Huntsville gazette., 1884-02-23
A HUNTERS STORY.
How He was Overcome and the Way by
which He was Finally Saved.

Correspondence Spirit Of the Iimes.)
An unusual adventure which recently
occurred to your correspondent while hunt
ing at Brookmere in this State is so timely
and contains so much that can be made
valuable to all readers, that venture to
reproduce it entire:
The day was a most inclement one and
the snow quite deep. Rabbit tracks were
plentiful, but they principally led in the
direction of a large swamp, in which the
rabbits could run without difficulty, but
where the hunter constantly broke through
the thin ice, sinking into the half-frozen
mire to his knees. Notwiths anding these
difficulties, the writer had persevere1, al
though very small bag of game was the
result While tramping about through a
particularly malarial portion ofthe swamp,
middle aged man suddenly came into
view carrying muZZle loading shotgun
and completely loaded down with game of
the finest description. Natural curiosity,
aside from the involuntary envy that in
stinctively arose, prompted the writer to
enter into conversation with the man, with
the following result:
"Y You've had fine success, where did you
get all that gameN"
"Right here, in the swamp" !,
"It's prettyrough hunting in these parts,
especially when man goes up to his waist
every other STEP"
Yes, it's not very pleasant, but l am
used to it and don't mind it,"
''How long have you hunted hereabouts?
"Why, bless you, | have lived here most
of my life and hunted up to ten years ago
every year."
''How does it happen you omitted the
last ten yearsW
because was scarcely able to move,
much less hunt"
g / don't understand you?''
~ all .I,A %.,,.
er had been tramping around all day in
this same swamp, felt quite pain in my
ankle. / didn't mind it very much, but it
kept troubling me for a day or two, and
could see that it kept increasing. The next
thing l knew, l felt the same kind of pain
in my shoulder and / found it panied me
to move my arm. This thing kept going
on and increasing, and though | tried to
shake off the feeling and make myself think
it was only little temporary trouble,
found that it did not go. Shortly after this
my joints began to ache at the knees and
finally became so bad that had to remain
in the house most of the time"
And did you trace all this to the fact that
you had hunted so much in this swamp?n
"No, didn't know what TO lay it to, but
/ knew that | was in misery. My joints
swelled until it seemed as though all the
flesh | had left was punched at the joints;
my fingers crooked in every way and some
of them became double jointed. In fact,
every joint in my body seemed to vie with
the others to see which could become the
largest and cause me the greatest suffer.
ing. In this way several years passed on,
during which time l was pretty nearly
helpless. l became SO nervous and sensi-
tive that would sit bolstered up in the
chair and call to people that entered the
room not to come near me, or even touch
nv chair. While all this was going on. I
felt an awful burning heat and fever, with
occasional chills running all over my body,
but especially along my back and through
my shoulders. Then again my blood seemed
to be boiling and my brain to be on fire.D
Didn't you try to prevent all this
agony"
TRY, should think L did try. / tried
every doctor that came within nv reach
and all the proprietary medicines could
hear of. / used washes and liniments
enough to last me for all time, but the onIy
relief received was by injections Of NOR.
phipe."