The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1907-12-30
"A FREAK
COLLECTOR
No Had an Eye Como and He
Bought Remarkable Substitutes

| in my time" remarked Archer Way o
San Francisco, but the queries
whom ever knew Of was that which
caught Ike Smaley. Ike and hi
brother AMI were earlies at Cripple
| Crek. although they didn't line VI
under the family name there Ike was
the elder and fought his brothers bat
ties, likewise those OF his brother-in
! law, Barzilla linton of New Jersey
One night Ike took up a scrap that fel
| to Barzilla and lost his left eye.
when met him in San Francisco
| he was pretty lean In frame and rock
| ct. but he managed to get to Alaska
and sent for Amzi and his brother.in
law after making stake, He came
| back three years ago with something
less than ton OF dust. leaving Amzi
and Barzilla up there to share half
interest In paying proposition, while
he held them accountable for the other
half.
While mp In the wilderness of that
cold cline Ike was satisfied to go one
eye on things When he got down to
San Francisco he began to think about
appearances. He got to talking to mo
about glass eyes, and | took him to an
optist's shop and showed him a tray OF
eyes in the window We went in and
the eye sharp matched his eye pretty
we'll and charged him $50.
1T was difficult job to find any.
20 ivn'r ffr
1t was yellowy greeny lamp with a
flshy look to it; but the optist did his
worst and 1t wasn't his fault that the
clay bird had more expression in it
than the real pigeon. Ike spent an
hour looking in the glass and prac.
Using with 1t before he left the shop.
and on the street he admitted to mo
that the phony lamp had more charac.
ter than the real locker.
''He wore 1t a week'or two night
In II. Then he branched out, He'd
got the habit and just went in for
glass eyes
HE bought light blues, dark blues,
browns. hazels, and all kinds Of com
binations, all of which diverted atten,
ton from his live eye. He used the
artificial eyes like an English duke
would his collection of scarf pins, and
soon had different glass eye for
every day in the week and two or
three for Sunday.
THE field on the coast got too mar
row for him, and he came east and
looked up a Frenchman who makes
eyes In Chatham square and got him
to make some specialties for him, lie
had original ideas. and the lamp ex-
pert was willing to humor him at $50
a throw.
ike startled me one night with a
topaz eye, only an imitation gem, but
mighty fetching. Then he had an anne
thyst eye and turquoise eye, but
really this was only a starter
He was looking over the shop win |
dows In Maiden lane one day. when he
came across a crystal brooch scarfpin !
with picture of trout painted in ii. |
He wanted something just like that
for a glass eye, aud made inquiries
about how the work was done. He |
managed to find out that an old |
Frenchman in Newark painted such
things and chased him to his dugout.
There he made combination be-
tween the glass eye maker and the
miniature man and set up new line
Of work. He gave the artist line of
subjects TO bring out on the blanks
made by the Chatham square man and
had the colors baked into the glass
"As artistic specimens they were
great, but as facial ornaments they
we're rather startling. The first time
saw Ike with one was IN the cafe OF
IN uptown hotel. II jumped me when
saw pretty butterfly staring out
If his left optic
Il met him again that night TO go
o theater, and he called my atten-
ion to the fact that he had changed
he ornament for the occasion. The
,icture this time was a woman's head
md bust.
I'VE went to Boston on the boat,
md on the way to Fall River he wore
N eye with a picture OF a steamboat
n II. He said II cost him 5000 Next
morning he showed up with a locomo-
i've head-on in his eye-socket
That afternoon he showed me what
e had in his collection. lie had a vel
et-lined leather case with "a eyes in
!. There were FISH. game, flies. elks
eahs. steamships, yachts in full sail.
insects. actresses. an auto
lobile. a monogram. and lot OF plain
yes OF different colors.
IKE wasn't satisfied. He said that
he work wasn't fun enough for him
nd that be was going abroad TO see
hat he could do IN Paris and Geneva.
omebody had told him about a IA
lous Swiss miniature painter. and
1mebody else had put him wise to
rm in Paris that made splendid little
Photographs on glass. lie let on to
Ie that he was going TO travel some
nd have eyes made reproducing all .
the famous buildings and art works.
He's got the collecting habit in !,
IN bigger than a woOdchuck and ,
ord knows he's got unlimited money
, indulge himself in the fad He car