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Spirit Rappings. the Man-Turtle: Man-Turtle

THE MAN-TURTLE. - The following truthful description of the Man-Turtle is from Geo. M. Payne, of Wabash, Ind.: In the almshouse of Cass County, Michigan, is a most wonderful freak of nature. This human monstrosity has been the inmate of the poor-house for more than a quarter of a century. His parents were fisherfolk. One day, while in a boat fishing, the mother allowed her fingers to touch the water; a hugh turtle, attracted by the movements of the fingers, leaped through the water and bit them. The mother never fully recovered from her terror, and a few months afterward her child was born with the form of a turtle.

At first its resemblance to a turtle was not apparent, but became more and more visible as age increased. The first turtlelike action noticeable was its continual creeping long after it could walk. Upon examination it was found that the joints of the limbs were double, and turned outward like those of a turtle. As the horrible truth dawned upon the mother the child became loathsome to her, and the intense grief over her unfortunate child probably hastened her death, which occurred in a short time. The husband soon followed his wife, and the child was sent to the poor-house.