Produced by David Edwards, Josephine Paolucci and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net.
(This file was produced from images generously made
available by The Internet Archive.)
[Illustration: Engraved by J. C. Buttre, expressly for Fireside
Lectures.
Doct. W'm. A. ALCOTT.]
FORTY YEARS
IN THE WILDERNESS
OF
PILLS AND POWDERS;
OR, THE
COGITATIONS AND CONFESSIONS OF
AN AGED PHYSICIAN.
BOSTON:
JOHN P. JEWETT AND COMPANY.
NEW YORK:
C. M. SAXTON AND COMPANY.
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK: E. DARROW AND BROTHER.
1859.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by
JOHN P. JEWETT AND COMPANY,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the district of
Massachusetts.
LITHOTYPED BY COWLES AND COMPANY,
17 WASHINGTON ST., BOSTON.
Printed by Geo. C. Rand and Avery.
PREFACE.
The present volume was one of the last upon which its author was
engaged, the facts having been gathered from the experience and
observation of a long life. It was his design to publish them
anonymously, but under the changed circumstances this is rendered
impracticable.
A short time previous to his death, the writer spoke of this work, and
said, in allusion to the termination of his own somewhat peculiar
case,--"This _last chapter_ must be added." In accordance with this
desire, a brief sketch, having reference chiefly to his health and
physical habits, with the closing chapter of his life, has been
appended.
Boston, June, 1859.
TO THE READER.
In the sub-title to the following work, I have used the word
"Confessions"--not to mislead the reader, but because _to confess_ is
one prominent idea of its author. It is a work in which confessions of
the impotence of the healing art, as that art has been usually
understood, greatly abound; and in which the public ignorance of the
laws of health or hygiene, with the consequences of that ignorance, are
presented with great plainness. The world will make a wiser use of its
medical men than it has hitherto done, when it comes to see more clearly
what is their legitimate and what their ultimate mission.
These remarks indicate the main intention of the writer. It is not so
much to enlighten or aid, or in any way directly affect the medical man,
as to open the eyes of the public to their truest interests; to a just
knowledge of themselves; and to some faint conception of their bondage
to credulity and quackery. The reader will find that I go for science
and truth, let them affect whom they may. Let him, then, suspend his
judgment till he has gone through this volume once, and I shall have no
fears. He may, indeed, find fault with my style, and complain of my
literary or philosophic unfitness for the task I assigned myself; but he
will, nevertheless, be glad to know my facts.
Should any one feel aggrieved by the exposures I have made in the
details which follow, let me assure him that no one is more
exposed--nor, indeed, has more cause to be aggrieved--than myself. Let
us all, then, as far as is practicable, keep our own secrets. Let us not
shrink from such exposures as are likely, in a large measure, to benefit
mankind, while the greatest possible inconvenience or loss to ourselves
is but trifling.
Some may wish that instead of confining myself too rigidly to naked fact
and sober reasoning, I had given a little more scope to the imagination.
But is not plain, "unvarnished" truth sometimes not only "stranger,"
but, in a work like this, better also, than any attempts at "fiction"?
THE AUTHOR.
AUBURNDALE, March, 1859.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER. PAGE.
I. EDUCATIONAL TENDENCIES 1
II. MY FIRST MEDICAL LESSON, 6
III. THE ELECTRICAL MACHINE, 9
IV. THE MEASLES, AND POURING DOWN RUM, 11
V. LEE'S PILLS AND DROPSY, 13
VI. THE COLD SHOWER BATH, 16
VII. MY FIRST SICKNESS ABROAD, 18
VIII. LESSON FROM AN OLD SURGEON, 20
IX. LEE'S WINDHAM BILIOUS PILLS, 23
X. DR. SOLOMON AND HIS PATIENT. 26
XI. PHYSICKING OFF FEVER, 28
XII. MANUFACTURING CHILBLAINS, 31
XIII. HOW TO MAKE ERYSIPELAS, 34
XIV. STUDYING MEDICINE, 38
XV. NATURE'S OWN EYE WATER, 41
XVI. THE VIPER STORY, 43
XVII. STRUCK WITH DEATH, 46
XVIII. EFFICACY OF COLD SPRING WATER, 51
XIX. CHEATING THE PHYSICIAN, 56
XX. MEDICINAL EFFECTS OF STORY TELLING, 58
XXI. OSSIFIED VEINS, 61
XXII. HE WILL DIE IN THIRTY-SIX HOURS, 64
XXIII. ABOUT TO DIE OF CONSUMPTION, 72
XXIV. MY JOURNEYMANSHIP IN MEDICINE, 81
XXV. MY TEMPERANCE PLEDGE, 85
XXVI. TRIALS OF A YOUNG PHYSICIAN, 87
XXVII. A DOSING AND DRUGGING FAMILY, 90
XXVIII. POISONING WITH LEAD, 96
XXIX. STANDING PATIENTS, 102
XXX. KILLING A PATIENT, 105
XXXI. A SUDDEN CURE, 109
XXXII. GIGANTIC DOSES OF MEDICINE, 112
XXXIII. THE LAMBSKIN DISEASE, 115
XXXIV. MILK PUNCH FEVER, 120
XXXV. MY FIRST CASE IN SURGERY, 124
XXXVI. EMILIA AND THE LOVE-CURE, 127
XXXVII. HEZEKIAH JUDKINS AND DELIRIUM, 133
XXXVIII. MY FIRST AMPUTATION, 136
XXXIX. MILK AS A REMEDY IN FEVERS, 138
XL. VIRTUES OF PUMPKIN SEED TEA, 141
XLI. BROKEN LIMBS AND INTEMPERANCE, 144
XLII. DYING FROM FILTHINESS, 148
XLIII. TAKING THE FEVER, 153
XLIV. BLESSINGS OF CIDER AND CIDER BRANDY, 156
XLV. THE INDIAN DOCTOR, 160
XLVI. DYING OF OLD AGE AT FIFTY-EIGHT, 163
XLVII. DAUGHTERS DESTROYING THEIR MOTHER, 169
XLVIII. POISONING WITH STRAMONIUM, 172
XLIX. CURING CANCER, 175
L. SWELLED LIMBS, 179
LI. SUDDEN CHANGES IN OLD AGE, 182
LII. AN OPIUM EATER, 185
LIII. COFFEE AND THE LAME KNEE, 188
LIV. THE OPIUM PILL BOX, 193
LV. BLEEDING AT THE LUNGS, 196
LVI. BUTTER EATERS, 201
LVII. HOT HOUSES AND CONSUMPTION, 206
LVIII. POISONING BY A PAINTED PAIL, 216
LIX. ONE DROP OF LAUDANUM, 218
LX. MRS. KIDDER'S CORDIAL, 220
LXI. ALMOST RAISING THE DEAD, 225
LXII. FEMALE HEALTH AND INSANE HOSPITALS, 231
LXIII. A GIANT DYSPEPTIC, 236
LXIV. GETTING INTO A CIRCLE, 246
LXV. POISONING WITH MAPLE SUGAR, 249
LXVI. PHYSICKING OFF MEASLES, 251
LXVII. TIC DOULOUREUX, 253
LXVIII. COLD WATER IN FEVER, 256
LXIX. COLD-TAKING AND CONSUMPTION, 258
LXX. FREEZING OUT DISEASE, 261
LXXI. THE AIR CURE, 263
LXXII. THE CLERGYMAN, 266
LXXIII. HE MUST BE PHYSICKED OR DIE, 268
LXXIV. WHO HATH WOE? OR, THE SICK WIDOW, 272
LXXV. THE PENALTY OF SELF-INDULGENCE, 275
LXXVI. DR. BOLUS AND MORPHINE, 282
LXXVII. BLEEDING AND BLISTERING OMITTED, 286
LXXVIII. MEDICAL VIRTUES OF SLEEP, 288
LXXIX. CURE BY DEEP BREATHING, 291
LXXX. SPIRIT DOCTORING, 295
LXXXI. REMARKABLE CURE OF EPILEPSY, 301
LXXXII. SCARLATINA CURED BY LETTING ALONE, 312
LXXXIII. IGNORANCE NOT ALWAYS BLISS, 314
LXXXIV. MEASLES WITHOUT SNAKEROOT AND SAFFRON, 317
LXXXV. THE CONSUMPTIVE PAIR, 320
LXXXVI. HOW TO CURE CHOLERA, 322
LXXXVII. OBSTINACY AND SUICIDE, 324
LXXXVIII. HEALTH HOSPITALS, 327
LXXXIX. DESTRUCTION BY SCROFULA, 329
XC. STARVING OUT DISEASE, 334
XCI. DIETING ON MINCE PIE, 342
XCII. GIANTS IN THE EARTH, 346
XCIII. THE GREEN MOUNTAIN PATIENT, 349
XCIV. CURE OF POISON FROM LEAD, 355
XCV. FAITH AND WORKS, 358
XCVI. WORKS WITHOUT FAITH, 360
XCVII. DISEASES OF LICENTIOUSNESS, 365
XCVIII. CURIOUS AND INSTRUCTIVE FACTS, 367
XCIX. ANTI-MEDICAL TESTIMONY, 371
C. AN ANTI-MEDICAL PREMIUM, 375
CI. CONCLUDING REMARKS, 378
CII. A LAST CHAPTER, 380
FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS
OF
PILLS AND POWDERS.
CHAPTER I.
EDUCATIONAL TENDENCIES.
I was born in a retired but pleasant part of New England, as New England
was half a century ago, and as, in many places, despite of its canals,
steamboats, railroads, and electromagnetic telegraphs, it still is.
Hence I am entitled to the honor of being, in the most emphatic sense, a
native of the land of "steady habits."
The people with whom I passed my early years, though comparatively rude
and uncultivated, were yet, in their manners and character, quite
simple. Most of them could spell and read, and write their names, and a
few could "cipher" as far as simple subtraction. To obtain the
last-mentioned accomplishment, however, was not easy, for arithmetic was
not generally permitted in the public schools during the six hours of
the day; and could only be obtained in the occasional evening school, or
by self-exertion at home.
The majority of my townsmen also knew something of the dream-book and of
palmistry, and of the influence of the moon (especially when first seen,
after the change, over the right shoulder), not only on the weather and
on vegetation, but on the world of humanity. They also understood full
well, what troubles were betokened by the howling of a dog, the
blossoming of a flower out of due season, or the beginning of a journey
or of a job of work on Tuesday or Friday. Many of them knew how to tell
fortunes in connection with a cup of tea. Nay, more, not a few of them
were skilled in astrology, and by its aid could tell under what planet a
person was born, and perchance, could predict thereby the future events
of his life; at least after those events had actually taken place.
Under what particular planet I was born, my friends never told me;
though it is quite possible some of my sage grandmothers or aunts could
have furnished the needful information had I sought it. They used to
look often at the lines in the palms of my hands, and talk much about my
dreams, which were certainly a little aspiring, and in many respects
remarkable. The frequent prediction of one of these aged and wise
friends I remember very well. It was, that I would eat my bread in two
kingdoms. This prediction was grounded on the fact, that the hair on the
top of my head was so arranged by the plastic hand of Nature as to form
what were called two crowns; and was so far fulfilled, that I have
occasionally eaten bread within the realms of Queen Victoria!
According to the family register, kept in the cranium of my mother, I
was born on Monday, which doubtless served to justify the frequent
repetition of the old adage, and its application to my own case--"Born
on Monday, fair of face." I was also born on the sixth day of the month,
on account of which it was said that the sixth verse of the thirty-first
chapter of Proverbs was, prospectively, a key to my character. It is
certainly true that I have dealt out not a little "strong drink to him
that" was "ready to perish;" and that few of my professional brethren
have furnished a larger proportion of it gratuitously; or as Solomom
says, have _given_ it.
Whether there was any clear or distinct prophecy ever uttered that I
would one day be a knight of the lancet, clad in full armor, is not
certain. If there was, I presume it was unwritten. That I was to be
distinguished in some way, everybody appeared to understand and
acknowledge. I was not only at the head of all my classes at school, in
spelling, reading, and writing, but exalted above most of my competitors
and compeers by a whole head and shoulders. In ciphering, in
particular, I excelled. I understood the grand rules of arithmetic, and
could even work a little in the Rule of Three.
That the thought of being a "doctor" did, in a sort of indefinable way,
sometimes enter my head, even at that early period, I will not deny. One
of my teachers, as I well remember, had medical books, into which bars
and bolts could hardly prevent me from peeping. But there were a
thousand lions in the way--or at least _two or three_. One was extreme
indigence on the part of my parents. They came together nearly as poor
as John Bunyan and his wife, or Sydney Smith and his companion. Or if,
in addition to a knife, fork, and spoon, they had a looking-glass, an
old iron kettle, an axe, and a hoe, I am sure the inventory of their
property at first could not have extended much farther; and now that
they had a family of four children, their wants had increased about as
fast as their income.
Besides, there was a confused belief in the public mind--and of course
in mine--that medical men were a species of conjurors; or if nothing
more, that they had a sort of mysterious knowledge of human character,
obtained by dealing with the stars, or by reliance on some supernatural
source or other. And to such a height as this I could not at that time
presume to aspire; though I certainly did aspire, even at a very early
period, to become a learned man.
As a means to such an end, I early felt an ardent desire to become a
printer. This desire originated, in part at least, from reading the
autobiography of Dr. Franklin, of which I was exceedingly fond. It was a
desire, moreover, which I was very slow to relinquish till compelled. My
father, as we have seen, was a poor laborer, and thought himself unable
either to give me any extra opportunities of education, or to spare me
from the cultivation of a few paternal acres. Still, in secret, I I
clung to the hope of one day traversing the lengths and breadths and
depths and heights of the world of science.
But for what purpose, as a final end? for, practically, the great
question was, _cui bono_? As for becoming a lawyer, that, with me, was
quite out of the question; for lawyers, even thus early, were generally
regarded as bad men. All over the region of my nativity the word lawyer
was nearly synonymous with liar; and to liars and lawyers the Devil was
supposed to have a peculiar liking, not to say affinity. I had never at
that time heard of but one honest lawyer; and him I regarded as a sort
of _lusus naturae_ much more than as an ordinary human being. My friends
would have been shocked at the bare thought of my becoming a lawyer, had
the road to that profession been open to my youthful aspirations.
The clerical profession was in some respects looked upon more favorably
than the legal or the medical. I was scarcely "three feet high" when an
aged and venerable grandmother said one day, _in my hearing_, and
probably _for_ my hearing, "I always did hope one of my grandsons would
be a minister." This, however, neither interested me much nor encouraged
me; for (reader will you believe it?), as the doctor was regarded in
those days as more than half a sorcerer, and the lawyer three-fourths
devil, so the minister was deemed by many as almost half an idiot,
except for his learning.
I am not, by any means, trifling with you. It was the serious belief of
many--I think I might say of most--that those boys who "took to
learning" were by nature rather "weak in the attic," especially those
who inclined to the ministry. It was a common joke concerning an idiot
or half idiot, "send him to college."[A]
In short, so strongly was this unfounded impression concerning the
native imbecility of ministers, and in general of literary men, fastened
on my mind as well as on the minds of most people, that I grew up nearly
to manhood with a sort of confused belief that as a general rule they
were below par in point of good, common sense. One prominent reason, as
I supposed, why they were sent to college and wrought into that
particular shape, was to bring them up to an equality with their
fellows. Hence, I not only repelled with a degree of indignation the
thought of becoming a minister, but felt really demeaned by my natural
fondness for books and school; and like the poet Cowper, hardly dared,
all my early lifetime, to look higher than the shoe buckles of my
associates. Still, I could not wholly suppress the strong desire to
_know_ which had penetrated and pervaded my soul, and which had been
nurtured and fed not only by an intelligent mother but by a few books I
had read. Perhaps the life of Franklin, already referred to, had as much
influence with me as any thing of the kind. For along with the love of
knowledge which was so much developed by this book, the love of doing
good was introduced. The doctor says, somewhere, that he always set a
high value on a doer of good; and it is possible, nay, I might even say
probable, that this desire, which subsequently became a passion with me,
had its origin in this very remark.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] To illustrate this point, and show clearly the state of the public
opinion, I will relate an anecdote. A certain calf in the neighborhood,
after long and patient trial, was pronounced too ignorant to be able to
procure his own nourishment, or in other words, was said to be a fool.
On raising the question, what should be done with him, a shrewd colored
man who stood by, said, "Master, send him to college!"