GOPHER LORE.
§ 295. Scrofulous sores on the neck under the jaw are said to be caused by gophers. These animals can shoot at persons in a magical way with the tip of a species of grass, wounding them very mysteriously, the injured person being unconscious of the harm done till some time has elapsed. The place swells, splits open, and becomes very bad, affecting even the face of the sufferer. Few doctors can cure it. He who can relieve the patient pretends to extract pieces of grass from the neck, and then the person begins to recover. The people are so afraid of gophers that they go around the camp with their hands over their jaws. No one dares to go near a gopher hill except he or she be a mysterious person. Such a one can go near it and even touch it with impunity, as he has different remedies at his command.