Of the cases represented in Plate III, I had a large number; of such as are presented in Plate IV, only a few, of which I will describe only one. On the 13th of June, 1854, I was called to the premises of Mr. George Braucher, in Hartley township, Union county.
In this case the hand and arm must be prepared, as already described, and inserted to the elbow, Fig. 1. A great amount of force is required to raise the leg, until the knee joint is brought up. The left hand should then be warmed and greased by an assistant, and introduced, placing it on the knee-joint; the right hand should then be passed down, grasp the foot, and turn it backwards, when the left hand should press inward with great force, and with the right hand bring up the foot, keeping it turned backwards. When the foot is brought up, a rope should be attached to the lower jaw of the foal, when an assistant should take hold of the rope and pull in a slightly downward direction; in this way the foal will be delivered with the greatest ease. Sometimes one shoulder will present itself, and the other will incline a little to the rear. Under such circumstances, too much force should not be employed; the foal should be turned sometimes from right to left, and then again from left to right, frequently introducing the hand, and moving it around the foal. In all cases the membrane or skin should be kept in its proper position around the foal, as this will greatly assist the work, and make it one of comparative ease.
In the above case, the foal presented itself in the afternoon of the 12th, and all the knowing men of the neighborhood were summoned, and all of them labored until night, when they were obliged to give it up and pronounce it a failure.--The next morning a messenger was sent for me. I arrived at the spot at half past ten o’clock, in the morning, and at twelve o’clock noon, I had the object accomplished, and we sat down to a hearty dinner. In December 1868, the mare was still alive.
On the 30th day of April, 1855, when about ready to retire to bed after a hard day’s drive, two messengers, Mr. B. Cramer, from Middlecreek, and Mr. Uriah Berger, from Centre township, arrived at my house together. After some consideration, I concluded to accompany Mr. Berger, and on arriving, I found a foal, having presented itself as represented in the preceding Engraving. Before my arrival, three men had exerted all their strength for an hour or more, to extract it, but having failed, they left before my arrival.