BONTECOU
BONTECOU
came a leader in things surgical and
medical ; in politics and social life. Several
times he served in the House of Represen-
tatives and in 1S70 in the Senate. Dur-
ing the war of the rebellion he was ap-
pointed surgeon to the Second Michigan
Infantry, rapidly being promoted until
he was surgeon-in-chief of the third
division, ninth army corps, during
service taking part in twenty-nine
different engagements. On June 17,
1864, Dr. Bonine had charge of two
thousand wounded and dying soldiers
brought in from all directions, and forty
surgeons working under him. In the
fall of 1S64, because of illness (chronic
diarrhea), he resigned and was appointed
examining surgeon on the Provost
Marshall's staff for the Western District of
Michigan with headquarters at Kalama-
zoo, and filled the place until the close
of the war. He was a member of the
Michigan State Medical Society. Dr.
S. Belknap of Niles, his partner for
eleven years and a personal friend, said:
"As a surgeon he had marked ability
and superior judgment; he rendered un-
usual public service to his city and the
state; his business ability guided the
affairs of many households; his sym-
pathy for his fellows impelled him to
put forth his life to help others, either
as individuals or institutions." In 1S44
he married Eveline Beall, and his three
children survived him; one son, becoming
Dr. F. N. Bonine. Dr. Evan J. Bonine
died at Niles, Michigan, December 2S,
1892, from chronic diarrhea acquired dur-
ing army service.
Paper: "Report of a Case of Ear Em- bolism." Physician and Surgeon, Ann Arbor, vol. viii. L. C.
Representative Men in Mich. "West. Bio- graph. Co., Cincin., O., vol. iv.
Bontecou, Reed Brockway (1824-1907). Reed Brockway Bontecou was known as one of the largest contributors of pathological specimens to the Army and Navy Museum, which was, of course, indirectly a contribu ion to the "Medical and Surgical History of the War of the
Rebellion" (J. S. B. Billings). He was
born in Troy, New York, on April 22,
1824, the son of Peter and Samantha
(Brockway) Bontecou, of French Hu-
guenot and Scotch ancestry.
His early career may be briefly sum- med up by stating that he graduated B. Sc, Rensselaer Polytechnic Instiute, 1842; was instructor in botany and zoology, 1843. Studied medicine with Drs. John Wright and Thomas C. Brins- made of Troy; attended lectures, medical department, University of City of New York, 1844-45; made a romantic trip up the Amazon river, 1S46, to collect flora and fauna for the Troy Lyceum of Natural History; graduated M. D., Cas- tleton, Vermont, Medical College, 1S47, and began to practise in Troy with Dr. Thomas C. Brinsmade.
In 1S4S he made a study of Asiatic cholera, epidemic at the time; treated diphtheria (newly recognized as a specific form of disease) by open-air method and tracheotomy when necessary; and treated general peritonitis with large doses of pulverized opium, reporting the follow- ing remarkable case August 2, 1854.
Mrs. W. A., of South Troy, aged thirty-four, in good health and six months pregnant, while in squatting position, feeding her chickens, ruptured an old umbilical hernia, spilling almost all her abdominal viscera to the ground. Patient when seen was in collapse, in- testines covered with pebbles and dirt and swollen to size of a peck measure. The opening was enlarged, viscera cleansed and replaced, wall repaired by rolling up and fixation with skewers, and a large dose of opium administered "to let her die easy." Despite severe peri- tonitis, however, recovery ensued under repeated large doses of opium (15 to 20 grains) .
Another case which attracted great attention as the first of its kind in this country was one of fracture of the cervical vertebrae with complete general paralysis; treated sucessfully, April 3, 1S56, by extension; patient recovering to resume his occupation as house painter,
