Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-04-27
A STORY ABOUT EARS.

An Admirable Substitute for the
Snake Romance---The Wonderful
Ears of a Tippecanoe County Boy.
lafayette CInd.) Courier.
A strange and wonderful phenome-
non has just been brought into our
Office in the person of little Willie Les
ter, whose father is well-to-do farm
er On the Wea plains. Willie is only
about ten years old, unusually bright
and intelligent for his age, and has al
ways been remarkable in bis neighbor-
hood for his wonderful ears. His
right one is perfectly being,
we should judge, as large IS palm
leaf fan, whilst the other is no bigger
than the ear of an ordinary sized wax
doll. Until quite recently nothing un-
usual had ever been noticed in his
hearing, but lately he has developed
wonderful powers in that direction.
With his small ear he can hear the
faintest buzzing of the smallest bugs
and insects, and can even detect sounds
uttered by the minutest animalcule-
so small that they are not even visible
to the naked eye. A fly running along
a window pane, a caterpillar crawling
across a sheet of paper, makes sufficient
noise to attract his attention, even
when his back is turned. The sense
of hearing is so acute in this ear that
it is absolutely painful to him, and he
is compelled to wear a cork in it at all
times. The right and large ear is
quite the reverse Of its little companion
in both its powers and properties. To
it those minute and near sounds so
painfully discernable to the other are
lost, but distant noises are readily
heard. Although residing fifteen and
a quarter miles from any railroad
Lafayette being the nearest point-yet
Willie can distinctly hear the trains
and mills blowing their whistles, and
can easily distinguish between The en-
CINE bells and the city bells. When
the Wabash round house blew up some
weeks since Willie felt the shock as
severely as though he had been in the
building itself. He had been unwell
for some days and was sleeping later
than usual that morning, and when the
explosion occurred he sprang from the
bed with a frightened scream, and
holding his ear with both hands stood
for sometime trembling in the middle
of the room. On clear days he has Oft
en- heard Sheriff Taylor summomng
witnesses from the court house window.
He distinctly heard the noise of the
mob at Kokomo, Monday night, which
was very clear night Although I'M
able to make out what they were do
ing, ySt he heard the shouts Ropes
DOWN. "Time's upw and heard poor
Long sing See that My Grave is Kept
Greel," the tune of which Willie at
once recognized, and in low, sweet
voice sang the accompaniment, it being
quite familiar to him. He can hear the
coming of storm long before there
are any signs of it in the air,
and even long before the
weather bureau gives notice of its ap-
proach. At a suggestion of a neigh.
Dor, Mr.. Lester had wire gauze lid,
with tin rim, made to fit over Willie's
ear. 1t consists of two thicknesses of
gauze, the outer one being of larger
mesh than the inner one; between the
two there is an intervening thickness
of loose flannel to soften sounds.
Willie wears it continually, and this
with the cork in the small ear has the
effect of reducing his hearing to a
normal condition. Willie is handsome,
fair faced, golden-haired little man,
exceedingly shy and timid, and any
notice taken of him seems to be quite
painful to the little fellow. His father
and uncle, Mr.. Henry Torlburg, brought
him to town this morning and to the
Courier Office this noon. The ply.
sicians being appraised of the fact have
just been testing his powers, and are
in state of wild excitement over this
wonderful freak of nature. Further
comment is unnecessary and useless
The imagination has nothing left to
add-we cannot gid refined gold OF
paint the sunbeam. To US the truth
is stranger than fiction. We can only
write the facts; our poor pen fails us
further than this.