Will Welton has authorized the release of his collection of novels. These he had written over a period of the past 40 years. They are written about the old west of America of the area in are near Oklahoma for entertainment and facts on the happenings of the common people from stories told to him by the older generation that lived in the 1860’s to the early part of 1900’s. As his daughter, with the help of his grand-daughter, we transcribe his hand written stories to typed pages for publication. We have released the first of the 8 novels that are ready for printing.
Frontier Doctors of Indian Territory Oklahoma
http://www.publishamerica.com/
On the western frontier, most of the doctors had very little medical training. Some of the men that did the doctoring were Dentist, Barbers and Veterinarians. They did there best with what knowledge that they possessed. In today’s world, the Emergency Medical Technician most commonly called EMT’s, has more training then the doctors of the 1800’s or even over into the early 1900’s. The doctors of the late 1800’s knew how to do very simple surgery, dig for bullets, sew up cuts and to maybe set broken bones, and treat very little of the diseases that confronted them. There medical knowledge of medicine to give to people was very limited, to say the least, but the Doctor’s were valued in any community.
The stories told in this novel were told to me by Doctor Mullins and Foot and a Half Brown, the only name anyone knew him as, about Doc Lightfoot and Doc Haines. In 1961, Doctor Mullins was 90 years old, had quit practicing medicine at the time, while Foot and a Half Brown was a younger man of 82. In Doc Mullins early years, he had treated people in the late 1800’s and for his pay had received barter goods more times than money. The doctors of old at times didn’t make enough money to buy medicine to replace what they used and had to resort to trading what they received as payment, pigs, chickens, cattle, hides, or other things, in lieu of money.
C. Welton-Betts
papawelton@localnet.com
1063 Frankfort Road
Russellville, Al. 35653
(256)331-9301
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