R.E. Loring (1853-1934) was the Indian Agent for the Upper Skeena and Bulkley Valley in Hazelton from 1889 to the end of 1920. Part of his job was to render such medical aid as he could to the First Nations in the district. As far as we know, he had no medical training. Nevertheless he gave vaccinations and performed simple surgery. In 1892—eight years before Horace Wrinch arrived in Hazelton as a medical missionary—Loring purchased the latest edition of the 1,200-page The Practical Home Physician and Encyclopedia of Medicine, charging the Department of Indian Affairs for the eight dollar cost. When he found out he had paid one dollar more than he need have, he dutifully reimbursed the Department that one dollar. Coincidentally, when staying with my wife in a bed and breakfast near Hazelton in August 2017, I found on the shelves of our room what I believe could possibly have been this actual book.
