A BRIEF HISTORY OF MEDICINE. 17 
As he lay in a dying state one day, an Indian woman 
presented herself at the door and begged a drink of cider. 
She happened to catch a look at the wan face of young Coffin, 
and asked his mother if that was her son. She rephed in the 
affirmative. The Indian asked if the white man could not 
cure him. The mother said, ‘‘ No.” ‘* Well,” she said, ‘‘if 
you give me a gallon of cider I will cure him.” Mrs, Coffin 
said, ‘‘ You will get a hogshead if youdo.” The bargain was 
struck. The woman went out to the bush and gathered her 
apronful of herbs; returning she put some of them into a 
saucepan and boiled them and gave him the first wineglassful, 
which he said sent a warm glow over him, and caused him to 
say, ‘‘ Mother, I think that woman will cure me.” Ina short 
time a manifest improvement was seen. The cough was 
relieved, the expectoration was lessened, and in a few weeks 
he was oured. During his sickness his master, the doctor, 
(who took the deepest interest in his case) had dosed him with 
physic to no purpose. While taking the herbs they did not let 
on to the doctor, who was jubliant at the supposed success of 
his treatment. He brought other doctors to see the case, who 
were also delighted at the prospect of successfully coping with 
this human scourge. The doctor asked the young man when 
he intended to resume his duties. ‘‘ Never,’ he said, ‘‘ with 
you or your school. I will follow a better system of medicine, 
the one to which I owe my life.”” He then showed him in a 
cupboard the medicine he had sent during the time of the 
herbal treatment, told him of the Indian woman’s cure, and 
said, “I am going to learn from these children of the prairie 
how to heal the sick.’ This he did, and spent three years in 
what to him was the true college of Nature. Commencing 
practice in America he was very successful, as a lst of the 
cases treated, and recorded in his book will show. This might 
not be considered evidence, but there are numerous witnesses 
now living, whose cases were parallel, During the visitation 
of cholera in 1848 his medicine and method (the steaming 
process of Samuel Thompson), was instrumental in rescuing 
thousands from death. A gentleman in this city, a Mr. 
