The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-04-14
Pierced Ears and Ear ornaments.

A few days ago woman with six
months old infant in her arms went in
to q prominent jewelry store in this
city and desired to have the child's ears
pierced SO that it might wear q pair of
earrings. ave do not pierce ears here"
said one of the gentlemen behind the
counter; ''that is . surgical operation
and is practiced by the doctors now,"
and he directed the woman to a'well-
known doctor whose Office is on Shelby
street.
A visit to the Doctors Office on Ger
tain days of the week when the surgi-
cal operation spoken of is in progress
has quite an attraction for he novelty
seeker, who will there find people of all
ages, from grandmothers to babes in
arms, waiting their turn to have a per-
feet ear mutilated in answer to the
tvrannical demands of fashion.
81 hate to do it, said the doctor,
taking small gold piercer from vel
vet case, "but if people will have holes
bored in their ears like wild Indians l
may as well do the job decently for
them as to have them jab darning-
needle through and disfgure them
selves. A very pretty girl came to me
the other day and said her friends had
given her a pair of diamond earrings
and she wanted to wear them. She had
a small, beautiful ear and hated to de-
face it, and l demonstrated with her;
but, no, she wanted them pierced and I
had to do it.
"What does the process cost, doc
tor?'' "Merely an office fee of one dol
lar. 1t is quite necessary to be careful
in cutting into so delicate portion of
the human anatomy as an ear, for small
as the incision is, it may be the forerun-
ner of much trouble. It is something
like vaccination
Isn't there a superstition about the
eyes connected with it?"
eyes, and it is merely superstition;
sailors, Germans and many foreigners
believe that piercing the ears will carry
off any humOr or weakness in the eyes;
that is why so many men wear earrings;
there is not bit of truth in the idea"
The little instrument with which the
doctor pierces his customers ears has a
sheath which prevents it from going too
far, and which remains in the ear until
the silver wire is introduced, or the
small gold eyelets which are worn at
first This is an improvement upon the
mothers method of taking darning-
needle threaded with yarn or white en-
broidery silk, pinching the ear to
numb it, and then puncturing it
without any regard to the hanging of
the earring. There is tribe of South
Sea Islanders who perforate the entire
rim of the ear and hang fringe of shells
around it. The Indians of certain tribes
use sharp stones to make the incision.
The Japanese women, be it recorded,
never wear earrings. yet they belong to
q high civilization.
The Hungarian Jews, men especially,
have their ears pierced at the earliest
possible age, and in the villages and
country along the banks of the Danube
the least child has earrings in its ears:
The gypsies are especially fond of bau-
bles in their ears. Earrings are very
ancient. Rebekah, at the well, wore
them in the days of golden
earrings of half a shekel weight and
when Aaron fashioned the golden calf
he commanded the people, "break of
the golden earrings which are in the
ears of your wives, of your sons and of
your daughters, and bring them unto
me-" and in Ezekiel the Lord says: II
put jewel on thy forehead and ear
rings in thine ears" Nose jewels are
also spoken of in the Bible, but it is
hoped that among the revival of ancient
customs they will be overlooked.-De-
trOit Post and Tribune.