PLATE V.
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.
In this case, the mare is very restless, repeatedly rising up and lying down again. It will require one man to attend to the head of the mare, and two men must take hold of the foal, raise it up toward the tail of the mare, and bear inwards with all their strength, when the operator must put all his force to one of the hind feet, and push that in at full arm’s length; the other side must be treated in the same manner. But let each one bear in mind, when the foal is moved inward, the mare will have pain and that she will bear towards you, so that sometimes but little is accomplished.
We labored faithfully from eleven o’clock until one, when I took a midnight meal and departed for Middlecreek township.
In some cases of the above kind, however, I had accomplished my object in much less time, than in this one.
PLATE VI.
On the 5th of May, 1855, I was called to the premises of John Deabler, in Beaver township, Snyder county, where I found a foal presenting the tail, as represented in [Plate VI]. Presentations of this kind occur but rarely. In this case the operator must prepare his hand and arm as before stated, and introduce it, taking hold over the stifle-joint at Fig. 1, then, by a strong effort, pull upward slipping his hand down to Fig. 2, when he must draw up the knee-joint as far as possible; then place the left hand on the knee joint, and pass the right hand down to Fig. 3, the foot, grasp it firmly, and bend it backward, at the same time pulling upward, and with left the hand bearing inward, when the foot will yield in a moment. The other side must be dealt with in the same manner.