Evening star., 1909-05-23

of an old man: his ribs showed
as plainly as those of a starving
horse: the formerly rounded abdomen
was drawn in almost against the spine.
The trained eye of a scientist observed
these things; observed. too, that the
Mexican's lips had disappeared almost
as II they had been amputated. leaving
only low lines OF blackened. dried tis-
sue The teeth and gums projected like
those OF fiayed animal. but the flesh
of the gums was as black and dry as a
piece of 'jerked meat" The nose was
withered and shrunken to half its natural
length. and the lining OF the nostrils
In wfnkless stare, with the surround
ing skin shrunken and contracted SO
that it exposed the conjunctiva, itself
black as the mans gums.
The face was black as that of a negro;
the skin of the whole body had turned
ghastly. purplish, ashy gray. with great
livid blotches and streaks; feet and legs.
hands and arms. were scourged and
gashed and torn by thorns and sharp
rocks. Yet even the freshest Of the cuts
were as SO many scratches on dry leath-
er; not q trace Of blood showed. Pablo 8
bones and joints stood out like those of
one wasted by fever or an almost fatal
illness, but the sere. dry skin clung to
the frame of the man like shrunken
rawhide. From a weight of 155 pounds
he had fallen away until the wrecked.
thirst-tortured body weighed perhaps 115
pounds; he was deaf, blind. to all but
loud sounds and light and. dark: the
mucous membrane OF mouth and throat
was shriveled until in many places 1t
had cracked; but from the cracks, as
from the torn flesh OF the body. no
blood flowed. Back against the parched
palate lay the tongue, desiccated to a
mere bunch OF black integument, scarce
ly larger than the first joint OF the
thumb. His breathing was slow and spas
modic; his feet and hands vere OF the
temperature Of the air; no pulse could be
detected at the wrist, and there was ap-
parently no circulation below knees or
elbows while the beating of the heart
was slow. Irregular, fiuttering and al
most ceasing between the intervals of
the stertorous breathing
These were the observations made
while diligently ministerins to the ap-
Mexican could neither speak nor swallow.
and at first, when water was rubbed and
sluiced over his face. head. chest and
abdomen, the dried epidermis shed the
rawhide: shed it at first; and then soak
ed it greedily as dry sponge. Note. now.
the wonderful recuperative powers of this
Mexican; within half an hour feeble swal-
lowing mOt1OnS began; within an hOur
Pablo drank water and diluted whisky
though his stomach rejected most Of it
and In two hours he ate a bit Of bird
fricasee, with rice and shredded bacon.
Three hours after he was discovered. ap-
parently dead. he was able. with help, Of
course. to walk into camp.
BY that time the Mexican had swallow
ed and retained two and one-half ounces
of whisky. five ounces of water, and from
two to three ounces of food. His skin
and external tissues were saturated and
softened. circulation was being restored,
although sluggishly. to the extremities
and the numerous cuts and wounds began
at last to bleed. The mans voice also
began to return, cracked and breaking
from bass to a high. squeak
Ing falsetto. But not yet could he taste:
be begged continually for water. and
when 1t was put into his mouth, pro-
tested against the dust that his rescuers
were forcing him to swallow. Nor could
he recognize the taste of coffee. which
was given him in small quantities.
Pulse, respiration. sight. smell. hearing,
the sense Of feeling-all these
had the desert taken from Pablo. For
eight days had he wandered, with only
one days supply of water. Food and
clothes he had thrown away in his eff.
forts to tighten himself for the labor OF
seeking a way out of that pitiless trap,
where the sun devils dance all the day
and where the night>only brings q black.