Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-07-10
SNAKES!
The Rutherford County Sensas
ton Beaten An Hoilott.


fereds
The MoiTistO,cn Gaestfs ptinishes
what p6fpoSts 70 De a letter from a
Cooke county correspondent, giving
the particulars Of an ''extraordinar4
case Of snake iis,e2s.se and an operation
Tor its relief" Perhaps the writer
ought to have signed his name U III
johnson, but we give the story for
what it is worth and l6t him tell it in
his own way:
To the Editor OF the Morristown Gazette:
Ireport the following case that has
Just occurred here, at the county seat
of Cooke county,
a Mrs. Kennedy, a woman of about
forty, the wife Of an Irish laborer liv-
ing on French Broad street, has for
several years been suffering from i'll
health. Her symptoms and complaints
were singular. She was afflicted with
almost constant pains, 50 that she
could seldom. or never, rest at night.
She stated that she felt something run
ming up and down in the abdomen, that
she frequently experienced the creeping
sensation which is called irritability
She had been IN the hospital here, and
had been treated successfully for can
Ger of the bowels, worms, contracted
hydatidB, and other complaints, but
| found no relief.
GAS her uneasiness and pains con-
tinued, SO were the attempts to relieve
her, butwithoutsuccess. Notlong since
DR.. Perriam Gyles, whose Office and
drug store is on the corner of Purchase
and Broad streets, was called into requi-
sition and took charge of the case.
About a week ago, she became sub
ject to uncomfortable uneasiness, and
begged DIR. Gyles to perform an opera.
ton for her relief. This he was reluc-
tant to do, thinking it would hazard
her life, without a sufficiently certain
prospect of bringing relief to her to
compensate for the hazard. She de-
clared that life was burden; that she
must die as she was, and that speedily;
that she was willing to die; death
would be relief; and that she might
as well die in efforts for relief as in any
way.
At last DR.. Gyles yielded to her i'm
portunities; and having first been
solemnly exOnerated from blame by
the woman and her husband, whatever
might be the result, he consented to
perform the operation. On Friday af-
ternoon last, assisted by Dr.. Jas. Davis,
of this place. and Surgeon VIM. Allen,
OF Sweetwater. he proceeded to perform
the operation. He first made an incis-
ion about ten inches long along the
medal line Of the abdomen. He found
a tumor projecting largely, about 20
| inches in diameter and of irregular
form. He opened 1t and found therein
two Tattlesnakes. one So inches, and
the other 32i inches in length.
One of the snakes had five rsttles
and the other four ra;tles and button.
They had yellow and black spots on
them with white bellies. They were
quite lively and would rattle and strike
with vengeance when disturbed. They
were killed, and their skins and rattles
are in the possession of Col. Jno. Ste
phens. at the corner of French Broad
and McNab streets. They would not
have been killed, but they We're so
vicious fears were entertained that
| they would bite somebody. The tumOr
being removed, Mrs. Kennedy was in
stantly relieved, and Is now doing well.
Col. Stephens prizes their skins and
rattles as great curiosIties. Too much
praise cannot be given TO the eminent
medical men for the skill and calmness
they manifested throughou. the opera
ton.
Mrs. Kennedy says she swallowed
two small, soft white eggs, that she
found several years ago. as she was
walking out in a field near the Warm
| Springs, y. c. Having Just come over
from Ireland, she was not acquainted
with the birds eggs Of America and
swallowed these eggs supposing them
to be partridge eggs. Hoping the case
Will be interesting 10 your readers,
l am truly yours,
DR.. Eli JOHNSON.
THAT RUTHERFORD COUNTY REPTILE.
To the Union and American
MURFREEsBORO, July s, lS74.-Per-
haps in the verdant days Of your youth
you may have heard Of women who
were possessed Of devils. According to
Jim Sling, a notorious Benedict of our
town, there lives a female in our midst
who Is possessed Of fifty; the evil spirit
won't be exercised; it shouts with dia-
bOlical glee at fair means or foul, and
bids defiance to friends or foes How
| ever. | hadn't started out 10 tell you
about the woman and her devil You
know old Rutherford relishes and
thriyes on big sensations, and she has
one now that beats Jonah and thewhale
all to pieces. OF course, YOU heard our
great big live snake tale: If you
havn't, pity you, or rather l should
have said, pity you if your wife has
ever heard of it. NY wife
read about that snake IN Miss
Thankful Taylor's stomach, and, being
an exceedingly nervous woman and
withal confirmed hypochondriac, she
| goes on worse at night about "snakes"
than a devOtee of Bacchus when at
| tackled by mania pOtU. If you could
see her holding a microscope over every
glass of water that she drinks for fear
of imbibing a reptile in the germ, you'd
marvel at my patience. l verify be-
lieve the woman sleeps with handker-
| chief tied over her mouth. Last night
while sitting in the porch up stairs en-
! joying the cool breeze, trying to expa-
tiate on the loveliness Of the starry
host, I happened to remark something
about the comet s tail. whcreupon my
foolish wife caught frantically at the
side Of her dress and screamed, Its a
snake" After jumping up and going
through a variety of gymnastic evolu-
tons she quieted down, remarking, Il
thought certain I'd have to send for
DR.. Burger that time"
I'm presuming that you've read the
HUJreesbOrO NeICs lately, and know all
about the miraculous cure Of Miss
Thankful Taylor. who was relieved Of
a real live snake by DR.. j. II. Burger.
Talk of talent and your Nashville
Galens, Old Rutherford can beat you
all hollow. One of your profound NJ.
DIS, who knows all about women and
snakes. too, didn't venture to 90 near
the reptile. and wouldn't touch him
except with a pair of tongs as
| I,nU nc tho CuSDaTCioD br-id pya