EYE THAT VANISHED.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3521, 7 August 1926, Page 1

EYE THAT VANISHED.

MATE’S SIGHT ENDANGERED

There's a man in Sydney lucky to be in possession of his eyesight —Lieut. “Bob” Graham, a one-time Light Horse Officer (says a recent issue of the Sydney Daily Guardian). The story comes from Papua. Graham possesses an upper plate with a. set of teeth, the envy of every practising dentist in town. Another ■ member of the expedition was Lieut. John Royle, who lost an eye with the Tunnelling Company in Prance, Royle sports a glass substitute. When they sought to press the native, labouring gangs into doing more work, either Graham would remove his teeth or Royle would pluck his glass eye out. Both performances being too much for the native mind, they readily attributed the feat to some special dispensation of the gods.

But came a day when Graham was alone with a gang in the bush, far from headquarters, and a deputation from the other end of the island turned up with their wives; mothers, and fathers-in-law and their wives, uncles, and aunts up or down to the third generation — all to see the man who could pluck his eye out and replace it. Graham was alone. He could satisfy them with his teeth, but the deputation was more concerned with the veracity of the eye story. So when Graham failed to remove an eye, they began to doubt. Doubt led to suspicion that the whole thing was a hoax—so those who had led the horde there; to save' their own faces, offered to take the eye out themselves to prove the contrary. And just when things were looking bad Royle turned up. The feast that follow ed the demonstration beggars des--1 cription.