A conjure doctor,
subsequently called in, was more prompt in his diagnosis. The man, he
said, was poisoned with a lizard, which at that very moment was lodged
somewhere in the patient's anatomy. The lizards and snakes in these
stories, by the way, are not confined to the usual ducts and cavities of
the human body, but seem to have freedom of movement throughout the
whole structure. This lizard, according to the "doctor," would start
from the man's shoulder, descend to his hand, return to the shoulder,
and pass down the side of the body to the leg. When it reached the calf
of the leg the lizard's head would appear right under the skin. After it
had been perceptible for three days the lizard was to be cut out with a
razor, or the man would die. Sure enough, the lizard manifested its
presence in the appointed place at the appointed time; but the patient
would not permit the surgery, and at the end of three days paid with
death the penalty of his obstinacy. Old Aunt Harriet told me, with
solemn earnestness, that she herself had taken a snake from her own arm,
in sections, after a similar experience.
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