VETERINARIAN ERRS IN HIS DIAGNOSIS 
Some farmers and cattle men once complained to the writer 
about a peculiar malady with which their cattle had become 
infected, describing the symptoms in detail. When their losses 
continued mounting, and the malady showed no sign of abating 
they called the nearest veterinarian, who visited their herd, 
accompanied by their county agent. As I recall, rabies was 
their diagnosis, but these farmers and cattle raisers had their 
suspicions. They could not determine the source of the infec¬ 
tion whenever another highly prized cow became ill and pres¬ 
ently died. The infected cattle would appear first in one farm¬ 
er’s herd, then in that of another. In a herd where the last 
infection was noted there might be no new deaths for months, 
but his neighbor would become the victim of this mysterious 
malady. It was an occasion for genuine alarm when such losses 
had attained the impressive total of one thousand dollars or 
more. One farmer had lost a pedigreed bull that cost him two 
hundred and fifty dollars. There appeared no help—the situ¬ 
ation was truly discouraging. 
Finally a member of this “suicide squad” took up residence 
in this community in the capacity of share-cropper. He was 
illiterate, and knew it. He, therefore, had no desire to criticize 
the professional verdict of these two graduates of college, but 
just the same he had his own ideas and opinions, but these he 
kept to himself until hibernating time. The first winter he 
hunted in this small community his efforts yielded him a half- 
dozen large rattlers. Needless to say, the infection quickly 
subsided. A diamond-back hates a cow and seldom permits 
one to pass within striking distance without administering a 
deadly injection of venom. They dislike the odor of cattle, 
and also live in constant fear of being cut with their sharp 
hoofs. 
Along the banks of the Ocmulgee River, which has its origin 
in the red hills of the State, and at a point not far distant from 
its confluence with the Oconee, lived a family of hardy pioneers 
whose forbears shared the bounty of the river swamps and 
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