in those days it was not unusual to stroll into this lively , growing establishment and see a logger reclining in one of the three chairs , having the hair on his head cut , the cut in his arm stitched , and a couple of large bloodsuckers from the jar by the cigar-box reposing above each closed eye , turning from gray to red as they swelled , simultaneously protecting against any infection from the cut and taking away that malady which was then known as 'achin ' brains . '