Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1908-01-22
A FREAK
COLLECTOR
Ne Had an Eye Gone and He
Bought Remarkab Substitute

ChuSuL INC OudliSy, Inc anu AIS
brother Amzi were earlies at Cripple
Crek, although they didn't line up
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 fell
to Barzilla and lost his left eye.
"When l met him in San Francisco
he was pretty lean in frame and peck
ct, but he managed to get to Alaska,
and sent for Amzi and his brother-in,
law after making a stake. He came
back three years ago with something
less than a ton of dust, leaving AMI
and Barzilla up there to share half.
interest in paying proposition, while
he held them accountable for the other
half.
while up 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 me
about glass eyes, and took him to an
optist's shop and showed him tray OF
eyes in the window. We went in and
he eye sharp matched his eye pretty
we'll and charged him $40,
1T was a difficult job to find any
thing to gee with likes good eye, for
1t was a yellowy greeny lamp with a
fishy look to it; but the optist did his
worst and it wasn't his fault that the
clay bird had more expression in il
than the real pigeon. Ike spent an
hour looking in the glass and prac-
Using with it before he left the shop,
and on the street he admitted to me
that the phony lamp had more charac-
ter than the real locker.
''He wore it a week or two night
and day and sorter became absorbed
In it. 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
sDon 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
Co make some specialties for him. He
had original ideas, and the lamp ex
pert was willing to humor him at $50
q throw.
ike startled me one night with a
Topaz eye, only an imitation gen. but
mighty fetching. Then he had an anne
thyst eye and turquoise eye, bu'
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 scarfpir
with a picture Of trout painted in 1t
lie wanted something just like tina
for glass eye, and made inquire.
about how the work was done. He
managed to find out that an ole
ETenchman in Newark painted sucl
Ghings and chased him to his dugout
~There he made combination be
tween the glass eye maker and the
miniature man and set up a new linz
OF work. He gave the artist line o.
subjects to bring out on the blank
made by the Chatham square man ant
mad the colors baked into the glass.
' "As artistic specimens they weu
great, but as facial ornaments theI
were rather startling. The first time
y -stW Ike with one was in the cafe q
an uptown hotel. It jumped me whA1
q saw a pretty butterfly staring oT
OF his left optic.
Il met him again that night to 81 !
to theater and he called my atten
zion to the fact that he had changed
She ornament for the occasion. The
picture this time was a woman's heat
and bust.
I'VE went to Boston on the boat
and On the wSy to Fall River he wore
an eye with a picture of steamboa
On 1t. He said it cost him 5000. Mex
morning he showed up with a locomo
tive head-on In his eye-socket.
"That afternoon he showed me what
Ae had in his collection He had vel
Vef-lined leather case with "a eyes in
It. There we're fish, game, flies, elks
heads, steamships, yachts in full sail,
bulldogs, insects, actresses, an auto
mobile, a monogram, and lot of plain
0yes Of different colors.
AIke wasn't satisfied He said that
Che work wasn't fun enough for him
and that he was going abroad to see
what he could do in Paris and Geneva |
Somebody had told him about ia |
lmous Swiss miniature painter, and |
somebody else had put him wise to a
arm in Paris that made splendid little
photographs on glass. He let on to
me that he was going to travel some
and have eyes made reproducing al
OF the famous buildings and art works
"He's got the collecting habit in
Ihin bigger than a woodchuck and
Lord knows he's got unlimited money
TO indulge himself in the fad. He car
ries a pocket magnifying mirror
around with him, so that he can see
the results, and he makes three or
eouy. ohanpaa ~ ovoa n dav The IL