In a message dated 96-12-13 14:18:18 EST, you write:
 
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 Cyprien Tanguay states in one of his vols. that a certain individual was
 a "medecin a Saginaw" (a former soldier, married to a Saulteuse, and who
 wintered at Saginaw)
 
 It was formerly believed that this man may have been a doctor, healer
 or medicine man.  The French officials were known to have promised
 blacksmiths to the Indians of the Saginaw area, but are there any
 other instances of them sending "medecins" in other areas?
  >>
 
Dr. John de la Howe was referred to as a "Medecin" in an 1857 address on the
formation of the New Bordeaux settlement in South Carolina. Thus the term
survived...but is it French in origin/usage?