Mower County transcript., 1871-08-03
Curious Sleepers.

SLEEP is nearly as great puzzle as ever
it was Much has been discovered con.
cerniDg the bodily peculiarities manifested
during this portion Of our existence; but
all whose opinions are best worth listen.
ing TO admit that they are only ON the
threshold Of the subject yet. Why, for
instance, can some men maintain their
bodily and mental vigOr with 80 small an
amount of sleeps as falls to their sharcy
Lord Brougham, and many other great
statesmen and lawyers, are known to
have been content with a marvelously
small quantity of sleep. Frs derrick the
Great is said to have allowed himself only
five hours; John Hunter, five hours;
General Elliot, the hero of Gibraltar, four
hours; while Wellington, during the Pen.
insular War, had still less.
How, on the other hand, toaccount for the
cormorant sleepers? Do Moivre, the mathe
matician, could (though it is to be hoped
he did not) sleep twenty hours out of the
twenty-fOur. Quin, the actor, sometimes
slept for twenty four hours at stretch Dr.
Reid, the metaphysician, could 50 manage
that one potent meal, followed by one long
and sound sleep, would last him for two
days. Old Parr's slept away his latter days
almost entirely. In the middle of the last
century young French woman, at Tou-
louise, had, for half year, fits of
Heightened sleep, varying from three to
thirteen days each. About the came time,
girl, at Newcastle. on-Tyne, slept four
teen weeks without waking; and the
waking process occupied three days to
complete Doctor Blanchct, of Paris,
mentions the case of a lady who slept for
twenty days together when she was about
eighteen years of age, fifty when she was
about twenty, and had nearly whole
years sleep from Easter Sunday, 1862, till
March, 1868 ;during this long sleep (Which
physicians call hysteric coma) she was fed
with milk and soup, one of her front teeth
being extracted to obtain an opening into
her mouth. Stow, in his Chronicle" tells
us that "The 9th of April, 1916, being
Tuesdaie in Easter Wceke, W. Foxley,
potmaker for the Mint in the Tower of
London, fell asleep, and SO continued
sleeping, and could not be walked with
pricking, cramping, or otherwise, till the
first day of the next term, which was full
fourteen dayes and fifteen nights. The
causes of his thus sleeping could not be
knOwne, tho the same were diligentlie
searched for by the kings physicians and
other learned men !; yea, the king himselfe
examined ye said W. Foxley, who was in
all points found at his waking to bc as if
he had slept but one night"
Another very notable instance was that
of Samuel Chiffon, of Timsbury, recorded
in one OF the volumes Of the "Philosoph-
ical Transactions Of the Royal society"
In the year 1894 he slept for month, and
no one could wake him. Later in the
same year he had a four months sleep,
from April the 9th to August the 7th he
woke, dressed, went out into the fields
| (where he worked as laborer), and found
bis companions reaping the corn which
he had helped to SOW the day before his
long nap; it was not till that moment that
| he knew of his sleep having exceeded the
to sleep again on the 18th of August, and
did not wake till the 10Th of November,
Notwithstanding the pungent applications
of hcllebore and sal ammoniac to his nos
trils, and bleeding to the extent of four,
teen ounces. He woke, asked for bread
and cheese, but went off to sleep again be-
fore it could be brought to him, taking
another spell of sleep, which lasted till
the end OF January. After this it is not
recorded that he had any more of these
strange relapses.
Tn, re arc instances Of sleep 50 intensely
deep rs to deprive the slcepcf" of all sense
of pain. The records of the Bristol In
Urinary present HI extraordinary illustra-
ton of this. One cold night q tramp lay
down near The warmth of a ]imckiln, and
went to sleep. One f,ot must have been
close to the fire hole of the kiln; for dur.
ing the night the foot and ankle was sc
completely burned away as to leave moth
ing but black cinder and calcircd ash. HI
did not wake till the kiln man reused him
next morning. nor did he know what had
occurred until he looked down at his char
red stump. lie died in the infrnary &
fortnight aftcrwards-Scintifc american
A PERSON walking through the streets
of Charleston, s. G., will see a large black
turkey .buzzard here and there quarrclinq
with dog about the possession of a bone
These turkey .buzzalds, or carrion birds as
they are more familiarity known, are one
Of tue institutions of the city, and arc al
tame and uOcile as the common cur dog!
which wander through the streets. They
have been in the habit of visiting the city
Ter almost century past, and have becOn(
SO useful that the laws Of the State pro
hibit any interfer nee whatever with them
The children, dogs, poultry and all Other
street habitucs are on intimate terms with
them. They are very industrious, and Cal
be depended upon to clean the city Of al
refuse and filth which may be throw,,up,
the streets. They live IL mile or two GU
in the country, and spend heirdays in thu
city, around the market, where they dev
our the 0tfal as soon as the butchers throw
it in the street. They are pronounced b,
those who have tried them to be the bcs
scavcDgcrs in the world.
"A case involving the right of aliens
as heirs has lately been decided by the Su
perior Court Of Kings County, New York
In February, 1870, one Edward Dohcrty
a naturaliztd citizen Of the United States
died possessed Of Brooklyn real cstat,
valued at $4,000, and left no wife o.
children. At the time Of his death thrc,
brothers and two sisters resided in Ireland
and were aliens, while one sister, AM
Gleason, resided in California, and wa!
married to citizen of this country On'
of the brothers came to this country am
began an action to recover his share o
tue property. Ann Gleason defended the
suit, and claimed that she was entitled t.
the whole of the property, because tho
deceased died a citizen Of the Uuict
States and she, being married to citizen
was q citizen also; while the other hrnthcr
and sisters, being aliens, could not inhcri
any real estate from their dcccaSct
brother, and this view has been sustained
by tho court.
--Gcorgc w. Chambers Of Staten 1slant
achieved the other day, the quite remark
able boat feat Of rowing UP the Hudso,
River I" Newburg-a distance of IS miles
in rs hours and 45 minutes
There ia house in Tnlland County
Conn.,. on the walls nf which still remaiD'
paper which has been there since 1887
when the house WAS built.
Who was the wisest man? Kmwcr
What did he know? lie knew enough tt
90 in out of the rain
Why is the tr, atmlll like u tr,lc con
vert? Answcr-Bccause It's turning is tht
result Of conviction.
People say iron natures never weep
and vet have Sprn whole r.,wu nf Inn