The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1872-12-19
A HUMAN PHENOMENON.
A Man with q Portable. Heart. Re-
vOlving ReueIs and Two Set Of Ribs.

| From the Port Jervis Tri-States Union.
| The most remarkable specimen OF
| physical organizations We have ever seen
is Mr.. George Thomas, Brazilian, who
has been in Port Jervis since Thursday
| of last week. He has been exhibiting
himself in various places in the village,
and has puzzled not only the people but
physicians and surgeous--they are una
bic to understand his anatomy He can
move his heart to any part OF the body
at pleasure, and even stop its beating
for sixty seconds Ee has two sets OF
ribs, one of which he can move from It's
position to the front of the body covering
the abdomen. He causes a revolving
motion of the bowels, both upward and
downward, the obdomen undulating and
resembling the corrugating motions of a
flag or a piece of cloth when disturbed
By the wind. He can so arrest his
pulse that for short time one cannot
discern that he has any. Another won
derful thing that he does is to bend an
iron bar. 6ve-eights of an inch in thick
ness, by striking across his left arm. The
muscles of his arms he so consracts that
the flesh feels as hard as wood.
Mr. Thomas is certainly a wonderful
specimen of physical construction, and
he has puzzled the scientific men of the
world. At our request he called in our
Office yesterday and gave US bis history,
from which we CLEAN the following: ~
He was born in Brazil, South Ameri-
ca, on the 5th of March, 1920. His ia
ther WAS an Ethiopian and his mother
was spanish woman. When Four years
old he was taken to London, England by
his mother, aud was there examined by
Surgeon Kent. The latter took him to
Edinber Scotland, where he made au
ineision near the heart, and discovered
that he had no diaphragm, and that the
heart was not enclosed in a perlcardlum.
but is suspended by two cords instead of
one. Some years afterwards he was
given a like examination IN Paris by
Sugeon Louis, and with the same result
None of the scientific men of Europe
his structure, and they ad
our learned men could comprehend his
seen such creature. and could not un-
derstand his organization. 1t was in
1863 when he came here, and in 1865 he
he went back to Europe. In 1867 he
was at the Paris Exposition, and was ex-
dulueu ny SeFGTdi tmluout sui RoOuo,
among them Prot. Smith, of Baltimore.
Since that year ne has been in this
His home is in England, and
he says that he likes that country much
better than this-there he is treated as
a gentleman, here as worthless, travel
ing vagrant. He is not married, and his
parents are now dead. He has broth
er who is six feet three inches in height,
but who can contract himself SO that he
is but three feet three inches tall. This
is his only popularity. There vas moth
ing remarkable about their mother, but
the father was apparently destitute of
ribs The latter at one time-a great
many year ago-worked upon the Erie
canal, and lived in Lockport. George
has a cousin who can throw his left hip
to his right side and uace uersd. The
former is in good health, weighs los
pounds, is about five feet eight inches
in height, and appears to be not over
thirty years old.
Mr.. Thomas goes to Middletown to-
lay. He will visit Albany and return
to this village in three or four weeks,
soon after which he intends to bid fare
well to America.