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Show Eel Sit Ins for Rheumatism. "Give me two large eel skins," said a young woman who entered a North End drug store at the time a Globe man happened hap-pened to be qucncliing his thirst at the soda fountain. "Eel sl;ins!" said The Globa man to the clerk, when the young lady had left with her purchase. "What does she want of eel skins:" "Rheumatism," said the drug clerk. "You'd be surprised at tho number of people who use eel skins for rheumatism. rheuma-tism. I know an old man whose arms and legs are completely strapped with them, and he believes that they prolong his life. We have more or less call for them, but 1 understand that up town stores don't keep them, although once in a while their customers ask for them. We get our skins of a fish dealer on Atlantic At-lantic avenue. Ilo purchasesthem from South Boston people, wliosell the skinned eels for food, and when the skins are dried, sell them to various customers. In many of the fish stores on Atlantic avenue you will see a bunch of the skins suspended from the wall by a hook. They are very oily and soft, and while I don't take much stock in them, numbers num-bers of people have implicit faith in them. I am told that there is a German family in South Boston that sells these eel skins to various people throughout the United States and realizes a snug little income therefrom." Boston Glole |