[or-roots] Is there a Doctor in the house?

[Connie Guardino]

Well, if this doesn't ever stir up my feminist cockles! From the
beginning of time, women have been the tribal healers. They gathered the
healing herbs that saved the members, and probably set arms and legs,
too. As patriarchal rule took root, 5,000 years of women's tradition
came to a screeching halt. During the Inquisition, women healers were
known as "witches," and we all know what happened to 500,000 of them!
Now this tragedy has come full cirle: I have three women doctors, and I
notice that nearly 50% of doctors these days are female.

Cecil Houk wrote:

> More by Florence Courtney Melton; on the Oregon Trail in 1868.
> Someone on the the road, while the California group was with us, there
> was a family bound for California that had one child, a little boy
> seven or eight years old.  He had a pony, and one day it jumped and
> threw him off and broke his arm between the wrist and elbow.  They
> went into camp right away.  The parents were frantic.  The father
> asked everyone if there was a doctor on the train.  No one knew of
> anyone.  He said he would give $100 for someone to set his boy's arm.
> Uncle William Holbrook told him he knew of one person, who laid no
> claim to being a doctor, but she could set the boy's arm.  At first he
> was skeptical because it was a woman.  Uncle brought him around and
> introduced him to Mother.  She went with him and examined the arm,
> then came back to fix a splint.  Mary took some of the till of her
> trunk.  Mother padded it, got something for bandages, and went to work
> to pull his arm into place.  Of course it hurt.  He screamed but she
> kept pulling.  The man ordered her to stop hurting the boy.  He was
> very insulting.  Mother just stopped and asked him if he knew how to
> set it.  She had plenty to do at her own wagon.  He said no, he didn't
> know anything about it.  "Well, just keep still and quit giving
> orders, if I am to do it."  There was a big crowd standing around.
> They didn't blame her, and they said so.  Uncle laughed and said, "I
> knew Mary would settle him."  She took care of the arm until the
> splints were off.  The arm was as straight as the other.  The parents
> never even thanked her.  She never charged for anything she ever did
> for sick folks.Mary (and mother in the above), was Mary Anne Ashbaugh
> Courtney; my great great grandmother. Cecil Houk, ET1 USN Ret.
> PO Box 530833
> San Diego CA 92153
> FAX 619-428-6434
> mailto:cchouk at cox.net
> ANDERSON - BLAKELY - FORD - HOUK - KIMSEY - MOE - RULAFORD - SIMPSON
> Searchable GEDCOM: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/~cchouk
> My web page MENU: http://members.cox.net/~cchouk/
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