The Doctor and the Frog
When a woman believed she had swallowed a frog, a Seattle physician orchestrated a surgical hoax to save her peace of mind.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Some months ago Dr. Melton was called to a lady, who told a tale of misery and suffering that astonished him. She complained particularly of great distress in her stomach and told the doctor that the distress had existed for some time, and that she had consulted a spiritualist who was here with the circus, and had been told that she had swallowed a frog. The doctor, after a critical examination, found that she was suffering from an aggravated attack of dyspepsia and hypochondriasis and tried to convince her that the fortune-teller had lied, but to no purpose. After two or three visits the doctor concluded to humor her, and after a pretended examination told her he was sure that the frog had taken up its abode in her stomach, but he would soon remedy the trouble. Procuring a large frog from one of the Chinese gardens, on his next visit he administered an emetic to his patient, and while it was doing its work, managed to slip the frog into the basin unobserved by her. On seeing the frog in the basin the lady was greatly relieved, and was high in her praise of the doctor. But a fearful thought came to her in the midst of her joy. What if the frog had left some little ones behind it! Explaining herself to the doctor, she shuddered with fear at the idea. The doctor was equal to the occasion. Picking up the frog, he examined it closely for a while, and replied: 'Have no fear, madame, it is not that kind of frog.'
“Picking up the frog, he examined it closely for a while, and replied: 'Have no fear, madame, it is not that kind of frog.'”
This 1883 incident highlights the intersection of medical practice and the era's fascination with spiritualism and quackery. While the doctor's 'placebo' cure might be viewed as paternalistic today, it reflects how physicians functioned as both healers and performance artists in a frontier city.
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