92 THE ITINERANT HORSE PHYSICIAN 



spent in my life. My partner was a most inter- 

 esting character, and between him and the people 

 we worked for I had a real circus. 



When a fellow came along with a horse to be 

 "worked on," as they call it down there, my part- 

 ner always took him in hand first. When he 

 could not convince the fellow that his horse 

 needed some "heavy surgery," to cost maybe 

 twenty dollars, he would call to me, "Here, Doc; 

 talk scientific to this fellow." Then I would 

 tackle him ; and usually we landed him. 



This quack was a remarkable man in more 

 ways than one. Though nearly sixty years old, 

 he was as spry as I at that time, and he had the 

 record of being a real terror in a fight. He was a 

 "handy guy" at any fighting game and, even at 

 his age, would rather fight than anything else. 

 When dressed up, he was a fine looking man. He 

 really had the stuff in him to do something worth 

 while. At the forge he was a wonder. I have in 

 my possession today a molar extractor which he 

 forged by hand in the blacksmith shop, and it is 

 my best instrument. But the discription of my 

 practice with "Doc" Asa, for that was his name, 

 is worthy of a chapter in itself. 



