Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1872-11-16
Story of a Singular Character.

On drive with some friends over
Pomfret Hills, c., the other day, we
called on a singular character-.a man
who is 30 years old, who is deaf, dumb
and blind. Whether he would have
been dumb or not had he been blessed
with the sense of hearing, it is impossi.
BILE to tell, but his glimmerings of intel.
lect are evidently rather feeble. The
man is we'll developed physically; is of
ordinary height has stout, thick neck,
and looks strong and robust has never
eaten anything but milk; has never
milk. Thirty years on clear milk, and
with a neck like an OK, and apparently
| a muscular system to correspond. Can
we say now that milk is for babies and
calves, and not for strong men? This
man had full set of strong double
teeth clear round, and every one of
them had to be pulled out, as he tore
his clothes to pieces with them. AS he
didn't use them to chew his milk with,
he probably thought he must make
some use of them, as they were evi.
IDENTIFY made for something, and his
clothes furnished excellent material on
which to exercise them. Another pecu.
liarity of this strange being is, that
through all his life long he has chewed
rag-or rather, | should sly, has
gummed it since his strong teeth were
taken from him. From infancy his
mother has had to place rag in his
mouth as soon as he had taken his food.
She said he gave her no peace till she
put it back. He distinguished strangers
from the neighbors and those who had
visited him before. took hold of his
hand and he took it in both of his and
seemed to be considering; then he
passed his hand up the length of my
arm. and patted his head and chest and
made singular cultural noise. His
mother said that was his way of ex.
pressing joy-ot showing that he was
pleased. His principal enjoyment seems
to consist in having his mother get
through with her work and sit down by
his side. He has swing in the room,
in which he spends a good part of the
time swift ging. Sometimes when his
mother steps out, he will lock the door
so she can't get back again, which shows
that he has some wit about him, or
trickery at least. He is always very
wakeful at night, and rouses his mother
out OF bed many times in the night.
She says he has lived thus without
good nights rest for thirty years, with
the exception of Saturday and Sunday
nights. Every Saturday night he calms
down like lamb, and keeps that night
and all the Sunday after in the strict
letter of the old Blue laws" of Con.
necticut. His mother attributes this
hebdomadal to the fact that she changes
his clothes on S turday night. But it
is probably owing to the mere fact of
change from the ordinary routine. This
slight ripple of change is change to
him, and the rest sort of weekly land
mark in the dreary, monotonous blank
of his life. Perhaps through the cloud
and mists of his vacant mind he wei
comes this slight ripple, and thus in his
poor way computes the flight of time.
What meaneth it to such s mind as
this7 10 wake and sleep, to draw the
breath, to take pint of milk. The
sun goes round, the seasons change, but
naught of this knows he. Nations
arise and nations fall-'tis the same to
him. One dreary round, forever blank
will death improve his state2 The
bird that flies, the fish that swims, has
better life than this.-COrrespondencc Of
the Hartford Times.