The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1877-04-07
A QUEER STORY.
An Unknown Animal in the Human
Stomach.
from the New York World, !

Harlem has sensation in the person
of a negro girl named Hattie Brown, who
is supposed to be suffering from the
presence OF live animal, of some kind
as yet unknown, in her intestines. DR..
D-marest furnishes the following par
| tlculars of the case, which he had cleaned
from the girl herself and from careful
| examination made recently. He was
called to attend Hattie, who ia described
as being about twenty five years old,
| fairly educated, and having slight figure
| and prepossessing atures She resides
at No. 433 East One Hundred and Twen-
tietb street with he mother and aunt,
and the family ~ dressmakers.
Between five aud SIX years ago Hattie
attended picnic, and during the day
drank some water from running
stream, and now, she says, remembers
poticing that she swallowed soms object
of appreciabIe size, though it was for
gotten almost Immediately afterward,
and only recalled when it was supposed
that some living creature had taken up
its abode in her body. Not long after
this occurrence her health began to fail.
and disease of curious nature fastened
itself upon her, which advanced with
slow but certain steps for several years,
until she was finally incapacitated for
work. She gradnaly wasted away, grew
weak, and suffered apparently from
lack of vitality. and finally, remembering
the incident related above, concluded
which is nothing new as superstition
among negroes-that she was suffering
from the presence Of some living thing
| n har int Har ua
hrmed before long by her unwelcome
tenant giving unmistakable evidences of
its presence by periodically emitting dis
tiuct sounds and moving itself from
place to place. The girl having con-
ceived the idea that the parasite had it's
likes and dislikes, and was aroused to
greater activity, causing her consequent
pain, by her eating or drinking certain
things, and consulting her own comfort
as we'll as that of the parasite, regulated
her diet accordingly. The object, what
ever it may be- at length grew to such u
size as to be plainly discarnible in her
emaciated state as it shifted its position
fiom place to place in her intestines, but
if touched or attempted to be grasped,
as she had several times tried to grasp 1t,
it would fly to the other side of the body,
its course being plainly dscernible
through the abdominal walls. The suf-
ferer attempted several times to grasp it
in such a way az to be able to strapgle
it, but was always uus accessful The
voice of the creature vas varIously de-
, scribed as resemb bling the barking of a
puppy, and low, gurgling sound, but
when heard by the physician the "ker-
chunk, which accompanies the descent
, of bull-frog into puddle.
, The case has been treated several
times as one of simple teDia or tape
worm, that being the natural conclusion
reached by physicians whom she has
hitherto consulted from the statement oi
her difficulty, hut she now says she
withheld the truth from them and re-
q fused to submit to an examination
4 through fear that they would desire tt
: perform an operation upon her. Th'
!. remedies usually prescribed for tape
a worms were given her, but were never nc
a corded lair trial, and her case wen
4 from bad to worse. Liquor in larg'
: quantities was tried in the effort to de
g stroy the interloper, and in the hope o
a reviving her shattered system. 1t wa
- liquor would have no effect on the girl
"a who was entirely unused to them, bu
would apparently stupefy the parasit
"a for time, laudanum and opium havin
y the same effect But when the effect
~ had passed away the parasites move
= :. ments were conducted with such in
10 creased vigor, and its restlessness cause
the patient such intense pain, that thei
!, use was discontinued. When she take
"A food the parasite comes up close to th
. pit Of her st omach, and she claim
,G that she can distinctly "feel it swallow.
. DR.. Demarsst says he saw with b
|, own eyes and beard with his own eal
:, the movements and voice Of the inte
~ loper, A careful examination failed
"a deta ct any Sigps of any other trouble I
a. disease about the girl, aud i! this troub
\ W re- removed he thinks she would be a
i exceptionally healthy woman. Her a.
49, petite is not greater han that of an o
;s dinally healthy person. the only thin
sI about her being an extreme Irregular
% Of the bowels. He is firmly convinc'
~ that the glri has LIVING animal of son
h. sort in her intestines and equally So
10 that it is not tape-worm. A case so u
of usual, of course, only leaves room
~ "expectant" treatment. as 1t is tecbi
~ cally called, at least until somethi
ais further is developed. He does nj
a., however, entertain very sanguine hop
10 of beneficial results from medicine, b
oI, thinks that it will be necessary to op
the abdomen and cut the intestines
order to remove the intruder. This @
Al. GRAFTON. which is an exceedingly delici
a one. has been frequently performed W
ho satisfactory results in other difficult
IN. and. DR.. Demarest thinks, can undo0
,an edly be used as means OF settling
ds question Of what is it?" and of saw
MD the girls life. il she can be induced