Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-02-26
Freak OF Nature.

The following article from the pen of
DR. Iceland, from Buffalo, contributed
TO the Andover Enterprise, will no doubt
be read with deep interest by medical
men, and prove, not without Spassing
interest to those outside of that profess
sion:
1t is rare indeed that anything occurs
in a hospital or medical school which
would be of interest TO the general realer.
But an incident occurred here yesterday
which seems TO me to be sufficiently note
worthy to bear reporting TO the public
generally.
While the medical class of the Uniyer-
sity of Buffalo were listening to a clinical
lecture in the amphitheatre of the Buffalo
Hospital of the Sisters of Charity, col
ored man of medium height aud middle
age and apparently in excellent health
presented himself at the door and asked
to be admitted for the purpose of .exhib-
iting himself before the class as "natur-
al curiosity" claiming TO be able to dislo-
cate his heart from its natural position in
the body at will.
Prof Thomas F. Rochester who was
delivering the lecture at the time, regard
receive him but finally consented to admit
him on condition that he should submit
to thorough examination. To this he
readily consented and was brought in,
stripped 10 the skin and his heart subject
ed tO.a careful examination under the
stethoscope by the Prof who pronounced
il in its natural position and apparently
healthy The man then drew himself up
to his full height and his bowels and in
fact the whole front part of his body was
thrown into peculiar wave-like motion
for short time when a large lump ap-
parently the size of the heart was seen to
descend beneath the skin from the left
breast TO the lower part of the left side of
the bowels. The stethOscope was then
applied and the heart found actually
beating in the lower part of the bowels
and no heart could be detected in the
left breast He then returned the heart
to its natural position and in the same
manner removed II 10 the right side of
the bowels. Returned II again and In the
same manner removed to the right breast.
To exhibit then his herculean strength
this curious creature passed a / bar of
iron 81 feet in length around the class
until We were satisfied that it was solid
iron and then taking 1t in his right hand
he extended his lett arm from his body
and with a sweeping blow struck the rod
across his arm and the heavy bar bent
over the arm like rod of putty.
Prof Rochester, after having the phe-
nomena repeated over and over and sub
jecting the man to very careful exam
ination, pronounced the performance
genuine, and frankly acknowledged him
sell unable to account for such singular
freak of nature.
To every student of anatomy, who has
with the dissecting knife and forceps, pa
tiently and carefully examined the human
heart and its relations in the chest, this
statement will seem almost absurd, but
have stated the facts unexaggerated as
they actually occurred, and, like our
teacher, offer no solution TO the mystery.
1t seems also that there can be no room
for deception for 1t will be remembered
that DR.. Rochester stands at the head of
the medical profession in Western New
York, and indeed has been recently
elected President of the New York State
Medical Society at Albany.