The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1873-02-14
The Story OF a Singular Character.

On drive with souo friends over Pom
fret inns, u the other day, We called ON
singular character man who is thirty
years old, who is deaf. dumb and blind. =
Whether he would have been dumb or not
had he been blessed with the sense OF hear
ing. it is impossible to tell, but his gin-
mering, of intellect are evidently rather fec
bic. The man is well developed physically;
is OF ordinary height has stout, thick
neck, aud looks strong and robust has
usNer eaten anything but milk: has never
tasted water nor 4 particle of food bat milk.
Thirty years on clear milk, and 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 a
he tore his clothes to pieces with them
As he didn't use them to chew milk with,
he probably thoue ht lie must make some
use Of them, they were evidently made
Tor something, and his clothes furnished
excellent material onwhich toexercise them.
Another peculiarity Of this strange being
! is that through all his life long he has
chewed rag-or rather, should say. has
gummed it since his strong teeth were ia
ken from him. From infancy his mother
has had to place rag in his mouth a. soon
rs he had taken his food. She said he Cavo
her no peace till she put it back He dis
tinguished 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 nv
arm, and patted his head and chest and
made 4 singular cultural noise. His moth
er Raid that WAS his way Of expressing joy
of showing that he was pleased. His prin-
cipal enjoyment seems to consist in having
his mother get through with her work and
sit down by his side. He has a swing in
the room, in which he spends good part
of the time swinging. Sometimes when
his mother steps out, he win lock the aGS5r
50 that she can't get back again, which
shows that he has some wit about him, or
roguery at least. He is always very wake
full 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 Sat
urday and Sunday nights.
Every Saturday night he calms down
like lamb, and keeps that night and all
day Sunday after in the strict letter of the
''blue laws of Connecticut. His mother
attributes this hebdomadal to the fact that
she changes his clothes on Saturday 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 landmark in
the dreary. monotonous blank of his life.
Perhaps through the cloud and mist of his
vacant mind he welcomes this slight ripple,
and thus in his poor way computes tho
flight Of time. What meaneth it to such
a mind as this? To 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
al ise and nations fall-'tis the same to him.
One dreary round, forever blank-wilI
death improve his state The bird that
flies, the fish that swims, has better life
than this.