An ingenious way to travel

Abstract

Here is a man who knows how to come to terms with extreme disability. Fred E Vallaincourt was a railway man in the USA in the late 19th century. While working as a brakeman on the Great Rapids railway he lost his left leg and half his right leg in an accident. This photograph was taken around 1894, well before Franklin D Roosevelt's New Deal policies introduced the USA to the idea of social welfare. Fred was, therefore, dependent on his wits for survival. He came up with this ingenious form of transport, a custom-made dog wagon, and made a living posing for photographs in front of it. He certainly caught the eye of New York physician Stanley B Burns who took this picture.