A Kansas Women And A Cactus

- -- ...v HVMwm wi tuc imMj!;iinn ui uur readers who keep house plant, we pubüsli the followlng clipplng from the Kansas Star of a JHte date. Airs. O. A. Robiuson, of this city, lived near netghbor to the lady spoken of in the sketch, and vouches for the entire truth and cnnectnesg of the article. It s one of the most n-markable cases on record and de, H perusai ¦ A womlerful case of vegetable prowth and niultiplication in liiiin;in fleah tliat has Httracted the attentio r' manv of the most prominent pliysicians n the land is to be found in the town of Olathe, a tVnmiles south of this city, on the Fort Scott rond. Ha ving heard tliat there was a lady in that cily who had a species of the cactus plant growing out of her body the result of au accident, which Meed a few of the briers n her hand, an Evenlnjr Star reporter vii-iied the lite ie town yesterday and devoted the day to an investlgation of what appeared to be an imnrobable story. Knocking at the door of a prftty little resldence on a street in the rear of the asylum for deaf mutes, the reporter was met by the lady ot whom he watt In Seareh Mrs. iiurueti is the wife of wel] to do and prominent citizen of Olathe, and her son is a councilinan in Armourdule, Kansas City's subuib. Wlit-n 8he learned tSirt her was in search of infoiination concernir g her wonderful case, she indicated herwillingnesstocheerfuily give itshi.-tory. "About nve yciirs ago," slie bfgaii, "I w.is changa cactus plant, when it feil, and in saving it I louehed the plant and got four of the bnera, uot laig. r than ueedle pointe under the nall of the little finger on my rlght hand. I lüought nothing of it at the time, but in :i few days mv fineer began to grow stiff, and in a few' weeks I lost the use of my arm entirely. It was in August that 1 got the beien in my tinger, and ome time durinr the next spring, after a winter of terrible suffering vviih my arm, which, like my hand, had become paralyzed, cactus briers bean to grow out of my hand and arm Diiring me summer 1 picked out of my right hand and arm thousands of cactus briers ilthough only four had entexed when the accident happened. I dij not wait for them to grow out. I took a needie and for uionths and years did nothing but cut and piek the cactus off my h-.nid and :rm. At one time I had cut out enouch cactus this way to cover my :rpron front completely. In spite of my i)icking, the plant continued to grow and multiplv, until my system was full of cactus. I wás fairly bristling witli the pricklv briers which began making their appearance in my back and ühoulders. Fiually one dav I feit a peculiar stinging sensatiün in mv teet and examining them I foutul tliat the cactus was beginning to spront out of my heels. I waited until it made its appearance above the skin, and then, as in other instances, I began to cut it out. During these years, for the plant habeen constantly mnklng its appearance In the past five years, I have suff.;red friglitlully. Iï I altenipted to retire it eetnnd as thouirh the bed wcre made ot needies standing on etui. I huve walked my room for uights with ïuy body tairly tfirgling from tue effects of the terrible plant that was multlplyingand growing within me" 'But you certainly souuht the service 'Neither money or time were spared in our attempts to effect a cure, or at least relief, tor it was killing." "I consulted some of the l.est local physicians. They laughed at the cactus theory until they saw its subsequent growth. They told me that vegetable life could not multiply or grow in hum in flesh. I began to travel, cousultingmany of the best physicians in tlie cc untry. They wereconvinced of the nature ot the trouble, but were unable to taggest the proper remedy. Some of them rere in favor of burning the plant wilh acid. I tricd this until it thrcatened to kill me and then abandoned it. After the tir.-t year my bealth was go brciken down by the ravages of the awful plant that I only lived by constant tonics. It was a trugle for life, and for years the cactus h id the upper hand. Fin.illv I found an oíd physician in Michigan who recommumled the use of an electric batteiy. luis device saved my life. By running the ¦ponges over my body I kUled the plant wherever it was near the surface Theie are two currents In these batteries, tl. e iuvigorating, or tonic, and the depliting. the benetit of any dtlier poui .-uffeier renirmber that it is tlie depleting current of one of these batteries that savei, and that alone.'1 "Did it cure vou completely?"' "Oh, no. Only yesterday I picked some cactus out of my hand, and there is more cotninsr, but it u eomlnj in smaller quantities all tlie time. I thlnk it birB been killed by the eleclDcity, or lias n itur.illy exhausled itself in my system. I am reKaininir the use of my arm tur tbe flut time ia live years, and I teel ns tliough my escape f.-nm (Jea Ui bas been nanoiv." 'Did you ever hear of another similar case?" "Only one, and that was a m:in who Itepped loto :i cactus beú in his bare feet. In a few weeks his llmbs resenibled enorinous cactus sterns, and it becaine necessary to ampútate them. Ile dicJ soon after the operation was pefonned. JJut the deadly character of the cactus is well known imoriil western cattle ratsen. Anuually it kills thousands of hoi cows and shecp. They touch It with their longues, and in a few dajrs they are living, moving cactus plant?, so rapldly il grOWS. It is always fatal iu the i'.ise of animáis." '¦Is it necessary to get the briers iu the fiesh to cause the bad resul ts?1 'Yes, and it's only durins the month of August, when the plant is seeding, that its briers will come off. Uuless it is touched just at this period it i.s not so dangoroiHi One of the most wonderful features of the plant is the l'aet th.it t is almost indestructible. My busband dng up our cactus plants. and let them lie In the gun away from any earlh for miMths, and even then they hegan to KI wand liourish without a partiële of larth dr draw from. He theu placed them ld a big brush heap and burned the entire pile, cactus and all, but the cactus was ready to take root and grow as soon as the fire Hibdded. The nower of vitality thej' have is the secret of their growth in the human flesh, wherc no, other plant can live." Improbable as this case may npjwar there isabsolulelytnodoubtof iisgi'imineDSM. Mr. and Mrs. Hurnett aie ¦ I d and respected citi.ens ot Olathe, and by c.illiug at their home the skeptic cm readily convince hlmselC