Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1904-01-09

y Brainard-Daniel Brainard-had ius
: come to Chicago and was startin' II
v and Squire Cation was helpln' hin
$ gave him desk room in his Office an
made him known to the folks-Kinzie
ana Butterflies and Ogdens and Hamil
tons and ArnOlds and all of these folk
about all there was In Chicago Il
n those days.
Brainard had been in Paris. France
and Paris, Illinois, you understand, ant
knew all the dOctorin there was I,
KNOW then. Well, come spring, SOUR,
eaton had Doc Brainard down to visi
MIN, and they shot ducks and geese
ana prairie chickens and some wild tur
keys-and deer. too. Game was jus,
swarming at that time. All the while
eaton was dOin' what law business
there was to do, and Brainard thought
he ought to be dOin' some doctorin' to
keep his hand in. so he asked Cation IL
there wasn't any cases he could take
up-surgery cases especially he hank.
cred after, SEEM he had more caryin'
TOOLS than you could shake stick at.
lie asked him particularly il there
wasn't anybody he could treat for
"strabismus."
The squire hadn't heard of ANYBODY
dying OF that complaint; but when the
doctor explained that strabsmus was
french for crOss-eyes. he naturally
thought of poor Abe Dodge, and the
young doctor was right up Oh his ear.
He smelled the battle afar Off; and
moot hafnra Ynu could say Jark Robin
son the squire and the doctor were on
horseback and down to the Dodge
farm, tool chest and all.
Well, 1t so happened that nobody was
at home but Abe and Ephe, and it
didn't take but few words before
Abe was ready to set right down. then
and there, and let anybody do anything
he was mind to with his unfortunate
eyes. No, he wouldn't wait until the
Old folks come home; he didn't want to
ask no advice: he wasn't afraid of
pain, nor of what anybody could do to
MS eyes-couldn't be made any worse
than they were, whatever you did to |
EN-. Take EN- out and boil em and |
put 'em back If You had mind to, only
go to work. He knew he was of age,
and he guessed he was master of his
own eyes-such as they were.
We'll, there wasn't nothing else to do
but go ahead. The doctor opened ND
his killing tools and tried to keep Abe
from seeing them; but Abe he just
come right over and peeked atS,>o.j.
handled 'em and called 'ep,S..z..----,-...-
AN, and so they were River Splendid"
m - otorysarrin' havin' them
APP been re,esh and blood and bones.
i nen they got some clothes and a
BASIN and one thing and another, and
set Abe right down in chair. tNO
such thing as chlorofOrm in those days.
you'll remember) Squire Cation was to
hold an instrument that spread the
eyelids wide open, While Epne WIS w
hold Abe's head steady. First touch Of
the lancet, the first squirt of blood, and
what do You think? That ornery Ephe
wilted and fell fiat on the floor behind
the chair.
Squire" said Brainard, step around
and hold his head"
II can hold my own head" says Abe,
as steady as you please. But Squire
Cation he straddled over Ephe and held
his head between his arms, and the two
handles Of the eye-spreader with his
hands.
1t was all over in half q minute, and
then Abe, he leaned forward and shook
the blood off his eyelashes, and looked
straight out of that eye for the first
time since he was born. And the first
words he said We're:
THANK the Lord. She's NINE
About that time Ephe he crawled out
doors. sick as dog, and Abe spoke up,
says he:
Now for the other. eye. doctor"
"Oh," says the doctor, wed better
take another day for that"
"All rignt." says Abe; IF your hands
are tired of cuttin', you can make an
other job of it, My face amt tired of
bein' cut. can tell you"
"Well, if you're game. l am"
So. If you'll believe me, they just set
to work and operated on the other eye,
Abe holding his own head. as he said
he would. ana the Squire holding the
spreader. And when it was all done
the doctor was for putin bandage
on to keep things quiet till the wounds
all healed up; but Abe just begged for
one sight of himself. and he stood up
and walked over to the clock and
looked in the glass, and says he:
80 that's the way l lcOk. is 1t?
Shouldn't have Known my own face
never saw it before. How long must
keep the bandage on, doctor:"
"Oh. if the eyes amt very sore when
You wake up in the morning you can
take it Off. il you'll be careful
Wake mp. Do you suppose I can
sleep when such blessing has. fallen
on me? I'll lay still. but il 1 forget it,
or you. for one minute this night. Ill
be so ashamed of myself that it'll
wake me right up"
Then the doctor bound up his eyes
and the poor lad said Thank God"
two or three times. and they could see
the tears running down his cheeks from
under the cloth. Lord! 1t was just as
pitiful as broken-winged bird.
How about the girl? Well, it was
all right for Abc-and all wrong for
Ephe-all wrong for Ephe. But that's
all past and gone-all past and gone.
Folks come for miles and miles 10 see
crOss-eyed Abe with his eyes rs
straight rs looms leg. Doctor Brain
ard was great man forever after ip
those parts. Everywhere else, too, by
what heard.
When the doctor and the Squire came
to go. Abe spoke up, blindfolded as he
was and says he:
Doc, how much do you charge a
Teller for savin' his life-makin' man
out OF poor wretci-dOin' what he
never thought could be done but by
dyin' and gOin' to kingdom Gomez"