Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-04-14
HE SMELLED THE SNAKE.
A STRANGE CASE OF WONDERFUL
HEREDITARY FACULTY.

how Hospital Assistant Was Affected
by the Presence of RattIer-The Doc.
tors Investigations and Conclusions
Therefrom.
"A few years ago." said a hospital
steward. 81 was employed in one of the
two hospitals supported by well known
mining company in Arizona for the care
OF its sick and injured employees. It
had over thousand employees, and the
casualties, great and small, sometimes
averaged one every day. SO that the sur
geon's Office was no sinecure. The COM
pany was not, however, entitled to cred
1t for benevolence, for it levied tax of
VI month on each of its employees,
stopping 1t out Of their pay, to support
the hospital, surgeons and nurses. The
head OF the service, DIR. Eckerson, con
tracted to bear all its expenses, so that it
was a good thing for the men, the com
pany and the physicians, although the
men paid it all.
Dr Eckerson was young man for
such responsible position He was a
Swede who had been thoroughly edu-
Gated in his own country and in Ger
many, and possessed the mechanical skill
and manual tact that made good sur
geon and the diagnostic intuition with
out which no man can be successful
physician. He was an enthusiast in his
profession and in the cognate sciences
botany, chemistry, physiology and espe-
cially comparative anatomy.
FELL IN A DEAD FAINT.
1.-The assistant in the other of the two
hospitals was young French Canadian
named Perot. He was reticent young
fellow, very pallid, but vigorous. He
possessed remarkable eyes, The iris had
singular way of changing color under
the influence of his physical, mental or
nervous conditions, and these changes
perceptibly altered the entire expression
of the mans face. We got so after a
little that we could fairly read his moods
by the color and expression of his eyes.
in spite of his reticence.
Zone day the doctor had an unco1n-
monty difficult operation to perform, and
both Perot and myself were summoned
to assist. When Perot entered the opera
ting room | noticed that his eyes changed
color repeatedly and rapidly as if he were
under some great excitement. In few
| seconds he complained Of being dizzy,
and before we realized the urgency of
action in his behalf he had dropped to
the floor in dead faint. The ordinary
means of restoration were Immediately
applied, but without avail, and Dr. Ecker
son ordered him removed to one of the
hospital wards and laid upon bed. Here.
| to our surprise, Perot at once came to
/ himself without further aid and declared
himself ready for duty
Upon our return to tie operating
room, however, Perots disturbed symp-
| toms at once returned. His eyeballs be-
came fixed and glazing, his breathing
| stertorous, and he would again have
swooned had we not caught him and re-
moved him from the room. The expert
ment was tried the third time, with the
same phenomenal result. Perot himself
| was at d loss to account for his condition.
He said he felt perfectly well and had no
repugnance for the scenes of the operat-
ing table, but directly he entered the
room the terrible symptoms We're at once
apparent
The doctor now set seriously to work
to investigate this strange case. He soon
came to the conclusion that the influence
that disturbed Perot was external to him
! self, and, as he had these attacks only in
the operating room, began to examine its
contents, condition and surroundings fol
the cause Of the extraordinary affection.
What seemed further to complicate the
case was the fact that Perot had fol
months frequented the room without ex-
| periencing any unusual sensation. Al
last l said to the doctor; Has any change
been made in this room recently? Al
first he said, No.
THE DOCTORS DISCOVERY.
Suddenly, with half smothered ex
clamation, he went TO his geological
cabinet. and, taking down a jar which
contained a live rattlesnake, which he had
purchased few days before from an In
dian, he examined it with curious ex
preston on his face.
The reptile was in this large jar
over the mouth of which q wire gauzt
cover mad been bound to permit the ad
mission of air The cabinet stood behint
curtain, and no one but the doctor
knew Of the snake in the room.
THE doctor caused the jar to be re
moved from the operating room, an(
called Perot in. To our astonishmen
none Of the previous unpleasant symp
toms appeared, Then the jar was car
RED into another room and secreted
Perot was summoned, and upon enter
ing the room the former distressin:
symptoms at once required. Wheneye
the Canadian was brought near the rep
tile he Went into this trance.
DIR Eckerson believed firmly in tn
influence of heredity on individual char
acteristics, and he began questioning
Perot about his family antecedents. Pc
rot said that his father was Canadian
Of mixed blood; his mother French
woman, who had died when he wa
about u years old. He recoiiected ne
as a woman of vivacious and happy TEN
permanent. He said that she had a grea
passion for flowers, and would in tn
autumn gather and dry large bouquets
declaring that they smelled as sweet t
her as when fresh. She also liked t
smell flowers which were perfectly in
odorous. These facts had been rivete
in Perot's memory by his fathers scoffin
= at her strange taste and by her persisten
defense of the same. This singularit
> seemed to have been the cause of II
small contention in the family and tai
among the neighbors.
The doctor was now convinced tina