The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-01-03
HE FOOLED THE DOCTORS.
Man who Slammed Total blindness
for Two Years.
Washington Letter.

Washington Letter.
There are two well-known oculists in Chi
cago and two army surgeons elsewhere who
would not like TO have made public with
their names attached the facts connected
with a certain entry in the books of the
Washington Pension Bureau. Attention was
called to this matter through another of
Representative Gibson's pension bills.
Mr.. Gibson, with an eye single to the sur
plus, has asked the House to pass a bill
increasing to $50 a month the pensions or
all soldiers who may become helpless here
after through rheumatism, paralysis, Dllnd-
ness or any other disability. Touching this
particular pension some one said to-day that
while a person so inclined might feign al
most any other kind of disability he couldn't
fool the doctors into the belief that he was
blind while he could still see.
A bystander caught the speaker up and
quoted what he said was a Chicago case In
which a soldier not only fooled two civilian
Ocuhsts, but the army surgeons and all
his neighbOrs as well, one and all of them,
believing him to be as blind as a bat, while
his sight was as keen as that of a duck
hawk. 1t wasn't a Chicago case which the
man had in mind. 1t was a Fort Sheridan
case. But everybody down here, excepting
the army officers, thinks Fort Sheridan is
on the lake in front of the Chicago Club
and has huge parapets mounted with six
teen-inch guns to keep off the Canadian fish
police schooners. What Washington doesn't
know about Chicago would fill the books of
the congressional library.
To get back TO the blind mans case" it
may be said that though there were fea-
lures enough TO the story, ii escaped the
newspapers. The man served in + COM
pany of the Sixth Infantry, which was the
first command ordered to the post north of
Chicago after ii was established. 1t is not
necessary to give the soldiers name. He
is getting an honest living in Chicago now
and the present writer served with him in
the army. While at Fort Sheridan he was
drawing extra duty pay, or, In other words,
he was what his fellow-soldiers who did
straight army duty, called a dog rob-
ber." The comrades used to say TO him
that ned find a way to make money II
there wasn't a cent on the reservation.
One day this soldier suddenly was strick-
Ell blind According TO his own story he
had a visitation like unto that of Saul of
TarsuS. To get to the end of things the
surgeons declared him stone blind, the
Chicago civilian doctors made a like dec
laration and inside of three months the Fort
Sheridan dog robber" was drawing 81 a
month from Uncle Sam for total disability.
He elected to live In Highwood, and there
he wandered about the streets, stick In
hand, feeling his way for two years. He
passed his best friends without the tremor
of an eyelid. Occasionally he would walk
off into the gutter and then would be
helped back to the sidewalk by sympathiz-
ing bystanders. 1t was a curious thing,
though, that he always could tell a 81 bill
from a 81 bill by sense of touch, and no
change.
Finally a Highwood ~storekeeper had a
suspicion. A government official had some
thing whispered into his ear, and a quiet
visit was paid to the pensioners house one
night, and there he was caught calmly
reading a book of remarkably fine print
without the aid of glasses. He confessed his
fraud and was punished.
A gray veteran surgeon once twitted one
of the comrade NEEDLES" who had declared
the soldier stone blind. The twitted one
said: THE fellow fooled us by his wonder
full nerve"
Eyes, optic nerve" said the grizzled one.