Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1864-07-25
THE EVENING STAR.
EXTRAORDINARY, IF TRUE.


1.-THE story below will strain the faith OF tne
reader pretty badly, hut Is extraordinarily well
got up, to say the least-Ed. Star.l ~ IN
Gypsy w ON an Coaxes Five Lizards from
-s lsts q Mans Stomach - -
A correspondent OF the Halifax IN. 81 Sun,
writing from Bathurst, details an extraordinA.
~ circumstance A farmer near the town,
(Which is in Gloucester county,l named Jas.
-'7rr was for three years and half con-
f,usa IN hi. bed throug. e%sS0'.on.
Medical assistance w.5 In vain, And he lin
ssrsd and fingered, until Gypsy woman ohe- 81
and younger brother Of the invalid. named
Charles, thus describes he, MODE of treatment
1--WE went with her to her camp; Immediately
Jim and hoth eating heartily. After dinner
the gypsy said she wished TO speak with me
alone. went into the woods, back from the
camp, when she at once ASKED me .na Was n,s
feet bound, and to submit altogether 70 nef. =
said was not. Then said she, Sits no use
n ao ne SeGn he snc asked her to
explain herself; she said she would not. l ~
last consented, thinking to myself there can De
had some salt pork fried, and good bread. Next
morning, on waking, after very watchful
night for never closed my eyes, found Jim
tied up He seemed rather put ont, but the
sipsy told him at once that she had done so
because he was to suffer good deal Of pain
before being cured. assented to this. He said
he was willing to 60 through with 1t, since he
had begun. We had breakfast, salt pork and
bread; fed Jim, and we laughed at the farce,
as we considered 1t. 1 had no faith at all in
her.
AFTER breakfast talked with the gypsy, and
asked her what she meant; told her / was no
child, and must either know her plans or
then told me that she knew that jim had some
living reptile in him, and that the only way to
cure him was to feed him with salt food for a
day or two, and then stop him from drin king
altogether, when the animal would come out to
seek wi alter. She had cured others, but must
expect 10 see him suffer awful pain and torture
only for "a or 30 hours. / went to Jim, told
him all, and asked him il he was willing to
undergo IL says ne, ws Gna ,h tnst woman
salt pork and bread, and Jim q very limited
supply Of water; the next day the same, till
after dinneE when the Wstef was vas completely
begged and prayed for water; he howled till
he was hoarse; the woman then gave him a
drink Of what considered water, but which
she told me after was salt pork fat melted, with
water on the top; he drank it in a few mouths
full, and in few minutes more he was worse
than ever. He begged me to shoot him, to
crown him, to do nything with him, only not
leave him in that state; toward evening he be-
came quite ont of his mind; water and springs
was all he raved about. He lay that way for
some time, almost until morning, when he got
into a high fever. got alarmed, and told the
gypsy thought 1t had gone far enough; that
Jim was too weak to stand it. She told me
could do as liked, but if i would leave him
two hours longer 1 would see whether she
the doctors were right She likewise told me
that If loosed him he would kill himself
drinking at the first water we met / tried
her.
"ln about an hour after she asked me to
drag him to the spring few rods away from
the camp We got him beside it. She laid his
head with his lips almost touching the water;
ehe took up birch panlkin, and commenced
lips. He was all this time quiet as il he were
dead; sometimes only ne gave slight shiver,
his mouth wide open, and his eyelids opened
After about ten minutes, she said to me, Now
whose right But keep quiet 1 leaned over
AM and saw large green MI. lizard Peeping out Of
come out, but drew itself in again. 1T will
come out again. said the gypsy. While she was
speaking two lizards glided out of his mouth
Into the water. The gypsy quietly killed one
with a stick and killed the other. We waited
again for five minutes, when three came out,
but not together. These we killed, although
one almost escaped from the water TO his mouth
ere it was completely despatched. We then
waited nearly an hour longer, but no more
made their appearance. The gypsy then said:
There's more and proceeded to pour
water on Jim's forehead. She did so twenty
minutes She then gave him about q spoonful
mouth she him ac eonnedh hSs as daR " a hds
half the next before she let him free, gradually
increasing his allowance of water"
Such is the story told by Mr.. Charles Mu-
lock, and, although / am not personally ac-
quainted with the gentleman, I am informed
that he Is one of the last men in the country to
tell wilful untruth. One fact, however, is
clear-his brother has completely recovered
his health, and not only his health, but his
flesh, aud now weighs 100 pounds, his former
weight being only 81 The lizards are of
bottle. green color, about five inches long, red
eyes, and forked tongues. There is pecu.
Harity about them different from the ordinary
lizard tribe, there being only two feet, and
sloping thence in a wedge into tail. Two of
them have been preserved in spirits and for
wardec to Prof Agassiz, Of Harvard Univer-
nit I'M 10 cd in cr,iri tic a
Mr. Ferguson's office, and the other two were
forwarded TO Prof. Jack, who has written TO a
legal gentleman here to say that these re the
only specimens he has ever met with, with the
exception of one found in the Museum of the
University of Munich, that is called the La
eerta homo in the language Of the schools; and
only one extant, although it is well known TO
the ancents. THE description given by Py-
thagoras," says he, al have read with your
specimens before me, and have yet failed to
discover in any respect the slightest difference
in their formation or color" He thinks that
Mr.. Mulock must have received them in an
embryotic state by some Of those mysterious
secrets that are found in every path OF science.
A species, he says, corresponding to it, is I'M
known to live on land, and all naturalists
have agreed that i, requires the local action of
the human stomach TO produce IL.
This is, he says, the only explanation that
can be offered that is not unphilosophical; his
parallel is clear and striking. He says, "the
pine forest is cut down, its own species seldom
appears upon the same soil, but birch, poplar,
and small shrubbery succeed; these again in
their turn being destroyed are succeeded by
the whortle, bramble, and raspberry" and
argues that certain local cause found In
unison with a certain developed germ is neces.
sary TO produce such an effect that In this way
only the lizard was produced, contrary to the
opinion Of various ancient writers and common
vulgar belief, that they are received INTO the
system by drinking water, or some other natu.
raj cause Of that description. He has like wise
sent TO the same gentleman series Of questions
to PROFOUND to the gypsy: where the other
causes occurred; were they similar in forma-
ton TO thosel &c, &c, he having been put in
possession of all the facts when the specimens
were sent him.