Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1892-05-14

the drug into his system with a hypoder.
mic syringe about a year ago TO relieve 10
cal pain, and soon became what Is known
as "flend" When the collapse came he
was taking seventy-fve grains OF the drug
daily, and had reached frightful state oil
nervous exhaustion. An attempt il being
made To restore him to a normal condition
bya gradual reduction In the size OF the
doses, but the patients chances for life are
considered doubtful
A queer feature OF the cocaine habit Il
that the victims imagine that they are tor
mented with bugs. That Is DIR. Rothert's
delusion, but he has not gone to the ex.
tremes reached by fellow sufferer who
was recently cured. or this latter patient
the attending physician said:
HE was In terrible state at one time.
In his case the belief was that bugs had
crswled under his skin and were constant
ly moving about. He would shrug his
shoulders aud 90 through the most fearful
contortions In the effort to secure relief
from the imaginary insects. Sometimes
they were ants and other times Shiny bugs.
The.peculiar hallucination was productive
of awful agony. When finally his condi.
ton became such that further concealment
was impossible he was placed under the
treatment of the most eminent physicians
Of Cincinnati When they examined his
body a startling discovery was made. His
thighs and the lower parts OF his limbs
were found TO be scariiied In numerous
places. IL was evident that small patches
OF skin had been removed, and many of
them quite recently. The work had been
done with u sharp instrument.
Nothing was said to the patient, but he
was placed under close watch. One even
ing the attendent noiselessly entered the
door. He WAS surprised to see the patient
sitting in chair In the middle OF the
room. His head was bent over and he
seemed 70 be intently busy at something
His back was to the door, aud so quietly
had the nurse entered that the attention OF
the patient was not attracted Curious TO
solve the mystery, the attendant tiptoed to
one side until he had fairly good view
What do you think the 'fiend' was tioingf
He had taken small pair of tweezers and
d scalpei out of his case OF instruments
With the iron pincers he had raised the
skin, aud before the nurse could reach his
arm he had given II a whack with the seal.
pei, severing piece OF the cuticle nearly as
large as live cent piece.
He had started toward the window.
still holuihB the patcn OF SKIN IN the
tweezers, when the nurse touched him on
the shoulder He turned around with an
innocent, inquirinR look In answer to the
attendants questions he said that he mere
ly proposed to examine the particle under
his microscope. He talked very nationally,
saying that bugs had got in his skin and
were crawling around. He had frequently
examined them under the powerful mag
nifying glass, describing their shape and
appearance in the minutest detail. He
talked intelligently of the great annoyance
they had given him and of the peculiar dis.
ease with which he was afflicted. He even
grew enthusiastic over the good work he
was doing in the cause OF science, and said
he proposed to write an extended article
for leading medical magazine on the
symptoms and cause OF the new malady
and giving the results of his personal in
vestigation.n