The Opelousas courier., 1902-06-28
LUMBER LEGS FOR TWO.
STRANGE STORY OF GIDEON MA
SON AND HIS DOG. CAD.
Mason Had a Wooden%Leg and So
Had His Dog, and the Mans Con-
tanned a Small Fortune-Money
WiIIed IN Ruv Artificial I inhs.

h6 sbtS SSSS St0 wv "sNsA "
tanned a Small fortune-MoneS
WiIIed to Buy Artificial Limbs.
In Greenwood Cemetery, writes
correspondent from Trenton, N. j., are
two mounds of fresh earth, rounded q
few days ago by the sexton with un'
usual care. They mark the graves oil
Gideon Mason and his faithful dog
Cad. Mason for years had been ia.
miliarly known to the. people of Tren.
ton as Lumber Leg" because of the
clu~msy-looking piece Of wood that did
service as the lower half of Mason's
right leg. This leg he made himself.
Mason came to Trenton a quarter of
a century ago. He rode on the bum
| per of a freight car, and his life would
probably have come to IN end in some
other section of the country had It
not been for the. fact that the train
was wrecked OF the outskirts of the
town, and Mason lost n leg by the &C
cident. ~'
Mason was a philosopher and smiled
OI 1l0 AuloIOllullC. III dDSOIuLcIy lC-
fused to talk about himself, but his
gentlemanly manner and use oil. good
language convinced those who came in
contact with him that he had seen
better days. One admission he did
make, 1t was that rum was respon-
sible for the ~predicament he found,
himself in. When at last Mason was
able to go out he became acquainted.
with CASTOR Hartwell. keeper of a.
canal bridge. Hartwell and Mason be-
came cronies. The bridge tender was
commonly considered a crank on the
subject of temperance. He beasted
that he had never tasted liquor IN his
life. Mason was deeply impressed
with what Hartwell had to say to him
on the subject of drink, and n day,
signed a pledge and the pledge was
never broken. 49, ,,z@~
Hartwell gave him a start in life. by;
renting a small house In the outskirts
of the town and subletting 1t. to the
cripple. He bought a pusheart and a !
wooden leg, and, handing them over to
Mason, said to him: "Other men are
making money picking MP junk around
the city, and you can do as well as
they. I'll loan you money. enough to
start you in business, and you may pay
me back when you are able" /
/. For fifteen years Mason went about
the city with his handcart making the |
merry with his tuneful cry: Rags,
bottles, bags He prospered until
his acquaintance began to wonder
what he did with his money. Upon
this point Mason refused to enlighten
anybody. HartwelI did, his best to
find out, but failed. Mason paid off
his Indebtedness to him and was COM
plete master Of his affairs.
"hen his wooden leg that Hartwell
bought. for him was worn out Mason
.ne day appeared wearing a wooden
leg of his own manufacture,
Hartwell was made sexton of Green
wood Cemetery, uear the home of Ma
SON, and they became frmer friends
ever. One morning in the win
Ter of '96 Mason came to the sections
1ouse with a iough-haired, bob-tailed
log tagging at his heels, or rather at,
lis heel.
Where did you ge: that critterg
lsked HartweI1.
Found him on my doorstep last
light starving and half dead with the |
old. | fed him and warmed him. and
le is all right now"
Cad had one bad habit. He DOS
'essed an Unsuitable appetite for raw
Iggs, and n night came home with
me of his hind legs fast in a steel
rap. The Leg was amputated by a
'eterinary surgeon. Within a few
'eeks Cad appeared on the streets.
With Mason equipped with a home
made wooden leg, which he managed
0 use with as much ease as though
! were his own limb. 70 inquiries as
0 how Cad lost his log Mason was
eaf and dumb. He told nobody but
iartwell and made him promise that !.
g would keep it a secret SO long as l.
lived. 7,
The end came to both Mason and
ne dog two weeks ago. One day the
exton heard Cad barking doIefully In /
ne little house that sheltered Mason, L
nd he forced the door open. /
tretched on his bed, as though asleep, j
" Lumber Leg. dead. :
The county physician and the Coro- i
er We're summoned, and during the |
l~vestfgation that followed the leather
ap that covered the top of Lumber !
eg'sa clumsy wooden limb fell un,er
evealing a cavity. in. which, several $
folded papers we're concealed.
ne was the pledge. signed by Ma
,n years before, another was a will, d
ppointing Hartwel1 executor of his
roperty, which consisted of the house, #
. lived in. his pushcast and $12, 900 4
cash. which raj found slowed away G
a roll at the bottom OF the hole In i
lie wooden leg. +
The will provided that a portion Of n
e money should be spent for a burial q
.ot in Greenwood Cemetery, ana a a
sadstone of granite, and that the bal
ice should be used for the care of
I'D, who was to be buried at the feet
his master at his death. Five thou H.
nd dollars were to go to Hartwell, y
I'd the residue to be spent by him for q
e purchase of artificial limbs for +
orthy crippIes. e
The dog was ~inconsolabIe. It spent II
'urs every day at the crave. and one e
v was found stretched across the q