1 Oregon City, Pee., March 28, 1851 Salem, Ore., March 28, 1931
Page Five
Flood Dec. 3, 1861,
orst in History of
Th
W
OUght Fr
Tj his Valley
Salem had no ark on the hill
tops In 1861 and again In .1890,
but nevertheless flood! facts are
pretty definitely recorded ex
cept exact height of the water.
The flood which -eaehed Its
peak December 3, 1861, la con
sidered the greatest in local his
tory." .-:!-
While, the high mark on Feb
ruary 3, 1890, was said. by resi
dents, who saw both disasters to
be about two feet under the one
of 'CI, the later, flood goes down
in history, a; -carrying more, wa
ter , It Is - reckoned . there , were
about 25 "feet of surplus water
In 18(1.
Wharf Xoaded With '
Stone Goes Down River .
The C1 waters reached the
h.lght at o'clock in the even
log of - Tuesday; Monday morn
ing, wheat was moved from Jthe
Matheny warehouse, at the foot
of -State; Monday night 'the
warehouse, : a sawmill,' a cider
. factory 'and all-, houses on the
front were swept, away,: including
a . high,. . chimney, .which it .was
thought would stand against any
water, A wharf loaded with
stone went too Early Tuesday
morning waters were flowing
through the- town in a channel
three or four feet deep and for
more than a Quarter of a mile
in breadth. - :
Twelve persons' across the
river from Salem were removed
from a barn top. Just before the
barn was swept away. Many
rescues were made by boat and
skiff; at I least two lives were
lost. At Wheatland, a' ware
house with 2,500 bushels of
grain was swept away.
The February, 1890, flood was
more disastrous to Salem, and
Long Admired!
By Harris Ellsworth
Editor, Roseburg Neics
Revieiv "TT is a pleasure for us
A to extend our greet
ings and congratula
tions to The - Oregon
Statesman on the occa
sion -of its 80th birth
day. We have long ad
mired The Statesman as
a leading morning news
paper in this state, and
have the highest regard
for its owners and pub
lishers. It is our sincere
hope that The States
man may continue to en
joy its position of lead
ership for generations
to come."
had it not been for the fleet of
four steamers that did noble
work in rescuing many drown
ing.' Electric "lights, train serv-
icej and communication with the
outside world were at a star"
s till. No trains came in for nine
or ! ten days.
But that does not tell the
wopt of the '90 flood: it sent to
the bottom of the river the big
bridge over the Willamette be
tween Marion and Polk counties.
"Awful Crash" as
Bridge Gives way -
The Statesman of the next
morning describes' the crash:
"At 20 minutes to t o'clock
the south, one of the center piers
on the Marion county side swung
around "apparently from the bot
torn, bent and cracked Just above
the water . line, followed by - the
two 1 mam spans of the big
bridge. The crash was : awful.
Water -was thrown high in the
air and in a few seconds the bet
ter part of that costly structure
was floating down stream. When
the pier gave way there were
100 persons standing under the
trees watching the boiling, foam
ing water. . . The north pier
stood a half hour swaying from
lire immense pressure below, and
then toppled over with a mighty
noise." :
From 10:30 a. m. to 5:30 p.
m. Sunday the rise was three
feet and 10 inches.
Person "Yesterday afternoon
Stephen J. Chadwick and Mark
A. Fullerton started for Colfax,
W. T. where they Intend mak
ing their home in future and
where they intend to practice
law. They are both rising! young
attorneys of more than average
ability, and wllj be missed great
ly from this eity'-Statesman
Nov. 19, 1885.; tl:
SALEM MINSTRELS
"Friday evening at Reed's opera
house, this troop of home talent
proposes giving! one of their in
imitable entertainments tot the
benefit of the Capital Guards of
this city. Our , city should take a
pride in this company, and see that
they have a good house that i will
net results that will give the Cap
ital Guards a neat and tasty uni
form, as that is the purpose of this
entertainment." Statesman, May
23, 1877. . -
"WAIT FOR THE WAGON"
"Concord coach In the Oregon
State Company's line of stages is
one Concord coach (running be
tween Oregon City, via Salem, and
Corvallis,) the only one in Oregon.
Its cost, laid down in Oregon, was
$1100. It reminds one of the old
fashioned days of stage travel, be
fore railroads grid -ironed the
States, and sent the traveler whirl
ing over the country at a head
swim pace." Statesman, June 14,
1859.
. y
1
I
MARCEL BLOCH PAUL BLOCH
; Proprietors of )
Bloch's Golden Rule Department Store
Ready-tovwear, Shoes, Dry Goods
MERCHANDISE OF QUALITY
220 X. Liberty, Salem - Phone lfiOrt
Eighty Years of Scientific Medicine - What Has It Accomplished?
Eighty years ago 'there were no hypodermic syringes, few clinical ther
mometers -probably none in Oregon, no stethoscopes, no electric lights not
even kerosene lamps, no autos, and no telephones. The x-ray had not even
been dreamed of Microscopes were found in few universities, while ven these
were cumbersome, faulty and seldom used.
- Just eighty years ago Louis Pasteur, a young French scientist, was be
ginning the study of fermentation and spontaneous generation, research which
was to lead to a transformation in the practice of surgery and eventually
conclusively support the germ theory of disease. Lack of antiseptic surgery
caused gangrenous wounds and resulting amputations to be almost the rule
rather than the exception. Childbirth was attended by a heavy mortality.
Plagues of various kinds spread periodically over Europe and America.
Smallpox was a dreaded pestilence; cholera menaced the seaports and often
spread as far inland as Cincinnati, while cholera infantum was a scourge of
.infancy. Malaria and yellow fever devastated the South and ravaged as far'
north as Philadelphia and up and down the Mississippi valley. Typhus and
typhoid fever, practically unknown in this day of knowledge of sanitation,
were common and deadly. Measles possessed a virilence not known today.
In, the late eighties diphtheria swept over the Willamette Valley. Salem,
the center of the epidemic, was a city of grief-stricken homes for the dis
ease proved especially deadly .to children and some families lost five little
ones during those few terrible weeks. Those who did not actually contract
diphtheria lived in constant fear, for with little 'knowledge off fumigation
there seemed to be no way to stop its onslaught. At that time there were
probably not more than six or seven doctors in the community, and they were
kept busy all hours of the day and night. Other communities were facing the
same problem so it was not feasible to Import physicians.
Hospitals, as we know them, today, scarcely exxisted in the country, and
there were probably none west of the Rockies. Salem's first hospital was .not
built until about 1885. There were no trained nurses: the average housewife
could acquire, usually by experience, whatever knowledge of nursing existed.
Surgical skill was limited largely to amputations and the opening of ab
scesses, and that with crude instruments and dangerously impure anaesthet
ics. While as for the thought of local anaesthesia, if there was any, 'twas
that such anaesthetics were to be found only in the distant future.
The doctors of Salem served the country for a radius of many miles
.around the town. Summoned by a messenger on horseback, they laboriously
retraced with him the journey, often taking many hours in making one call.
There iwas little help available for diseases of the eye and ear deafness and
blindness were prevalent.
Yiet witbal. Salem has always had outstanding doctors, many of whom
have left an indellible impress on the city. Dr. Elijah White, th first doctor
in this part of the country came around the horn on the ship Lausanne in
18S7. j
Salem, previously known as Chemeketa, is said to have been named about
184 by Dr. W. H. Willson. a pioneer doctor, wile Willson park serves as a
memorial to the same man.
The name of Dr. J. Reynolds of Salem also appears frequently on the -pages
of Oregon history.
Djr, Robert Newell of Champoeg was present at the famous Champoeg
meeting and has furnished historians with much of their knowledge of that
gathering. Newell.. as were most of the western doctors of his time, was prom
inent In the political life of the territory. He served twice on legislative
committees elected to remake and amend the Provisional government.
- Fjor many years Oregon was not connected with the eastern United
States I by railroad. Young men and women who wished to fit themselves for
the practice of medicine found it distinctly difficult, to do so without entail
ing1 great .expense. True, doctors came out from the eastern schools, but a
need vas felt for a western medical college. So the Department of Medicine
was established at Willamette University in 1865, the first school of medi
cine oh the Pacific coast and probably the first west of the Rockies. In 1872
there were ten M. D.'s n the faculty, most of them practicing physicians
in Saljim, but a few came from Portland to give their lectures. ;
-. Equipment for teaching medicine was scarce, as was also equipment for
practicing it. The school, depended for its existence upon the gifts of friends
and the fees of its student body, which usually numbered less than thirty.
After Ta time it was moved to Portland where It was believed there were
greater facilities, for actual clinical experience, but was finally returned to
Salem and placed under .the deanshlp of Dr. W. H, Byrd, who with Dr. J. N.
Smith, remained active In the work of , the school during the rest of its ex
istence. ... .;. i
-In spite of the struggles and hardships which caused the life of the.
school to run less smoothly than was desirable, the Department of Medicine
furnished rOregon in general and the Willamette valley in particular with a
large percentage of Its doctors.
The 1879 roster of the Oregon State Medical Society reveals that at that
time 44 of Its 88 members were graduates of the Willamette medical depart
ment. The mere fact of the great distance intervening between the sources of
medical knowledge and Oregon has not kept the people of this state from
obtaining the best care such knowledge could provide. For the knowledge of
the physician is that human life and of greater interest than any other type
of learning. This natural tendency to spreadj the story of new developments
could not be blocked by poor systems of transportation and communication,
and Oregon doctors, early received reports of what was' happening in the out
side world. . ; ' !
It was. partly to provide for the spread of such , knowledge that the Ore
gon State Medical Society was organised in 1875. Dr. Alfred C. Kinney, who
had formerly lived in Salem and now makes his home in Astoria, was the
first president of this brganization. .
In 1896 or 189.7 the Marion county medical association was formed.
Dr. Calvin C. White was first president of the organization and Dr. W. Carl
ton Smith was its first secretary. Both of these men were outstanding in the
work of the society. Berth died during the past year after long careers of
service. .
: Ten of fifteen years after its organisation, while under the presidency
of Dr. II. j- Clements, the Marion county association merged with those of
Polk andYamhill counties to form the PolkfYamhill-Marion Medical Society,
the local 'organization which is now active.
The hardships 'attendant upon the practice of medicine eighty years ago
have largely vanished before scientific study, but scientific study has not
been given up. Eighty years from now in looking back upon the history
of medicine, people will marvel at the progress revealed.
The Ideals of the profession are much the same as they have always been
and may best be stated as contained in the excerpts from "Principles
of Medical Ethics" published by the American Medical Association.
"A physician should not base bis practice on an exclusive dogma or sec
tarian system, for 'sects are implacable despots: to accept their thaldom is to
take away all liberty from one's action and thought. (Nicqn, father of Gal
en, 130 A. D.).
"He should also be modest, Bober, patient, prompt to do his whole duty
without anxiety; pious without going so far as superstition, conducting him
self with propriety in his profession and in all the actions of his life." (Hippo
crates, 40-370 B.C.)
' HOW DO YOU SELECT YOUR PHYSICIAN?
, When we select persons for any position of importance, we are wont
to delve Into the subject of the educational preparation and fitness of the
applicant tor the work. Does our school board employ a teacher without
knowing much of his school work and success, his professional standing?
But I when it comes to selecting a 'doctor, many leave the matter to the
last moment and then call a physician recommended by a next-door neighbor,
the corner ' groceryman, , or anyone of a : dozen Individuals not particularly
interested In the matter, ; j i
Tet, It Is possible to ascertain a doctor's; worth as surely as we ascertain
that of a teacher and by somewhat similar methods. What of his . schooling,
his record his professional standing? Does he keep up-to-date In his meth
ods through the fine medical journals at his disposal? We insist that our
teachers must continue their education does our doctor take post-graduate
courses? ; " K;
Too often external appearance and affability alone are the sole criteria
of judgment. e
In order to help anyone select; a physician or dentist for general or
special work, the Medical-Dental Headquarters, 154 S. High St., has especial
facilities for information which are available to all.
(Published under the auspices of -the Polk-Yamhill-Marion Medical Society)