Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-05-09
A BONELESS BODY.
Man who Can be FIattened Out
Like a Pancake and Rolled Up Like
Wall Paper.
From the Cincinnati Times,star.

A Man who Can be FIattened Out
Like Pancake and Rolled Up Like
Wall Paper.
From the Cincinnati Times-Star.
LEXINGTON, KY, April 23.-Yester-
day your correspondent was intro
duced to Isaac Arbuckle, member
of the United States Marshals posse.
who had just returned from raid in
search of moonshine whisky manu-
facturers in the mountains of East
ern Kentucky. Arbuckle was wait
ing for a train to take him to his
home in Garter county, and when in
terrogated stated that the revenue
raid was almost barren OF results,
but that he had made discovery
while prowling among the mountains
down below Barbourville that ne felt
sure would be of interest to news
paper readers. His story, in his own
words, was as follows:
Two days after leaving Barbour
vile spent the night al the cabin of
a poor farmer, among the hills, and
during a social family conversation
in which participated after supper,
some one incidentally spoke of Hec-
tor Davis, ''the man without bones.
[ immediately asked what was meant
by the expression, when my host ex-
planned that Hector Davis was one of
their ''neighbors," living some three
miles further on, among the noun
tains, and that he actually had
NOT A BONE IN HIS BODY.
As l expressed some skepticism, he
volunteered to show me over to Hec-
tors the next morning. We knock
ed at the door Of the Davis cabin
about 9 o'clock next day, and the
first thing that struck my attention
upon entering was a middle aged
man sitting bolt upright and support
ed by rude and peculiarly shaped
frame work.
He was introduced to me as Hector
Davis. | at once entered into CONVEX
sation with HIM, and discovered him
to be man of fair intelligence, and
eager to tell all about himself. in a
voice that was as strong as my own.
l grasped his hand upon first enter
ing, but his fingers all rolled up to-
gether like cabbage leaf in mushy
sort Of a way that made me glad to
let go of them. Taking hold of his
limbs they yielded to the pressure un-
til they were flattened out to twice
their proper width. The only indi-
cation OF bone was in his scull, which,
while pliable almost as shoe leather,
still offered kind of protection to
the poor fellows brain.
His neck was timber as dishcloth,
and when his head was released from
its support, which was something in
the shape of similar contrivance
used in photograph galleries, it roll
ed helplessly about upon his should
erS
LIKE A FOOT BALL.
His arms dropped at his side, but
with the aid of the muscle he was en-
abled to partly raise the forearm. al
though the hand curled over Imply
and gave the whole a sort of zig-zag
shape. He shuf1ed off his slipper,
and requsted me to step on his foot.
| did SO, and it at once spread itself
out until it looked as if a railroad
train had passed over it. 1t slowly
resumed its natural shape, but it was
fully a half hour before he was able
to &c: his foot in the slipper again.
perhaps you would like to tie my
leg in a knot?" he suggested.
| found no difficulty in performing
this feat, while my friend accomplish
cd the same with the other leg, and
after we had so tied knots in both his
arms he presented a very knotty
problem, indeed, and one that would
have set professional contortionist
crazy.
When we had unraveled all the
knots and Strengthened his limbs
again, he requested us to lift him
gently from his framework and place
him upon the floor This we found
no easy task, for his body slipped
about in cur arms like an eel, and it
was only by securing firm grip upon
his clothing that we managed to keep
him from filling. We finally sue
ceeded in Strengthening him out upon
the floor, and ther my friend, who
seemed to thoroughly understand the
boneless mans programme, seized j.
barrel standing near, and which |
afterwarI learned co2tained turnips,
and swiftly opening it, at once pro-
ceeded to roll it over the PROSTATE
Davis, from his toes up to his chin,
and
BACK AGAIN TO HIS TOES.
The only manifestation of pain, he
made was when the barrel passed
over his heart AVID lungs, but it left
him in horrible shape can only
describe it by comparing it to that of
man made of mud and then thrown
up and fattened against wall. But
| had no time to contemplate his fiat
ness, as he almost Immediately called
to us in rather weak voice to roll
him up" This we proceeded to do
by doubling his head over his ch est
and then continuing to roll him him
up" as you would a carpet until we
came to his feet, and he formed per-
feet cylinder about large around as a
half barrel A voice feebly piped
from the center of the cylinder for us
to unroll him and we soon had
him once more spread out over the
floor.