The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-12-13
New York SUM

physicians Office the other day, placed
a hand over the small OF his back and
said:
Doctor, I've a severe pain here;
what's the trouble2"
Strip to the waist and I'll tell you
in short order" replied the practi-
| toner.
After brief examination he added:
You've an ugly tumor on your liver"
| The man thought a moment, then,
/ want it removed at once" he said,
quietly.
Tut, tut, man; don't be so hasty,"
replied the physician.
But the patient, more doggedly than
! before, answered.: Il mean it, Doc. [
want that tumor removed before l
leave this Office
The physician looked the man in the
eyes and saw that they wavered Lot
He felt his pulse and examined his
| heart and found them normal.
An right he said, shortly.
Within fifteen minutes a man was
lying on a couch, and the physician
was making a ten-inch incision in his
back. Half an hour later the tumor
! was removed and an hour after he had
submitted to the operation, during
which he had refused ether, the patient,
with his liver cleansed, rode to his
home in a cab calmly undressed, went
to bed and told his wife what had hap
| pened.
He never whimpered, never quivered
an eyelid," declared the doctor, as he
related the incident, "and he would
have gone home alone had l not forced
myself into the cab. He showed abso
lutely no fear at anything, and in APP
pearance he looks like a man who has
only an ordinary amount of grit. Yet
his exhibition of nerve was the most
inspiring that 1 have ever seem
But your nerve, doctor, in perform
ing such an operation offhand,' inter-
rupted one of the auditors.
The reply was laconic
Lay it to the fondness for handling
the knife
For three hours after the recital of
the doctors story the men who had
listened to it recounted remarkable
cases of nerve that they had heard of
or met with, and here are some of the
stories that they told:
A physician prominent in New York
state was interested in manufacturing.
While visiting his factory one day lis
coat was caught in a shafting and he
was hurled around and around with
terrific force, and every time he went
around his legs struck an adjacent
wall
When he was finally released he was
found to be still alive, and physicians
were hurriedly sent for. A half dozen
of them came, beheld their injured
brother and shook their heads.
4 knew it." said the man. i've al
ready diagnosed the case. You'd just
be wasting your time if you tried to do
anything, But tell me, don't you agree
with me that I'll live about five hours
before the shock takes effect?"
The six men of medicine nodded
Then send for a lawyer
The lawyer came. Nationally and
calmly the crushed man dictated his
last will and testament and signed it
with hand as steady as that of a man
in full health.
Now" he said, when the last wit
ness had affixed his signature, please
send for my wife,
A little later on he said: Call up
Mr.. Blank and Mr.. So-and-so on the
phone and say that 1 want to talk
over some important business matters
with them"
For over an hour the three partners
arranged for the conduct of the doc
tors business interests after his death.
The conference ended, the injured man
turned to his wife.
Now, dearest" he said, I've still
an hour to live. Give me cigar, take
hold of my hand and We'll wait pa
tiently for the end"
And so he died, with smile on his
lips and the blue smoke of his cigar
curling about his head.
@ @ o
A man in southern Illinois had COM
mitted a coldb looded murder He was
Of iofT Of
inals and had been selected to put out
of the way a traitor to the organiza-
ton.
He found his victim securing the
country as a member of a sheriffs
posse for an escaped criminal. The
man asked his victim if he were So
and-so, received an affirmative answer
then and there shot him dead fought
his way through the posse and fled.
Two days later he was discovered
hiding in a house in a neighboring
small town. He was bored by dozen
bullets, but he lived and was sentenced
to be hanged.
Then political influence began work.
ing to save him from the gallows. A
man now prominent in New York City
was assigned to the task of trying to
prevent his execution.
His attempts resulted in failure, and
the day before the date set for the ex-
ecution he called on the murderer and
informed him that nothing more could
be done.
"All right said the man, but they'll
hang the wrong fellow tomorrow"
To the politicians question whether
he could do anything for him, the pris-
oner answered mo-
But what about priest?" asked
the politician.
NO said the condemned man, add
ing a moment later: But there's a
Methodist preacher in town who's been
kind to me. I'd like to tell him good
by"
Half an hour before the time set for
the hanging the sheriff went to the
murderer's cell. He had been a model
prisoner and the sheriff wanted to show
his appreciation in some way, so he
asked:
well, Jim, is there anything I can do
for your
"Ill thank you for good cigar" was
the reply.
When the procession to the gallows
started the prisoner was calmly smok-
ing cigar. Arrived under the moose
the sheriff spoke:
I'm sorry. to interrupt you, Jim, but
it's time to quit smoking
Il beg pardon for delaying you,
sheriff. replied the man, without
tremor in his voice.
And then the murderer calmly re-
moved his cigar from his mouth and
placed it on the scaffold's rail Then
he crossed his hands behind his back
The cigar and the mans life went out
together.
@ o o
Fifteen years ago there was a police
man in New York named Sheridan. He
had side partner as extraordinarily
l.