Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1846-02-21
BY Iasser & EiseIy.
From the Water Cure Journal.
IIlsTORY OF VINCENT PHIEssNIrZ.

ny GAIT. CLARID0E.
Priessnitz's father was the proprietor of
| small farm upon which the establishment we
have been treating of is placed. He gave his
| son an education in accordance with the times
and place in which he lived but this was per.
haps limited, in consequence Of the blindness
! with which he Qhe ialher) was striken in his
advanced years, and Of Pressnitz's uncle being
| a priest, so that in early life the cares Of the
family and farm devnlved upon him. II is said
that al old man who used to practise the water
cure upon animals, and occasionally upon The
peasantry, was much encouraged by the elder
P,iessnitz that the latter invited him To in
s'ruct his son, and that it was from this source
that Vincent Priessniiz obtained his first ideas
of the cold water cure. 1t would appear tha,
| S lrsia was destined by Providence to be the
spot whence this great boon to humanity should
extend itself 10 all nations; for so Tar back as
the year 1870, the great Dr. Hahn, who rcsid.
| ed at Scheidn z, about 80 miles from Graeien.
, berg, wrote book on the virtues OF cold water
both Tor drinking and curing Giseasc; but as the
! book was completely out OF print until found on
a book.s'all by Professor Oer,el in Bavaria,
! it is doubtful If Prir.sni,z ever obtained any
information from that source. Early in life,
whilst engaged in hay.making, an accident
which befl him was the principal cause oe the
| creates, blessings to suffering humanity he
was kicked in the face by horse which knock.
| ed him down. and the cart passing over his body
broke two Of his ribs A surgeon from Frei-
| waldau being called in, declared that he could
never be 50 cnr'd as to be fit fo7 work again.
Having always possessed great presence Of
mind. and an unusual degree of frmness, the
Young Priessntz not being pleascd with this
prognosicaton Of the doctor, and being some
what acquainted already with the treatment of
trifing wounds ~ the means Of cold water, he
determined 10 erdcavor TO cure himself. To
effect this, his first care was 10 replace his ribs,
and this he did by leaning with hi, abdomen
with all his might against a table or chair,
snd holding his breath so ns To swell out his
chest. This painful operation was attended
with the success he expected the ribs being
thus replaced, he applied vet cloths to the parts
effected, drank pleEtifuly of water, ate spariug-
IT, and remained in perfect repose. In ten days
lie was able To 90 out, and at the end OF year,
he WAS again at his occupo'ions in the fields.
The tame of this cxIraordinary cure soon
spread abroad amongst his neghborS, who 'me
to consult him when any accident occurred
BY means of treating their disease, and occa.
sonally those of cattle, he acquired a better
knowledge of the virtues Of water, and ventur
ed upon more serious cases. THIS soon gave
him renown, SO that his house was beset with
persons rich and poor, begging his advice. From
having watched so many diseases with his ob
T, serving eye and nqnrino mind he soon acqu
red the knowledge requisite TO detect them
by their symptoms. Having no remedy
but plain spring water, no theories 10 puzzle
:, his BRAIN and no guide but nature, which spoke
=. TO Rim the more clearly because there was NJ
r ar, to fe its voice. he soon perceived tho de
'ect of the present system of diet and mode O
b.. treating disease, and found out by various ap
+. pllca,lons of water, means OF remcdyng most u
those bodilycvils winch mar our happiness in life
Priessnlz's reLown snon brought down upoI
him the envy Of his neighbors and of the people
of Frewaldau, who we're very ready to becom'
! his prosecutors. Many imagined that an acces
:. ot strangers would enhance the pr ce Of comes
: tlbles, some were Jealous OF his fame, other
= imagined him possessed of an evil spirit. bu
:. foremost or most prominent ofhs adyersarie
d were the medical men. About this time h
: had eli, ced cures on great number Of people
y when the doctors resolving to put an end To HI
qu1ckery, as they called IT., dennunced hun 1
e the authorities at Vienna, alleging that In
spnnges used in abutions contained some med
cal property capable Of producing these won
detul cures which, iftrue, would have put hir
under the jurisdiction of the law Tie sponge
!, were decomposed, and the fallacy Of the allie
gaii1n rro9ed before tho tribunal, in questlo
as 10 the cure of certain miller. This man ha
y, " been martyr tor years to the gout The doc
tor declared that the man was indebted to hil
ne for his recovery, whilst in reality he had bee
/" y restored by Pricssniz. On being ques,lone
n. by the i,dge as to who had cured him, he n
&C. Piled. Both the doctor freed me Of my none!
so and Priessnilz of the gou,: !" this caused aug
re against the doctor, and put en- end TO all carl
We o the faculty.
N. The Austrian government. perhaps the m"
=" Jealous in Europe in allowing the sssembn
| ,r ba hot or