The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-02-04
A STALKING SLUMBERER.
a Young Doctor Sleeps While Play.
Ing the Base yf0l, Winning n Game
of Euchre and Dosing his Pasients-
Altogether Remarkable Somnambsz-
lisu,

Ing the Base SfOl, winning n Gam
AlfoEefher Remarkable somnambss
lism.
The following interesting history o
case of somnambuIisin, from TIN
Chicago Medical Journal, was furn
ished by DIR. j. A. Allen, formerly
professor in the Medical Department
of the Michigan University. Til,
went narrated occurred while he wa
employed i'll the University, ant
furnishes one of the most remarkabl,
cases on record:
1t was my fortune, during series
of years TO have under direct observa
ton case of somnambulism, in some
respects more remarkable than an,
upon record. The subject was fam
lily relative ard private medical stu
dent of my own.
The first time he was ever known
to walk in his sleep was in the spring
of 1917, Il ID the first attempt was an
unfortunate one, as he fell into stair
way unprotected By balusters, injur-
ing himself considerably, although
fracturing no bones. He had risen
and dressed himself, but when awak-
ened by his fall, was utterly Ignorant
of his whereabouts. | saw him few
moments afterward, and found moth
ing unusual. about him, but he re-
marked that he had not felt quite
well when he went to bed. For
some months subsequently he would
now and then get up, dress himself
and 90 about the house without any
apparent object, and, usually, after a
while return to his bed voluntarily
awakening in the morning with not
| the slightest recollection of even a
dream.
My Young friend was an enthusiast It
in music, and Il very respectable anna
teur. About the summer OF 1917, he
somewhat dilapidated base viol,
which was kind of heirloom in the
family, was brought into the house,
and he devoted spare moments to
learning how to play upon ii. Un-
fortunately, the antiquity of the i'll
strumcnt had told on its Keys, and
unless they were wPtted at each tim :
of use, it would not remain iii tune.
lie was determined. however, to COM
mand is notes, and succeeded. His
somnambulic walks, thereafter, led
him from the chamber TO the parlor.
and to the bass yiol, and the family
would be awakened i'll the small
hours by the inevitable turning-up
preclude. mingled with slipping of
the old keys, and quiet Objurgations
Oh his part. Sometimes the bridge
would fall down when the keys slip
ped, and sometimes string would
snap or escape from the keys: never
theiess, he would persevere, repair
damages, tunc-up and then excite all
varieties of music of which the ma
chine was capable, not unfrequently
accompanying it with his voice. All
this would be done in total darkness.
When any one entered the room with
a light, lie took not the least notice.
although when spoken to he would
reply in mouysyilables, or with coll
siderable asperity. He face was usu-
ally flushed, although sometimes pale
the features iminobilc aud passive,
the eye open, pupil dilated; the sur
face glazed, and the lids apparently
motiOnlcss. The extremities warm
and the pulse f!l', frequent and soft.
Very often the skin would be bathed
with free perspiration. Remarkably
sensitive to tllillations when awake,
there seemed total absence of reflex
movements from this cause, while in
the sOmnambulistic state.
As he extended his acquaintance
" ith music and musical Instruments,
his feats become wonderful. While
in attendance upon the medical col
leee at Laporte. the household looked
forward with high anticipaiiOns to
the hours when his skillful to"ch of
the mcIo5eon would WAKE. them. lie
had voice of the purest tone and
very considerable con pass, in fact, of
rare sweetness. | have enabled to
say from multitude of observations
that lie Played with II precision and
skill willie asleep that he could not
proximate while awake. Beside this,
he would execute n.usic which he had
heard, perhaps but once. the evening
previous or after long Intcrval-no
note of which he cou Jd recall in Il
waking moments. His memory here
seemed to be wonderfully exalted. 1t
interrupted he was irritable in the
extreme, but would go OH with his
music exactly from the point of inter
+. ption.
While attending lectures at Ann
Arbor. where | was then leciuring on
physiology, 1 requested his assistance
in enlarging some of the drawings illus
trative of minute anatomy and histOl-.
ogy, for use i'm class demonstrations.
He entered into the work with great
zeal, and proved very expert and rapid
of execution. One evening, previous
to the day OH which i was about to lee
ture on the kidney, i wished the cuts
i'm Carpenters Physiology" illustra-
ting the tubular arrangement, etc.,
made ready. He had an engagement
for the evening, but said he would try
and preprre them iD the morning.
During the night he rose, dressed him
self, playel few tunes on the guitar,
part of the time singing, land, by the
way, the guitar was about as dilapida- |
ted as the bass vioI noticed, and he had !
to knot one or two of the strings first |
and then arranged the drawing paper,
his India ink ard brushes, /
took the parallels and pencils and laid /
off the spaces, and worked for half an /
hour or more rapidly and perfectly, !
nearly completing the figures on pages /
596 and 597 of Carpenters Principles, I
in the edition of 1853. His were taken /
from previous edition not now in my
possession. These drawings are now i.i /
the series used for illustration in Rush
Medical College. Although we had
light in tle room while watching him,
he went OH with his work entirely re-
yardless of it. Before completing the
work, he went to bed and slept until the
usual hour in the morning. When at
he breakfast he asked if he had been
up in the night, as he had dreamed that
ne had. This was the only time he ev-
n remembered dreaming about being
in anything. He had by this
lime become so fully aware of his hab-
Is, that nothing of the sort astoDished
him. Shortly after this he went to
'pend the night with fellow-student,
,ut little after midnight he rose,
lressed himself, and went out, followed
~ the other gentleman, walked down
% the Exchange Hotel, where there
we're q number of his acquaintance
md others waiting for a train of cars
lue at that time. Some one rallied