The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-06-26
kansas City Star.J

kansas City start
A wonderful case Of vegetable growth
and multiplication in human flesh that has
the attention of many of the most .
prominent physicians in the land is to be 4
found in the town of Olathe, few miles
south of this city, on the Fort Scott road
Having heard that there was a lady in that
city who had spec es Of the cactus plant
growing out of her body, the result Of an
accident which lodged few Of the briers
in her hand, an EUentHg Star reporter WIS.,
tied the little town yesterday and devoted
the day to an investigation Of what APP
peared to be an improbable story.
Knocking at the door of a pretty little
residence on a street in the rear of the Asy-
Ium Tor Deaf Mutes, the reporter was mes
by the lady of whom ne was in SEARCH
Mrs. Burnett. Mrs. Burnett is the wife o.
a well -to-do and prominent citizen Of Ola
the, and her son is a councilman IN AR
mourdale, Kansas City's suburb.
When she learned that her visit was Ia
search of information concerning her won"
derfuI case, she indicated her willingness
to cheerfully give its history. About five
years ago." she began, Il was changing
The position of a fower-pOt containing
cactus plant, when it fell, and in saving it
l touched the plant and got four of the
briers, not larger than needle-points, under
the nail Of the little finger on my right
hand. thought nothing Of it at the time,
but in few days my finger grew stlh,
and in a few weeks l lost the use
of my hand entirely. 1t was in Au-
gust that l got the briers in my finger,
and some time during the next spring,
sfter winter of terrible suffering with
my arm, which, like my hand, had become
brio hacran To
ofmy hand and arm. During that summer
picked out of my right hand and arm
thousands of cactus briers, although only
four had entered when the accident hap
pened. / did not wait for them to grow
out. l 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
or nay picking the plant continued to grow
and multiply, until my system was full of
cactus, 1 was fairly bristling with the
priekly hTieTs, 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 beginning to
sprout out of my heels. l waited until it
made its appearance above the skin, and
It out During these years, for the plant
has been constantly making its appearance
IA the past five years, l have suffered
trzgh1fully. / became broken down in
health and was unable TO sleep. If at
1suJJted 70 retire u seemed as though the
led were made Of needles standing on end.
4 nave walked my room for nights with my
bofty fairly tingiing from the effect Of the
terrible plant that was multiplying and
growing within me"
BAT yeu- certainty sought the aevlcs q
a pRysielan" interrupted 5he reporter.
Neither money nor 5itne we're spared IA
our attempts 10 effect a cure, OF at least re-
lief, for At was fast killing nae.
81 consulted some u the local pbysi-
clans. They laughed at tue eaetas theory
until they saw It's subsequent growth.
They told me that vegetable life could not
.-s. l o : it, r. ha ana Te q ,. bs ,,,,s
sicfans in the country. They were con-
Tinced 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. 1 tried this until it
threatened to kill me, and then abandoned
it. After the first year my health was so
broken down by the ravages of the awful
plant that only lived by constant tonics.
1t was a struggle for life, and for years the
cactus had the upper hand. Finally
found an old physician in Michigan who
recommended the use of an electric bat
terry. This device saved my life. By run
ming the sponges over my body l killed
the plant wherever it was near the sur
face. There are two currents in these bat
teries, the invigorating, or tonic, and the
Depicting For the benefit of any other
poor sufferer, remember that it is the de-
pIe5ing current of one of these batteries
that saves, and that alone"
ibid it cure you completely?"
"Oh, no. Only yesterday 1 picked ome
cactus out of my hand, and there is more
coming, but it is coming in smaller quaint
ties all the time. think it has been killed
by the electricity, or has naturally ex-
hausted itself in my system. 1 am re-
gaining the use of my arm, and for the
first time IN five years, and 1 feel as though
nv escape from death had been narrow"
''Did you ever hear of any other similar
case3"
"Only one, and that was a man who
stepped into a cactus bed in his bare feet
In few weeks his limbs resembled enor-
NOUS cactus stems, and it became neces-
sarv to amputate them. He died soon after
the operation was performed. But the
deadly character of the cactus is well
knewn among Western cattle-raisers. An
nually it kills thousands of horses, cows
and sheep. They touch it with their
tongues, and in few days they are living,
moving cactus plants, so rapidly it grows
It il always fatal in case of animals"
SIS it necessary to get the briers in the
flesh to cause the bad results"
"Yes, and it's only during the month OF
August, when the plant is seeding, that its
briers will come off. Unless it is touched
Just at this period it is not so dangerous
One of the most wonderful features of the
plant is the fact that it is almost indie
structible. My husband dug up our cactus
plants and let them lay in the sun away
from any earth for months, and even ther
they began to grow and flourish without 6
particle of earth to draw from. He then
placed them in an old brush heap and
burned the entire pile, cactus and all, but
the cactus was ready to take root and grow
as soon as the fire subsidized. This power OF
vitality they have is the secret of their
growth in human flesh, where no other
plant can live"
improbable as this case may apper, there
Is absolutely no doubt of its genuineness
Mr. and Mrs. Burnett are old and respected
citizens of Olathe, and by calling at their
home the skeptic can readily convince him.
self