The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-06-20

No. 2911 Broadway, st. Louis, is the
house of a man named Christian n.
Tiepel, who lives herewith his wife and
only daughter. The man is a shoe
maker, but there appears little neces-
sity for pursuit Of his trade since the
family are in good circumstances, Tie
pei being reported as worth from fif-
teen to twenty thousand dollars. Tie
pei himself, is quiet, mild-mannered
man, past middle-age, who attends to
his work, and who, from his own half
admissions, is not altogether the auto
crat of the household. Mrs. Tiepel is q
woman of perhaps sixty years of age, of
decided force of character, and with
what appears to be singular monoma-
mia. The daughter, seventeen years of
age, has, save to very few, been until
lately nonentity. For the last ten
years, though neither cripple nor in
danger of death, she has been in bed.
A reporter found Mr.. and Mrs. Tiepel
at their house. They we're very much
averse to admitting him or conversing
with him, but at length the woman said
"My daughter has fever in her
breast. She has had it since she was
born. She gets it from me. have it,
too. told my husband Of it before We
were married, but he does not believe it.
When my daughter was very little, I
bathed her with saltpeter water. Do
you know what that is?" .r.rr .f--
emo"
"Then you don't know much"
"Oh, I know what it is, of course, I
meant only that I did not understand
your use of it." ... -,.......
"Well, saltpeter water, when you are
sick as we are, makes you strong and
happy. 1t does that for three months.
Only when you are bathed in it, and it
makes you feel better, it makes who
ever is with you sick, just as you have
been. My husband was sick when 1
bathed in it. After three months bath
ing the saltpeter water makes you well
no longer, but sick if you continue it.
When my daughter was seven years old
bathed her no more that way, but put
her In bed. She has been there SINCE
Not in bed all the time, but in the room.
The reason of this is that the air or the
sun would kill her. Sometimes the
blood goes to her head. have wrapped
her in flannel to keep the blood tight
and away from her head, and have cut
off her hair and put on hood like this.
My husband does not think she is sick,
and says she should work and go out,
and has made me great trouble-but I
must endure that"
ill?" 80
"Oh, yes, she knows it,"
The visitor wanted to see the invalid,
but the .old lady's concessions had
reached their limit. He next sought
for Mr.. Tiepel, but he had disappeared
totally. From the account of the police
man who had actually seen the girl.
though further facts were obtained:
The young woman was seventeen
years old in April, and has not been out
of the house since she was seven. She
lies in bed a veritable mummy, with the
hair cut short and the head encased in
an enormous hood. Her legs, arms and
body are wrapped in red flannel, and she
has the appearance of a person weigh
ing at least two hundred pounds, though
rather slight of figure. Her face, from
the long confinement of years, has as
sumed wonderful whiteness. but 9TH
erwise she does not appear to be ill. She
appears from her conversation to possess
intelligence, though she seems patient
in her situation, having probably be-
come impressed with her mothers idea
that should the air st.il.o ho< tl,e cum
shed it's rays upon her she would die.
She is never allowed, even when out of
bed, to sit at the table lest an unex-
pected current of air should reach her,
and, part of the time, when in bed she
is kept between mattresses of feathers.
Mr.. Tiepel was interviewed by the Off
Ger, and stated that he thought the
course pursued by the girl all wrong;
that he had combated Mrs. Tiepel's
mania for years, but in vain. He did
not know what to do in the matter.
Inquiries made further in relation to
the singular case elected the fact that
the young lady is the last of family of
nine children, and it may be that it is
this sad experience which has led
the mother to the belief that the only
way to preserve the life of the one re-
naming to her is the adoption of the re-
markable course of the past ten years.
Upon one subject she is apparently a
monomaniac, though a loving and ten
der one. 1t was learned that physicians
had been once or twice called in to pre-
scribe for the girl, but that when so
called they had been allowed merely to
prescribe medicine, not to consider and
treat the case fully.