Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 241, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 October 1910 — Odd News From Big Cities [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Odd News From Big Cities

Stories of Strange Happenings in the Metropolitan Towns

Soldier Victim of Rare Affliction

p ORTLAND, Ore.—Sojourning here the last several weeks has been a man who has attracted widespread attrition in medical circles. He is Thomas P. Dunn, a native of Montana, who, as a member of the First Montana volunteers in, the SpanishAmerican war, was shot through the Head at Caloocan in the Philippines tnore than twelve years ago and is alive to tell of It today. When Dunn fell wounded on the battlefield of Caloocan he was carried to the ward where the fatally Injured were placed and no one paid any attention to him for two days, as there were too many other wounded ■whom the physicians and surgednif in charge believed had better chances .or recovery. At the end of two days, during which the Montana boy lay practically without attention, the surgeon in charge remarked upon his vitality and decided to try to save his life. ‘ A Mauser bullet had entered the left side of his head Just above tbe temple and emerged Worn the right side just below the temple, a wound that had previously proved fatal as far as any of the medical men who have examined Dunn ever heard.

His remarkable recovery and the fact that he retains his reason are the most remarkahle features of this case. While he is alive, in good health and able to walk around the streets and converse with his friends and acquaintances, Dunn is handicapped by the loss of all sense of smell or taste and has lost the sight of his right eye. Despite these afflictions he bears his lot with fortitude. He cannot enjoy a meal,'for no matter what choice 'viands he may order, he cannot relish them any more than he would hardtack and salt pork. The loss of the sense of he looks upon as his worst affliction. Tommy Dunn, as he is known among his friends, is a ward of the government, though not of his own choosing, for he has relatives and influential friends who take care of him and look after his comfort at all times. His impaired eyesight has proved an obstacle toward his securing emplbyment, and idleness is something he dreads because of his afflictions. His only amusement is to Join several congenial companions and tell stories of past experiences, or to take street car rides or journevs through the country in automobiles. He cannot go to the theater, being handicapped by partial blindness and fearful lest the glare ol the lights shall impair the sight ol his remaining eye. As a ward of the government Dunn must report at Washington or some other military headquarters at certain periods and to undergo the periodical examination required by the surgeon general’s office.