The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-02-07

| perfect physical condition he could not
have survived.
thus told by the sufferer. Edward w. Ho-
ban. aged IS. an old indian fighter of the
Second Cavalry. who served In the North
west under General I'm Mes and was PRES
the massacres Of the Upper Missouri
River.
1t was the years of service on the plains.
hardsh.ps of severe campaigning. often
without sufficient food or water for Ions
periods. that made him a man of iron,
fearless Of danger and eager for the wild
est adventures of hunting down the b'ood-
thirsty Sioux-swimming. rivers amid
whistline bullets. riding days and nights
along treacherous trails and through desc
late cCnUHS in Sea~rh of the redskins.
Seven years of this strenuous warfare OH
the plains. the constant straining of eyes
in scanning horizon ard landscape. the
glare of the sun on burning stretches of
a kali in summer Il the binding reiec.
ton of the sun or snow in winter affected
the soldiers eyesight. He thus tells the
Story:
Eminent specialists said the trouble
was caused by atrophy of the optic nerve,
and. finding ordinary methods useless.
strychnine was prescribed as a possible
muscles and quicken the nerves and Veins
feeding the optic nerve.
DID NOT FEAR ORDEAL.
Having been accustomed to danger all
my life. l thought little of the ordeal and
resolved to risk it. notwithstanding my ex-
perience on the plains. where wild animals
are poisoned with fearful results.
The thought of big doses causes one to
hesitate in taking poison of that character.
But able physicians said it Vas my only
chance for recovery, and being a soldier
l obeyed orders and was determined to
save my eyes regardless of pain or mem
ace. The doses were constantly incre lsad
and convulsive symptoms kept returning
with growing violence. L realized that the
drug or ! would have to succumb In time
Finally. to increase the effect of the
strychnine. doses were given me by inJec-
ton through the skin near the eyes on
either side of my face.
The marks OF the punctureS remain to
this day rs a memento of the torture /
endured during the treatment.
The effect Of strychnine is doubled
when injected into the ~blood-that is. a
half-grain dose becomes a full grain when
injected. As a half grain of strychnine
tablet is sufficient to kill the strongest
man. one can imagine what ! suffered in
receiving a daily dose equal to one and a
third grain of the poison
This increased my daily attacks and
brought a crisis. with commissions rackirg
as If | were being pulled and twisted a
thousand ways at once by machinery in
the hands of an iaquisitor.
such was my condition when / imaR-
ined my sight was perhaps getting a lit
tie better and I thought l could see n lit
tie more light through my blinded eyes
One day 1 fancied I could walk on the
street with a cane without the usual at
tendance of some member of my family.
So l ventured forth.
Il remember I was picking my way
along fremont avenue when the blow fell.
l instinctively seized hold of an iron fence
were In the. hands of Indians about to
scalp me. In the midst of my efforts to
cling to the fence a new terror came.
FELL TO THE PAVEMENT.
Il felt n hand of iron at my throat.
Then something like n steel collar. tight |
ening every instant, cut off my breath. /
tried to scream for some one to loosen my
SHIRT; when %.tu1nbled to the pavement
and lost consciousness. At this moment
my daughter, who had missed me at the
house. came running up the avenue and
explained the situation to the b~ystanders.
"A doctor was summoned and it took
SIX strong men and Il wagon to carry me
to the house.
Just before the journey began an at
tempt was made TO resuscitate me, and /
came to my senses enough to see things as
in a nightmare.
Il remember that 1 saw a vista stretch
seemed TO have no end. and 1t grew Steep
er every minute. falling down into a
trishtful abyss, and / saw that / was to
De carried to the end before | could begin
to ascend to my room on the second floor
OF the house. The most fearful torture
enc could maSine was sweet and pleas
go Will lHt lfelllS ina 1 then
experienced for what seemed a year. Then
1 thought / had died.
When i revived ] saw myself beginning
the ascent. The steepness seemed more
terrible than the descent. Mountains and
precipices reaching to the sky. such as
you see in the Rockies. were a level eoor
with the trip l was making. At
any minute I expected to drop to the bot
tom. but after indispensable terrors
reached the end of the journey, tainted. |
and the next I remember was my wife
pending. over me, Whispering: No more
strychnine. Edward. You have taken YOU
last dose.
Then came oblivion. then horrible
dreams, and everything that had occurred
IN my life of a frightful character was re-
hearsed again and again. You can imag-
Inc now grateful ! was when / awoke and
real!Zed that / was on earth once more, |
still alive. in n.y. own home. Ny cry was |
water, How delicious ii tasted.
FROM STRYCHNINE TO WHISKY.
1T was easy to say No more strych-
nine but how? To stop short off woul
mean death. Fortunately whisky would
take its place. and it was prescribed as a |