By Susan K. Marlow
Technology exploded during the Gilded Age – the steam engine, electricity, the telegraph – marvels to behold! One would think medicine and health care would be right on track. Unfortunately, this was not the case. “Knife and pain” were two words ingrained in the surgery-bound patient’s mind. Bloodletting (as much as a pint a day) was still the “sure” technique to cure most illnesses – even into the late 1870s.
The brave folks who headed west discovered a new ailment: malaria, also known as the ague, which struck its victims with fever and chills. Very few escaped this disease. It was so common to Western life that people considered it normal: “He ain’t sick. He’s only got the ague” was an oft-heard remark.
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