Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1896-11-05
AN ESSAY ON CORNS.
u CONTAINS TIE EXPERIENCE oE AN
lNoUIRiNe SUFFERER.

- NllI1 Mtlll1
not have corns, " replied the -chironodist
emphatically.
Inc reply was satisfactory as far as il
went, bat it didn't go far enough. and
therefore the sufferer, not being able TO
fld himself Of the pain by riding al
ways, walked and pondered.
lie began TO notice, when he walked
IN one direction on one side of a street.
thaf d foot was affected and when
he walked in the opposite direction that
the otherf foot was affected. The distress
was IN the foot that was toward the curb.
de could not walk ahead awhile and
then walk backward to relieve the pain,
because he thought that he might be
looked upon as a crank and that such
behavior In a public street would be abb
surd anyway. Then he examined his
shoes and observed that the most Of the
wear was Oh the outer edges of the soles
and heels and that the upper leather
had begun to bulge slightly over the
worn parts Of the soles. When he put
his shoes on again, he observed that the
leather where it bulged pressed on the
painful area Of each little toe.
With the results Of the observations
IL mind, the sufferer proceeded, step by
step, somewhat painfully at times, to
ascertain the cause Of the effect on his
shoes. He would not acknowledge that
he might be b~owlegged and unable to
wear evenly the soIes of his shoes, and
nobody who met him could observe n
unusual detection from the ordinary
lines Of legs. He trod carefully, and,
without making himself conspicuous
tried to walk on q level, so that the
pressure would be equal on the whole
surface Of each sole. His toeing was
moderate-neither too much outward
nor too much inward-and at tint, he
succeeded in walking as his mind di-
rected, but usually the distress that he
WINGED from indicated that something
was wrong somewhere. The foot on the
curb side Of the walk was generally dis
tressed more than the other. The fit Of
his shoes was fair, and for awhile the
suffering investigator could not deter
mine the reasons for the tendency to
bulge on the sides. He detied .ly one to
prove that the bottled waters that he
drank could have an effect on his sys-
TEN that would tend to make him edge
toward the gutter, Such an idea ought
not to be thought Of.
Going somewhat deeper into the sub
ject, beneath the shoes and the painful
areas, the investigator gave some atten-
ton to the surfaces on which he walked,
and slowed away in his memory the
characteristics of localities in which he
believed he had experiences that were
painful, more painful, and most pain
full, or almost painless. He noticed, for
instance, when he walked across an as
phalt pavement from one sidewalk to
another in certain localities, that his
t-ead was even and that he had little
pain. The experience suggested that he
could generally have relief by walking
On asphalt pavement, but he remember
ed the arrest of an eccentric pedestrian
who insisted on having the privilege OF
walking in the middle of the street and
decided that ne would not risk himself
in that direction, Notwithstanding the
relief that might be obtained. He no.
ticed also that the distress was less III
some localities than in others and that
all sidewalks were not alike. He tried to
confine his walks to the localities i'll
which he fell the least distress, but he
had to go such a roundabout way to ar
rive at any particular place, especially
his place of business, that the plan had
TO be abandoned. Besides, he never trod
n perfect route-a route that throughout
its length had q surface that could be
paced without pain. At one point or an
other the patient investigator felt
twinges that were almost unbearable.
Lining up the subject on the best
route he could find, he devoted his at
tention to. the spot or block where he
had the most severe twinges. That sent
him to the sidewalk, describing the ac-
ton figuratively. He did not drop on
his knees, although he had the impulse
IN do that and to howl also, but he
stoned at the curb and thought awhile.
He inferred that his sufferings were
greater in that particular block because
some popularity or influence presented
itself there. At first the tentacles OF
thought grasped nothing definitely, but
as the pain departed from the affected
foot, the powers of vision took hold and
the result was a revelation.
AS in many great discoveries and rev.
citations, the cause of the effect was very
simple-the sidewalk had been graded
from the house line to the curb for good
drainage, and as the incline was a few
degrees moro there than in many places
Il was natural that any one walking
there should tend slightly toward the
curh. The friction of the soles OF the
hoes on the sidewalk being greater
than the friction of the feet on the in
ner soles of the shoes. the weight OF the
hodv caused the feet TO slide sidewise
IN the shoes. The effects ON the feet
were different. and tho painful effect IN
one foot and then the other depended
on the direction in which the sufferer
walked. When the right foot was