The Midwest pioneer, his ills, cures, & doctors - University Library ...

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willfully apply unto and upon the breast, stomach, belly,
and back, head, legs and arms of him ... a certain noxious
and injurious hot vapor called steam . . . and willfully
caused to be swallowed by him a certain noxious and injurious
drug or herb, to wit: lobelia"— all of which resulted
in the said Tiberius G. French's dying or being killed "contrary
to the form of the statute in such case made and
provided and against the peace, government and dignity
of the state." In this famous case, in which the medical
faculty were arrayed against the Thomsonians, testimony
was heard for three days; among other expert witnesses
was Dr. Wooster Beach, founder of Eclecticism. The judge
charged the jury to "Pursue common sense as your guide
. . . and render such a verdict as will justify you to the
prisoner, to your own conscience, your country, and your
God." After four hours' deliberation, the jury returned a
verdict of guilty of manslaughter in the fourth degree,
with a recommendation of mercy. An arrest of judgment
was moved, consideration of which was postponed until
the next term of court, and the prisoner was given his
liberty.
A few days before the trial Samuel Thomson wrote Dr.
Frost condoling with him over his persecution, and compared
it with his own. "I have been thrust into prison and
bound in chains— I
have suffered every species of wrong
and oppression, and yet I have outlived the venom of my
enemies .... I have used my medicines for nearly half a
century, and I solemnly and unequivocally assure you that
I never knew them to produce deleterious results. Many
accusations, it is true, have been brought against me; but
other source.
these have invariably originated with the medical faculty,
and were founded in malice. I have been bitterly and
inhumanly persecuted, for no other reason than because I
healed the sick, and that too very often without any compensation,
and when they could obtain relief from no
I have expended Twenty four thousand Dollars
in the State of New York in defending my system . . .
."