A REGULAR TRAMP EXISTENCE 89 



ishment. I never use a mouth speculum, but pass 

 one of my hands into the mouth and feel of every 

 tooth. Most wolf-teeth I can extract with my 

 fingers and frequently do the same with split or 

 broken teeth which have become loosened. 



On this day, the first horse that was brought to 

 me had a long shell of a molar which had been 

 split through the middle and which stood out 

 against the cheek. I could see that it was quite 

 loose and could be snapped out with the fingers, 

 I opened the horse's mouth so that the ten or 

 twenty spectators could see the tooth and I took 

 the time to give each of them a good look at it ; it 

 really looked quite formidable. When all had 

 seen it, I reached in with my bare hand and 

 yanked the thing out. That was enough for 

 them; for three hours I fixed horse after horse. 

 And the quacks looked on. 



Towards noon it got extremely hot, about the 

 hottest day I ever experienced. I had earned 

 enough money for one day; I bought myself a 

 big, juicy watermelon and sat down in the shade 

 of a big wagon and ate the whole melon. Next I 

 paid my hotel bill, and then I bought a ticket 

 right through to Abilene, on the main line of the 

 Texas & Pacific Railway and at the end of a new 

 railroad I had been following. 



Abilene was then a town of about eight thou- 

 sand people; and a real good town, too. I had 

 three or four dollars left when I got there and 

 my first move was to inquire whether there were 

 any veterinarians in practice there. At a drug 



