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The Raw Truth About Milk William Campbell Douglass
Digital Instant Download
Author(s): William Campbell Douglass
ISBN(s): 9789962636731, 9962636736
Edition: Rev Exp
File Details: PDF, 1.60 MB
Year: 2007
Language: english
The RAW TRUTH
about MILK
Formerly The Milk Book
–now revised and expanded–

“How Science Is Destroying

Nature’s Nearly Perfect Food
And Why Animal Protein
And Animal Fat In Your Diet
Can Save Your Life”
 The RAW TRUTH
about MILK
Formerly The Milk Book
–now revised and expanded–

“How Science Is Destroying

Nature’s Nearly Perfect Food
And Why Animal Protein
And Animal Fat In Your Diet
Can Save Your Life”

by William Campbell Douglass II, MD

Rhino Publishing, S.A.

www.RhinoPublish.com
Republic of Panama
 The RAW TRUTH
about MILK
Formerly The Milk Book
–now revised and expanded–
“How Science Is Destroying Nature’s Nearly Perfect Food
And Why Animal Protein And Animal Fat In Your Diet
Can Save Your Life”

Copyright © 1984 - 2007 by William Campbell Douglass II, MD

All rights reserved.
This edition is published by Rhino Publishing.
For information, contact Christian Martin Desharnais
through Rhino Publishing website, www.RhinoPublish.com

Published in the Republic of Panama.

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no

part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced
into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise), without permission in writing from both the
copyright owner and the publisher, except by reviewer who
may quote brief passages in a review.

Paperback Edition
ISBN 978-9962-636-73-1

Cover Art by Marisa Gomar

Book designed and illustrations by Lourdes Jaramillo ([email protected])

Please, visit Rhino’s website for other publications from

Dr. William Campbell Douglass
www.rhinopublish.com
RHINO PUBLISHING, S.A.
World Trade Center
Panama, 00832-2483
Republic of Panama

This publication is designed to provide accurate and

authoritative information in regard to the subject matter
covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is
not engaged in rendering medical, or other professional
service. If medical advice or other expert assistance is required,
the services of a competent professional person should be
sought. This book is not a substitute for medical advice.
DEDICATION
to Jack Mathis
 CONTENTS

Chapter Page

Acknowledgements ................................................................ ix
Preface ...................................................................................... xi
Foreword to the Third Edition .............................................. xv
Foreword .................................................................................. xix
Introduction ............................................................................. xxi

I. Yellow Cows—The History of Milk ........................... 1

II. Udder Destruction, Part I ............................................. 9
III. Udder Destruction, Part II ........................................... 33
IV. Udder Propaganda ....................................................... 49
V. A Cow is Not a Cat—"Certified Milk” ....................... 67
VI. Milking the Good Guys, Alta-Dena ........................... 87
VII. Udder Menace—Homogenization of Milk................ 107
VIII. Udder Folly .................................................................... 117
IX. Udder Perfection ........................................................... 131
X. “This Greasy Counterfeit" ............................................ 179
XI. Udderly Effective, Milk as Medicine .......................... 201
XII. Let 'Em Eat Steak ........................................................... 221
XIII. Vegetarianism, Environmentalism and the
Search for Purity ............................................................ 243
XIV. Udderly Unique ............................................................ 249
XV. Ice Cream ........................................................................ 261
XVI. Soy and International Control of your
Diet and your Health .................................................... 275
viii The Raw Truth about Milk

Chapter Page

Appendix I ............................................................................... 295

Appendix II .............................................................................. 297
Appendix III ............................................................................ 299
Appendix IV ............................................................................ 301
Appendix V ............................................................................. 303
Appendix VI ............................................................................ 311
About the Author .................................................................... 313
Index ......................................................................................... 315
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Dr. H. Leon Abrams, Jr. for unselfishly opening his files

to me.

Jack Mathis, without whose help this book could not

have been written.

Harold Steuve, the Steuve family and the staff of Alta-

Dena Dairy for their help and inspiration.

Paul Virgin of the Alta-Dena Dairy for his time and advice.

Dee Cochran for typing the manuscript from my

illegible writing.

Dr. Derrick B. Jelliffee for allowing me to quote from his

landmark work Human Milk in the Modern World.

Dr. Paul Fleiss, a pediatrician ahead of his time, for his

assistance.

Dr. Robert Mendelsohn, my fearless leader in the move-

ment to resist the homogenization of American
medicine.

Dr. Robert Pottenger, of the Price-Pottenger Foundation,

for allowing me access to the History of Randleigh Farms.

Ed O'Neal for his patience and hard work.

Hugh Allen for his bright idea.

Col. McCrary for his generosity.

Al Mason and Virginia Wilder for cleaning up my grammar.

Bari Cane, listed last only because she is the only addition
to the fourth edition. She has vastly improved the book
with her insights and I am very grateful.
 PREFACE

Don't skim over this book about milk. The health and
wealth of this nation are inextricably tied into our agri-
culture. Our greatest agricultural loss today is due to our
senseless destruction of fresh milk through pasteuriza-
tion, ultra-pasteurization, and now ultra high tempera-
ture pasteurization which turns a great food into a white,
"milk flavored drink," about as nutritious as milk of mag-
nesia.
Don't skim over the footnotes either.* If you do,
you'll miss a lot of good stuff.
With proper understanding of milk, and its destruc-
tive effects (when heat-treated) and the remarkable thera-
peutic effects when used raw, we can cut billions of dollars
off our medical bills, make ourselves infinitely more
healthy, and actually raise the I.Q. of our children. With
smarter children we will add greatly to our scientific and
cultural wealth. I do not consider it an exaggeration to
say that the nation's destiny will be affected by what we
do about milk.** If you doubt this, read Chapter III first.
This chapter should convince you that a switch to
unprocessed, that is unpasteurized, milk should be a na-
tional priority.
If you listen to the advertising of the dairy industry,
one gets the impression that milk is the perfect food and,
if you don't stoke your children with at least a quart of
milk a day (each), you are guilty of child abuse or at least
neglect.

* Just testing you

** And about soy protein – read the new chapter beginning on page
275.
xii The Raw Truth about Milk

On the other hand, some nutritionists, medical or-

ganizations, government agencies, and doctors warn of
the dangers of fat and cholesterol in milk and milk prod-
ucts. We are told that "Mr. Cholesterol" is going to get us
if we don't restrict our intake of dairy products, espe-
cially eggs, meat, and demon milk.
A small group of nutritionists are so anti-milk that
they state flatly: No one should drink milk after eighteen
months of age-period. This is the "milk is only for babies"
school of nutrition.
Another small but growing faction of nutritionists
says that the problem with milk is American milk. That is,
milk is okay when used the way nature made it, but it's
changed into a useless, and actually dangerous product
when processed by modern dairy methods. This group,
composed of some experienced nutritionists, presents
evidence that pasteurized, homogenized milk actually
causes the very disease it is supposed to help prevent
tooth decay! They also point out that milk may cause ar-
teriosclerosis and thus heart attack, not because of the fat
or cholesterol content, but because of the way the milk is
altered by the pasteurization and homogenization proc-
esses. They ask, "Is milk the perfect food, or is it, because
of modern processing methods, a major health hazard?"
There are advocates of goat milk, camel milk, yak
milk, mithan milk, skim milk, and the non-milk, soy
milk. One physician/nutritionist says the only way to
drink milk is to take pure cream and dilute it with
water.*
Milk is as American as Coca-Cola and at least half
the population drinks milk. Most of the rest ingest it in
one form or another -cheese, bakery goods, and in the
process of cooking in general. But is American processed
milk a nutritional stalwart that helps build strong bodies

* That’s not a bad idea if you can’t get raw milk.

Preface xiii

and good teeth, or is it, like Coca-Cola, just another form

of junk food?
We will cover a vast array of subjects in this book
such as raw milk, medical milk therapy, human milk,
margarine and butter, the sudden infant death syndrome,
and the great yogurt rip-off, but the major thrust of this
book will be to warn you of the dangers of pasteurized milk and
to inform you about the incredible health benefits to be gained
from drinking fresh, untreated, unpasteurized, in other words,
raw milk. We will attempt to convince you that raw
certified milk will keep you free of disease, improve your
sex life, give you more energy and stamina, and extend
your life by at least ten years.
That's a big order. Read on—this book may change
your life.
 FOREWORD TO THE THIRD EDITION

Although written in 1984, The Milk Book is as timely

today as ever. I have made a few changes, especially
concerning coconut and palm oil. These palm oils are
good for you. What I said in 1984 seemed correct, with-
out a shadow of a doubt. When I started studying
nutrition 35 years ago, I didn’t learn it all over night. I
was a victim of the saturated-fat-is-bad school.* Most
doctors, dieticians, and epidemiologists (staticians) still
believe it.
Only recently has science confirmed what we first
said more than twenty years ago in this book: Adding
vitamin D to milk is a risky business. It is entirely unne-
cessary to "fortify" milk with this highly toxic substance.
Not too long ago, the New England Journal of Medi-
cine reported eight cases of vitamin D intoxication result-
ing from excessive fortification of commercial
(pasteurized) milk. Symptoms included anorexia, weight
loss, constipation, weakness, fatigue, inability to think
correctly, and something they described as "failure to
thrive." You wouldn't catch all that stuff from my Great-
Grandma Bell's milk!
According to the article, the artificial baby formulas
were even worse than dairy milk. None of the formulas
tested had the amount of vitamin D stated on the label;
almost all contained excessive amounts of this
potentially toxic vitamin.**
The anti-cholesterol propaganda blitz has increased
dramatically since this book was first published. Chil-
dren are now being denied whole milk because pedia-
tricians are obsessed with the cholesterol myth. These

* Nobody’s perfect
** Toxic, that is, when given in large doses. (These two need to be
at the bottom of the previous page.)
xvi The Raw Truth about Milk

same gutless wonders don't say anything about children

drinking half-a-dozen bottles of Coca-Cola a day, starting
before breakfast. But kids can't get a decent glass of
unprocessed milk!
Even if Mom buys whole milk, thinking it is better
for her growing child than that sickly blue stuff called
skim, she can't win, because all of the commercial milk is
homogenized. I'm convinced that homogenization is
even more detrimental to the nutritional quality of milk
than the heat processing called pasteurization. (See
Chapter VII—"Udder Menace.”)
Meat is in the doghouse and the animal rights move-
ment has heated up to a point that we may all be forced
to become vegetarians. If one of your friends (or chil-
dren) has succumbed to the anti-meat hysteria, have him
read Chapter XII— "Let 'Em Eat Steak."
And let me also put in a plug here for Chapter X,
"This Greasy Counterfeit." It really infuriates me that you
simply cannot find butter in a restaurant anymore; it's
always some kind of "spread." * (I guess they're ashamed
to admit its margarine.) For the full story of the shameful
grease that is masquerading as God's butter, please read
Chapter X.
The longest chapter in the book is the one on breast-
feeding (Chapter IX—"Udder Perfection"). I am honored
that my writings had at least a little influence, along with
the work of the La Leche League and the efforts of my
great good friend, Dr. Robert Mendelsohn, on the in-
crease in breast-feeding in this country.
You might remember that this movement was met
with stony silence by the pediatricians—until they real-
ized they were looking pretty anti-nature and did a 180-
degree turnaround. Now they claim credit for the revival
of breast feeding!

* But the best restaurants still use butter.

Foreword to the Third Edition xvii

But that battle also is not over. America's mothers

are backsliding. The number of mothers breast-feeding is
dropping precipitously, because it's not convenient or
compatible with the image of the modern, liberated
woman, I guess. The artificial-baby-formula companies
are gearing up for another propaganda blitz against feed-
ing au natural. I've even seen articles questioning the
safety or desirability of feeding babies natural breast
milk! Can you believe that?
And now, even the doctors are backsliding again.
Some university expert noticed that breast-fed babies
weighed less than bottle-fed ones. Well then, since a fat
baby is a healthy baby, baby formula should be started as
soon as possible after birth. I have always had a pre-
judice against pediatricians. They are, in this land of the
free, passionately in favor of forced immunization, forced
fluoride to children, forced confiscation of guns in the
home as a protection against killers and thieves – forced,
forced, forced; it is part of their training. They are, in
general, public health fanatics and a danger to the health
of you and your family.
They were taught, as was I, that you can measure
the development of a baby by his weight gain. This is
true within reason but, like most doctors, they go over-
board and abandon common sense. This obsessive
concern for weight gain is transmitted to the mother and
this results in overfeeding and childhood obesity. A lean
baby is a healthy baby; a fat baby, proudly shown to the
neighbors with resultant joy all round, has childhood
obesity thanks to the pediatrician. Is it any wonder that
we have become a nation of obesitrons?
Most readers of this book have never seen, much
less tasted, natural milk from a cow. I'm talking about the
straight stuff, with the cream left where it belongs—on
the top of the milk—and no vitamin D or other artificial
elements added.
xviii The Raw Truth about Milk

Once you have read THE RAW TRUTH ABOUT

MILK, I hope you will want to drink only natural,
unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk yourself. This is
easier said than done. At the time of this writing, there is
only one dairy in the entire United States producing
unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk: Alta Dena Dairy in
Chino, California. Sadly, their days appear to be
numbered.*
The media, in collusion with the doctors, the
dieticians, the American Heart Association, and the food
industry, have done such a colossal job of indoctrinating
the American people on the supposed dangers of
cholesterol and the drinking of unpasteurized ("raw”)
milk that it is no longer available in most states.
What can you do? Let me suggest five things:
(1). Contact your state legislators and demand that
they permit you the freedom to choose what sort
of milk you will drink.
(2). Ditto your federal senators and representatives.
(3). Tell the FDA to stop acting like commissars and
start acting like what they're supposed to be,
public servants.
(4). Buy a cow and milk it yourself.
(5). If that's too much trouble, make friends with
someone who owns a cow and come to some
private arrangement with him.
In conclusion, let me note that writing The Milk
Book was the most fun I have ever had with a word
processor. I am even more pleased with this book now,
because it has endured the test of time. I hope you will
agree—and will urge your own children to read it, too.

* There has been progress since 1980 but it’s slow. There are a few
more states that have legalized clean milk and have regular
inspections, in this stormy year of 2007.
 FOREWORD

This important book should be read by two groups

of people—those who drink milk and those who don't.
Both groups will learn that, "Is milk good or bad for
you?" is the wrong question. The right question is, "What
kind of milk should you drink?"
William Campbell Douglass, M.D., in his eminently
readable and authoritatively documented book, teaches
us a valuable lesson in semantics – the opposite of "dirty"
is not "pasteurized" or "homogenized". The opposite of
"dirty" is "clean".
And clean milk means raw certified milk!
Even more remarkable than the message of this book
is the messenger. Douglass belongs to the profession of
Modern Medicine, a group noted, over the past five dec-
ades, for its belief in "better living through chemistry."
Reared in a tradition that reveres the fluoridation of
our water supplies and eagerly anticipates the irradiation
of our food supplies, impeccably credentialed Dr.
Douglass is practically unique in Modern Medicine in ar-
guing for a clean milk supply.
Don't look for other MD's to join Bill Douglass' cru-
sade against milk pollution. Habituated to creating mini-
Love Canals in the blood streams of their private
patients, modern physicians are unwilling to marshal the
righteous indignation and careful reasoning necessary to
protest against pollution of the public's water, food and
milk.
xx The Raw Truth about Milk

Not only is Douglass' case against pasteurization

and homogenization compelling, but this book helps
clarify many other issues (vegetarianism vs. meat eating;
the cholesterol controversy; goat's milk vs. cow's milk),
and offers valuable insights into osteoporosis, tall stature
of Americans, cancer, and vitamins. Bill Douglass' breezy
style — complete with hilarious footnotes—adds the di-
mension of entertainment to a fine educational experi-
ence.

Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D.

Author, "Confessions of a Medical Heretic"
August, 1984
Other documents randomly have
different content
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Nat the Navigator. A
Life of Nathaniel Bowditch. For Young Persons
 This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
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this eBook.

Title: Nat the Navigator. A Life of Nathaniel Bowditch. For Young Persons

Author: Henry I. Bowditch

Release date: January 3, 2020 [eBook #61092]

Most recently updated: October 17, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NAT THE NAVIGATOR. A

LIFE OF NATHANIEL BOWDITCH. FOR YOUNG PERSONS ***
 Dr. Bowditch’s Study in Later Years.

NAT THE NAVIGATOR.

A LIFE
OF
NATHANIEL BOWDITCH.
FOR YOUNG PERSONS.
 The House in which he lived when a
little Child.

BOSTON:
LEE AND SHEPARD.
1870.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by

LEE AND SHEPARD,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.

ELECTROTYPED AT THE
BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY,
No. 19 Spring Lane.

Boston, December, 1869.

Moved by feelings I could scarcely comprehend, while, at the same time,
they were most sweet to me, I was led to talk with the pupils of the Warren
Street Chapel on the Sunday afternoon after my father died. The subjects
were his active and good life and happy death. I am aware that some of my
nearest friends thought it strange that my heart, on the occasion of his death,
was filled with a kind of joy rather than with sadness. To them I could merely
say, that an event so calm, and under such circumstances of suffering as he
then was, suggested to me nothing like real sorrow. I wished my young
companions to feel as I did, and that, in their minds, a quiet death following a
good life should be clothed with beauty, and that they might thus be led to
believe that, in accordance with the Scotch proverb, “A gude life makes a
gude end. At least it helps weel.” Horace Mann was present during the
address. Being deeply interested in the education of the young, he requested
me to prepare for his Common School Journal a sketch similar to that I had
spoken. In accordance with that desire, a memoir was prepared, and after its
publication the Warren Street Chapel Association requested that it should be
put, with some revision, into this form. And as it was originally prepared for,
and dedicated to, the pupils of that institution,
SO I NOW DEDICATE IT

ANEW TO THE

GIRLS AND BOYS OF WARREN STREET CHAPEL.

 CONTENTS.
PAGE

CHAPTER I.
From 1773 to 1784—under 10 years of age.
Birth.—Childhood 11

CHAPTER II.
From 1784 to 1795—between the ages of 10 and 21.
His apprenticeship, his habits.—Studies Chambers’s Cyclopædia.—
Results of his studies; gains the respect of all.—Dr. Bentley, Dr.
Prince, and Mr. Reed, do him kindness; by their means allowed
access to “The Philosophical Library.”—He makes philosophical
instruments.—Calculates an Almanac at the age of fourteen.—
Studies algebra: delight he experienced from this new pursuit.—
Learns Latin.—Reads works by Sir Isaac Newton.—Studies French 23

CHAPTER III.
From 1784 to 1796—age, 10-22.
Apprenticeship continued.—Favorite of his companions.—Learns music;
neglects his studies for a time.—Gets into bad society; his decision
in freeing himself from it.—Engages in a survey of the town of
Salem.—Sails on his first voyage to the East Indies; extracts from
his Journal during this voyage; arrival at the Isle of Bourbon;
return home 37

CHAPTER IV.
From 1796 to 1797—age, 23-4.
Second voyage.—Visits Lisbon.—Island of Madeira; festival and games
there.—Anecdotes of his skill as an accountant.—Doubles Cape of
Good Hope.—Albatrosses.—Arrival at Manilla.—Extracts from
Journal.—Curious boat.—Earthquake.—Voyage home 46

CHAPTER V.
From 1797 to 1800—age, 24-7.
Marriage.—Third voyage; visits Spain.—Dangers.—Earl St. Vincent’s
fleet.—Arrival at Cadiz.—Observatory at Cadiz.—Sails for Alicant.—
Passage through the Straits of Gibraltar.—Privateers; chased by
one; anecdotes of Mr. B.’s love of study shown then.—Hears news
of the death of his wife; consoles himself with mathematical
studies.—More troubles with privateers.—Leaves Alicant.—
Advantages derived from his visit to Spain.—Fourth voyage; to
India.—Extracts from Journal on viewing a ship that was engaged
in the slave trade.—Arrival at Java; introduction to the governor;
respect formerly paid to him.—Anecdote of English navy officers.—
Goes to Batavia and Manilla.—Observations of Jupiter while
becalmed near the Celebean Islands.—Voyage home 62

CHAPTER VI.
From 1800 to 1803—age, 27-30.
Second marriage; character of his wife.—Mr. Bowditch engages in
commerce for two years.—School committee.—East India Marine
Society; a description of the annual meeting of this society.—Mr.
Bowditch becomes part owner of ship Putnam, and sails for India.
—Anecdote, occurrence a few days after leaving Salem.—Studies
during the long voyage.—Begins to study and make notes upon La
Place’s “Mécanique Céleste.”—Arrival off Sumatra; difficulties there.
—Boarded by English man-of-war.—Revisits Isle of France.—Journal
extracts about modes of procuring pepper; seasons for it, &c.—
Incident on approaching Salem harbor.—Decision of Mr. Bowditch 80

CHAPTER VII.
Review of the labors, &c., performed by Mr. Bowditch, during these
voyages.—Habits while at sea; studies; desire to teach others;
kindness to sailors and to the sick.—Discovers errors in a book on
navigation.—Origin of “American Practical Navigator;” success of it;
industry of Mr. Bowditch upon it.—Investigates higher branches of
science.—“Mécanique Céleste.”—Mr. Bowditch reads history.—
Learns Spanish, French, and Portuguese languages.—Anecdotes.—
Chosen member of American Academy.—Receives honors from
Harvard College 99

CHAPTER VIII.
From 1803 to 1817—age, 30-44.
Mr. Bowditch translates a Spanish paper; is chosen President of a Fire
and Marine Insurance Office.—Habits of life.—Becomes interested
in politics.—Federalists and Democrats.—Great excitement.—
Division between him and old friends in consequence of his zeal.—
Feelings of Mr. Bowditch when war was declared.—Decision of
character.—His charity.—Earnestness in aiding others; ludicrous
instance of the effects of this.—Boldness towards a truckman.—
Zeal for improving the libraries; unites the two.—Dr. Prince’s
church.—Performance of duties of President of Insurance Office.—
Answer to an overbearing rich man.—Appointed Professor of
Mathematics at Harvard College; same at West Point.—His
modesty.—Hints about leaving Salem 115

CHAPTER IX.
From 1803 to 1823—age, 30-50.
Papers published by Mr. Bowditch in the Memoirs of the Academy;
account of some of them.—Total eclipse of the sun in 1806; effect
of it.—Anecdote of Chief Justice Parsons.—Meteor that fell over
Weston, Ct.; account of its curious appearance; effect of these
papers upon his fame in Europe.—Chosen member of most of the
learned societies of the Old World.—Quits Salem to become
connected with larger institutions in Boston 131

CHAPTER X.
Sketch of the life of La Place, author of the “Mécanique Céleste.”—
Newton’s labors.—Halley’s comet.—The importance of astronomy to
navigation.—Comets; Dr. Bowditch translates the Mécanique
Céleste; difficulties attending the undertaking; objects he had in
view; first volume analyzed; Newton’s error pointed out 149

CHAPTER XI.
Commentary continued; second volume.—Discussion between the
English and French mathematicians; Dr. Bowditch’s criticisms.—
Errors in La Place in regard to the earth, &c.—Third volume;
motions of the moon.—Fourth volume; many errors discovered in
it.—Halley’s comet.—Curious phenomena of capillary attraction 169

CHAPTER XII.
Death, March 17, 1838, aged 65.
Sketch of the life of La Grange, the equal of La Place; love Dr. Bowditch
had for La Grange’s character; comparison between him and La
Place; also between him and Dr. Bowditch.—Conclusion of the
Memoir 176

NAT THE NAVIGATOR.

 CHAPTER I.
From 1773 to 1784—under 10 years of age.
 Birth.—Childhood.

Nathaniel Bowditch, whose history I shall relate to you, was one whose
character and actions presented many circumstances which cannot fail of
being interesting to you. He died more than thirty years ago, in Boston; and,
from having been a poor and ignorant boy, he became a man known all over
the world for his great learning, while at the same time he was beloved for
the goodness of his heart and the integrity of his character. May the perusal of
his history excite some of you to imitate his virtues and his energy.
He was born in Salem, a town about fourteen miles from BIRTHPLACE.
Boston, the capital city of our State of Massachusetts. His
birthday was March 26, 1773. His father was at first a EARLY SCHOOL
DAYS.
cooper, and afterwards a shipmaster. He and his wife were
exceedingly poor, and they had many children. Nat was the fourth child. He
had two sisters and three brothers. When he was about two and a half years
old, his parents removed to a very small wooden house in Danvers, about
three miles from Salem; and here the boy attended school for the first time,
and began to show those generous feelings, and that love of learning, which
he displayed so much in after-life. A few years ago the old school-house in
which he learned to spell and read remained entire. It was an old-fashioned
building, with a long, slanting roof, which, at the back of the house, nearly
reached the ground. Its single chimney, with many curious and pretty corners,
then rose in the middle of the roof, as it had for ninety years. Around the
dwelling is a grass plat, upon which he used, when a child like yourselves, to
play with his schoolmates. It was planted with shrubs, such as the farmers
most need. The house in which he lived still stands nearly opposite that in
which the school was kept. This house formerly had but two rooms in it, and
all its furniture was of the simplest kind.
 HIS FIRST SCHOOL-HOUSE.

I visited the relations of the schoolmistress. She died BROTHERS AND

many, many years ago; but her niece, when I asked about SISTERS.
Nat Bowditch, told me how her aunt used to love him for
his earnestness in pursuing his studies, and for his gentleness, while under
her care. He was “a nice boy,” she used to say. While in Danvers, his father
was most of the time at sea, he having been obliged to give up his trade and
become a sailor when the Revolutionary War broke out.[1] Nat lived, during
his father’s absence, very happily with his mother and his brothers and sisters.
During the whole of his after-life, he used to delight to go near the small
house in which he had dwelt so pleasantly. The family was “a family of love.”
He had a brother William, to whom he was very much attached. He was more
grave and sober than Nat; for the latter, with all his devotion to study, was full
of fun, frolic, and good nature. But William was equally, and perhaps more,
gentle. The brothers frequently studied together from an old family Bible, and
on Sundays, when they were quite small, their grandmother, who was a very
excellent woman, used to place this large book, with its wooden covers and
bright brazen clasps, upon the foot of her bed; and hour after hour did those
two boys trace, with their fingers upon the map, the forty years’ wanderings
of the Israelites, before they came into the long-looked-for land of Canaan.
I have said that Nat frequently went to look upon the GRANDMOTHER’S
house in which he had lived; and so he often called upon BIBLE.
the family in which this old Bible was kept, in order that he
might see the volume which he had so loved when a boy. HIS MOTHER.
It reminded him of the delightful home of his childhood,
where his dear and worthy mother tried to make him good, in order that he
might become an honor to her and to the people. His mother was one who
was extremely kind; yet she was by no means afraid to correct her children, if
she found them doing wrong. Nat sometimes suffered, because, like every
boy, he sometimes did wrong; but generally the mother found that he could
be easily guided by her love. I seem to see her now, taking her little son, and
leading him to the window of the cottage in Danvers, to see the beautiful new
moon just setting in the west, while, at the same time, she kisses and blesses
him, and talks to him of his absent father, and they both send up earnest
wishes for his safe and speedy return. She was very careful to instil into all
her children the importance of truth. “Speak the truth always, my boy,” said
she. She likewise loved religion, and she was very liberal in her feelings
towards those who differed from her upon this subject. Nevertheless,
believing that the Episcopal kind of worship was the most correct, she
educated all her children in that form. An anecdote which Nat, when he
became a man, often related, will show you how much influence her
instructions in this particular had upon him. Among the Episcopalians the
prayers are read, and the people repeat, aloud, some answer. One day Nat
called his brothers and sisters around him, and, taking his mother’s Book of
Prayer, with a sober face began to read aloud from it, while his brothers made
the answers. They had continued some minutes amusing themselves in this
way, when their mother entered the room. She was very much troubled at
first, as she supposed they were ridiculing the services she held as sacred.
“My sons,” said she, “I am pleased to see you read that book; but you should
never do so in a careless manner.” They told her that, though playing, they
did not think to do any harm, or to show any disrespect.
The family was very poor; so poor, indeed, that EARLY POVERTY.
sometimes they had nothing to eat, for several successive
days, but common coarse bread, with perhaps a little pork. CHEERFULNESS
UNDER IT.
Wheat bread was almost never allowed to any one of
them. Their clothing, too, was at times very thin. Frequently, during the whole
winter, the boys wore their summer jackets and trousers. At times, Nat’s
schoolmates used to laugh at him because he wore such a thin dress, when
they were wearing their thickest winter clothing. But he was not afraid of their
merriment, nor made angry by it; on the contrary, he laughed heartily at them
for supposing him unable to bear the cold. He knew that no good would be
gained by complaints, and that he would distress his mother if he made any;
he therefore bore contentedly his want of clothing, and tried even to make
himself merry with those who ridiculed him.
At the age of seven years, and after returning to Salem, LOVE OF
he went to a school kept by a man named Watson. Master ARITHMETIC.
Watson was one who had sufficient learning for those
DIFFICULTIES.
times; though the boys who now go to school in Boston
would think it very strange if a master did not attempt to teach more than he
did. None of the scholars had a dictionary. Master Watson was a good man,
but he suffered much from headache, and therefore he was liable to violent
fits of anger; and when thus excited, as it generally happens in such cases, he
was guilty of injustice. An instance of this, young Bowditch met with, not long
after he entered the school. From early life, Nat had liked ciphering, or
arithmetic; and thinking that at school he would be able to learn something
more about this than he had previously gained from his brothers, while at
home, during the long winter evenings, he requested the master to allow him
to study it. As he seemed too young, this request was not granted. But, being
determined to study what pleased him so much, he obtained a letter from his
father, in which Mr. Bowditch requested Master Watson to allow his son to
pursue his favorite study. The schoolmaster, on receiving the message, was
very angry, and said to his pupil, “Very well. I’ll give you a sum that will satisfy
you;” and immediately prepared a question that he thought Nat would be
unable to answer, and which he could not have answered had he not studied
at home. But the boy had learned before sufficiently to enable him to perform
the task; and, having done so, he ran gayly to the desk, expecting to be
praised for his exact performance of duty. You may imagine his surprise at
being saluted with these words: “You little rascal, who showed you how to do
this sum? I shall punish you for attempting to deceive me.” The poor lad’s
heart swelled and beat violently. He blushed and trembled from fear of
punishment, but still more at the suspicion which his instructor had
expressed, that he had been guilty of telling a lie. Filled with anger and alarm,
he stammered out, “I did it, sir.” But his master would not believe him, and
was about to strike him, when an elder brother interfered, and stated that Nat
knew very well how to perform the task, for he himself had previously taught
him enough to enable him to do it. Our young arithmetician thus escaped the
punishment; but he never could forget that he had been accused of
falsehood. His pious and truth-loving mother had so firmly fastened in his
mind the holiness of truth, that he rarely, if ever, thought of deviating from it;
and during his life he considered that any one who even suspected him of
falsehood had done him the greatest injury. How well it would be if all of our
boys loved truth as he did!
 This was the only serious difficulty he met with while at APPRENTICED TO
this school. He was the same lively lad at everything he SHIP-CHANDLER.
undertook as he had been previously. He was beloved by
his comrades for his good nature, and was always engaged in useful
employment or innocent amusements. When he was about ten years of age,
his father became poorer than ever; and moreover, in consequence of loss of
regular employment and of the little property which he possessed, he gave
himself up to habits of intoxication. From having been a brave man, he
became a coward, and, unable to look at the distress of his family, made their
poverty many times more burdensome by habits which wholly unfitted him for
active duties. Under these circumstances, his son, at the age of ten years and
three months, left school, and soon afterwards was bound an apprentice to
Messrs. Ropes and Hodges, who kept a ship-chandler’s shop in Salem.
As this was one of the important times in his life, I think EARLY CHARACTER.
I will finish this chapter with only two remarks, for the
boys and girls who may be reading this. You see a lively and good-natured
boy, who, before he was ten years old, showed great love of truth, much
perseverance, a warm desire for study, particularly of arithmetic; and lastly,
you perceive him under the influence of a good mother, who tries to excite in
him all just and holy sentiments. Particularly does she point out to him truth
as one grand aim of his existence. Now, I wish you to remember these facts,
and see where they eventually led him; and if you remember, you may be
induced to imitate him, at least in some respects.
 CHAPTER II.
From 1784 to 1795—between the ages of 10 and 21.
 His apprenticeship, his habits.—Studies Chambers’s Cyclopædia.—
Results of his studies; gains the respect of all.—Dr. Bentley,
Dr. Prince, and Mr. Reed, do him kindness; by their means
allowed access to “The Philosophical Library.”—He makes
philosophical instruments.—Calculates an Almanac at the age
of fourteen.—Studies algebra: delight he experienced from
this new pursuit.—Learns Latin.—Reads works by Sir Isaac
Newton.—Studies French.

Doubtless it was with a sorrowing heart that Nat CHANGE OF

left his own dear home and his kind mother to take ABODE.
up his abode among strangers; for he was to live
WORK AT THE
at the house of his employer, Mr. Hodges. But if he SHOP.
did feel sad, he was not one to neglect a duty in
consequence of sorrow. The shop in which he was THOUGHTFULNES
employed was situated very near the wharves, in S FOR OTHERS.
the lower part of the town of Salem. We do not see
many such stores now in Boston; though something similar is
sometimes found in small country towns. In it a great variety of
goods was sold, especially everything which would be useful to a
sailor. Pork and nails, hammers and butter, were kept in adjacent
barrels. The walls were hung with all the tools needed in the
seafaring life. There was a long counter in it, at one end of which
Nat had his little desk. When not engaged with customers, he used
to read and write there. He always kept a slate by his side, and,
when not occupied by the duties of the shop, he was usually busied
with his favorite pursuit of arithmetic. In the warm weather of
summer, when there was little business, and the heat was
uncomfortable, he was often seen, by the neighbors, engaged in
ciphering, while resting his slate upon the half door of the shop; for
in those days the shop doors were made in two parts, so that
frequently the lower half was shut, while the upper was open. Thus
he was always actively employed, instead of being idle, as is too
frequently the case with boys in similar circumstances. Even on the
great holidays of Fourth of July and “General Training,” he did not
leave his studies for the purpose of going to see the parade, but
remained at the shop, laboring to improve himself; or, if the shop
was closed, he was in his little garret-room at his employer’s house.
Study and reading were beginning to be his only recreation.
Frequently, after the store was closed at night, he remained until
nine or ten o’clock. Many long winter nights he passed in a similar
manner, at his master’s house by the kitchen fire. While here, he did
not become morose or ill-natured; but frequently, when the servant
girl wished to go to see her parents, who lived one or two miles off,
he took her place by the side of the cradle of his master’s child, and
rocked it gently with his foot, while busily occupied at his books. I
think this was one of the sweetest incidents in his early days. It was
the germ of his benevolence in after-life. A truly great man is kind-
hearted as well as wise. Nat began thus early his course of genuine
humanity and science. So must you do if you would imitate him.
As he became older, he became interested in HIGHER
larger and more important works; and of these, STUDIES.
fortunately, he found an abundant supply. His
employer lived in the house of Judge Ropes, and Nat had permission
to use the library of this gentleman as much as he wished. In this
collection he found one set of books which he afterwards valued
very much. He tried to buy a copy of it when he was old, having a
similar feeling towards it that he bore towards his grandmother’s
Bible. It was Chambers’s Cyclopædia. As you may judge from the
name Cyclopædia, these books, consisting of four very large
volumes, contained much upon a great many subjects. It is like a
dictionary. He read every piece in it, and copied into blank books,
which he obtained for the purpose, everything he thought
particularly interesting, especially all about arithmetic. Previously, he
had studied navigation, or the methods whereby the sailors are
enabled to guide their ships across the ocean. In this Cyclopædia he
found much upon this subject; also upon astronomy, or the
knowledge of the stars and other heavenly bodies; and upon
mensuration, or the art with which we are enabled to measure large
quantities of land or water.
 But he was not satisfied with merely studying ALMANAC FOR
what others did. He made several dials and curious 1790.
instruments for measuring the weather, &c. He
likewise, at the age of fourteen years, made an Almanac for 1790, so
accurately and minutely finished, that it might have been published.
Whilst engaged upon this last, he was more than usually laborious.
The first rays of the morning saw him at labor, and he sat up, with
his rushlight, until late at night. If any asked where Nat was, the
reply was, “He is engaged in making his Almanac.” He was just
fourteen years of age when he finished it.[2]
August 1, 1787,—that is, at the age of fourteen, BEGINS
—he was introduced to a mode of calculating which ALGEBRA.
was wholly new to him. His brother came home
HIS DELIGHT IN
from his school, where he had been learning IT.
navigation, and told him that his master had a
mode of ciphering by means of letters. Nat puzzled himself very
much about the matter, and imagined a variety of methods of
“ciphering with letters.” He thought that perhaps A added to B made
C, and B added to C made D, and so on; but there seemed to him
no use in all this. At length he begged his brother to obtain for him
the book. The schoolmaster readily lent it; and it is said that the boy
did not sleep that night. He was so delighted with reading about this
method, or algebra, as it is called, that he found it impossible to
sleep. He afterwards talked with an old English sailor, who happened
to know something about the subject, and received some little
instruction from him. This person afterwards went to his own
country; but just before he left Salem, he patted Nat upon the head,
and said, “Nat, my boy, go on studying as you do now, and you will
be a great man one of these days.” You will see, before finishing this
story, that the prophecy of the old sailor was amply fulfilled.
But all this labor, this constant exertion, DRS. PRINCE AND
combined with his kind and cheerful disposition, BENTLEY AID
HIM.
must, you will readily believe, have given him
friends. He became known as a young man of DR. KIRWAN’S
great promise; as one more capable than his elders LIBRARY.
of deciding many questions, particularly all those in
COPIES BOOKS.
which any calculations were to be made.
Consequently, when about seventeen or eighteen years old, he was
often called upon, by men much older than himself, to act as umpire
in important matters. All these he attended to so willingly and
skilfully, that those whom he assisted became very much attached to
him. He thus gained the respect not merely of common persons, less
learned than himself, but his industry, his fidelity to his employers,
his talents, attracted the notice of men well known in the
community. Among these were two clergymen of Salem. At the
church of Rev. Dr. Prince he attended for divine worship; and Dr.
Bentley rarely passed the store without stepping in to talk with his
young friend. Nat availed himself of the learning of Dr. Bentley, and
often visited his room in order to converse with him. Dr. Prince, the
other clergyman above alluded to, had studied much the subjects
that the apprentice was pursuing, and he was very glad to see a
young man zealous in the same pursuits. There was another
individual who kept an apothecary’s shop; and it was he, who, with
the aid of the two clergymen, opened to our young student the
means of continuing his favorite studies with more success than he
had ever anticipated. Mr. Reed—for that was his name—likewise
gave him permission to use all his books, of which he had a great
many. But the chief means of study, to which I allude, was the
permission to take books from a library which had been formed by a
number of gentlemen of the town. The kindness of the proprietors of
this library was never forgotten by the young apprentice; and in his
will, made fifty years afterwards, he left a thousand dollars to the
Salem Athenæum, in order to repay the debt of gratitude which he
felt he had incurred. But you may want to know something about
the formation of this library, and the books of which it was
composed. Some time during the Revolutionary War, alluded to in
Chapter I., Dr. Kirwan, an Irishman and a learned man, put the
greater part of his library on board a ship, in order to have it carried
across the Irish Channel. While on the voyage, the vessel was taken
by an American ship of war, and the books were carried into Beverly,
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