A GOOD ELECTRIC EEL, 



Dr. R. V. Pierce, of Buffalo, gave the following interesting story : I 

 do not, as a rule, reveal any of my business secrets, but as we are all brother 

 anglers, and as my success in life is so closely identified with fish and fish- 

 ing, I will relate a little story, ' not necessarily for publication, but as a guar- 

 antee of good faith,' — to use the newspaper phrase. Many years ago, 

 before I became a practicing physician and specialist, I was fishing in a 

 certain locality which it is not necessary to name, as I might by so doing 

 give some shrewd practitioner a chance to establish himself as a competitor 

 in the same line of business with myself. 



After making a moderate catch 1 was about to give up fishing for the 

 day, when a strange fish took my bait, and upon attempting to remove it 

 from the hook I received a shock which convinced me that I had captin-ed 

 an electric eel, or more correctly, perhaps, an electric eel had captured me. 

 The violence of the electric shock nearly prostrated me, but I recovered 

 sufficiently to remove the eel from the hook, using a pair of gloves in doing 

 so. The fish seemed to be very intelligent, and I placed it in a pail of 

 water, and carefully took the specimen home alive. 



While a medical student I always had great faith in electricity, where 

 properly administered, and here was an opportunity to make use of the 

 magnetic current from a natural source. My first study was to com- 

 pletely domesticate and educate the electric eel. Within a short time the 

 eel, which I kept in a small tank, would come to me in response to a beck- 

 oning call, and by degrees I learned him to control the electrical power 

 which he would communicate to me, or through the medium of a wire, in 

 proportion to the amount of pressure brought to bear upon him. I now 

 began advertising my electrical cure for various diseases, and with the 

 eel concealed, yet under perfect control, I performed some almost mar- 

 velous cures, establishing my reputation throughout the United States. 

 The power of the fish in this direction developed wonderfully with prac- 

 tice, and by the aid of a few assistants and a simple system, I have treated 

 no less than one hundred patients at one time, the sole source of electric- 

 ity being my electric eel. 



At one time when the electric light plant of our city failed tempora- 

 rily, I offered my assistance, and for two nights supplied a brilliant light 

 to all portions of the city, but this proved to be a severe strain upon my 

 eel, and I would not repeat the experiment for love or money, as I value 

 the health of my medical assistant too highly. 



