Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-06-21
THE MARVEL OF NATURE.

AACHOIt VI NAhAA
nary Case-Accuratc Presentation
of Phenomena and "a Theory
Therefor.
A correspondent of the Knoxville
Wig has visited the wonderful sleepin.
woman of Obion county. From a lettel
written by him from Chattanooga, W,
extract the following:
The room into which entered was the
main living room of the dwelling; low
fire smouldered in the fire place. 1t was
Immediately rekindled. Two young wo.
men and young men were standing near
the door opening into the kitchen, back.
BY the fire sat haggard woman Some
thing on low, single wooden bedstead
at the end Of the room was constantly
Hoving. realized that l stood in the
chamber of disease. Ten minutes of
conversation with the prematurely old
woman bending over the fire, educed the
following facts which constitute the his
tory of her daughter,
SUSAN CAROLINE GoDsBY,
known as the Sleeping Beauty. She was
born the 18th of September, 1912, and is
now, consequently in her 2Sth year.
When child of five years, she was at
tackled with the chills and fever, common
10 the locality. A man by the name of
Wason was her physician. The usual
remedies failing, he proceeded to the
snost extraordinary known TO the practice.
The most powerful stimulants and opiates
were enforced upon the infant by an ig-
porani practitioner and scarcely more ig-
nOranl family. These were continued
until, after the lapse of a few months.
the child was thrown into the most vIo-
lent spasms, accompanied by extraordi-
nary cortortiOns. 1t was sometimes i'm
possible for men to hold her She clinch-
ed her hair and sprang until the palms of
her feet would touch the back of her
head This was treated by the man
Wason, With more drugs.
''What at this time was the usual prescrip-
ton every twenty four hours / asked.
"a teaspoonful of laudanum, a table
spoonful of ether, a piece of opium as
large as that" showing the end of her
bony thumb, ''and forty quinine pills F."
(equal to $40 grains.)
The spasms and commissions growing
worse, at the end Of three years, from
this terrible treatment, the wretched child,
twenty years ago last August sank into
comatose state, in which it still was sub
jected to this awful malpractice at the
hands of DR.. CowGn.
Both of the above physicians are dead.
Their victim has not stood upon her feet
since they first visited her, twenty-three
years ago. Her present doctor is one
Glover, who lives in the vicinity. In these
twenty-three years she has grown to be a
tall woman % feet 81 inches) and weighs
at the present time ninety-six pounds. She
has experienced the change common to
women and has been attacked during these
years by the whooping-cough, the measles
and the scarlet fever About three weeks
ago her right arm was psrslyzed, and this
physician is at present treating her for it
with u dressing of chloroform liniment
and tincture of iron internally!
BY THE BEDSIDE.
| approached the narrow couch of the
object whose restless STRINGS had parti-
ally controlled my attention during the
previous interviews. A slight odor of
chlOroform was noticeable as took my
seat 1t came from the bathing of lini-
ment on the paralyzed arm. For the first
time looked at
THR WONDERFUL SLEEPER,
and as soon as l saw her face, the feeling
OF responsiveness with which had regard
ed her vanished.
A fairer face | have not before seen
among wOmen-as much unlike the other
two children as was one of Joseph of
Nazareth's children unlike the others;
soft floods of brown hair, one discovered
tress of which held between my fingers
three feet from the floor which il touched;
q smooth, low, infsntine brow; long dark
eyelashes: a slight fragile nose; ears like
shells; a thin. small mouth, and chin
chiseled to delicscy. Her left arm, which
was, and is constantly trembling, loses it
self in one of those hands which are Civ
en- only to women, aud to them rarely
warm, soft, dimpled, elegant nails, which
never have been cut and never have
grown-and the outline of her arm be-
meath the night robe, with its blue veins
creeping out beneath the surface, and
disappearing into sacred recesses with a
grace that was almost YolGptuous. And,
gs she lay there, l thought that, save the
aever-resting hand, she might well re-
scmble the cold, carved statue to which
the old gods once gave life for him who
was at once her lover and her creator.
TESTS.
"Whst sleep! ~ | whispered.
at is not sleep nor death, was the re-
ply, 'Esnd yet she does not breathe"
''Not breath Impossible ~
owe are all willing you should be sat
isfed," said the mother.
Then, less to satisfy myself than the
public, perhaps, placed my finger be-
meath her nostrils. No lightest thrill of
air touched il, and her chin was set i'm
movcably as of a day old corpse. l
placed the filaments of feather over the
Convulsively closed lips. They were
motionless A hand lookinglass was on
the bureau. For One-minute held it be-
tween her nose and mouth. Its bright
surface was undimmed. l laid my hand
over her heart. 1t beat softly but regu-
larry. | held her trembling pulse, 1t
went on waVering, seventy-!hree beats in
the minute.
PHENOMENA.
''LOok at the clock, )" said my compani-
on at Is tWenty-three minutes past
II. In one minute you will see her head
reyoye rapidly from side TO side for ten
seconds. 1t will then be raised, and she
will let it fall six times, accompanying
each with moaning sound, six times in
as many seconds. She will then be
motionless six seconds. Then seven
more fallings Of the head, and she will at
once sink back upon her pillow and turn
her head as you see it now" This will
be in time thirty seconds.
| waited.
Precisely at the moment her head be-
gan TO spin suddenly and with swiftness
from side to side. Then she raised it; it
fell forward with the moan followed by
motionlessness and that again by moan,
when her head sank back upon its lefs
check and all was quiet as before.
'1n eleven minutes more continued
my prophetic companion, ''the same will
be repeated. You may then notice some
thing more. Sit where l am ION the side
of the bed, and take this moving hand in
yours. During these coming changes, she
will grasp your hand conyulsively, and
the grasp will remain until they are
ended. During the rapid motion of her
head, place your other hand beneath her
nOstrils. You will feel the warm air rush
ing out. When the head is raised, and
she makes the six gasping sounds, you
+ - II. i .,,r