Skimming through the text for a word that was unfamiliar, I ran across this passage on page 85 at the bottom:

To his work without flinching the accoucheur comes,

I wasn’t sure what this was, so I looked it up.

Male Midwife

An accoucheur is a person who assists in birth, particularly an obsetrician.  They were frequently midwives in Whitman’s time and had an assortment of instruments at their disposal should the birth prove difficult.

 

c. 1840

c. 1860

Prior to the mid-18th century, medical practitioners were called to a birth only in an emergency (e.g., the late stages of a complicated birth).  By the end of the 18th century, birth management was transformed by the establishment of “man-midwifery.”  These physician-accoucheurs were being used more and more commonly by women.  Instruction became accessible to medical students, greatly increasing knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of childbirth and obstetrical complications.

Sources: Loudon, Irvine (1996). Making of man-midwifery. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 70 (3): 507-515.

Images from: Accoucheur’s Antique at http://www.fcgapultoscollection.com/antique.html