Year: 1876

A good deal of interest was felt in the
recently in the Blank county court. 1t in
vOlyed the question of the ownership of
Gum : right leg. Gum related the facts Of
the case to us rs follows


You see, one day last winter, while was
shoyeling snow off the roof of my house,
slipped and fell over on the pavement below.
When they picked me up they found that
my right leg was fractured. DR.. Barclay
examined it and gave it As his opinion that
modification would be certain to set in un-
fess that leg came off. So | told him he'd
better chop it away. And he went round to
his Office, and presently he came back with
a butcher knife and a cross-cut saw and lot
of rags Then they chloroformed me, and
while was asleep they removed that leg.
When came to | felt pretty comfortable,
and the doctor, after writing some prescrip-
tions, began wrapping my of-leg up in an
old newspaper then he tucked the bundle
under his arm and began to move toward the
door. was watching him all the time, and
| halloed at him


"Where in mischief are you going with
that leg of mine ?''


I'm not going anywhere with that leg of
yours he said. but I'm going home
with my leg"


"Well, you'd better drop it, " said |. alt
belongs to me, and want it. want it for
a keepsake"


And you know he faced me down about
it. Said when doctor sawed a man apart.
he always took the amputated member as
one of his perquisites and he said that, as
it was his legal right to take something on
such occasions, it was merely optional with
him whether he took the leg, or left the leg
and took me but he preferred the leg. And
when | asked him what he wanted with it,
anyway he said he was going to put in
glass Jar, full of alcohol, and stand 1t in his
Office Then ] told him it shocked my mod
esty % think of bare leg of mine being
put on public exhibition in that manner,
with no pantaloon on; but he said he
thought he could stand it,


But | protested. said had had that
leg for a good many years, and | felt sorter
attached to it. knew all its little ways.
would feel lonely withoutit. Who would
tend to the corns that had cared for so
long? Who would treat the bunion with
the proper degree Of delicacy? Who would
rub the toes with linment when they got
frosted? And who would keep the shin
from being kicked No one could do it as
well as | could, because | felt an interest in
the leg felt sociable and friendly, and ac-
quainted with it. But Barclay said he
thought he could attend to it, and it would
do the corns good to soak in alcohol.


And told him I'd heard that, even after
man lost limb. if any man hurt that limb
the original owner felt it, and told Bar
clay wouldn't trust him not to tread on my
toes, and stick pins in my calf, and make me
suffer every time he had grudge against
me, and he said he didn't know maybe he
would if didn't treat him right.


And wanted to know what was to hinder
him if he felt like it, taking the bone out of
the leg and making part Of it up into knife
handles and suspender buttons, and working
the rest up into some kind of clarinet with
fnger-holes punched in the sides. could
stand good deal, | said, even if had only
one leg. but couldn't bear to think of a
man going around the community senenad-
ing girls with tunes played on one of my
bones-a bone. too, that felt good deal
of affection for. II he couldn't touch a
girls heart without serenading her with one
Of my bones, why he had better remain
single.


We blathered away for about an hour, and
at last he said he was disgusted with so much
bosh abont ridiculous bit of meat and mus
,, Gle, and he wrapped the paper around the
leg again and rushed out Of the door for