Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-05-30
NO. So

the Davis cabin about nine 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 in
to conversation with him, and discover
ed him to be man of fair intelligence,
and eager to tell all about himself, i'm
voice that was as strong as my own. l
grasped his hand upon first entering, but
his fingers all rolled up together like
cabbage leaf, in mushy sort of way
that made me glad to let go of them.
Taking hold of his limbs they yielded
to the pressure until they were flatten-
ed out to twice their proper width. The
only indication of bone was in the skull,
which, while pliable almost as sole
leather, still offered akind of protection
to the poor fellows brain. His neck
was as timber as 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 upon
his shoulders like foot ball. 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 zlz-zag shape. He shuffied off
his slipper and requested me to step on
his foot. did so, and it at once spread
out until it looked as if railroad train
had passed over it. 1t slowly resumed
its natural shape, but it was fully half
hour before he was able to get the foot
in his slipper again. perhaps you
would like to tie my leg in knott" he
suggested. found no difficulty in per-
forming this feat, while my friend ac-
complished the same feat with the other
leg, and after we had also tied knots in
both his arms, he presented very knot
ty problem, indeed, and one that would
have set a professional contortionist
crazy, When we had unr2veled all the
knots and Strengthened his limbs again,
he requested us to lift him gently from
his framework and place him on the
floor. This was found no easy task, for
his body slipped about in our arms like
an eel, and it was only by securing a
firm grip upon his clothing that we
managed to keep him from falling. We
finally succeeded i'll Strengthening him
out upon the floor, and then my friend
who seemed to thoroughly understand
the boneless mans programme, seized a
barrel standing near, and which l af-
terward learned contained turnips, and,
up-ending it, at once proceeded to roll 1T
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 and lungs, but it left him
in horrible shape. / can only describe
it by comparing it to man made of
mud, and then thrown up and flattened
against wall. While his body was as
suming its former shape, learned from
his old specialized mother, who had sat
during all these proceedings, knitting
in her rocking chair, that Hector, who
was forty years old, had always enjoyed
excellent health, and provided well for
her until the beginning of his peculiar
affiictioH two years ago. He first OBJ
served a softening of the bones of his
toes, and this rapidly spread to all parts
of his anatomy, although, beyond MAX
ing him helpless, he never experienced
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 a younger
son, then in the field at work, who as
sisted her in handling him, and, alto
gether, they got along quite comforta-
bly,. She did not know what the doc
tors might think of Hector, as she "had
not seen doctor up in them thar hills
for nigh on to twenty years"