Mystic Healers and Medicine Shows: Blazing Trails to Wellness in the Old West and Beyond
Ed: Gene Fowler

You've heard about the Wild West's shoot-'em-ups, but what about the patch-'em-ups? Portraits of the medical mavericks and miracle workers of the new frontier who captured public interest with their unorthodox but colorful practices. Meet European-trained Dr. Sofie Herzog, mother of fourteen children, who wore a necklace strung with the bullets she had removed from her Texas patients, and J.I. Lighthall, the "Diamond King," who pulled teeth and performed surgery for free in suits studded with diamonds. Included are folk curers, faith healers, homeopaths, patent medicine promoters and showmen, as well as classically trained, intrepid doctors drawn to the western adventure.

Softcover, 202 pp.
# 00388 $14.95