Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-02-05
WITH THE DRUMMERS.
Tales They Tell Of Life on the
Road.
A Gay Chicago Drummer Who Exchanged
One of His Own Teeth for Lady's-
How 1t Changed His Tastes
Other Amusing Incidents.

'Well, yes, might relate something
that is rather extraordinary" said a
drummer for a Chicago boot and shoe
house to Chicago Herald reporter, ''if
you will pardon me for narrating a
story which chiefly concerns myself. /
was down in a Central Illinois town
drumming mp trade one day when
was attacked with the toothache. had
an unsound tooth that had troubled me
for quite awhile and ! determined to
have done with it then and there.
sought dentists chair and told him to
pull it out. He tried to convince me
that several dollars worth of gold fill
ing would make it good as new, but my
ire was reused and l was bent on hav-
ing revenge. would not be satisfied
until had convinced that tooth that
could do without it. So / commanded
him to pull it out, and with protesta-
lions he reluctantly did so. 1t occupied
the place that this tooth does, said the
travelling man, tapping one of his incis-
ors, ''and when it was once out | saw
that looked so strangely that some
thing else must take its place as soon
as possible. l asked the dentist if he
had nothing else he could put in the
place of it as l did not like my appear
unce at ali. He was thoughtful for
moment, when light seemed to dawn
on his mind He took from n cabinet a
bottle in which was a tooth immersed
in liquid of some kind. i have here
he remarked, "a good, sound, healthy
tooth that will almost exactly match
the rest of yours, that can plant in the
one Just extracted and it will grow as
though nothing had happened lie per-
suaded me, without much opposition on
my part, that it would be better than n
false tooth, and it was the work of only
a few moments for him to put it in place.
1t was sore for a short time but soon
grew firm and solid, and to-day it is as
good a tooth as I have.
''But now for the stranger part of the
story. Before the dental operation ]
speak of was performed had been adj
dtcted to the use of tobacco. ! smoked
and chewed almo st to excess. From
the day got my new tooth my love for
tobacco began to decrease, and by the
llLuO Tic JOOIn udu UCCOu1S III III anu
solid l couldn't use the weed at all. A
chew of tobacco or smoking cigar
made me very sick. In fact | became
opposed to the use of tobacco generally
and have remained so till the present
day. But as my love for tobacco waned
my love for chewing gum increased, and
I'm never without it now. became
passionately fond of ice-cream also, and
during the summer season can scarce
~ get enough of it, and strange feat
ure of the case is / want some other
man to pay for it. There seems to be
something about that tooth that makes
me crave for ice-cream. 1t is with great
difficulty / can pass a millinery store
without going in and pricing all the
goods in stock. Sometimes, when I'm
in great hurry to catch train, find
myself stopping in front of some millin-
er's window to inspect the latest style
of hats When l pass a lady wearing
an attractive gown or hat on the street.
it wouldn't matter if there were a mad
dog after me, I'd stop and look around
to see if her dress and hat were becom-
ing. 1t didn't take me long to surmise
that the new tooth was in some way to
blame for my strange antics, and when
Visited the dentists town again wdat
to him and told him every thing. Oh
said he, 1t is even worse than | feared
it would be. That tooth used to belong
to young lady"