 
 Children's diseases, 114, 148-9 
 Collectors, poor, 216, 217 
 College Campus, 14, 15 
 
 Chicago Medical, 32-46, 137 
 
 Missouri Medical, 56, 61 
 
 Ohio Medical, 136-147 
 Rush Medical, 32-3, 36-7 
 St. Louis Medical, 56-70 
 
 Cook, Dr. E. B., 301 
 
 Comrade, a hospitable, 88 
 
 Comrades, some, 89 
 
 Comegys, Dr., 141 
 
 Confederacy, the, 6, 57, 60 
 
 Consultant, a dangerous, 153-6 
 
 Contagion, no ban on, 160 
 
 Conservatism, surgical, 81, 148 
 
 Congressman, Albert Johnson, 109 
 
 Conner, Dr. P. S., 130 
 
 Confreres, my, 158-9, 299 
 
 Conciliation, a, 68 
 
 Controversy, a warm, 311 
 
 Country doctor, a, 201, 214, 215, 275 
 
 Corn, to the, 133-4 
 
 Croup, 192-3 
 
 Chloroform, free use of, 82-3 
 
 Cholera morbus, 114 
 
 Cure-all, 222-3 
 
 Currettement, 126 
 
 D 
 
 DaCosta, Dr. J. M., 267 
 
 Dana, Richard Henry, 242-3 
 
 Darrah, Dr. A. T., 301-3 
 
 Davis, Dr. N. S., 36-8, 73, 204, 299, 
 
 312 
 Drake, Dr. Daniel, 59-60 
 
 C. St. John. 253 
 Dawson, Dr. W. W., 138, 147 
 Derelict, a medical, 63 
 Deaths, two tragic, 6-7 
 Death of President McKinley, 316 
 Dead beats, medical, 93 
 Diagnosis, under difficulties, 184-5 
 Diamond in the rough, 21-2 
 Diphtheria, 160-1, 190-3 
 
 Tolono epidemic of ,159, 161, 175- 
 
 6 
 Dirt, grime and disease, 117, 127, 
 
 219 
 Disease, definition of, 269 
 Prevention, 2, 162, 310 
 Diseases, Civil War, 2 
 Dissipation, a wave of, 228 
 Dissecting, 26-8 
 Drouth, severe, 31, 159
 
 Index 
 
 329 
 
 Douglas, Dr. S. H., 12-16 
 
 Doctor, our "singing," 274-282 
 a famed, 102 
 
 Dudley, Dr. E. C, 194-5 
 
 Duty, three-fold, 217-218 
 
 Drugs, some new, 147 
 
 Ductless glands, 307 
 E 
 
 Egan, Dr. James A., 251-2 
 
 Eberle, Dr. John, 198-9 
 
 Eberth, Dr. Carl J., 198-9 
 
 "Ectomies," 148 
 
 Eggleston, Edward, 130-1 
 
 Emergency surgery, 81, 148 
 
 Emmet, Dr. Thomas A., 195 
 
 Etherization, first, 73 
 
 Expectoration, reckless, 113, 122 
 
 Example, an unfortunate, 231, 249, 
 250 
 
 Examination, physical, 4 
 
 Effigy, hung in, 257 
 
 Epizootic, 293-4 
 
 Epoch-making work, 318 
 F 
 
 Faces, absent, 323 
 
 Faculty, U. of M., Medical, 16 
 Ohio Medical, 138-140 
 
 Fancy, an odd, 279, 280 
 
 Farm work, 9 
 
 Farmer, a prosperous, 86 
 
 Fenger, Dr. Christian, 205 
 
 Fever, malarial, 9, 25, 32 
 purpural, 101-2, 264-5 
 typhoid, 48, 101, 161, 204 
 typho-malarial, 99, 100 
 
 Fractures, an "epidemic" of, 162 
 
 Freight, some peculiar, 26-8 
 
 Flies, Typhoid, 112, 113 
 
 Flint, Dr. Austin, 202 
 
 Fiancee, Washington Irving's, 243-4 
 
 Finlay, Dr. Carlos, 314 
 
 Fitz, Dr. Reginald, 199 
 
 Fishermen, disappointed, 36-7 
 
 Friend in need, 145 
 
 Fomites, 315 
 
 Formenta, Dr., 315 
 
 Ford, Dr. C. L., 18-19, 138-9 
 
 Flora, Illinois, 8, 9 
 
 "Front," an envied, 87 
 
 Founder of G. A. R., 91 
 "Flu," 291-4 
 
 in the old days, 306 
 
 G 
 
 Graduation, 144-7 
 
 Graham, Dr. David W, 325-6 
 
 James M., 140 
 Gem, a poetic, 276-7 
 Germ Theory, 175-6, 296, 299 
 
 paper on, 175-6 
 Gerhard, Dr. W. W., 71 
 Greely, Horace, 29-30 
 Green, Dr., 64 
 Greenville, 111., 9, 51 
 "Grip" (Lagrippe), 283-291 
 
 best article on, 291 
 Gobrecht, Dr. W. M., 138 
 Good's Study of Medicine, 259, 260 
 Griffith, Dr. B. M., 93, 249 
 Gross, Dr. S. D., 72, 308 
 "Gone before," 325-6 
 Gunn, Dr. Moses, 16-17, 31-4 
 
 H 
 Habit, a hounding, 248-250 
 "Had the cake," 63 
 Hardships, old time, 118 
 Hartshorn, Dr. Henry, 201 
 Harvey, Dr. Wm., 200 
 Hastings, Dr. C. H., 224-5 
 Haven, Dr. E. O., 31 
 Heart-straining work, 216 
 Health officer, 189 
 
 enforcement, 156, 160, 191 
 Heberdeen, 269, 270 
 Hell, at gates of, 156 
 
 taking one to, 58 
 Hinkle, Dr. J. M., 177 
 History repeats itself, 131 
 Hoeing my own row, 184 
 Hodge, Dr. Hugh L., 72, 101, 172 
 Hodgen, Dr. John T., 61-8, 312 
 Hollister, Dr. J. H., 36, 163, 301-2 
 Holmes, Dr. O. W., 40, 72-3, 102, 
 
 265 
 Home, a model, 128 
 Honorarium, a generous, 46 
 Horlbeck, Dr. H. S., 215 
 Horse, prayer of, 211, 212
 
 330 
 
 Sixty Years in the Medical Harness 
 
 Horses, 210, 212 
 Hung in effigy, 257 
 "Hymn, a long, 69 
 "Horns and hoofs," 166-7 
 Hospital, Bumham, 256 
 
 Cincinnati, 140 
 
 City (St. Louis), 67 
 
 Cook County, 36, 193-6 
 
 Field, 1-7 
 
 Good Samaritan, 141 
 
 Mercy, 36-40 
 
 Regimental, 1-6 
 
 Steward, 1-7 
 
 I 
 
 Idiosyncrasy, an, 22-3 
 Illinois Corn Belt, 85, 132, 275 
 State Medical Society, 163, 301, 
 325 
 
 Meeting at Champaign, 397 
 Jacksonville, 163 
 Urbana, 301-3 
 
 papers read before, 300-306 
 Inflamation, 86, 202, 263 
 Illiopolis, 120 
 Indianapolis, 178-9, 314 
 Imigration, Bill, 109 
 Influenza, 283, 294 
 
 bacillus, 82, 85-6 
 Injuries, Civil War, 6, 29 
 
 Railway, 169 
 Instructors, some noted, 71 
 In print, 177 
 "Itis," 96 
 
 Interest, a thing of, 51 
 Investigators, four famous, 311 
 Intubation, 191-2 
 
 J 
 "Jack," old, 211 
 Jacksonville, Illinois, 163 
 Jenner, Dr. Robert, 306 
 Jewell, Dr. J. S., 35, 42-6 
 Johnson, Albert, 109 
 
 Charles W., 89, 90, 109 
 
 Dr. George T., 158, 192-3 
 
 President Andrew, 30 
 "Johny" cake, 115, 116 
 Journal, A. M. A., 207-8, 255 
 Journals, many, 80 
 "Jist a common 'tater," 221 
 
 K 
 
 Kerosene, 118 
 
 "Keystone" of medical science, 81 
 
 Klebs, 199 
 
 Klebs-Leofler bacillus, 160-1 
 
 Kinsman, my, 85 
 
 "Knife on it," 19 
 
 Koch, Dr. Robert, 198 
 
 Koch's postulate, 198 
 
 L 
 La grippe, paper on, 2 
 Landlady, a ladylike, 21-4 
 
 confiding, 68-9 
 Landlord, a gentlemanly, 21, 193-6 
 Landlords, my, 21-3, 103-6 
 "Land of promise," a, 119 
 "Laudable pus," 5, 39, 74, 82 
 Lazear, Dr. J. W., 314 
 Leaders, some, 75 
 Lectures, some lay, 29 
 Lee, Dr. Benjamin, 318 
 
 General Robert E., 322 
 Lewitt, Dr. Wm., 16, 20 
 Lie, a white, 13 
 Life, a dual, 105 
 
 in 60's and 70's, 110-118 
 Lister, Dr. Joseph, 71, 75, 183-4, 268 
 Link, Dr. J. E., 178 
 Literature, some good, 54, 124 
 Livingston, Dr. David, 168 
 Log Cabin, 115 
 Loomis, Dr. A. L., 202 
 Louisville Practitioner and News, 
 
 184, 188, 287, 299 
 Love, Dr. Isaac N., 62, 70. 
 
 M 
 M. D., a full fledged, 147 
 "Make room for me," 278-9 
 Malaria, 9, 25, 32, 97-100 
 Malarial compounds, 158 
 complications, 90, 96 
 "Man proposes, God disposes," 47 
 Martini, Dr. W. C, 247 
 Massie, Dr. W. M., 171-2 
 Matthews, Dr. J. N., 274, 282 
 Matriculating, 12-13 
 Mayor Mitchell, 313 
 Mechnikoff, Eli, 199 
 Medicine, Academy of, 141
 
 Index 
 
 331 
 
 Medicines, patent, 207 
 
 dependable, 96-7 
 Medical Practice Acts, 309 
 
 Societies, 295-326 
 Meeting House, stealing a, 25 
 
 a patriotic,313, 318 
 Meigs, Dr. Chas. D., 72 
 "Membraneous sore throat," 192-3 
 Memphis, Tenn., 13 
 Militant Monticello, 255-7 
 Miller, Dr. A. J., 171, 182 
 Mississippi river, 6, 7, 57, 70 
 Mitchell, Dr. H. C, 42, 45 
 
 S. Weir, 73 
 Mistake, an innocent, 49 
 Mistakes, some doctors, 48, 65, 95, 
 
 141 
 McDowell College, 56-61 
 
 Dr. Ephriam, 59 
 
 Dr. J. N., 57-61 
 
 Dr. (jr.), 64 
 McKown, Dr. J. M., 179, 275-6 
 McNary, Dr. J. P., 306 
 Morton, Dr. W. G. T., 73, 82 
 Morgue, our, 4 
 "My own hook," 184 
 McGuffy's Readers, 54 
 Murphy, Dr. J. B., 17 
 
 N 
 Names, some prominent, 303 
 Nelson, Dr. D. T., 40 
 New Orleans, 6 
 New, coming of the, 99 
 Nichols, Dr. Maude, 239 
 Nickles, Dr. Samuel, 139 
 Noble words, 310 
 Notables, some, 303 
 Nurses, 39 
 
 O 
 Occasion, a trying, 177-180 
 "Okaw" river, 134 
 Obstetrics, pioneer, 123-6 
 Obstetrician, a ponderous, 165-6 
 Obstetricians gone wrong, 72, 103 
 Office, an up-to-date, 64 
 Official, a timid, 180 
 "Old Jack," 211 
 Operations, some, 154, 195-6 
 Open house, an, 122 
 
 Opponent, an obstinate, 203-4, 299 
 Optomist and pessimist, 224-6 
 
 a pronounced, 145 
 Osier, Dr. Wm., 202 
 Our "Singing" Doctor, 244-7 
 Outlook Sanatorium, 239, 240, 244-7 
 
 P 
 Pageant, a booze, 233 
 Paget, Sir James, 74-5 
 Palmer House, 308 
 Palmer, Dr. A. B., 16, 18 
 Paper, My first, 175-6 
 Papers, some, 305-6 
 Pandemic, a world's, 283, 294 
 Park, Dr. Roswell, 306 
 Parvin, Dr. Theophilis, 178-9 
 Paris, Illinois, 180 
 Pasteur, Louis, 71, 198 
 Patent medicines, 207-8 
 Patients, my first, 22-109 
 Pasteur, Louis, 199 
 Patient, my first, 92-3 
 
 a Southern, 43-6 
 Patients, filthy, 117, 127, 219 
 Patriotic meeting, 312, 313 
 Phrase, turning a, 31 
 Plasmodium malaria, 131-2 
 Practice, works on, 259, 260 
 On the prairies, 119-135, 147-150 
 Prayer, a horse's, 211, 212 
 Predecessor, my, 107-9 
 Prescott, Dr. A. B., 16, 20 
 Prewitt, Dr., 64-5 
 Peasants, some German, 127-8 
 Pearman, Dr. J. T., 183, 234 
 Persecutor, a venomous, 256 
 People and things, 21-3 
 
 how they lived, 110 
 Pessimist, a pronounced, 223-6 
 Pepper, Dr. Wm., 204 
 Pneumonia, 98-9, 205 
 Preventive Medicine, 197-9, 310 
 Phillips, Wendell, 29-30 
 Pillars, three medical, 171, 295 
 Poems, some beautiful, 273, 282 
 Print, in, 177 
 
 Pope, Dr. Charles T., 53, 66-7 
 Potato, a healing, 221 
 Publications, American, 73-7
 
 332 
 
 Sixty Years in the MediCx^l Harness 
 
 English, 77 
 
 some great, 78-81 
 Pulse, much made of, 262-3 
 Pulling him through, 144 
 
 Q 
 
 Quarantine, not permitted, 232-3 
 Quinine and Peruvian Bark, 152 
 Quine, Dr. Wm. E., 41 
 Quest, author's, 84-91 
 
 R 
 Radium, 205. 
 Ragan, Dr. G. T., 172-7 
 Railway injuries, 127 
 Ranch, Dr. John H., 164, 189 
 "Raw," swallowed in the, 171 
 Rawlings, 258 
 Reamy, Dr. Thadeus, 139 
 Reed, Dr. Ezra, 178 
 
 Dr. Walter, 315, 317 
 "Reconstruction," 30 
 Recovery, remarkable, 53 
 Regiment, 130th Illinois, 178 
 Report, an epoch-making, 314-317 
 Reptiles, some "Union," 59 
 Remedies, some, 96-7 
 Resolutions, brilliant, 179 
 Responsibility, terrible, 212, 216 
 Return, a disappointing, 58 
 Riley, James Whitcomb, 278 
 "Risin," lancing a, 65-6 
 Rivalry, strenuous, 53-7 
 Roads, bad Illinois, 132, 138 
 Romance, 130-1 
 Routine, day's, 25-7 
 Rosa Bonheur, 2 
 
 S 
 Saddle, much used, 210 
 Sager, Dr. Abram, 16 
 Sarah, Miss, 23-4 
 Shakleton, Dr., 135 
 Spanish American War, 198 
 
 Influenza, 291 
 Stalwarts, some medical, 171-2 
 Smallpox, mild, 254-7 
 
 at Monticello, 235-7 
 State Board of Health, 84, 164, 248, 
 
 258 
 State Medicine, birth of, 164, 325 
 Committee to secure, 164 
 
 "State secret," 27 
 "Seen lots of typhoid," 222 
 Secessionist, a rabid, 60 
 Senn, Dr. Nicholis, 47 
 Serous cavities, taboo of, 81 
 Sepsis, 56 
 
 Serum treatment, 300 
 Sequelae, malarial, 98 
 Seeley, Dr. W. W., 139 
 "Shree day ' ager," 132 
 Steele, Dr. J. M., 174 
 Stegomia Calopus, 315 
 Steer, Professor Joseph, 24-5 
 Stevenson, Dr. B. F., 91 
 
 Robert Louis, 76 
 "Sweating blood," 213 
 "Sweet" and "Sour," 50 
 Sex-field, the, 207 
 Sims, Dr. Marion, 308 
 Simpson. Dr. J. Y., 75-6 
 Skin-grafting, 141-2 
 Springfield, 111., 89, 90, 103 
 Squibb, Dr. E. B., 315 
 Social hunger, 157 
 Society, Champaign County Medi- 
 cal, 295, 300 
 
 A Veteran, 171-182 
 "Sooch an honest face," 69 
 School curriculum, 53 
 
 teacher, 47-55 
 Soldier's Burying Ground, 4 
 Some drugs, some ills, 97 
 St. Louis, 55-56-70 
 Subjects, our, 23-28 
 Suggestion, remarkable, 265 
 Surgery in the 70's, 154 
 
 "rough and tumble," 183 
 
 limited, 148 
 
 unclean, 5, r41 
 Surgeons, three remarkable, 75 
 Surprise, a medical, 38-9 
 
 a financial, 22 
 
 a surgical, 38-9 
 Student, an impecunious, 144 
 
 with the cash, 144 
 Suit, mal-practice, 155-6 
 Student Morgan, 35 
 Students, "poor but honest," 33 
 Sydenham, 270-1 
 Syme, Dr. James, 238
 
 Index 
 
 333 
 
 Taboo, surgical, 81 
 "Tater." a, 221 
 Tragedy, a drink, 235-7 
 Trachelorrhaphies, 194-5 
 Tanner, Governor, 248-9 
 Taylorville, 111., 85-7 
 Thanksgiving dinner, 173 
 Trailers, 285 
 Teachers, a, 47-55, 128 
 Teachers, Cincinnati, 138-143 
 
 Chicago, 35-6 
 
 St. Louis, 53-70 
 gone wrong, 72 
 Text books, superior, 77-80 
 Terra Haute, Ind., 177-8 
 Tender-foot, 2, 28 
 "Three holes," 113 
 Treatment, an old-time, 123 
 "They had no poet," 274-6 
 Timber rats, 135 
 Tilton, Theodore, 31 
 Triumvirate, city, 304 
 
 Country, 182, 305 
 Thinking, some, 107 
 Twins. Siamese, 10, 11 
 Tolono, 157-169, 191 
 Tongue, a rasping, 56 
 Touch, getting in, 238 
 Trouble, 94, 216 
 Tuberculosis, 238-247 
 
 a pathetic case, 240-1 
 
 Dispensary, 238 
 
 horseback-riding in, 271 
 
 in olden times, 238-240, 269-70 
 
 recoveries from, 242-3, 270 
 
 Sanatorium, 243-5 
 
 Survey, 240-1 
 Tuscola, 111., 170 
 
 Typhoid Fever, 48, 104, 130, 204, 
 220-3 
 
 in the eighties, 185-8. 
 
 endemic of, 184-8 
 
 fly, 112, 113, 206 
 Typho-malarial fever, 99-100 
 Union Army, 1-8 
 
 U 
 University of Michigan, 10-12-14-20, 
 84 
 
 Uterine ostii, ulcerated, 194-5 
 Up to date almost, 261-3 
 
 V 
 Vaccination, discovery of, 306 
 Vandalia, 111., 84, 91 
 Veterans, some medical, 171-182 
 Victim, a pitiful, 240-1 
 Victims, alcholic, 231-2 
 
 tubercular, 243-47 
 Vicksburg, 6 
 Virchow, Rudolph, 76 
 Virginian, a, 174 
 
 W 
 War, Civil, 1-8, 205 
 
 to peace, 1-11 
 
 Spanish American, 205 
 Washington City, 318 
 
 George, 293, 319, 321 
 Washburn, Dr. T. D., 85 
 Warren, Dr. J. C, 73, 82 
 Watson, Sir Thomas, 78-9 
 Welch, Dr. W. M., 255 
 Wells and outhouses, 114 
 
 Sir Spencer, 76 
 "When I remember all," 326 
 Wilkins, Dr. David, 2 
 
 Dr. Thomas, 50, 52 
 Wilkinson, Dr. Chas., 2, 257-8 
 "Winter fever," 99 
 Whiskey as anesthetic, 178 
 
 lure of, 208 
 Whittaker, Dr. J. T., 140 
 White House. 318 
 Wright, Dr. W. B., 141 
 
 Dr. Nehemiah, 89-90-95 
 Wiser than his time, 273 
 
 Wood, Dr. H. C, 311 
 Words, eloquent, 78-80 
 Work, an interesting old, 259 
 
 a great, 80 
 "Which?", 125 
 White, Dr. Carrie N., 238 
 
 X 
 
 X-Ray, 82-205 
 
 Yates, Governor, 252 
 
 Z 
 Ziemsen's Cyclopedia, 266-7, 296
 
 'i-^v
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 610.923J63S C004 
 
 SIXTY YEARS IN MEDICAL HARNESS- OR THE 
 
 3 0112 025312924