Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1873-12-16
STARTLING METAMORPHOsIS.
A Man Grows Five Inches in Eight Weeks.
An Appeal to the Law to Establish Identity-Ths
Most Remarkable Case on Record
From the Evansville journal.

! contains one of the strangest cases that | evel
| heard of, and one that is causing great excite
ment in this neighborhood because of its appa
rent impossibility, its plain inconsistency with
medical science as known to the doctors of oul
day, and its mysterious character, which places
it among the miracles
I Two years ago farmer started from this
neighborhood to go to Nashville, Tenn. HI
took with him several hundred dollars, trunk
of clothing, patent right model for a spring
bed, and several letters of introduction to par
ties in the South.
The last heard of him he was at Terra Haute
when he wrote that he was feeling i'll, but would
push on to Evansville, where he had an old
friend named David Weaver. with whom he in
tended to spend few days after which he would
proceed on his journey.
He was never heard of again. or at least such
is the claim of his wife and two sons, who are
now resisting the claims of stranger who pre-
tends to be the man. although he is eight inches
taller than Willis Peyton, the missing man has
brown, curly hair and luxuriant beard where.
as Peyton had light hair, nearly red, and very
scanty beard Another radical point Of differ
ence is, the claimant is sround-featured and has
an aquiline nose, while Peyton was thin, and
had large arched nose, and closely resembled
William Bedford, Jr, of your city, except in
the color of his hair. So far the case seems
simply specimen of artistic lying but the Sc
quel shows the strangeness of it.
About four months ago this man came to
this neighborhood, and entering the house oil
the widow PeytCn, as she is called, took seat,
and looking at Mrs. Peyton, said: Il suppose
you don't know me, Addie p
Mrs. Peyton answered: mo, sir; do not.
Who are you p
The stranger burst into tears, and said :
You II not believe me, know, when I tell
you; but it's got to come some time, and might
as we'll now as not. I'm Willis Peyton
Mrs. Peyton, who is woman of nerve and
doors, and he persisting that he was her bus
band, and causing trouble, was taken by her
sons and hired man to the nearest justice and
committed to jail as lunatic. The question
first arose on his sanity by commission of Ia
macy tried before surrogate, and it was deei-
ded that he was perfectly sane on his own tes-
tlmony, or rather on an examination of himself.
ln court he related to the surrogate circum-
stances that had occurred 10 his court years be-
fore told the lawyers many things of them
selves that stranger could not know; related
bis own family history, giving some minute de-
tails well known to all, and even reminded Mrs.
Peyton of words spoken during her courtship
that it seemed utterly impossible for any one
Uut uCt duu utI uUSUdUu W kujW.
His story, as related under oath, is that he
left Terre Haute on the train, and after short
time seemed to lose his senses, orat least lost
all consciousness ofwhat was transpriug around
him, but he thinks he was taken to hospital
10 Evansville, where he was sick with small
poX. From the hospital he was released in a
state of seml-consciousness, entirely bald and
toothless, his hair and teeth having fallen out
When he asked for his clothes they gave him
what appeared to be the clothes of smaller
man, his legs going through. the pants, and leav
ing from four to six inches below unprotected
He could get no trace of his money, watch,
or other effects; and. half crazy with morti6-
cation, he sought out his friend David Weav-
er, only to be spurned as an imposter trying
to SOW pestllence.
Weaver's remarks to him caused him to ex-
anime himself, and to his astonishment he
found that, although forty-two years of age,
he had grown five inches in eight weeks. This
was the solution of the repulse by his friends
and, feebly crawling along. kind hearted
person directed him to the engine-house
where he slept for three nights, and was
laughed at by the policemen and loungers for
his ridiculous appearance. He looked in a
glass at the station house, and although the glass
was bad one, he could see that he was much
altered. At first he thought he would drown
himself, he felt so miserable, but he concluded
to try and get home. On his way back he was
taken i'll again, and again the world was blank
to him. Where this sickness took place he
cannot tell, nor is he certain of any of the
events of the past two years after leaving Terre
Haute, except what occurred during few
days at Evansville, where he says watchman
at an engine-house was kind to him, and gave
him portion of his midnight lunch He is
now prosecuting his claim to be recognized as
Willis Peyton, and the best legal and medical
talent in the vicinity is engaged in the case.
He has thus far undergone severe scrutiny,
and Notwithstanding his claims are most ex-
traordinary, it seems probable that he will es-
tablish bis Identity The principal evidence
in his favor is several marks and scars on his
person When he was lad he received Sc
we're cut on the instep. which left bad scar.
This scar is on the claimant, but is longer than
the original. He had tattoo-mark of an
American shield on his right arm, and this ap-
pears on the claimant, but out of proportion.
and On his left arm an anchor, which is also
elongated ,ut of due proportion. Peyton had
also very curious scar on one of his fingers,
disfgured by being crushed in a cogwheel. A
close and critical examination of this finger by
the physician who dressed it inclines that gen.
tleman to say that it is tho finger of Willis
Peyton, and remark made by the claimant
while the doctor was examining him made him
certain. Said he: Doctor, do you recollect
how sick was made by a sight of that finger
when you and mother were dressing it one day
| and do you recollect how [ came to you one
day to know what would take the Inflammation
out Of my arm where | was tattooed by Jim
Bayne the sailor?" The old doctor says Jim
Bayne wrought angles and anchors on the arms
of all the boys around, and he well remembered
how sore Willis Peyton's arm was, and the
circumstance of his fainting while his sore fin
ger was being dressed one day. When asked
why his nose is not as much longer than the
rest of his body, the physicians say that the
elongating process did not reach the nose, and
the stretching Of the face otherwise drew it out
of shape But they cannot account for the
changed color of the hair and the luxuriousness
of its growth.
It is painful to witness the effect of all this
upon Mrs. Peyton. She sits in the courtroom,
looking at the claimant, and frequently bursts
into tears as some of the witnesses avow their
belief that the man is Willis Peyton She says
if he is really Peyton he may have the farm
the stock, and everything but herself and chill
dren, but she can never recognize him. Some
times he will implore her to look again, and
see if she cannot recognize one feature and
acknowledge him as her husband, but she re-
| fused, and he is almost in despair. He has moi
attempted to annoy her any other way than by
| the suit since he was expelled from the place
but looks for determination of the suit in his
| favor, in which case he declares his intention
to only have his living from the property, and
never intrude upon his wife or disturb his sons
unless they voluntarily recognize him.
Another evidence of his claim is that he will
| ont ho