John Till, the Somerset Doctor
John Till, "The Somerset Doctor", was a practicer of alternative medicine in the early 20th century, gaining the most notoriety in the Somerset, Wisconsin region.
Signature Treatment
Till's signature treatment was to apply a mixture of:
- Plaster;
- Kerosene; and,
- Croton Oil,
which -- through the caustic and painful inclusion of croton oil -- was believed to draw out infection by causing huge pustulant blisters to appear on the skin. The poultice was applied to the large surface of the back, allowed significant time to cause caustic burning to the skin, causing it to appear "like raw beef"[1]. Cotton was sewn into the back of a shirt, to adsorb leakage, and after several days of healing either the person was cured, or the treatment was applied again.
Meline Cloutier, Patient and Benefactor
Near death from an infection, Meline Cloutier was brought to John Till in 1905 for treatment. Till's painful poultice worked, and Cloutier repaid Till by offering her and her husband's farm as a base of operations for curing all those that
References
- ↑ John Till and his Miracle Plaster", Wisconsin Historical Society website, 8/18/2007.
