Doctor Dolittle or too dull. The stories are set in early Victorian England, where Doctor John Dolittle lives in the fictional English village of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh in the West Country. Doctor Dolittle has a few close human friends, including Tommy Stubbins and Matthew Mugg, the Cats'-Meat Man. The animal team includes Polynesia (a parrot), Gub-Gub (a pig), Jip (a dog), Dab-Dab (a duck), Chee-Chee (a monkey), Too-Too (an owl), the Pushmi-pullyu, and a white mouse later named simply "Whitey". One inspiration for his character appears to be the Scottish surgeon John Hunter. "The Story of Doctor Dolittle: Being the History of His Peculiar
John Marsh (pioneer) thus became the first non-Hispanic white settler in what is now Contra Costa County. Marsh prospered there, both as a rancher and as a doctor. In practicing medicine, he again charged very high prices, generally in relation to how far he had to travel to see the patient (which often meant being away from his ranch for days or weeks). There is some evidence that he cared for some of the survivors of the Donner Party while living near Mount Diablo. Marsh acquired tens of thousands of head of cattle and lived the life of a wealthy "ranchero". In addition,