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1 W. J. McKnight, The Pioneer Doctor [1] (1915)

handle is hein.slavery/piondr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: The Pioneer Do(or in Northwesfern Penn'a Who Skinned the Nigger? Brook- ville's Pioneer Resurrection-The Truth Told by the Only One Now Living of the Seven That Were En- gaged in It-The True Story of the Inception and Enactment of Penn- sylvania State Anatomical Law. By W. J. McKNIGHT, M. D. To everything there is a time and a season. The Pioneer Doctor Medicine was practiced by the Egyptian priests, and was so practic- ed in Europe until A. D. 1163. Moses, the lawgiver, was a doctor and learn- ed in all the arts of the Egyptians. The pioneer and early doctor was a useful citizen, and his visits to the early settlers when afflicted was a great comfort. How we all long now to see the doctor when we are sick! Our isolated people longed just the same for the coming of their doctor. The science of medicine then was very crude, and the art of it very imper- fect, hence the early practicioner had but limited skill; yet while exercis- ing whatever he professed for the relief of suffering, his privations and labor while traveling by night or day on horse back with his old pill bags were hard and severe in the extreme. The extent of his circuit was usually from fifty to one hun- dred miles over poor roads and paths, swimming his horse through creeks and rivers as best he could. I have traveled a circuit of one hundred miles in my day. In those days every one had respect for the doctor, and every family along his circuit was delighted with an opportunity to ex-- tend free hospitality to the doctor and his horse. When I commenced the practice of medicine, I had to ride on horseback. My field extended all through and over Jefferson, Forest, Elk, as well as the western part of Clearfield county. My rides were long, day and night, through rain ,mud, sleet, cold, snow and darkness, with no rubber garments to protect me from storms. I have traveled the creek beds, forded and swam my horse when the rivers were in rafting stage, drove over paths, and ridden many a time from dark until dayliight all alone through the wilderness, twenty, thirty or fifty miles, stopping about midnight at some cabin to give my horse a little feed. In those days there was no tele- graph, telephone or daily mail through which to summon a doctor, but a neighbor had to be sent on foot or on horseback to find a physician, and not to come back without him. I was a good practical botanist and used mostly herbs and roots; these I gath- ered in the spring, summer and fall. Recipes were the fad' then. One of my preceptors had a book of these, which I carefully copied, and any others I could find. Medical colleges were few, and medical literature was scarce. As doctors we knew but little, and had to rely on what common- sense we possessed. My partner, Dr. Niver, made what he called Devil's broth. It was a mixed decoction of about all our roots and herbs, to be administered, as he said, with the hope that some one of the ingredients would hit the disease. Medicine and its practice was about all theory; remedies were crude and drastic. Instruments few imperfect and clumsy. I feel amazed when I !think how ignorant I .was, yet I tied Reproduced with permission from the University of Illinois at Chicago

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