JOHN SAPPINGTON 177
JOHN SAPPINGTON
BY THOMAS B. HALL
Histories of the development and expansion of the
United States during the first half of the nineteenth century
devote much space to our martial and political champions, but
are silent on the man who was the foremost antagonist of a
disease which was one of the greatest barriers to the growth
of our country during that era. Perhaps if he had lived
during our time when there is a growing disposition to recognize the importance of disease and to give due credit to
those who do the most to overcome it, John Sappington would
rank as great a champion of the West, as his friend, Thomas
Hart Benton, and his aid in overcoming an obstacle to our
development would be as much appreciated as that of Gorgas
in the building of the Panama Canal.
There are students of medical history who contend
that malaria has caused more deaths, sickness and economic
loss than any other disease that afflicts mankind. This
disease has been known since historic times and was described in unmistakable terms by Hippocrates, the father of
medicine. The decline of the Greek civilization and the
disintegration of the Roman Empire have been partly attributed by conservative scholars to the pernicious influence
of malaria. The inability of the French to complete the
Panama Canal due to the frightful toll of malaria and yellow
fever is recent and common knowledge.
Much romance and lore are connected with the discoveries that have enabled us to gain our comparative freedom
from malaria. The first step came with the discovery of the
quinine-containing Peruvian bark in the seventeenth century
by the Jesuit missionaries to Peru. Peruvian bark was
gradually introduced into Europe and became the popular
remedy for malarial fevers. As great an advance as the
advent of Peruvian bark marked, it was not without its serious
shortcomings. The barks were of different variety and
varied greatly in their quinine content. This made it im-
