Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-05-11
NOT \ BONE IN HIS BODY.

NOT \ BONE IN HIS BODY.
A Strange Discovery in the Kentucky
Mountains-A Man Who Can be Flat
tened Out Like Pancake and Rolled
Up Like a Carpet.
4 correspondent of the Cincinnati
TimeS-Star {probably Joe MulhattOn)
writes from Lexington, KY: Yesterday
your correspondent was introduced to
Isaac Arbuckle. a member of a United
States Marshals posse, who has returned
from a raid in search Of mOOnshine whisky
manufacturers in the mountains of East
ern Kentucky. Arbuckle was waiting
for a train to take him to his home in
Carter county, and when Intercepted,
stated that the revenue raid was almost
barren Of results, but that he had made a
discovery while prOwling among the
mountains down below Barbourville that
he felt sure would be of interest to news
paper readers. His story in his own
words was as follows:
Two days after leaving BarbOurville l
spent the night at the cabin of a poor
farmer among the hills, and, during a
social family conversation, in which l
participated, after supper. some one incl
dentally spoke of Hector Davis, ''the man
without bones" / Immediately asked
what was meant by the expression, when
my host explained that Hector Davis was
one of their ''neighbOrs," living some three
miles further on among the mountains,
and that he actually had not bone in his
body. AS l expressed some skepticism,
he volunteered to show me over to Hec-
tors the next morning. We knocked at the
door Of the Davis cabin about O'Clock
next day, and the first thing that struck
my attention upon entering was a middle
aged man sitting bolt upright and sup
ported by rude and peculiarly shaped
framework.
He was introduced to me as Hector
Davis. | at once entered into conversa-
ton with him, and discovered him to be a
man of fair intelligence, and eager to tell
all about himself, in voice that was as
strong as my own. L grasped his hand
upon first entering, but his fingers all
rolled up together like a cabbage leaf in a
mushy sort of way that made me glad to
let 20 of them. Taking hold Of his limbs
thew yielded to the pressure until they
were flattened out to twice their proper
width. The only indication of bone was
in his skull, which. while pliable almost
as shoe-leather, still afforded a kind of
protection to the poor fellows brain.
His neck was Timber as a dish-cloth.
and when his head was released from its
support, which was something in the
shape of a similar cOntriVance used in
photograph galleries, it rolled helplessly
about on his shoulders like football.
His arms dropped at his side, but with the
aid of the muscle he was enabled to partly
raise the forearm, although the hand
curled over Imply, and gave the whole a
sort Of Zlgzag shape. He shutfied off his
slipper and requested 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 lis
natural shape, but it was fully a half hour
before he was able to get the foot into mis-
slipper again.
perhaps you would like to tie my leg
in knot:'
l found no difficulty in performing this
feat, while my friend accomplished the
same with the other leg, and after we had
also tied knots in both his arms he pre-
scented a very knOtty problem, indeed, and
one that would have set profession al
cOntOrtiOnist crazy.
When we had unraveled all the knots
and Strengthened his limbs again. he re-
quested us to lift him gently from his
framework and place him upon the floor.
This we found no easy task, for his body
slipped, and 1t was only by securing a
firm grip upon his clothing that we man.
aged to keep HIM from falling. We finally
succeeded in Strengthening him out upon
the floor, and then my friend, who seemed
to thoroughly understand the homeless
mans programme, seized a barrel stand
ing near, and which | afterward learned
contained turnips, and swiftly Impending
it at once proceeded to roll it over the
PROSTATE Davis, from his toes UP to his
chin and again to his toes.
The only manifestation of pam he made
was when the barrel passed over his heart
and lungs, but it left him in a horrible
shape. | can only describe it by cOmpar-
ing it to that of man made of mud. and
tnen thrown up and flattened against a
wall. But had no time to contemplate
his flatness, as he almost Immediately
called to us in arather weak voice to roll
him up This we proceeded to do by
doubling mis- head over his chest and then
continuing to ''roll him up" as you would
a carpet, until we came to his feet, and
he formed a perfect cylinder about as
large as a half-barrel. A voice feebly
piped from the centre of the cylinder for
us to unrOll him, and we soon had him
once more spread out over the floor.
While his body was resumng its former
shape | learned from his old specialized
mother, who had sat during all these pro-
ceedings knitting in her rocking chair.
that Hector, who was 40 years old, had
always enjoyed excellent health, and pro-
viGed well for her until the beginning of
his peculiar affiictiOn two years ago. He
first observed a softening of the bones of
the toes, and this rapidly spread to all
parts of his anatomy, although, beyond
making him helpless, he never expert
enced any inconvenience from it. All his
vital organs performed their functions
properly, and she believed he would live
to a good old age. She had younger
son, then in the field at work, who assist
ed her in handling him, and altogether
they got along quite comfortably. She
did not know what the doctors might
think of Hector, as she chad not seen a
doctor up in them thar bills for nigh onto
twenty year." After my friend and had
replaced the homeless man in his frame
work we babe him goodbye and came
away.