Think about what you do when you wake up with a headache, or a stuffy nose, or any other minor discomfort.

You head straight to your medicine cabinet where you reach for exactly the right pill, liquid, or salve to take care of the problem.

Into or onto your body it goes, zero hesitation.

Then you go about your day.

You don't worry about it at all.

You trust that the medicine works, that it's safe.

Yet not so long ago this wouldn't have been the case.

In early 19th century America, medicine's relationship with science was tenuous at best,

and when it came to developing new cures and advancing medical knowledge,

well, it was the Wild West.

So what changed? How did modern medicine become modern?

This is the story of a renegade doctor who refused to be confined by boundaries of traditional medicine or ethics.

It's a story of exploitation, experimentation, and digestion.

And it started with a bang.

On today's episode, Shotgun Science.

This is a twist of history.

In 1822, Michigan Territory is an untamed frontier,

and on the morning of June 6th,

the American fur company store on Mackinac Island is

packed, shoulder to shoulder with fur traders, hunters, and laborers. These are hard, rugged men,

all here to buy, sell, and make the connections that fuel the region's fur trade. Among the crowd

is 20-year-old Alexis St. Martin, who's picking his way

...