Curing a Cold

CHAPTER ONE

The First Sneeze'

When the White House of Virginia City, Nevada burnt down, I lost my home, my happiness, my health and my trunk. The loss of my home and my happiness was not a problem. A home without a mother or a sister who care for you isn't really a home. The loss of my happiness was not a problem either. I am not a poet, and so I am usually a happy person.

But the loss of my good health and of my handsome trunk was a serious problem. On the day of the fire, I caught a terrible cold.

The first time I began to sneeze, a friend told me to put my feet in hot water and then go to bed. I did this.

The next day, another friend advised me to take a cold shower. I did this too.

After an hour, another friend told me to eat a big quantity of good food. So I went to a new restaurant and started to eat everything I saw. The owner of the restaurant asked me if the people of Virginia City often had colds. I answered that they did. He then went outside, took down the new sign and closed the restaurant.

That day I met another good friend. He told me that I must drink a bottle of warm salt water. This was the only remedy to cure a cold. I tried it and the result was surprising. I threw up everything I had in my stomach!

I will never drink warm salt water again! And I will never advise anyone to do so. I prefer being in a California earthquake, than drinking a bottle of warm salt water. This horrible remedy did not cure my cold, and it made my stomach sick for some time.

I continued to sneeze violently, to blow my nose and to destroy handkerchiefs. My suffering grew.