USA > Indiana > Vanderburgh County > History of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, from the earliest times to the present, with biographical sketches, reminiscences, etc. > Part 29
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Shortly after the first settlements were made the people were scourged with a disease commonly known as milk sickness. This disease prevailed not only in the country but in the towns, and in fact through- out the state. As soon as the land was placed under cultivation it disappeared Cases were more numerous in the fall of the year than at any other time, and were
Hardships of the Practice .- The practice of medicine in the pioneer days was attended with difficulties that physicians of the present day can scarcely comprehend. Roads and bridges were almost un- known in certain localities, In high more general and obstinate in a dry season
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EARLY DISEASES.
than a wet one. Between the salt well and been much improved by sewerage and ditching. Water street had been cut down ten feet and all stagnant water and ponds had disappeared. The sanitary condition of the city was such that the disease was kept under control. There were only a few cases above Main street, the greater number being in Lamasco and below. The Germans suf- fered more than natives, owing it is pre- sumed, to the crowded condition in which they lived. B. F. Dupuy, a very prominent citizen of that day, died of the disease in 1852. The disease prevailed in a sporadic form from 1849 to 1852. In 1866 it again appeared for a short time, the infection coming from New York. There were but few deaths, and the greater number of them were among old people and invalids. The last visitation was in 1873. The most vigor- ous sanitary measures were enforced by the the village of Evansville, the ground was strewn with the bleached bones of cattle that had died from it. It may have been a species of bacteria, or a vegetable poison. Whatever it was, it made the springs and surface water unhealthy and even poisoned the dew which gathered upon the herbage. Milch cows imparted the disease to their calves, and the people contracted it from drinking the milk or eating the butter or beef of diseased cattle. Dr. Trafton made several post-mortem examinations, and in his opinion it was caused by a specific poison which spent its force upon the mucous membrane of the stomach and bowels, the pyloric orifice being particularly implicated and frequently closed up. The old treatment was severe purgation. Dr. Trafton, however, changed the practice, giving medicines to subdue irritation and in- city authorities, and it lasted but a short flammation, and afterward mild purgatives. time. It assumed a malignant type in July This treatment was so simple and effectual of that year, but the deaths were principally that it disarmed the disease of much of its among loafers and strangers. It prevailed terror, and the doctor was almost deified by with fearful violence in the neighboring his admiring countrymen. The scalpel in his town of Mount Vernon, whence the inhabit- hands was the key which unlocked the ants fled panic-stricken. mystery of the disease.
Surgery .- Before the coming of Dr. Bray
Cholera .- Evansville and Vanderburgh there had been no physician in Evansvillle county were visited with cholera in 1832, who made any pretensions to a knowledge the germs of the disease being brought by of surgical science. Blood-letting, tooth- passengers from New Orleans. It came in pulling and lancing were about the only op- erations undertaken by the pioneer doctors. The unfortunate man who met with an ac- cident serious enough to fracture a femur or crush his skull was either a cripple for life because of inferior attention, or died from the results of his injuries. Dr. Bray had pursued his studies in the east and settled in Evansville with the intention of practicing surgery. The town was in a promising growth at the time, 1835, and southwestern ern Indiana, southeastern Illinois, and western Kentucky, localities to which the town was the form of an epidemic, made its attack suddenly and ran its course rapidly. Com- ing in the summer it left late in the fall, and was not as fatal here as in other places, al- though it caused about twenty-five or thirty deaths in a population of 225 or 250. It yielded in its first stages to simple remedies such as całomel, opium, paregoric or red pepper. There was at the time but one physician in the town and county. In 1851 and 1852 the disease again appeared. The san- itary condition of Evansville, however, had
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
rapidly becoming a recognized supply depot, there was not a skilled surgeon. The doc- tor's services were early in demand, and his practice through the long period since his settlement here, now more than fifty years, has extended throughout all the territory adjacent to Evansville, and has embraced almost every form of operation known to the surgical science. In later years many well educated and skillful surgeons located in Evansville, and a great variety of delicate and important work has been done success- fully. It is pleasant to note the fact that the surgeons of Evansville, as a class, have maintained a very high standing in scientific circles throughout the country. Their ex- periences and reports of cases are given much weight by practitioners generally. In 1835 Mr. Bray amputated a leg above the knee, in Evansville, which was the first operation of the kind in the county. Dr. Trafton had charge of the patient, a young man traveling west. He had a compound complicated dislocation of the ankle joint caused by an accident with machinery. Such injuries are like gunshot wounds-they sel- dom heal by the first intention. The tibia was dislocated inwards, the fibula fractured at its lower third, and the sole of the foot turned outwards. The capsular ligament was lacerated, and the synovial fluid of the joint escaped. Dr. Bray advised immediate amputation, but was overruled by Dr. Traf- ton and his patient, and no other physician was in the place. The inflammation caused by the injury terminated in mortification of the leg. Dr. Bray was then requested by Dr. Trafton and his patient to amputate. He declined at first, but finally yielded to their wishes. The patient survived only a short time. While in a state of in articulo mortis he desired the prayers of a minister, but there was none in the town to smooth the pillow of the dying boy among strangers.
The first trepanning operation in the town was performed by Dr. Bray in 1836, upon John Stinson. The whole length of the parietal bone was fractured and one plate depressed under the other, caused by a blow from an axhandle in the hands of John Roos. This depression was removed by the eleva- tor and he recovered consciousness, but in about six weeks he had symptoms of an abscess between the dura-mater and inner plate of the skull. Dr. Bray opened the abscess by taking out a plug of the bone; a large quantity of pus escaped, and the patient made a good recovery.
Medical Societies .- The first medical society was organized in Evansville in 1845, was named the Evansville Medical Society, and the following was the preamble:
" WHEREAS, We, the undersigned physi- cians of Evansville and its vicinity, con- vinced of the expediency and importance of establishing a medical society for the pur- pose of promoting professional harmony and improvement, and to exalt generally the character, usefulness and dignity of the pro- fession, do hereby unite ourselves into an association, for the attainment of these objects, and do appoint Drs. William H. Stockwell, G. B. Walker and S. Thompson a committee to prepare a suitable constitu- tion and by-laws, to be submitted to the society on Saturday evening, January 4, 1845." Signed by William Trafton, T. Muhlhausen, S. Thompson, M. J. Bray, Daniel Morgan, W. Hamilton Stockwell, Percival Egerton Garrick and G. B. Walker. A suitable constitution and by-laws for the guidance of the society were adopted. The high ideas which governed the early physi- cians in their practice and show the lofty character of the men then constituting the medical fraternity here, are presented in the following Code of Medical Ethics as adopted by the society :
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MEDICAL SOCIETIES.
Rule I. It is the duty of every medical practitioner to treat his patients with stead- iness, tenderness and humanity, and tomake due allowance for that mental weakness which usually accompanies bodily disease. Secrecy and delicacy should be strictly observed in all cases in which they may seem to be peculiarly required.
2. The strictest observance of temper- ance cannot be too strongly inculcated on the minds of the practitioners of medicine and surgeons, a clear and vigorous intellect and a steady hand being absolutely necessary to the successful practice of these branches of medical science.
3. Unfavorable prognostications should never be made in the presence of patients; yet, should there seem to be immediate dan- ger, it becomes the duty of the medical attendant to apprise the patient's friends of that circumstance.
4. In every instance in which one phys- ician has been called on to visit the patient of another, a consultation with the former medical attendant shall be proposed. Con- sultations in difficult cases should always be recommended, and the physician called on for that purpose should always pay the greatest degree of respect to the practitioner first employed, and allow him the privilege of delivering all the directions agreed upon.
5. Special consultations are sometimes wished for; in such cases the physicians called on should carefully guard against paying another visit, unless he should be requested to continue his services by the patient or some of his friends.
be expressly wished for by the patient or his friends.
7. Physicians should not visit their pa- tients too frequently, lest seeing them oftener than necessary might produce unsteadiness in the treatment.
S. Theoretical discussions should not be too freely indulged in consultations, as they frequently give rise to much perplexity with- out any improvement in practice.
9. The junior physician in attendance should always deliver his opinion first, and when there are more than two, the others, according to seniority, and a majority should decide; but in the event of a tie, the physician first in attendance should give the casting vote in regard to the future treatment, and to him should be intrusted the future man- agement of the case, unless the patient or his relatives should object to his being con; tinued.
10. Although the possession of a diploma, honorably acquired, furnishes presumptive evidence of professional ability, and entitles the possessor to pre-eminence in the profes- sion. yet the want of it should not exclude practitioners of experience and sound judg- ment from the fellowship and respect of the regular graduate.
II. In consultations, punctuality in meet- ing at the same time should be strictly ob- served, but the physician who first arrives should wait a reasonable length of time for the arrival of others. A minute examina- tion of the patient, however, should not take place until one or more of the medical attendants are present, except in cases of emergency; all subsequent visits should, if practicable, be made by mutual agreement, and no medical discussion should take place in the presence of the patient.
6. When one physician is called on to visit the patient of another in his absence, or during short indispositions, he should not manifest a wish to continue in attendance any longer than the physician first called on 12. Attendance upon members of the profession or their families, should always should be able to resume charge of the case, unless a continuance of his services should be gratuitous, but should not be officiously
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THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
obtruded should the circumstances of the 16. In all cases where diversity of opin- medical practitioner indisposed enable him ion and opposition of interest give rise to to make a recompense for medical services rendered to himself or family, it is his duty to do so, especially if he reside at a distance. controversy or contention between two or more members of the profession, the decis- ion should be referred to a sufficient num- ber of physicians, as they are frequently the only persons in the community capable of properly estimating the merits of the dis-
13. When one practitioner is called on to visit a patient whose recovery has been despaired of by the physician first in attend- ance, and the disease should afterward ter- pute. But neither the subject litigated nor minate fatally under his management, he the decision thereon should be communi- should avoid insinuating to the friends of the cated to the public, as individual reputation might suffer and the credit of the profession
deceased that if he had been called on a day or a few hours sooner he could have effected generally be injured. ,
a cure. Such a course of conduct is highly reprehensible and empirical in the extreme. And in the event of the patient's recovery, such a person should not assume all the the absence of the practicing physician, or credit, as the cure might have been partly effected by the medicines prescribed before he took charge of the case.
17. A wealthy physician, or one retired from practice, should refuse to give gratui- tous advice, unless the danger of the case, the poverty of the patient should warrant him in so doing. In all cases where he may be preferred, he should recommend a con- sultation with some one engaged in active practice. This rule should be strictly ob- served, as a contrary course is gratuitously depriving active industry of its proper reward.
14. The use of nostrums and quack medicines should be discouraged as degrad- ing to the profession, injurious to health, and often destructive of life. Should pa- tients, laboring under chronic complaints, obstinately determine to have recourse to 18. When a physician is called on suddenly them, a reasonable degree of indulgence to visit the patient of another, in consequence should be allowed to their credulity by the of some unexpected or alarming change in the physician; but it is his sacred duty to warn them of the fallacy of their expectations and symptoms, he should adopt a temporary plan of treatment suited to present circum- the danger of the experiment, and the neces- stances. He is not warranted in interfering sity of strict attention to the effect produced by them, in order that their bad effects, if any, should be timely obviated.
afterwards, unless requested to take charge of the case, when he should propose an im- mediate consultation with the, physician
15. No physician should, either by pre- previously employed.
cept or example, contribute to the circula- tion of a secret nostrum, whether it be his own invention or exclusive property or that
19. Physicians should never neglect an opportunity of fortifying and promoting the good resolutions of patients suffering under of another. For, if it be of real value, its the bad effects of intemperate lives and concealment is inconsistent with beneficence vicious conduct, and in order that their counsels and remonstrances may have due and professional liberty, and if mystery alone give it value and importance, such craft weight, it will readily be seen that they implies either disgraceful ignorance or fraudulent avarice.
should have full claim to the blameless life land high moral character which has been
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MEDCIAL COLLEGES.
stated to be a necessary pre-requisite to an honorable stand in the profession.
20. Medical men should "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," and visits should, as far as consistent with professional engagements, be made either before or after public worship, or during its intervals.
The following is a list of the signers to the constitution and by-laws of the early so- ciety, and exhibits the names of the leading physicians in Vanderburgh county from 1845 to 1873: William Trafton, D. S. Lane, D. F. Muhlhausen, W. Hamilton Stockwell, G. B. Walker, Charles S. Weever, M. J. Bray, John R. Wilcox, Daniel Morgan, P. E. Garrick, Isaac Casselberry, John T. Walker, B. V. Peel, E. P. Spunine, L. L. Laycock, C. A. Foster, W. H. Byford, J. B. Stinson, William A. McDowell, Allan C. Hallock, Mark Trafton, William Gramm, Hugh Ronalds, James G. Hatchet, Benjamin K. Davidson, Able D. Cook, John Conning- ton, D. A. Farnsley, W. M. Elliott, S. Ruark, J. P. DeBruler, Adolphus Wolkup, J. J. Pennington, F. Schellar, C. C. Tyrrell, S. W. Thompson, J. B. Johnson, E. T. Runcie, T. C. Vannuys, T. H. Rucker, H. T. Legler, M. Winnings, W. G. Jones, B. J. Day, Oscar Kress, H. M. Harvey, M. Muhlhausen, John Maginnis, J. F. Hilliard, A. M. Owen, W. H. A. Lewis, M. C. Barkwell, W. M. Newell, R. H. Singleton, I. T. Conn, C. P. Bacon, Edwin Walker, J. W. Compton, E. Linthicum, J. H. Kennedy, J. W. Williamson, J. E. Harper, P. Y. McCoy.
The Evansville medical society, termin- ating in 1873, was superseded by the Drake medical society, which continued in existence until 1878, when the Vanderburg county medical society was organized.
Evansville Medical College .- The Evans- ville medical college was organized at the office of Drs. Trafton and Weever, in Evans-
ville, on the evening of March 1, 1846, by the calling of Dr. G. B. Walker to the chair and the selection of Dr. L. L. Laycock as secretary. Articles of organization and by-laws were adopted. L. L. Laycock was elected dean of the college, and the follow- ing faculty chosen: L. L. Laycock, profes- sor of theory and practice; S. R. Wilcox, professor of materia medica and therapeu- tics; G. B. Walker, professor of obstetrics; C. S. Weever, professor of anatomy; M. J. Bray, professor of surgery, and C. A. Fos- ter, professor of chemistry. The first course of lectures in the college commenced Mon- day, November 5, 1849. The class was composed of forty-one matriculates, nine of whom were candidates for graduation. The course was composed of five lectures per day, with the exception of Saturday, when there were but two lectures given. The first commencement was held in the Methodist church, on the evening of Satur- day, February 23, 1850, when, with appro- priate ceremonies, including an address by Judge C. I. Battell, president of the board of directors, the degree of M. D. was con- ferred on William Gillespie, J. M. Graham, A. C. Halleck, J. C. Patton, C. R. Smith, F. Williams, E. P. Banning, A. A. McRey- nolds and W. Asselinian, after which the graduates were addressed by James E. Blythe, one of the most prominent lawyers in this part of the state.
In 1850, W. Walling, M. D., of Prince- Iton, Ind., was appointed professor of the institutes of medicine and medical jurispru- dence. The same year Prof. C. S. Weever resigned the chair of anatomy, and H. H. Byford, M. D., of Mt. Vernon, Ind., was elected to the vacancy. The same year the honorary degree of M. D. was conferred upon Prof. C. A. Foster.
Graduates of 1851: Abel C. Cook, John A. Cooper, George Detar, William R.
.
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THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
Ham, Lee Haslewood, George B. Lewis, Sam D. Moore, Edward D. Rathbone, Derastus Thomas, I. R. Tilman. Grad- uates of 1852: Augustus Defoe, William, Graham, James G. Hatchett, Elisha V. Mitchell, Shadrach Ruark, Richard Smyth and Enoch E. Welborn.
In 1851, L. L. Laycock, professor of theory and practice of medicine, resigned and was suceeded by Prof. W. H. Byford. Dr. Hugh Reynolds was appointed to the chair of anatomy, vacated by Dr. Byford on his election to that of practice. Dr. William A. McDowell was appointed during his year to the chair of institutes, which was made vacant by the resignation of W. Walling, M. D. The chair was made vacant by the death of Dr. McDowell in 1853, and was filled by the appointment of Dr. John T. Walker.
Graduates of 1853: Henry M. Bacon, William M. Elliott, Fred McKasson, John Kivett, John W. Runcier, John Stott, Will- iam D. Laimer, Edwin W. Organ, Q. B. Welborn, William W. Welborn and Charles Wheeler.
Graduates of 1854: Jacob Jenner, J. M. Ireland, E. T. Runcie, M. Muhlhausen, Thomas Wheeler, J. P. Pike, Milton HI. Bacon, and Z. R. Millard. The lectures in the college terminated in 1856, and were not resumed until 1871, from which time they were continued up to 1883. In 1871 the faculty was composed of the following gen- tlemen: G. B. Walker, obstetrics: Daniel Morgan, diseases of women and children; William R. Davidson, physiology: M. J. Bray, surgery; J. P. DeBruler, theory and practice; Isaac Casselberry, medical juris- prudence; T. C. VanNeys, chemistry; M. C. Barkwell, anatomy; H. G. Jones, materia medica; and A. M. Owen, eye and ear.
mediate control of the faculty and supported by the city, was an invaluable adjunct of the college and one of great practical value to the student. It furnished a large field of observation, enabling the student to acquire proficiency in the art of examining, diagnos- ing and prescribing, and familiarized him with the manipulations belonging to minor surgery. Advanced students had cases of obstetrics and other patients intrusted to their attendance. A large number of pa- tients were annually treated, clinics being held at the dispensary every day. The col- lege museum contained the usual specimens found in such a collection, as well as valuable anatomical preparations and pathological specimens.
The following was the faculty in 1876-7: Daniel Morgan, M. D., professor of dis- eases of women and children; John H. Compton. M. D., professor of materia medica and therapeutics; J. E. Lilly, M. D., profes- sor of chemistry, pharmacy and toxicology; E. Linthicum, M. D., professor of genito- urinary and venereal diseases and clinical surgery; A. M. Owen, M. D., professor of surgery; G. B. Walker, M. D., professor of principles and practice of obstetrics; George F. Center, M. D., professor of ophthal- mology, otology and orthopedic surgery; Edwin Walker, M. D., professor of anatomy; A. H. Bryan, M. D., professor of general pathology; N. G. Jones, M. D., professor of principles and practice of medicine and clin- ical medicine; W. R. Davidson, M. D., pro- fessor of physiology and histology; N. W. Austin, M. D., lecturer on surgery relat- ing to venereal diseases: J. E. Harper, M. D., lecturer on medical jurisprudence and dem- onstrator of anatomy.
From 1882 to 1884, when the college closed, the following physicians composed the faculty : Dr. P. Y. McCoy, professor of surgery; Dr.
The College Dispensary, under the im- | Edwin Walker, professor of clinical gyne-
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COLLEGES, HOSPITALS AND JOURNALS.
cology and nervous diseases; Dr. C. P. Bacon, professor of diseases of women; Dr. George P. Hodson, professor of obstetrics: Dr. F. W. Achilles, professor of chemistry and toxicology; Dr. L. D. Brose, professor of anatomy; Dr. C. E. Lining, professor of materia medica and therapeutics; Dr. E. Linthicum, professor of genito-urinary dis- eases; Dr. J. O. Stillson, professor of physi- ology and diseases of eye and ear; Dr. H. G. Jones, professor of theory and practice: Dr. G. M. Young, professor of hygiene and medical jurisprudence: Dr. Jacob Kerth, demonstrator of anatomy.
Hospital Medical College .- The organi- zation of this institution was due to the efforts of Dr. A. M. Owen. It was chart- ered in 1872. Its first faculty was composed as follows: Dr. Geo. B. Walker, dean and professor of obstetrics; Dr. A. M. Owen, professor of surgery; Dr. Charles Knapp, professor of theory and practice of medicine; Dr. C. M. Dudenhausen, professor of materia medica and therapeutics; Dr. John E. Owen, professor of anatomy; Dr. A. M. Scott, professor of physiology; Dr. Edward Murphy, professor of chemistry; Dr. W. D. Neal, professor of diseases of women; Dr. J. S. Gardner, dean of anatomy. The col- lege was so ably managed and its instructors were of such high standing in the profession that its success was remarkable. Degrees were conferred on nine graduates at the close of the first year, and in all about fifty of Dr. Walker, in 1887, was a serious blow to the institution. The engrossing demands of Dr. Owen's practice forced his resigna- tion, and principally because of these losses in the faculty it was deemed best to suspend operations under the charter. The enter- prise was highly successful and it is now the purpose of the friends of the old institution to revive it and again make Evansville the
seat of a medical college which will be the pride of the state.
Hospitals .- The U. S. hospital was fitted to receive patients in 1857. M. J. Bray, M. D., was appointed post-surgeon. His successors were J. P. DeBruler, M. D., and J. B. Johnson, M. D., appointed respectively in 1861 and 1862. The medical staff, com- posed of the college faculty, held clinics semi-weekly. After the late war the U. S. hospital was sold to the Sisters of Charity, who changed its name to St. Mary's hos- pital.
The City hospital is a private enterprise, being instituted by some of Evansville's most respectable and skillful physicians, among them Drs. W. S. Pollard, R. Hart- loff, E. Walker, G. Hodson, J. Kerth, J. C. Mcclurkin, and E. Linthicum and others. It received its first patients in 1883, and has since done much good.
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