Dr. Cyrus Thompson
One of flu* «nils! ;i nil in;» nieinliors
of the now <lisa|>|>c»«iring race of
coanif r,v doctors. Anil, along with
that, lie was one of I lie shrewdest
politicians the state* ever has
produced.
By R. C. LAURENCE
ОГК
county of Onslow is noted
for the fact that in 173*2 n
hurricane totally destroyed its
county seat, its courthouse and
records, a eirenmstanee which ac¬
counts for the removal of its seat of
govern incut to it* present location at
Jacksonville. It is also noted for
the luscious oysters which its famous
New River furnishes; for the largest
overflowing artesian well to be found
in Carolina; and ns the home of
Cyrus Thompson — unique in politics!
in her "Circuit Rider's Wife"
Corra Harris has portrayed the life
of the itinerant country preacher
in language that will live in English
Literature; “David llarum*’ quite
adequately describes the important
part played by the country banker
in the life of the community; in his
stories of "Judge Priest." Irving S.
Cobb has humorously and whimsically
described the role of the country
lawyer and Judge, but no one has as
yet embedded in the ainlier of our
permanent literature the part played
by that noblest Roman of them all —
the country Doctor.
Practically Disappeared
He has now practically disap¬
peared from our life, for now medi¬
cine has become hospitalized and
specialized. But in the days of
yore, the country Doctor carried in
his kit all that both medicine and
surgery afforded. And crude as were
his appliances, limited as were his
resources, somehow his patients re¬
covered: and after all. that is the
prime function of the physician.
It was the Doctor who stood closest
to the heart of the countryside and
was foremost in its affections. For
ii was he who quickly answered the
call of distress and rode through the
cold of the winter’s night, over the
rough roads of the back country, to
administer to suffering. Many times
he was called upon to perform
emergency operations by the dicker¬
ing Hare of a kerosene lamp, with
his patient lying upon the kitchen
table. It was he who brought you
into the world, sat patient hours by
your bedside when you lay delirious
from the then-prevalent typhoid fever
and his gentle lingers closed your
eyes when finally yon answered the
imperious summons of the Pale Horse¬
man. Therefore you loved him !
I remember one of the old-school
doctors down in Robeson. And a
mighty man was he, rugged in his
physical strength, standing well over
six feet in stature, long bearded,
looking much as Moses must have
looked when lie stod upon the heights
of Sinai and received the tablets
of the law from the hand of the
Most High. He possessed no college
degree, he had but little scientific or
technical knowledge, and he could
not have passed any examination held
bv any Board of Medical Examiners.
But nature named him for the healing
art. and in some way his homely reme¬
dies wrought results. A rough-hewn
man was he, somewhat gruff in his
manner, austere in his nature, rudely
fashioned and crudely formed. Yet
over the newly filled grave of a little
child, he would weep unrestrained
tears and how his
]н*ор1с
loved him!
Many Prominent Doctors
Physicians usually prefer to remain
in the seclusion of scientific service,
leaving the mission of the publicist
and the statesman to the lettered law¬
yers. Yet the history of Carolina
is graced with the names of more than
one physician who rendered distinc¬
tive public service in fields far re¬
moved from his chosen profession.
Dr. Ephraim Brevard is best re¬
membered as the author of the famous
Mecklenburg Resolves of May 30,
1770, and for the fact that lie was
Secretary of the Assembly which
adopted this first Declaration of
American Independence. Dr. Hugh
Williamson has come down to us in
history as a member of the Continen¬
tal Congress, as a Carolina signer of
the Federal Constitution, and as an
authoritative Carolina historian. Dr.
Nathaniel Alexander lives in Carolina
not as a follower of the Hippocratic
art, but as Governor of our State,
and our county of Alexander com¬
memorates his memory. And that
queer and quaint country Doctor,
Edward Warren, received honors and
decorations from several foreign
governments !
Famous also in our history has be¬
come the name of Cyrus Thompson,
remembered not so much as a physi¬
cian but as a politician of parts, as a
populist of power. When Populism
rose as a political force in the nation,
Carolina furnished much of the brains
which formulated its policies and
which gave the party its national
impetus. Leonidas L. Polk headed
the National Farmers Alliance and is
said to have dictated the terms of the
famous “Ocala Platform”: and, had he
lived, would undoubtedly have been
the party's candidate for President.
Col. Harry Skinner, brilliant Caro¬
lina lawyer, conceived that party’s
plan, demand and scheme for a “sub¬
treasury" plan, under which the
federal government should make ad¬
vances upon agricultural products
stored in government warehouses, a
scheme strangely reminiscent of some
present-day practices.
Powerful Political Figures
The powerful figure of the magnetic
country editor, Marion Butler, the
“Sampson Fox" dominated Populism
in Carolina after the passing of
Polk, and in the days of Fusion he
was elected to the United States Sen¬
ate where he sat with sockless Jerry
Simpson of Kansas, in the days when
Populism was in flower! Now add to
these names, and second to none of
them in the quality of his intellect,
the name of Cyrus Thompson, unique
among the Populist politicians of
Carolina.
It was the rise of Populism that
furnished the opportunity, and gave
Thompson a more than state-wide
reputation as a stump speaker and
political spellbinder. The salvation
of a nation seared the soul of Abra¬
ham Lincoln ; the heart of Zebulon
B. Vance was pledge*! wholly to the
salvaging of his state. These men
were seers and statesmen, while
Thompson was neither. Yet I am not
being simply absurd when I place
beside the names of Lincoln and Vance
(Continued on page eighteen)
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