The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1853-10-20
The Man Whc has slept Five years.

VINO has been asleep 1Or nVe years, anu
whose case was detailed in the Times
some weeks since. We found him in what
seemed like sound sleep. He was lying
in bed, his eyes nearly closed, his respi-
ration rather slower than is usual, his
breathing little stertorous, pulse some
seyenty-fve strokes in a minute, soft and
weak. On attempting to open his eyes,
he firmly closed them, and when, by
force, the lids were opened, the eyes were
rolled upward so that it was impossible
to see the pupils. The mouth was slight
Iy opened; on attempting to open it wider
the jaws were instantly locked. There
was a constant tremor of the eyelids, and
from his mouth there was some drivel-
ling, His body was extremely emaciated:
his arms were folded upon his breast, and
any attempt to remove them was strongly
resisted. The mucles seemed rigid and
tense when the effort was made, and in
deed it was impossible, without violence,
to change at all the position of his limbs.
Once during our stay, he drew a long
! breath, like a man who is about to turn
in his sleep. At another time, he hitched
himself up little in bed lie was lifted
up bodily and seated on the side of the
bed; his head was still bent forward upon
his chest, his legs crooked under him at
the same angle, and his arms folded as
when he was lying, There was nothing
to indicate that he would not retain the
same position for weeks. We lifted one
foot, the other came up with it. There
was little or no bending at the knee, or
at the hip; the feet were raised only as
the upper part of the body was carried
backwards. He was placed standing u
pom the floor 1trcquired few moments
to balance him exactly; after that, he
stood in the same position so long as we
remained; there was nothing to indicate
that he would not maintain the same pos
ture for q month
This certainly is a most marvellous
case. There is not the slightest chance
for any collision or deception in the mat
ter. Many of our best physicians have
examined him,-none, so far as we can
hear, believe any deception in the case to
be possible. From physicians in the
Western prat of n. York, and from men of
the highest standing, we arc assured that
the story which is told of him is per-
fectly true.
Though we have given history of it
before, brief restatement is warranted
by the interest created by presence here.
His name is Cornelius Yroman; he was
born in Schoharie county, but has lived
since he was seventeen years of age in
Clarkson, Monroe county, not far from
Rochester. He was a hard working man,
good worker, temperate, trusty, and at
the time when his strange sleep came on,
he was working on the farm of Mr. Mo-
ses Jennings. His mother is dead; he
has a father and two brothers living in
Clarkson. On the 10Th of June 1849, he
felt unwell enough to call in DR.. John S.
Cole, who found him complaining of some
pain in the stomach and in the head, for
which he prescribed. After this, without
becoming any more sick, his sleep each
night grew longer, until at last it was
found impossible to wake him. Out of
this sleep he has never come, to remain
wakeful for more than sixteen hours at a
time; and the aggregate of all his waking
hours since the seizure is not over three
days. At first they were oftener, but
now the waking intervals recur about ev-
cry six weeks. The last time he awoke
was while he was in Rochester, some ten
weeks since, which gives US a hope that
his waking hour now approaches, and that
we may see see him in his wakeful condi-
ton. When awake, he seems totally un-
conscious of his peculiarity, and has said
some things which indicate that he remem-
bers matters as they were before his
change They say that he straightens
himself up then, and walks as limberly as
others. Yet now to handle his limbs, we
fear that they must be partially anchy-
losed. But on this point We are not sat
iSfactorily informed.
His diet consits principally of milk,
sometimes with little bread soaked III it.
1t is with some difficulty that it can be
administered. The jaws must be forced
open as in tetanus, and the liquid poured
in between his teeth. Once he went with