Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-02-22

Winter. / don't believe any regula
academy had more learnin' and teachiI
in that Winter than what that distric
school did. Seemed as if all the schol
airs had turned Yer a new leaf. Evel
wild. ornery, n~oaccOunt Ephe Dodg
couldn't help but get ahead some-bu
then he was crazy TO get the school
ma'am; and she nev paid no atten
ton to him, just went with Abe. Alb,
was teachin' her mathematics, seem.
that was the one thing where he know
ed more than she did-outSide Of farm
in. Folks used to say that If Ephe hat
Abe's head. or Abe had Ephe'S face, the
School-ma'am would have half of the
Dodge farm whenever OF man Dodge
got through with it; but neither of then
did have what the other had, and sc
there it was, you see.
Well. you've heard of Squire Cation,
of course; Judge Cation, they call him,
since he got to be Judge of the Supreme
Court-and Chief Justice at that. Well
he had a farm down there not far from
Fox River. and when he was there he
was just a plain farmer like the rest OF
us. though up in Chicago he was a high.
up lawyer. leader of the bar. Now it
so happened that a young doctor nam
ed Brainard-Daniel Br~ainard-had
just come to Chicago and was startin'
in. and Squire Cation vas helpin' him,
gave him desk-room in his office and
made him known to the folks-Kinzies,
and Butterfields. and Ogdens, and
Hamiltons and Arnolds and all of those
folks-abOut all there was in Chicago
in those days. Brainard had been to
PariS-PariS, France; not Paris ILL.,, you
Understandable knew all the dOcterin'
there was to know then. Well, come
Spring Squire Cation had Doc Brainard
down to visit him, and they shot ducks
and geese and prairie chickens, and
some wild turkeys and deer, too,-
game was just swarmin' at that time.
ALI the while Cation was dom what
law business there was to do; and
Brainard thought he ought to be dom
some dOcterin' t keep his hand in, so
he asked Cation if there wasn't any
cases he could take up-Surgery cases
especially he hankered after, SEEM he
had more carving tools than you could
shake a stick at. He asked him par
ticularly if there wasn't anybody he
could treat for 'Strabismus." The
Squire hadn't heard Of anybody dying
of that complaint; but when the Doc
French for cross-eyes, he naturally
thought of poor Abe Dodge, and the
young Doctor was right up on his ear.
He smelled the battle afar off; and
most before you could say Jack Rob
inson the Squire and the Doctor were
on horse back and down to the Dodge
farm, tool-chest and all.
Well, it so happened that nobody was
at home but Abe and Ephe. and it did
not take but few words before Abe
was ready to set right down, then and
there, and let anybody do anything he
was a mind to with his misfortunate
eyes. No, he wouldn't wait till the old
folks come home; he didn't want to
ask no advice; ne wasn't afraid Of pain
nor of what anybody could do to his
eyes-couldn't be made any worse than
they were, whatever you did te 'em.
Take 'em out and boil 'em and put 'em
back if you had a mind to, only go to
work. He knew he was Of age, and he
guessed he was master of his own
eyes-such as they were.
Well, there wasn't nothing else to do
but go ahead. The Doctor opened I'D
his killing tools and tried to keep Abe
from seeing them; but Abe he just
com right e and peeked at 'em,
and called 'em "splendid''-and so they
We're, barrin' havin' them used on your
flesh and blood and bones.
Then they got some clothes and a
basin, and n thing and another, and
set Abe right down in q chair. CNo
such thing as chloroform in those days,
you'll remembeT.) And Squire Cation
was to hold an instrument that spread
the eyeIid wide open, while Ephe was
to hold Abe's head steady. First touch
of the lancet, and first spirit of blood,
and what do you think? That ornery
Ep he wilted, and fell fiat ON the floor
behind the chair.
Squire said Brainard, 'step around
and hold his head"
Il a hold my own head" says Abe
as steady as you please. But Squire
Cation, he straddled over Ephe and held
his head between his arms, and the
two handles of the eye-spreader with
his hands.
1t was all ever in half a minute, and
then Abe he leaned forward and shook
the blood off his e~yelasnes, and looked
straight out of that eye for the first
time since he was born. And the first
words he said we're:
Thank the Lord! She's miner
About that time Ephe ne cawled out
doors, sick as a dog; and Abe spoke up,
says he:
Now for the other eye, Doctor"
oh" says the Doctor, WED better
take another day for that"
"All right" says Abe; Elf your hands
are tined of cuttin' you can make
another day of it. Ny face amt tired
of bein' cut, I can tell you"
well, if you're game, I am"
So, if you'll believe me, they just set
to work and operated on the other eye,
Abe holding his own head, as he said
he would, and the Squire holding the
spreader. And when it was all done
the Doctor vas for putting a bandage
on to keep things quiet till the wounds
all healed up but Abe just begged for
one sight of himself. and he stood up