Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1897-11-04


towns Of Missouri. Its people have al
ways been hospitable to the stranger
and encouraging to newcomers"
Therefore, when D. r. II. Morrison,
young. handsome and skilled in his pro-
fession, sought a home In Clinton in the
fall of 1870 and hung out his shngle,
he was not pestered by the usual ques-
tons Of curious old women as to wheth-
er or not he was married, nor by the
often embarrassing inquiry Of garru-
lous old men about his anteccdents and
prospects. In fact, nobody bothered
Doctor Morrison with prying questions
of any nature when he rented and
handsomely fitted up an Office in the
principal building of the town. Every
body he met extended Il warm welcome
to him and hoped he would do well.
Even the medical fraternity, headed by
Doctor Britt Joined in welcoming Doe
tor Morrison to Clinton, and besides
from what college he had obtained his
diploma, none of the doctors in compe-
tition with whom he was bound sooner
or later to come annoyed him with
questions about his former home or
how long he had been practicing.
From the very first there was an air
of mystery about Doctor Morrison
which less gentle people than those of
Clinton would have insisted upon pene-
trating. He was reserved In manner,
answered politely but in monosyllab les
all questions asked of him, showed
neither interest nor contempt for the
affairs of others, kept n light burning in
his office hours every night after even
the night owls of the town had gone
to bed, formed no companionships. yet
was agreeable and always approacha-
bic. and in a thousand other ways de-
ported himself in such manner as
would have excited TO the point of frcn-
~ the curiosity of the ordinary coun-
try town. Some of the moro gossipy
Clintonites predicted when Doctor Nor
rison first hung out his shingle that he
wouldn't stay in the town long for the
reason that nearly all of the doctors
then there except Doctor Britt were
almost starving to death" One OF
them tentatively remarked this to Doc
tor Morrison one day. and the Doctor
only smiled and said something about
"he supposed he would manage some
how to live"
Weeks rolled into months, and still
not a citizen of Clinton or of Henry
County called Doctor Morrison to at
tend a case of sickness. Still he con-
tinued to live at the principal hotel and
to be the best dressed man in town. He
wore a Prince Albert suit of black and
a shimmering silk stovepipe hat He
paid all of his bills promptly, and ask
ed nobody for the loan of a dollar If
he had an account at the bank there is
no record Of it. 1t is remembered that
he bought four new suits a year. one
for each season. though he always
dressed in solemn black. and that the
boy who cared for his horse and buggy
always got his pay promptly. He at
tended all the meetings Of the town
and district medical societies and dis
coursed lenrnedly on the various phases
of thcrapeutics. He was regular at
national bias and patronizing the fairs
of all churches alike. His conduct was
so genteel in all respects as to disarm
prying curiosity, even If the people of
Clinton had possessed their full share
of that common human trait. His walk
and talk were too conventional to give
rise to unusual comment or to excite
undue interest in him.
Doctor Morrison was permitted to
live his life in Clinton as he saw fit TO
live 1t. AS before remarked, nobody
bothered him with questions about his
past or future. Not soul in the town
except himself knew where he came
from. In the course of year Major
Salmon observed that Doctor Morrison
managed to get on every jury. except
the grand jury, summoned in Henry
County. He also noticed that every
jury of which Doctor Morrison was a
member returned verdicts that were de-
clared by the lawyers to be the most
surprising in the history of jurispru-
dence. The Major remarked this to
Doctor Britz one day and that worthy
gentleman said he was going to make
quiet investigation of Morrison "to
see II anything was wrong" Both
Major Salmon and Doctor Britt were
busy men and didn't meet often. And
so 1t happened that six months passed
before the two were again brought to-
gether where 1t was convenient to dis
cuss the case of Doctor Morrison Then,
when Major Salmon asked Doctor Britt
II he had made any discovery with re-
gard to Morrison the old doctor simply
shook his head in oracle fashion and
walked away without giving an an
swer.
A queer old character was Judge Nc
Beth, who presided over the Common
Pleas court. Judge McBeth was rugged
and brusque and direct of speech. He
did not permit the lawyers to circum-
locute when examining witness in his
court. He made them go after the tes-
timony by direct methods, and he pur-
sued the same course in his examina-
ton of Jurors. An important case, in
volving thousands of dollars, was be-
fore Judge McBeth for trial. When the
Jury was impaneled and sworn in Doc
tor Morrison was member of it. When
1t was organized he was elected FORE
man. Nearly all Of the juries on which
he had previously served had honored