nt of a bone, which had baffled
the skill of the most famous surgeons in the country for three years,
and effected a complete cure in one minute. Hunters, cricket players,
rowing men, and athletes in all parts of Great Britain consulted
Hutton when they met with accidents. A sporting paper, in a notice of
his career, says:

"He gradually broke down the wall of prejudice which had been
built up against bone-setters by the medical faculty on the
ground that they were merely quacks. His cures in cases of
displacements and sprains which had puzzled the most expert
surgeons, were so brilliant and undisputed that he was
frequently consulted by those who had previously reviled him.
His house in Queen Anne Street was thronged day after day by
persons, who in some instances had come hundreds of miles to
avail themselves of his skill."

Robert Howard Hutton was born in Westmoreland county, England,
forty-seven years ago. He belonged to a family of "natural
bone-setters," the most famous of whom was his uncle, who taught him
all the mysteries of his craft. He practised surgery in Westmoreland
and adjacent counties for several years, where he acquired such a
reputation that he was induced to move to London. He appears to have
made the change more from philanthropic than from monetary
considerations. He loved the country and was very fond of hunting.
Once in London and within reach by railroad of every portion of Great
Britain, his patronage became so extensive that he had no time to
gratify his inclination in regard to sports.

Men of the class to which Mr. Hutton belonged, were once quite common
in this country. Men conducting large lumbering operations in Maine
generally arranged to take a "natural bone-setter" into the woods
every winter. The masters of whaling vessels endeavored to have one
among their crews. The faith of ignorant people in "natural
bone-setters" is profound.

They believe that they are possessed of inherent knowledge and skill.
Some think that they are possessed of a natural gift, and others that
they have acquired secrets that never become known to the members of
the medical profession. The circumstance that they effect a cure in
persons who had "suffered much from many physicians," though they
never read a medical book, never attended college, never witnessed a
clinic, and never received instruction from a preceptor, elevates them
in the minds of the people far above