Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE SUN, NEWBERRY. S. O. FRIDAY. MAY 24, 1940 Celebration of Its Centennial by Illinois Medical Society Recalls the Heroic Service of Pioneer Doctors Farm [Topics || HIGH-GRADE HAY SAVES FEED COST Household News By ELMO SCOTT WATSON (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) T HE 100th anniversary celebration of the Illi nois State Medical so ciety, which is being held in Peoria May 21 to 23, has more Qian a local significance. Not only does it pay tribute to the founders of one of the first state medical associations in this country but it also serves to recall the heroic services of the pioneer physicians and surgeons during the frontier era of American history. For whether that frontier was along the Atlantic sea board, in the Ohio and Missis sippi valleys, on the Great Plains of the trans-Missouri West or in Rocky mountains, one of the most important fig ures in the pioneer commu nity was the “man with the little black bag.” It was he, who, undaunted by the perils of attack by savage Indians or wild animals, heedless of the danger from floods and prairie or forest fires, and indifferent to the discomforts of blazing summer heat or raging blizzards in winter, cheerfully climbed into his saddle, or into a “one-hoss shay,” and set forth to allevi ate human suffering. And this heroic preserver of health and life had precious few aide in his work. Mostly he de pended upon his unaided senses to diagnose the case and decide upon the treatment. He was with out the help of a thermometer, which did not come into general use until about 1870 and then was ten inches long and required five minutes to register temperature! He had no stethoscope, no instru ment for measuring blood pres sure, no blood count or blood chemistry determinations, no X-ray—no way, in fact, of exam ining the interior of any organ. In the light of modem medical practice, the miracle is that he saved as many lives as he did. It was such men as these who mounted their horses one morn ing in the early part of June and rode over the uncharted prairie and forest trails toward Spring- field, the struggling little village on the banks of the Sangamon river. History has preserved the names of a few of them—Eastern ers who had “come West to grow up with the country,” such men as M. Helm, a graduate of the Baltimore Medical college; Wil liam S. Wallace of the Jefferson Medical college; and John Todd, who had been graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1810. Associated With Lincoln. The latter had another distinc tion, for he was the uncle of Mary Todd who had recently become engaged to a rising young law yer in Springfield named Abra ham Lincoln. Evidently Todd was a leader among the fellow- physicians for when, on June 8, 1840. these doctors launched the Illinois State Medical society, they chose him as their first pres ident. The name of William S. Wal lace, previously mentioned, is also associated with the name of Abraham Lincoln. He had come to Springfield in 1836 and three years later married Mary Todd’s sister, Frances. So in the course of time he became Lincoln’s brother-in-law and in 1861 when Lincoln spoke his famous words of farewell to his fellow citizens of Springfield from the rear of a railroad train, Doctor Wallace stood beside him. More than that he accompanied the Presidential party to Washington to accept an appointment as paymaster in the Union army. Exposure in mili tary service caused his death in 1867. Dr. Charles F. Hughes, who acted as secretary of the organi zation meeting of the Illinois so ciety, had a prior history as stir ring as the times in which he lived. Born in Maryland in 1807, he was graduated from St. Mary’s college in Emmettsburg, Md., and later from the Maryland Medical college in Baltimore. Because his health was impaired he took a sea voyage to Latin America. When the ship on which he was a passenger arrived in Guate mala, the negro natives, who had started an insurrection, captured the ship and killed all of the offi cers, crew and passengers except Doctor Hughes and another physi cian. These two were spared by the superstitious natives because they were “medicine men.” Hughes practiced his profession among them for seven years be fore he had an opportunity to escape. One day, seeing an American vessel nearing the Fertility Value of Legumes Is Also Beneficial. The pioneer doctor’s horse waits patiently in the storm while his master is busy on his errand of mercy. Dr. John Todd shore, he secreted himself among some barrels, reached the ship safely and returned to America. He arrived in Sangamon county in 1836 and was practicing in the little village of Rochester, near Springfield, when the organiza tion meeting was held. Almost as adventurous a career as Doctor Hughes’ was that of Dr. Charles H. Webb of Li -ing- ston county. In 1822, with his brother, he took passage at Pitts burgh on a flatboat bound for St. Louis. At that time a grotto, called Cave-in-Rock, situated on the banks of the Ohio river near Shawneetown was a rendezvous for a band of river pirates who enticed river boats to stop and passengers to disembark with an attractive sign, “Liquor Vault and House for Entertainment.” Captured by Outlaws. When the flatboat on which Doctor Webb was a passenger reached Cave-in-Rock, the cap tain and three of the passengers, one of whom was the doctor’s brother, were decoyed into land ing at that place. When they failed to return, Doctor Webb went ashore to find them. He was promptly seized by three of the outlaws, blindfolded, his hands tied behind him and placed in a skiff which was rowed out into the river and then set adrift. In the middle of the night Webb succeeded in freeing his hands and with his shoes began bailing out the water that was threatening to swamp the frail craft. At day break he man aged to reach a small inhabit ed island where he was provid ed with a pad dle and advised to proceed to Smithland, Ky. Anxious to learn the fate of his brother, Doctor Webb set out afoot but sprained his ankle and was barely able to hobble along. He was discovered by a girl mounted on a horse. She told him that her name was Cassandra Ford and persuaded him to mount her horse and accompany her to her home. When he arrived there he found that the girl's father, James Ford, had the flute with which the doctor had entertained the other passengers on the flatboat and which had been taken from him when he was overpowered by the outlaws. Despite this evidence that Ford was one of the outlaw gang. Doc tor Webb proceeded to fall in love with Cassandra. Eventually he returned to that vicinity, mar ried her and with his bride set tled in Livingston county to prac tice his profession. In the mean time his brother had been re leased by the outlaws and made his way safely to St. Louis. Still another pioneer doctor who had an adventurous cateer was Dr. Charles Chandler, whose name is perpetuated in the town of Chandlerville, 111. A native of Rhode Island, he was prac ticing in that state when the spirit of adventure influenced him to migrate to the western country. Chandler arrived in Illinois at the time of the Black Hawk war and started up the Illinois river with the intention of settling at Fort Clark (Peoria). But when the captain of the boat on which he was traveling declined to go farther because of fear of the In dians, Chandler disembarked at Beardstown. He was so impressed with the beauty of the country around what is now Chandlerville that he entered 160 acres at the land office and built a cabin on his tract. A Versatile Doctor. Chandler soon built up a big practice in the new country and often traveled 100 miles in 24 hours over a territory which now includes seven counties in Illinois. He was also active in many other ways. He erected stores and small shbps so that farmers might obtain their necessary sup plies without traveling to distant Beardstown over the worst kind of roads. With his brother he established a general store, slaughtered and packed for mar ket as many as 3,000 hogs in a year. He acted as postmaster in 1849 and donated sites for parks and cemeteries. Nor was Chandler the only one of these pioneer doctors who en gaged in activities outside of their profession. They helped lay out townsites; start industries and businesses; install systems of education; provide churches; print newspapers; serve in public offices and, when need be, they went to war and fought shoulder to shoulder with their fellow pio neers. Typical of these public-spirited physicians was Dr. Benjamin Kirtland Hart of Alton, one of the founders of the Illinois State Med ical society, who had served as president of his town board and who, three years later, fathered a movement which resulted in the purchase of a site, later the erection of a building, for Alton’s first schoolhouse. At the rear of the Peoria home of Dr. Rudolphus Rouse was a fine opera hall which Rouse had caused to be built. The result was that pioneer Peoria witnessed some of the finest drama of the day, since Peoria became a stopping point for road companies traveling from one large city to another. Like many of the pioneer physi cians, Dr. Edward Reynolds Roe turned from medicine to devote his natural talents to the less strenuous pursuits of writing and became so much in demand as a writer while practicing medicine in Shawneetown in 1850 that the Illinois Journal at Springfield em ployed him as a regular corre spondent. Then he turned his hand to fiction and produced “Virginia Rose; a Tale of Illinois in Early Days” (which had for its back ground the lawlessness centering around Cave-in-Rock); which ran as a prize setial in the Alton Courier in 1852; “The Gray and the Blue”; “Brought to Bay”; “From the Beaten Path”; “G. A. R.; or, She Marrie4 His Double”; “Dr. Caldwell; or A The Trail of the Serpent”; and ‘'Prairie Land and Other Poems.” Later he be came editor of the Jacksonville Journal, then the Constitution alist. At the outbreak of the Civil war Roe, who was then the first pro fessor of natural science at Illi nois State Normal university near Bloomington, raised three com panies, composed mainly of his students, for service in the Union army. He was captain, major, and then lieutenant-colonel of the Thirty-third Illinois regiment and was dangerously wounded at Vicksburg in 1863. Later he be came editor of the Bloomington Pantagraph, was appointed mar shal of the Southern district of Illinois, and served in the state legislature. His varied career ended in 1893 when he died in Chi cago at the age of eighty. Another literary doctor was Benjamin Franklin Allen, a na tive of Watertown, N. Y., who be gan practicing medicine in Kane county. 111., in 1844. In 1860 he settled in Joliet, 111., and began to devote his time to writing. Among his writings were “The Uncle’s Legacy,” which ran as a serial in the Will County Courier for six months; “Irene; or, The Life and Fortunes of a Yankee Girl”; and a series of humorous sketches under the title of “Ex periences, Advice, Comments and Suggestions of Barney O’Toole,” who seems to have been an earlier “Mr. Dooley.” By W. B. NEVENS (Professor of Dairy Cattle Feeding, Illinois College of Agriculture.) Producing and feeding high-qual ity hay is one of the best ways to lower live stock feeding costs. To make the present conservation program of growing more acres ot soil-building legumes and fewer acres of soil-depleting cash crops more effective, high-quality hay for live stock feed and the poorer grades for bedding, which can be returned to the soil in the form of manure, should be used. On most farms material savings in the cost of producing live stock and live stock products result from feeding more high-quality hay and less grain for each animal unit. Then too only high-quality legume hay sells for more than the value of the phosphorus, nitrogen and potas sium it contains. The fertility value of alfalfa, clover and soybean hay is $8 to $9 a ton. This means that a profit is possible only on the highest grades when one is raising hay for market. Quality in hay really means feed value. The factors which affect quality include maturity or ripeness, percentage of leaves, color, foreign material such as weeds mixed with the hay, soundness or condition, size and pliability of the stems, and the aroma. From the standpoint of the chem ist who analyzes hay samples, qual ity in hay refers mainly to its pro tein, carbohydrates, mineral and vi tamin content. From the feeder’s standpoint, the extent to which these nutritive elements are present is represented by the quality factors, such as maturity, leafiness, and green color, that cam be judged by examining the hay. A GET-TOGETHER FOR THE GANG (See Recipes Below) Wild Game on Farm Can Be a 'Pay' Crop Farmers who support game on their farms are just as much justified in ex pecting some return from it as for their crops of oats, beef or com, says Donald Hatfield of the University of Minnesota. He suggests farmer-sports man cooperatives to protect the farmer against trespass abuse and to give the hunter more land to shoot over. Michigan, Ohio and Iowa are some of the states where cooperatives have b~en set up. By this plan, the farmer furnishes the land and. grain and the sportsman contributes cash either di rectly to the farmer or toward increas ing the game supply. The best plan, says Hatfield, is for several fatjmers to form an association aggregating not more than 4,000 acres in a solid block. Post the area and make rules regarding the number of hunters per unit of area. From one to three hunters for each 50 acres prob ably is the best number to start with. Keep the price' low but high enough to support improvements. New Cheap Treatment Preserves Fence Posts Farmers in the past have been forced to shy away from pine, pop lar and some of the common hard woods when they selected trees for fence posts, but Parker O. Ander son, extension forester, Minnesota university farm, says that a new “tire tube” method of treatment is going to change all that. It has been known for many years that if preservatives were used, posts would last much longer. For mer methods of treatment were slow, awkward and expensive, how ever, and never received popular approval. The new plan involves the use of 4 cheap preservative, zinc chloride, which is applied to green posts through inner tubes tightly stretched aroun'’ the large ends of the posts. The preservative is measured and poured into the tubes while the posts lie at an inclined angle. Eight to ; 24 hours are needed for the chloride to seep into the wood and replace the sap. Cheap, practical and efficient— the new method is bound to prove a big source of savings to farmers, says Anderson. By using it, abun dant, fast-growing trees may be con verted into posts that will last about as long as cedar. Cost of the materials used will vary with the variety of wood, also the size and condition that it is in, but for or dinary posts it averages about six cents each. Farm Notes One ton of grain to each cow each year is a good general formula for dairy cattle. * • • Last year bankruptcies among ! farmers dropped to the lowest point ; in almost two decades. * * • If a cold chisel becomes mush- . room-headed, reduce the turned edges with a grinder until the driv ing end is slightly smaller than the haft of the tool. Whether it’s games for two or the whole crowd, you can flatter the go ing-on-19 set by I serving unusual refreshments that carry an air of so phistication. They needn’t be a bur den on the chief cook, either, if she masters a few short cuts in pre paring them. Sandwiches, salted nuts, olives and radishes, little cakes and coffee make a spread that appeals to any age, and that is sure to be acclaimed by enthusiastic youngsters. Serve decaffeinated coffee, so that youth ful enthusiasm needn’t be checked in a demand for second cups; and pass lengths of stick cinnamon in stead of spoons to stir this tempting brew. By all means flatter the so phisticated teensters by using your best demi-tasse cups. An assortment of sandwiches can be made in short order if you cut the bread lengthwise, after remov ing the crusts, and buttering. Spread the filling on one big slice, top with another, and cut into half a dozen small sandwiches. You can make attractive little cakes that will look as handsome as the French chef’s “petit fours” by cutting a plain loaf cake or plain layers into small shapes. Then cover with frosting, and decorate with candied fruit. After-Dinner Coffee or Demi-Tasse. (Extra Strength.) Use IVi heaping tablespoons de caffeinated coffee, regular grind, for each cup (Vs pint) of water. Make by any method desired. If using de caffeinated coffee drip grind, meas ure well-rounded tablespoon instead of heaping tablespoon. Rolled Sandwiches. 1 loaf bread (very fresh for rolling) Vi cup butter (thoroughly creamed) 2 packages cream cheese 2 tablespoons cream Vi teaspoon salt Red and green liquid food coloring Remove crusts from a fresh loaf of bread. Cut entire loaf in thin slices lengthwise. Butter each long slice and spread Vs of each slice with a filling made of cream cheese moistened with cream and tinted pink with red food color. Spread the other half with moistened cheese tinted with green food color. Roll like a jelly roll and wrap in a tea towel wrung out of cold water. Chill and then cut into thin slices for serving. Orange Jiffy Cakes. Vi cup butter 1 cup sugar 2 eggs l'/s cups cake flour IVs teaspoons baking powder Vi teaspoon salt Vs cup orange juice Grated rind—1 orange Cream butter and add sugar slow- ( iy while beating constantly. Add ! eggs, one at a time, mixing thor oughly. Mix and sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and add alternately with the orange juice and grated orange rind. Bake in greased muffin tins in a moder ately hot oven (375 degrees) for ap proximately 20 minutes. Cornucopia Sandwiches. Slice fresh bread in %-inch slices. Trim off crusts, so that each slice is about 2% inches square. Spread with softened butter, and any de sired sandwich filling. Roll, to form a cornucopia or horn. Fasten with toothpicks. Chill well before serving. Fort Atkinson Ginger Creams. (Makes 3 dozen I'/fe-inch squares) Vs cup shortening 2 tablespoons sugar 2 cups flour % teaspoon soda Vi teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ginger I cup dark molasses 1 egg (separated) 1 cup boiling water Cream shortening and sugar to gether. Sift flour, soda, salt and ginger, and blend with the creamed mixture using a pastry blender or a fork. Add molasses and egg yolk and beat well. Then add boiling If you’re planning a menu espe cially for men, be sure to read Eleanor Howe’s column next week. Whether you’re chairman of the “Eats Committee” for the Busi ness Men’s club, or planning a supper party for Dad or a high school age son, you’ll find hints on how to be successful, in this column next week. There’ll be menus and tested recipes, too. water, gradually, and beat well. Fold in stiffly beaten egg white. Spread batter in greased jelly roll pan (about 11 by 16 inches) and bake in a moderately hot oven (375 degrees) for approximately 18 min utes. Cool and frost with boiled icing. College Cakes. % cup shortening IVs cups granulated sugar 2% cups cake flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Vs teaspoon soda Vi teaspoon salt 1 cup sour milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 egg whites Cream shortening, add sugar gradually, and beat well. Sift the flour, baking pow der, soda and salt together, and add to the creamed mixture alter nately with sour milk and soda. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into the batter. Spread in shal low, greased cake pan and bake in a moderate oven (365 degrees) for about 25 minutes. Cool and cut cake into fancy shapes with cookie cutters. Ice with pastelr tinted College Icing. College Icing. 2 cups granulated sugar % teaspoon cream of tartar 1 cup hot water 1 pound confectioners’ sugar ( appr oxim ately ) Cake coloring Cook sugar, cream of tartar ana water in a saucepan until a thin syrup is formed (226 degrees). Cool slightly. Then add confectioners’ sugar to make an icing of pouring consistency. Add coloring, then pour icing over the cakes, covering them entirely. Decorate as desired. Old-Fashioned Filled Cookies. (Makes about 30 cookies.) 1 cup shortening 2 cups brown sugar 4 cups rolled oats 1 teaspoon soda Vs cup boiling water 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1% cups flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon Cream shortening and add sugar gradually. Add rolled oats. Dissolve soda in hot water, and add to creamed mixture with the vanilla. Add flour and cinnamon, and mix well. Chill, roll out very thin, and cut into rounds. Place a teaspoon of date filling between 2 cookie rounds and press edges together with a fork. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake in a moderately hot oven (375 degrees) for about 15 min. utes. Date Filling. 1 cup dates (chopped fine) % cup sugar 3 tablespoons flour 1 cup hot water 1 teaspoon lemon extract Combine ingredients and cook un til thick. Cool. Here’s a Booklet Every Hostess Needs. Eleanor Howe’s cook book, Easy Entertaining, will give you menus and tested recipes for other “Teen Age Parties.” There are hints for planning picnic lunches, and beach parties, too, and suggestions for for mal and informal entertaining of ev ery kind. Send 10 cents, now, to “Easy En tertaining,” care Eleanor Howe, 919 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, and get your copy of this useful book. (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) You Can Make Your Own Summer Shade By RUTH WYETH SPEARS M R. AND MRS. NEWHOUSE looked out over their back yard and were in no mood to plant an acorn and wait for it to grow up to give them summer shade. Mr. Newhouse bought some sec ond-hand pipe for a song and made a sketch for the frame of a shelter like the one I have shown at the upper right. He ha'd a plumber cut and thread the pipe so it could be put together easily. The pipe frame was painted bright blue. Then Mrs. Newhouse selected green and white striped awning material for the top. This material was 3p inches wide and 12 yards were needed. About 15 yards of bright blue bias binding were used for the scalloped edge. The method of fastening the awn ing to the frame is illustrated. The fabric loops were made of the awning material stitched in place through heavy woven tane. Whether you have a new home or an old one, 10 cents to cover cost and mailing charges on Mrs. Spears’ Sewing Book No. 1 can i save you many dollars. In it are complete directions for slip cov ers, curtains, bedspreads, dress ing tables and many clever and original things that may require the aid of Friend Husband to drive a nail or two. Write today and ask for Book No. 1. Address: MRS. RUTH WVETH SPEARS Drawer 10 Bedford Hills New York Enclose 10 cents for Book No. 1. Name Address Fur-Clad Island Its name is Possession, and it can be found on the charts of South-West Africa. Seen from the sea it almost blinds you, because of the white guano which covers it, but a hundred years ago a Cap tain Morrell, who wrote a book, “Narrative of Four Voyages,” said that when he arrived off Pos session he found it clad in fur. The whole island was covered with the bodies of fur-seals, their skins still on them. He believed the seals had been overwhelmed and suf focated by one of the terrifically hot whirlwinds which sweep out to the ocean from the desert coast. Hpt winds blow from the land today and yet the seals do not meet a similar fate. Another of the sea’s mysteries. IDS! YOUR PEP? Hera Is Amazing Relief of CoodiUons Due to Sluggish Bowels if If you think all laxatives act alike, just try this all vegetable laxatlva. mild, thorough, refreshing, invigorating. De pendable relief from sick headaches, bilious spells, tired feeling when associated with constipation. linn«_n.ssf Dielr *** a 25c box of NR from your VYIlflOUI RISK druggist. Make the test—then If not delighted, return the box to us. We will refund the purchase price. That's fair. Get NR Tablets today. Nature’s Touch One touch of nature makes tho whole world kin.—Shakespeare. Use in Unity Things worthless singly are use ful collectively.—Ovid. BJuna^c’^^BCes-edRelielL RHEUMATISM lumbadd BEACONS of —SAFETY— • Like a beacon light on the height—the advertise ments in newspapers direct you to newer, bener and easier ways of providing the things needed or desired. It shines, this beacon of newspaper advertising—and it will be to your advantage to fol low it whenever you make a purchase.