The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-08-29
THE MEDICAL COLLEGE BABY

those that are dyspeptic and bawf day and
| night they have a lcathsome esteem that
| 10 proyerbiaI.
But Minnie possessed some hidden
| charm that endeared hen TO all the young
! men. and. in fact. made rivals Of them
To one not acquainted with the desire
| for scientific research that is inherent in
| the young medical mind. glance al Min
! MES body would have left him with the
| impression that the students had been in
! search OF the aforesaid hidden chrn. One
( Of the baby's ears had been removed
and sewed on again: one of the eyes had
been taken out, but here evidently the
| amateur surgeon had tackled a job be-
| yond his ability, for il had not been re-
| Placed; there was a hole in Minnies neck,
| but, mind you, ii was never made with
| the purpose of killing the baby, but on
| the presumption that the little one was
! on the verge Of suffocation from diPh
liberia, and had to be relieved by trache-
| otoIny. There was a long cash on the
! RICH side Of the abdomen. but that was
for the removal Of a troublesome vermi-
| form appendix. One leg was missing. but
] mere again the best interests Of the baby
| had been regarded, for a practiced eye
would see that a classical amputation
had been performed
! Yet Minnie had passed through all this
and vastly more. and never suffered pain.
/ Not once did she cry. Few babies can
/ claim such record. Why should the lit
| tie one suffer when all sorts of anaes-
| thetics in abundance were at hand? Min
| ME had endured otaer trials and hard
| ships with the same fOrtitude. She had
! been passed up times without number,
/ tTampled upon. kicked and subjected to
/ all the prankS that the modern student
\ can devise. Apparently the little one had
/ become Injured 10 these seeming abuses.
1t is better to allude to them Of seem
! ing abuses. for had any one Of those
! several hundred young fellows been ac-
| cused of mistreating Minnie he would
have resented it as a personal insult She
was all the more popular because Of her
| experience at their hands
| Minnie seemed 10 be an exception to all
| things that are common to babies. Even
! the saying that babies are all stomach
| and no conscience" did not apply TO her.
/ She had neither stomach nor conscience,
SO far as could be ascertained. Her men
| tai qualities were nil. She could not hear,
see nor talk. yet tshe was inpressionable
| to a degree. Though expansive. she did
| not develop. Minnie never ate or drank,
| but In spite Of this fact she was always
plump and seemed we'll nourished. A
| doctor would jump to the conclusion that
| she was anaenic, but, on the contrary.
she was even dusky in hue. Minnie had
| never enjoyed the Injuries Of a bath, and,
! although this might have barred her from
| the exclusive social sets, she could not
| have been justly called q dirty baby.
| Her legs and arms were freely movable,
| but she never used them of her own volt
| tiCn. she was insensible to the stimuli
/ that would send an ordinary baby into a
| paroxysm OF bawling or laughing, yet re-
straint. and. in her own way, responsive.
! Queer baby was Minnie. She had no an
| cestry-not even father or mother.
| Where she came from no one could tel.
/ Medical men like to delve in the mystic
| Tious. and probably it was this air of
! mystery about the little one that account
! ed in part for their interest in her Mn
ME was certainly several years old. yet
| not an inch had been added TO her stat
ure and not a grain of sense had she ac-
| cumulated. Her growth physically and
| mentally must have been stunted very
| early. Nevertheless she was the very idol
! OF the students, and admittedly the only
! baby they had ever really cared for. She
! always received their attentions with
! seeming indifference, neither favorinS
with smiles nor repelling with frowns.
| Diplomatic little lady was Minnie. She
never pouted nor whimpered, but always
! maintained that quiet, passive demeanor.
| The baby had been q special favorite
| with the senior class. At the class meet
| ing she occupied a seat of honor beside
/ the president. She was present at the
/
! specially appointed committee saw that
she was locked up and secure from the
! ehoulish and envious juniors and "sophs.
1 Not q football or baseball game did the
| class attempt without the presence Of
/ Minnie. She seemed to give them inspira-
/ ton, and 1t is a matter Of record that
! they never lost an athletic contest when
she was among the spectators. These
] victories were always followed by a ceie-
] hrz at viii hal x-- l1air -..fof
was the center of toast and applause.
But the intense affection for her which
/ the students had developed only made
! their coming sorrow the harder to bear
! One night toward the close Of the school
/ term fire broke out in the medical col
4 lege and the changing engines brought an
army Of students from their quarters As
| they stood in groups watching the work
/ Of destruction fame shot through one Of
! the windows Of the store room and seem
/ ed to arouse them suddenly TO their
! senses. Minnie Minnie," cried one big
/ broad shouldered senior in terror THE
/ baby Is in there and will be burned. Can
no one save her7'
What's that? inquired a fireman who
had heard the appeal. You say there's
a baby In there? Where is she-quicki
! It's ike rushin' into a furnace but I'll
! try to save her.
"In the store room You can't help see
I ing her. Good luck. old man,
] And the brave fireman hurried away on
] his life-saving erranG. The students
| crowded near 70 the fire ropes and await
! ed his return in almost GREATNESS silence
| The thought % losing their little friend
| and companion seemed 10 weigh heavily
| on every mind. and now they appreciated
more than ever before how she had be
| come a necessary part Of their lives
Presently the form OF fireman was
seen emerging from the burning store
| room. Tremendous cheers greeted him as
( he CROPPED his way through the binding
smoke and down the ladder bat the
! cheers became an angry roar when X was
/ seer that he was empty-hanfed
Mighty sorry. boys he spluttered
wiping the cinders from his eyes and
! blowing the smoke out Ct his nostrils. II
( looked around as wei as J could il,sfhe-e
I bat there was no baby in sight There
/ was a frightful smell II burning rubber
and I did not dare remain anv longer.
make cut the child mu~t 30 dead
"Oh. you bIitheffng iui0tt yelled the
frantic students. that vas sllnnic-our
baby that yot. sruelled. She was made
~ rubber. Charles T. Younger.
With Cuts.
fFrom the Chicago Tribunee
"Tour trouble probably arose from
/ Some forgotten confusion. whereby Cd. p
/ ritatioa was caused which communicated
!tself 20 the"
Oh cut all that OUT" interrupted the
other. impsueutiy
But 1 was going % explain interrupt
/ Cd the surgeon. what caused The can
1 cerous growth.
cut that out. too. Doctor exclaimed