Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-04-23

He lods caught anaudres
Fox river, and when he was there he
was just 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 named
Brainard-Daniel Brainard-had Just
come to Chicago and was startin in, and
Squire Cation was helpin him, gave him
desk room in his office and made him
known TO the folks-Finzies and But
tertields and Ogdens and Hamiltons and
Arnolds and all of those folks-about
all there was in Chicago III those days.
Brainard had been to Paris-Paris,
France, not Paris, Ills, you understand
and knew all the doctorin 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 swarm
in at that time. All the while Cation
was doin what law business there was
to do, and Brainard thought he ought
to be dom some doctorin to keep his
hand in, so he asked Cation if there
gerry cases especially he hankered after,
seein he had more carvin tools than
you could shake a stick at. He asked
him particularly if there wasn't any
body he could treat for tstrabismus. .
The squire hadn't heard of anybody dy-
in of that complaint, but when the
doctor explained that strabismus was
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 Robin
son the squire and the doctor We're on
horseback 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 didn't
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; he wasn't afraid of pain nor of
what anybody could do to his eyes
couldn't be made any worse than they
We're. whatever you did to 'em. Take
'em out and boil 'em and put 'em back
if you had 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 nothin else to do
but go ahead The doctor opened up his
KILN tools and tried to keep Abe from
seein them. but Abe he just come right
over and peeked at EN-, handled EN-
and called 'em Splendid so
they We're, barrin havin them used on
your own flesh and blood and bones.
Then they got some cloths and ba-
sin, and one thing and another, and set
Abe right down in chair. fNo such
thing as chloroform in those days, you II
remember And Squire Cation was to
hold an instrument that spread the eye
lid 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 Ephe wilted
and fell fiat on the floor behind the
chair
squire, said Brainard. step
around and hold his head
81 can hold my own head, says Abe,
as steady as you please. But Squire Ca
ton 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 over in half minute, and
then Abe he leaned forward and shook
the blood off his eyelashes and looked
straight out of that eye for the first time
since he was born. And the first words
he said were:
THANK the Lord She's minel"
About that time Ephe he crawled 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; eff your
hands are tired of cuttin. you can make
another job of it. My face amt tired OF
bein cut, can tell you.
/. well, if you re game, am. .
So. if you'll believe me. they Just set
to work and operated on the other eye,
Abe holdin his own head, as he said
he would, and the squire holdin the
spreader. And when it was all done the
doctor was for putin 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 and
walked over to the clock and looked IN
the glass. and says he:
So that's the way look. is it?