OR, A TREATISE OX PILE. 123 



or indirectly," and that, also, "the cranium is often affected, seeming, for example, to be 

 unusually thick, dense and heavy." Then, what is there incredible in the idea that it 

 affects the skin and hair of the head. 



All that we have to say, in conclusion is do not decide upon the merit of our discovery 

 until you have examined the subject. 



" Finis coronat opus." 



OF THE DECAY AND DEATH OF PILE. It has been decreed by the Mighty Power which 

 confers vitality upon organism, that there shall always be a limit to its endurance ; and 

 hence we find that even where dissolution is not hastened by violence or disease, time 

 never fails gradually to bring life to a close. Whenever the connection between pile and its 

 vessels is in any way severed, the former dies, and then, like all effete matter, it inclines 

 to separate from the living organism. But the stalk of the hair may die, and the follicle 

 survive; in which case the hair may fall out, and a new one be produced. Whether the 

 follicle, after having been separated from its vessels, is ever resuscitated, or a new one pro- 

 duced, are (to say the least of them) doubtful questions, notwithstanding all that has been 

 asserted in books about the transplanting of hair. 



Hair which falls out of itself is dry, and ordinarily colorless, even when it has been 

 previously colored. Henle seems to think that we know nothing of the causes which 

 determine hair. But, admitting our knowledge upon that point to be scanty, still we may 

 reason upon the facts in relation to it, which experience has brought to light. We read 

 of a boy who was found wild, and his body is said to have been entirely covered with hair, 

 like one of the lower animals;* and among the savage race of Kurlians, there are indi- 

 viduals who have hair growing down the back and covering nearly the whole body . From 



* THE WILD WOMAN OP THE NAVIDAD. About a year since an account was published in the Victoria Advocate respecting 

 a strange creature, whose tracks had been discovered on the banks of the Navidad, near Texana. The footmarks of this 

 creature resembled those of a woman, and a report was circulated to the effect that a wild woman had made her retreat in the 

 forests of the Navidad. Within a few weeks several attempts have been made to capture this singular being. Mr. Glascock 

 pursued it for several days with dogs, and at one time approached so near it as to cast a lasso upon its shoulders. It, how- 

 ever, with great adroitness, eluded the snare, and fled to a dense thicket where it could not be traced. Mr. Glascock states 

 that he was near a small prairie enclosed by the border forests of the river, when the creature emerged from the woods 

 and ran across the prairie in full view. It was about five feet high, resembling a human being, but covered with hair of 

 reddish-brown color. In its hand it held a stick about six feet long, which it flourished from side to side, as if to regulate its 

 motions, and aid it when running at full speed. Its head and neck arc covered with very long hair, which streamed back- 

 ward in the wind. It ran with the speed of a deer and was soon out of sight. The dogs pursued it, and came so close upon 

 it at a small creek, that it was compelled to drop its stick, which was taken by its pursuers. This stick is about six feet 

 long, straight and smooth as if polished with glass. Several other persons have repeatedly seen the creature, and they all 

 concur in representing it as a human being, but so covered with shaggy hair as to resemble an ourang outang. It has 

 frequently approached the houses of the settlers in that neighborhood during the night and stole various articles ; among 

 other things it carried off a quantity of towels, one or two books, and has taken several pigs. One of its nests was found in 

 the forest, in which were several napkins, folded up just as they were taken. A bill for washing was also enclosed in tho 

 Bible. The footmarks of this strange being have often been traced in the bottom of the Navidad, but it has eluded all 

 attempts to capture it. The old settlers in (hat section say that these footmarks have been noticed for ten or twelve years, 

 and that several years ago there were other footmarks, indicating that three o'f these creatures were in company. Within the last 

 year the footmarks of only one have been noticed. Mr. Glascock intends to collect a pack of good hounds and resume the 

 pursuit, and he is confident that he will succeed in capturing it. [From flie Houston (Texas] Telegraph.] 



31 



