A Texas Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

At a time when strapping on a gun was as commonplace and as necessary as breathing, you can imagine that the odds of getting shot were fairly high. Treatments for gunshot were pretty basic—dig the lead out if you could and if you couldn’t you were likely a goner. Not a good scenario when doctors were hard to come by.

When we’re crafting our western romances, we usually have to do a lot of research about various things and sometimes we run across truly amazing stories. Here’s one I stumbled upon when I was researching gunshot wounds and treatment. I thought you might like to know about one of the most unique women who lived in Texas.

Sofie Dalia Herzog was born in 1846 in Vienna, Austria. Her father was a physician. At the age of fourteen, she married Dr. August Herzog and they moved to America where she gave birth to fifteen children. There were three sets of twins and eight children died in infancy. But she had a dream of practicing medicine so she went back to Austria to medical school. For nine years, until August died, she treated patients in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Dr. Sofie moved to Brazoria, Texas in the late 1800’s. To say she was very colorful was putting it mildly. The lady doctor’s arrival in the small coastal community of Brazoria created a huge stir. She was attractive, energetic and a highly skilled physician. Though not Texas’ first woman doctor, in 1895 she was definitely a pioneer in a male-dominated field of the Victorian era. Not only was Dr. Sofie out of place in her chosen profession, but her appearance shocked a good many. She wore her hair cropped short, rode a horse astride instead of sidesaddle, and shaded her face with a man’s hat. Needless to say she set tongues wagging. But the doctor had obvious medical skill and little competition, so when someone needed assistance, they weren’t too picky about the gender. Soon folks were calling her simply Doctor Sofie.

She became particularly adept at removing bullets from gunshot victims. One of her techniques was elevating a gunshot patient so that gravity would aid in getting the lead out. Only twice in her career was she unsuccessful in recovering a bullet. When she had accumulated 24 extracted pieces of lead from gunfighters, she had a jeweler fashion the slugs into a necklace with a gold bead threaded between each slug. She wore it constantly as a good luck charm the rest of her life.

Word of her medical skills and pleasing bedside manner soon spread. Dr. Sofie made calls in her buggy or traveled astride a horse. Often, she rode on handcars or trains to get to someone along the rail line in need of a doctor. In 1906, the railroad formalized its relationship with Dr. Sofie, appointing her chief surgeon of the S.L.B. & M Railroad. But, when headquarters learned that a female doctor had been hired, Dr. Sofie received a polite letter asking her to relinquish her position. She stubbornly refused and remained on the line’s payroll the rest of her life.

In addition to her medical practice, Dr. Sofie operated her own pharmacy, built and operated a hotel, and became wealthy by investing in real estate. She was very enterprising.

In 1913, the 65-year-old doctor married Marion Huntington—a 70-year-old widower—and moved to his plantation seven miles outside Brazoria. Having reached an age when many would have retired, Dr. Sofie continued her practice, commuting each day from the plantation to town in a new Model T Ford—the first automobile in the county.

Fourteen years later, Dr. Sofie died of a stroke at a Houston hospital on July 21, 1925. At her request, they buried her with her lucky bullet necklace, evidence of her surgical skills and charming eccentricity.

Here are a few prices for medical procedures and assistance in the 1800’s:

A visit within one mile  ---  $1.00

Each succeeding mile --- .50

Simple case of midwifery --- $5.00

For bleeding --- .50

Bullet Wounds --- Between $1.00 to 10.00

For setting fracture --- $5.00 to 10.00

Amputating Arm --- $10.00

Amputating Leg --- $20.00

For advice and prescription in office --- $1.00

For difficult cases, fee based in proportion to difficulty.

But as was often the case, the doctor accepted goods in lieu of money. There were probably doctors who refused to treat someone because they couldn’t pay but not too many.

How about these prices? Sure be nice if medical treatment was this cheap today!!