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6

The several events follow:

The one which undoubtedly affected my life the most was the birth and death a week later of my brother, Henry Kendall Craton. Actually, I remember nothing of this -- nothing of my mother's pregnancy, the birth, the death, nothing -- and so I assume it must have all occurred in 1903 or 1904 before I was old enough to recall anything. My knowledge of it comes from what I've been told since. My brother was a "blue baby" and it was probably a blessing that he failed to survive; today perhaps they might have operated on him and saved him. Had he survived, however, and been normal, having a brother might have changed the whole course of my life, might have meant that my parents would have had more children, that my father might have made different decisions which would have prolonged his own life, a lot of things may well have been different. As it was, my parents had no more children and I was brought up an only child. My brother was the only imperfect child I have ever heard of in our family until Babbie's poor little Charlie.

I was not a robust child although I'm not aware of having had any terribly serious difficulties. I do remember, however, of various bouts with bad colds, coughs, and respiratory complaints and the favorite treatment which involved making a tent-like enclosure over my bed into which the fumes of a "cresoline lamp" were allowed to escape for my inhalation. I can remember lying there in the tent taking this treatment and watching my mother's anxious face gazing down at me. By the time our own children came along, the cresoline lamp apparently was out of style, but it seemed to be pretty effective with me whatever it was that was wrong with me then. The only word I recall in this connection is "croup".

A relatively minor incident which also had to do with my health and one I remember well, was the time I was riding home with Mother from downtown on the streetcar and I became ill on the car and vomited ignominiously as we sat there riding along on the car -- and the utter misery and shame I felt over this demonstration of mine. It was obviously a mess and I was the target of many eyes and I suffered such deep anguish that I still remember this unhappy incident although it had no serious consequences of any sort that I recall.

The next incident was one which struck such terror into me that I think I still suffer from its effects. I was out in the side yard of our house playing alone when a strange dog came into the yard and cornered me up against the house and threatened to bite me, snarling at me and baring his fangs, rushing in and out at me. I screamed in terror and was rescued by someone before anything serious happened but I've had a deep-seated fear of dogs ever since, with chills of apprehension running over me whenever I see a menacing dog.