Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/502

 442 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI was one of the main features of the day. This method of work extended also to such work as wheat threshing. This feeling of the imity of the neighborhood found expression, however, not only in this work together, but also in a certain care for the interests of each individual. The man who fell sick might be at a distance from a physician, and at a very much greater distance from a trained nurse, but he was certain to have the attention and help of those who lived about him. It was not an infrequent thing for a num who fell sick and whose crops thereby suffered to find that the kindly disposed of his neighbors had gathered together and worked his crop out for him. This feeling, which was found in almost every neighborhood. Went far toward amel- iorating the hard conditions in which men and women passed their lives. Unfortu- nately, this spirit has been lost in most com- munities in this part of the state. There exists but little trace of the friendly, neigh- borly spirit which found expression in the ways which we have mentioned. Today, the man who has extra work to do no longer looks to his neighbors and friends, but counts him- self fortunate if he is able to hire persons to work for him. We have seen in discussing the various set- tlements that thei'e were physicians living in many of them. In spite of this fact, how- ever, one of the great hardships endured by many people of this section of the state, was the absence of medical treatment and of the proper supply of medicines. It was not at all unusual for families to live at great dis- tances from the nearest physicians. This state of things, of course, caused much suffer- ing which might have been avoided, had it been possible to have secured a physician's service. It resulted, however, in the study of simple diseases and the making of simple remedies in practically every home. Some member of the family had to take upon him- self the responsibility for the simple treat- ment of diseases, and the housewife usually prepared a supply of home remedies. There were certain herbs and barks that were held in high esteem for the treatment of common complaints. In considering the situation of the people in this time, we must not forget that it was pot a day of division of labor, at least not in the rural communities. There were carpen- ters and blacksmiths and other mechanics in the larger toTis, but just as was the case with the physicians, people who lived in the more remote counties were compelled to dis- pense with the services of these. This resulted in the all-aroi^md knowledge and in the ability to do a great many things which distin- guished men who lived along the frontier. Since it was often impossible to secure a car- penter or a blacksmith, and since carpenter work and blacksmithing had to be done, it fell out that men who needed the work learned to do it for themselves. There are now living in Southeast Missouri many men of the older generation who could turn their hands to various kinds of work. They could build a house or a fence or construct furni- ture. They could sharpen a plow or weld a broken rod, and do many other similar things, which we are accustomed to think of as being .solely within the province of the professional workman. This all-around skill which was developed from the very necessity of the case, was one of the compensations for the lack of schools and formal education. The boy in the remote commimity might be un- able to attend school more than a few weeks