Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1884-11-08

III search OF information concerning u6E
wonderful case, she indicated heI Will
ingness to Cheerfully give Its history.
/ "Acou5 nVe years ago." she began, Il
was changing the position Of flower
I pot containing 2 cactus plant, hen It
fell, and IN saving it i touched the plant
and cot four of the briers. not larger than
ne edle points, under the nail of the
j tie finger on my right hand.
/ thought nothing Of Of it at the
time, bat in a few days my finger
grow stiff, and In a few weeks i lost the
use Of my hand entirely. 1t was in Au-
gust that / got the briers IN my finger,
and some time during the next spring,
after a winter of terrible suffering with
my arm, which, like my hand, had be-
come paralyZed, cactus briers began to
grow out Of my hand and arm. During
tina; summer picked out Of my hand
/ and arm thousands of cactus bTlers al
though only four had entered when the
accident happened. 1 did not wait for
them to grow out. / took a needle and
\ for months and years did nothing but
cut and pick the cactus OF my hand and
/ arm. AT one time had cut out enough
cactus this way to cover my apron front
completely. In spite Of my picking the
/ plant continued to grow and multi
/ ply, until my system was full Of
cactus. was fairly bristling with the
| prickiy briers, which began making their
appearance In my back and shoulders.
Finally one day felt peculiar singing
sensation IN my feet and examining
them found that the cactus was begin
ming to sprOut OubOf my heels. 1 waited
until it made its appearance above the
/ skin, and then, as Ia other instances, 1
/ began to cut 1t out. During these years,
for the plant has been constantly making
its appearance IN the past i've years, 1
have suffered frightfully. I became
] broken down IN health and was unable
to sleep. If 1 attempted to retire it
seemed as though the bed were made of
standing on end. 1 have walked my
room for nights with my body fairly ting
ling from the effect of the terrible plant
that was multiplying and growing with
in me-"
But you certainly sought the advice
of a physician" interrupted tie re-
porter.
Neither money nor time was spared
in our attempt to effect cure, or at least
relief, for 1t was fast killing me.
Il consulted some of the local physi-
clans. They laughed at the cactus
theory until they saw its subsequent
growth. They told me that vegetable
life could not multiply or grow in human
flesh. began to travel, consulting many
of the best physicians in the country.
They were convinced of the nature of the
trouble, but were unable to suggest the
proper remedy. Some of them were in
favor of burning the plant with acid.
% tried this until 1t threatened to kill me,
and then abandoned it. After the first
year my health was so broken down by
the Tavages of the awful plant that
only lived by constant tonics
It was a struggle for life, and
for years the cactus had the upper hand
Finally L found an old physician In
Michigan who recommended the use OF
an electric battery. This device saved
my life. By running the spOnges over
my body killed the plant wherever it
was near the surface. There are two
currents in these batteries, the inyigOr-
ating or tonic, and the depicting. Fol-
the benefit of any other poor sufferer
remember that it is the depicting current
of one Of these batteries that saves, and
that alone"
did it cure you completely"
ooh, no. Only- yesterday L picked
some cactus out Ofmy hand, and there
is more coming, but it is coming in
smaller quantities all thu time. L think
it has been killed by the electricity, or
= has naturally exhausted itself in my sys,
! TEN. 1 am regalning the use Of my arm
and for the first time in FIVE years, and
l feel as though my escape from death
, had been narrow"
Did you ever hear of any other SINH
lar case?"
"OnIy one, and that was man who
stepped into a cactus bed in his bare feet
s In a few weeks his limbs resem bled en-
t OrmOus cactus stems, and it became
I necessary to amPutate them. But the
2 deadly character of the cactus is well
2 known among western cattle raisers
Annually it kills thousands of horses
COWS, and sheep. They touch il with
their tongues, and in a few days they are
living, moving cactus plants, so rapidly
it grows it is always fatal in the case
of animals"
is it necessary to get the. briers in the
flesh to cause the bad results?"
ayes, and it's only during the month Of
August, when the plant Is seeding, that
its brlers will come of. Unless it Ii
q touched just at this period 1t is not sc
= dangerous. One of the most wonderful
features of the plant is the fact that it Is
almost indestructible. My husband dus
1 Iup our cactus plants, and let them lay II
] the sun away from any earth for months
2 and even they they began to grow anC
? flourish without a particle Of earth t
7 draw from. He then placed them In
big brush heap and burned the entire
!, pile, cactus andrall bat the cactus wa.
Z ready to take root and grow as soon Al
: soon as the fire subsidized. This power o
/, vitality they have is the secret of theI
: growth in human flesh, where no othe
. plant can live"
Improbable as this case may appear
there is absolutely no doubt of its genu
T. ineness. Mr.. and Mrs. Burnett are OLE
y and respected citizens Of Olathe, and b,
e calling at their home the skeptic caI
d readily convince himself
Shetland Ponies.
New Orleans Times.
There is an increasing interest in the