The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1878-10-10
The Oldest Man in the World.

London Telegraph. August 23.l
1t last the oldest inhabitant has turned
ups There is no doubt about the fairness
of his claim to this title, and no chance
that arival will soon appear, for this ven
cradle persons age exceeds by half cen
fury even that of old Parr, who is perfect
ly we'll known to have beaten every other
patriarch since the antediluvian days.
1t is, perhaps, a drawback that the newly
discovered centenarian, or rather duo cen
tenarian, is an American. One is inclined
to grudge that pushing and somewhat
"stuck-up" continent the biggest, oldest,
and oldest, as well as newest things. Rut
there is no help for it in this case. We
must bow to antiquity in the person of
the very cid fellow who has been described
by the correspondent of German paper.
He resides in the Republic of Columbia, a
State whose chief products seem to be to-
bacco. straw hats, monks, volcanoes and
arthquakes-chiefy the last-and he is a
half-caste. Miguel Soils by name AT
recent conference ofphyaicians in Bogota,
DIR. Louis Hernandes told how he had in.
teryiewed the patriarch. Soils, it appears,
is modest enough to claim IAN age of no
more than one hundred and eighty years,
but his neighbors, all Of whom, of course,
have known him from infancy, repudiate
the notion that he is such a youngster,
and loudly assert that he has overppssed
his second century. The evidence on the
point, it must be admitted, is not quite ex-
elusive. Tue Oldest inhabitants told DIR.
Hernandes that when they were boys So
lis had the reputation of being more
than century old, and confirmation of
this is said to be afforded by the fact that
a signature which Soils recognizes as his
own appears among list of contributors
to the cost of erecting the Convent of San
Sebastian in 1712, when he was sprightly
infant of fifty or thereabout-But, unfor-
tunately, as no witness of this interesting
signature can be found in the natural
course of th1ngs, the attestation turnsup-
on old Soils good it'll or his memory,
and, without being unckaritable, we may
fear that one or the other may be defective
For the rest, the aged curiosity is interest
ing enough. DR.. Hernandes found him in
good health and at work in his garden.
"His skin resembles parchment, and his
long snow-white hair was wound about his
head in turban fashion. His eyes cleaned
so fxedly as to make his visitor feel I'M
comfortable when looked at" He attribu-
ted the length of his life to regular and
moderate diet He eats only onemeai a
day, but tIfat consists-ef "streng and hear
ty food" to which he devotes himself as
siduously for-more than half an hour at p
!. stretch, having discovered that no man
can eat more in half an hour than he can
digest in twenty-four hours. But this i.
, not all, for he fasts two whole days every
month, and then refreshes himself by co
, pious draughts of cold water, which i,
probably more stimulating diet in thost
r regions than in Europe Finally, he al,
! ways lets his food get cold before partaknG
= of it, and he considers that this precautior
has had great deal to do with the pro
longation of his life On the whole, how
ever, one would like to know more abou
this parchment skinned and wierd rd-lookin.
| hermit of the Columbian wilds before cred
iting the statement that he came into tn
world inst as Cromwell was leaving it, an,
q that he wrs an octogenarian at tho time o
! Culloden. The old fellow may be prac
tical joker, and may owe his highly-efiect
i've makeup" to the monks of San Sebas
. tian, who would be sure to enter into III
@ un of the thing.