The Miracle Cure at the Yesler Sawmill
In 1877 Seattle, a local laborer offers a glowing, desperate endorsement for a traveling 'nerve doctor' promising to cure the ills of the industrial grind.
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.
I take great pleasure in stating for the benefit of those who are afflicted with any chronic disease, that I am well. For the past two years I have been under the medical treatment of different physicians, from whom I have received no benefit. I have been suffering with general and nervous debility—a difficulty in my stomach, and at times dizziness and severe headache, almost incapacitating me for work. About three weeks ago I put myself under your care and I am delighted to state that I am cured, and feel like myself after having suffered so much. Labor seems a pleasure now, and I take great interest in attracting the suffering to you, as I know you can serve and cure them. Yours truly, John Davis, employed at Yesler’s Sawmill.
“I am delighted to state that I am cured, and feel like myself after having suffered so much. Labor seems a pleasure now.”
This testimonial captures the precarious reality of 19th-century laborers who could not afford to be sick. Just as today’s workers face intense pressure to remain productive, John Davis turned to 'miracle' snake oil remedies to find the strength to return to the grueling work of the timber mills.
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