Rough Medicine

Using diaries, journals, and correspondences, Druett recounts the daily grind surgeons on nineteenth-century whaling ships faced: the rudimentary tools they used, the treatments they had at their disposal, the sorts of people they encountered in their travels, and the dangers they faced under the harsh conditions of life at sea.

Joan Druettis the author ofShe Captains: Heroines andHellions of the Sea(2000) andHen Frigates: Wives ofMerchant Captains Under Sail(1998). She lives in Wellington, New Zealand.

Chapter One - Medicine ar Sea: Woodall's the Surgion's Mate Chapter Two- Shipping Out Chapter Three- The Medicine Chest Chapter Four - the First Leg: Day-to-Day Life Chapter Five- The Whale Hunt Chapter Six Accidents, Injuries and Ailments Chapter Seven- Battling Scurvy Chapter Eight- Encounters with Native Peoples Chapter Nine- Motley, Reckles & Profligate:Troubles with Captains and Crews Epilogue0 The Fates of Our Surgeons Acknowledgements Bibliography Glossary John King's Patient Log Medical Chests:Comparative Chart Index