The Portland daily press., 1900-11-03
GOOD AND BAD FALSE LEGS,
NOT One Of Either Kind Was Ever Made
ofcork. Despite she Desisnstion.
Chicago chronicls.)

(Chioago ChronlciesD
They are making artificial limbs so
cIeverly these days that the people who
wear them forget they ever suffered the
trifling embarrassment OF losing leg or |
two or even an arm. They put In sucn
flexible Joints and such charming rubber
feet that the wearers OF these improved
legs dance gayiy at balls and cotiiions
without raising a question as to the
makeup of their limbs. There Is man
in downtown Office wearing an srti-
ficial leg and foot--hfs own having been
smputated four Inches below the knee,
who jumps six feet forward In sprieht-
~ manner just to show what he can
do when the subject OF wooden legs Is
mentioned. He can pick up 200 pound
man in his arms, and hold him easily |
and dance jig with his rubber foot and
willow limb. lie would just as soon have
an artificial leg and foot as not. There Is
one advantage, he says. He never has
rh sumatism, and he never suffers with
corns or chillains. He can quilt poker
game at any stage without being accused
Of having "cold feet lie Is as happy as
la grig, though just why grig should be
happy Is one of the things no fellow can
find out.
1.-THE making of artificial limbs" said
one OF the makers as ne stood with q piece
of willow tree in mis- hands and looked at
1t with a critical eye, us an art. Every
Tom, Dick and Harry who hangs out a
single cannot make artificial limbs
properly. II they did some Of us would
have to 20 out of business. You see, the
they go at the business In biundering
way and try to turn out legs as oheapiy
as possible, and the result is they turn
| out bad ones. Everything lies in the Mt
ting OF the stump. The making OF the
leg ITSELF Is almost secondary to It's MT
ting in such way that II will not bother
the man VINO wears IL. The making OF
bad legs is what keeps the business OF US
who make good legs going. Here tine
limb maker paused moment 20 see
W neither that shot had found q target.
'tThere are plenty Of limbs demanded,
he went on, lowing to accidents and am
putations for one reason and another, but
if all the legs made and sold were ut to
wear permanently the business would be
pretty slack. The fact Is that two-thirds
of the false limbs turned out by SOM
houses.are unsatisfactory and their pur-
chasers come here and throw them away
when they get nav ones. See, ana ne
opened the door OF a closet and showed
a score OF artificial legs OF all makes,
patents and weights. They were all sec
ond hand, but some Of them had evident
ly been worn only a short time.
| "Feel the weight of that" he said,
handing out a ponderous thing OF leather
and wood and metal. 1t fell TO the hoor
with a clank like that Of a bushel OF coal.
what do you think OF man trying TO
wear a thing like thatP" he asked.
"Now, in here I'LL show you the nghtest
artificial limb ever made.
| 10 lad ha Tn an WharR
In cabinet were half a dozen new lin BIS
| all OF the queer pink which Is supposed
to resemble flesh tints. But they certain
ly were light. A limb which was intend
ed to be strapped around the hip for an
amputattou above the knee was as light
| as a basket OF chips. 1t was made OF
willow, pared very thin, covered with
raw hide, and then painted with water
proof enamel. The foot was OF rubber,
| film but flexible. and the knee aud ankle
| Joints worked as well as metal joints can
| work.
'That is the leg that / got that certih-
cate for" said the limb maker, pointing
to framed ce rtificate from tbs World q
Fair,E which sset forth that the arti-
fetal limbs made by this manufacturer
were the real thing.
Every few or the old fashioned wooden
| stumps are made now," he went on
"Of course, some people who are too poor
TO get an artificial limb make them them
1 u
| wood and chop them out some way to
support their weight. A good leg, one OF
| the kind / showed you in there, fs worth
about 800. or. courss, this prios keeps
many people from getting them, but they
are worth it, They must be fitted with
a care and skill which come only from
experience, and 1t Is worth money to get
the right thing the first time. There has
bean a great advance made in the making
of artificial limbs In the last decade.
| One improvement has followed another
until now 1t IL almost impossible 20 de-
tect the presence OF a first-class artificial
limb. They are making feet OF rubber
and OF aluminium and OF wood, but
think the rubber feet are the only perfect
ones made. They bend and give to ths
steps of q man walking, which aluminium
does not.
"a funny thing about false legs" went
on the builder of underpining, lis the
prevalence of.the term cork Leg Now,
as matter of fact, there ID no such
thing as a cork leg and there never was
Cork would not do for q leg-it would
crumble away. 1t was never used for the
purpose and l cannot imagine how that
expression originated, but right along
4 you hear people talking about somebody
with cork leg The legs are made
of willow, because 1t Is light and very
strong. We get it In blocks. as you see,
and make every leg to order. Ii must De
much more carefully fitted and measured
than a pair OF shoes or a suit of clothes,
for the least thing out OF the way will
irritate the stump. Again, We often have
to deal with bad amputations-where
the surgical work was not properly done
and that makes lots of trouble.
| "a false leg will last from eight to
/ fifteen years, depending upon the charac.
| ter OF the work done by the man who
wears If he has to give 1t very hard SER
vice, of course, 1t VIII wear out sooner
| like anything else. Here is a photograph
of a.boY, you see. with both legs amputa-
| ted below the knee, Here he is standing
up with pair of false legs. That boy Is
now telegraph operator In Kansas and
he plays baseball az well as the best OF
! them."
PROSPECTING FOR PRECIOUS
METAL.
| (Win Sparks in Ainslee's.)
But II man loves adventure he can
find nothing that will offer so much to