Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1895-12-19
CURED BY CAT HIDES.


Thirty twe Cat Skins Applied Warm
and Dlsedy. Several Doctors Had
Abandoned Al Hope.
Thirty-two cats died recently in order
that Cleveland man, sick with pneumo-
mia, might live. At least the wife and
friends OF Robert II. Bonnallie. insist that
the cats, through their warm skins fresh
from pulsatiug, living bodies, brought
Mr.. Bonnallie back from deaths door to
HE after all hope OF his recovery had been
abandoned by the physicians In charge Of
the case.
James Bell, friend OF the sick man,
Is responsible for the cat experiment.
Bell was a watcher In the sick room, and
when he heard the doctors agree that
death was matter OF only a few hours,
lie timidly suggested q remedy that he had
heard of years before, and one that he
had always regarded merely as an old
woman's superstition. This was that II
the skin OF cat he placed while warm
on the breast ola person i'll with pneu-
monia, the inflammation will be drawn
out Immediately When Bell suggested
the remedy to DR.. Reeses, who had
charge of the case, the only reply he re-
ceived was, ''well, it can certainly do no
HARM"
Emboldened by this tacit approval,
Bell went out and hustled for cat
There was, strange to say, no cat in the
Bonnallie household, so kindly dis
posed neighbor furnished pet tabby for
the experiment. Bell killed the cat, took
off the skin and applied it warm and
bloody to the sick mans chest. Though
the man was to all appearances dead
he had been unconscious for hours-the
result came quickly. Thirty seconds
after the application Of the warm cats
skim" says the Cleveland Plain Dealer,
''the patients facial expression changed;
from drawn, suffering appearance it re.
Taxed until a peaceful smile played around
the lips.
"'What in the dickens have they done
that makes me feel SD good? he exclaimed.
The patients condition became much
easier as the minutes passed. In the
natural course of events the heat passed
from the cats skin and the twitching OF
the patients face gave evidence of re-
turning pain"
BY that time another cat had been OBJ
tanned and its skin took the place of the
first one. The warmth renamed in the
skins for about an hour and the catskin
applications were kept up until thirty-two
cats had been sacrificed. The patient
was then declared out of danger, and
since then he has improved steadily and
rapidly until now he is convalescent.
The skins were applied with the raw hide
to the body. 1t was noticed that the best
results came from those skins that were
removed from the cats bodies before life
was extinct.
An interesting feature of this cat killing
is that nearly thirty Cleveland homes
were desolated of their pets, for the city
is not like New York and Brooklyn, over
run with homeless creatures that cry out
for extinction.
When the search for cat was begun
an appeal was made to several of the
neighbors, but in nearly every case the
cat was "A family pet and the solicitors
met with no encouragement during hunt
that lasted more than an hour. 1t was
late at night and a request Of that kind at
that hour was received in various ways.
Some thought it huge joke, others an
excuse by burglars to secure an entrance
to the house. Some of the persons
thought the request to be an insane freak
and turned the visitor away from the
door with scant ceremony. Where there
was child in the family was heard u
childish scream of horror, says the Plain
Dealer, as the youngster gathered her pet
kitty in her arms and ran away and hid
with the precious creature. Finally at
the home of David Roe on Eaton street
was found an animal for the sacrifice.
The Roes hated to give up their house
cat, beautiful maltese, but to save a
human life they consented to give it.
Soon the sympathies of several small
boys were enlisted and the town was
secured for cats. BEFORE the thirty-second
cat was killed the Bonnalie woodshed
contained hundreds of them ready for
the knife. They were released when MIR.
Bonnallie had recovered enough to show
that their hides were not needed. MIR.
and Mrs. Bonnallie are loud in their
praises of cats skins as cure for pneu-
mOnia