Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1903-10-10
WHISPERS IN SEASON
RESULT OF SUCCESSFUL SKIN
GRATING OPERATION.
Amateur Surgeon Did His Best, and
Was in No Way to Blame, But Ma
ture Proved Herself Triumphant
Over All.

Perhaps the most curious case OF
surgery that was ever performed In
the region of the Adirondacks Is that
which was executed upon William Nc
Coy, a woodsman.
Mccoy has just returned from the
Spruce Lake Mountain lumber camp
after an absence of two years. He
brings with him the strange story
end its proof.
A year ago last May he was work
ing with John Duffey getting out some
long poles to repair a chute which is
used to slide logs down the mountain
side. Duffey went to cut a limb by
an upward swing when the axe slip
ped from his hands and went flying
through the air. It struck Mccoy,
and its keen edge shaved off the
greater part of his right cheek. He
bled profusely while they fastened
to the camp half mile away. There
was no doctor within thirty-five miles,
and worst of all, the streams were
raging torrents that could not possibly
be forded Communication with the
outside world was cut off and there
was not likely to be any means of get
ting to a village for some days to
come. But as luck would have it,
there happened to be nurse in camp
from Utica named William Henry,
who was out roughing it for his health.
Henry took Mccoy in hand. After
having partially stopped the flow of
blood he went out to the stable, took
n little fawn that some of the boys
had captured a couple of days before,
shaved the hair for about nine square
Inches off the animals side. and then
he carried it to the camp He took
a fountain pen and marked out on the
shaved surface of the fawn the shape
of the wound on McCoy's face While
some of the woodsmen held the crea-
ture. Henry cut the skin around where
he had marked, peeled it off, and APP
piled it Immediately to the face of Nc
Coy. Having fitted 1t in place firm
ly, he rubbed over a thick coat of bal
sam gum and over that he placed
tight bandages. The man stopped
bleeding at once.
A week afterward Henry took off
the bandage. The graft was found
to be perfect success. The wound
was healing rapidly, and it appeared
that the scar would show but slight
ly In four weeks Mccoy was healed
so well that he was able to go to
work. Soon after, however, he no
Siced when he drew his hand across
his cheek that hair was growing on
the grated skin. He was rather
pleased at that, for he thought that
tirely hide the scar. But in few
days more the hair had grown so
thickly that its color and nature were
plainly visible. 1t was the hair OF
the fawn growing, and, moreover, 1t
was spotted like that of fawn. He
did not dare to shave for fear of
breaking open the skin, and allowed
1t to grow until the fall of the year,
Then the spots disappeared and the
"blue" coat of full grown deer took
its place.
When spring came around he saw
that the hair of his cheek was falling
out and fine red hair was growing
AT last the blue or winter coat was
entirely gone, and the red summer
coat took its place. In fact, he and
the other woodsmen, to their merri.
ment, saw that the grated skin
varied and changed precisely as does
the coat of a deer.