Author. He wrote adventure novels, drawing from his experience as a reporter following the Northwest Mounted Police through the icy regions of Alaska and Canada. He was an ardent conservationist. Curwood was fishing in the Venice area of Florida when something bit or stung him on his thigh, in or through his rubber boots. It was first thought to have been a spider, but was never verified. According to a letter from his daughter, “He had an immediate reaction to this and was given different antitoxin in an effort to offset the reaction. Nothing seemed to work. Finally he had his driver take him back to Michigan. The spot where he was stung formed something similar to a carbuncle. This was lanced and treated eight times. He called in Dr. J. J. Haviland, as he was suffering from a severe sore throat. Dr. Haviland called in Dr. Harold A. Hume as a consulting physician later when his illness became more severe.” Dr. Haviland ordered complete bed rest, but Curwood, who was scheduled to testify before Congress on behalf of conservation, said that his thirty years of efforts in this regard was culminating in the Congressional hearings and that he had to go. Curwood did go to Washington and testify before Congress, but he returned home a very sick man. The infection had spread throughout his blood stream and he died a few days later.  Family links:  Parents:  James Moran Curwood (1837 – 1919)  Abigail E. Griffen Curwood (1845 – 1923)  Spouse:  Ethel M. Greenwood Curwood (1883 – 1965)*  Children:  Carlotta Curwood Tate (1903 – 1990)*  Viola Curwood Von Loutt (1906 – 1940)*  James Oliver Curwood (1911 – 1930)*  Siblings:  Amy Curwood Gaylord (1864 – 1932)*  Cora Alice Curwood (1866 – 1944)*  Charles E. Curwood (1869 – 1949)*  James Oliver Curwood (1878 – 1927) *Calculated relationshipCause of death: Infection following a bite