The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-12-22
az MAN FISH,
The Curious mietion or n Tall Baekwoods.
ninn rom Tennessee.

Prom ne Joasns Hednri We.
short time since the Tennessee and Ken
lucky newspapers contained startling nc
count OF wild man lately captured. with great
difficulty. in the Cumberland Mountains He
was six feet ten inches high. extraordinarily
feet OF foot. and excessively savage TIo fed
chiefly on raw fish. which he captured without
artificial aid. He spent much OF his time IN the
water, and after being captured he had to DO
INK scales. like those Of fab. His hands and
feet were webbed like tho loct OF watcr-fowls-
SO tho newspaper accounts. with many emhel-
lisiments. ran. II is scarcely necessary to say
thnt much Of this story was only showman's
talk. uttered to attract the attention OF the
curious and credulous public.
The physicians OF Louisville were invited TO
vieit the monster upon his arrival In the city
prior TO mis- general exhibition. Among others
/ visited the norman; but before seeing the
case had diagnosed II as one Of icthyosis. and
single glance was sufficient to verify the cor
rectness OF my conjecture. Tho man fish pre-
sents n most magnificent example Of the form
Of icthyoss or fish skin disease. called icthyo-
sis serpentna or serpent skin and his general
"fect is moro that OF a serpent than Of n fish.
But upon different pnrts, Of his body may be
found nearly all the varieties OF icthyoais. The
resemblance Of this mans skin to the shed skin
nf a boa constructor. lately brought mo by n
almost perfect About his joints the skin Ia
loose and wrinkled. hanging in folds. and tho
scales are large Suggesting the skin OF lizard or
alligator about their limbs and belly His arms
and leRs remind one OF the skin Of the buffalo
perch. the carp. or other large fish. The cuticle
cverywhgre is dry and harsh and never per-
spires. There seems TO be an absolute absence
Of fat, and the man is shrunken and wthered.
OF dead nshen-gray. appearance. except here
and there where he Is brownish or blackish.
Though only about nifty years OF age. he inn
presses one as very old man. Tho skin Of
the fnce is red and shining, and tightly drawn
about the cheeks pulling the lower lids down
to such an extent as to perfectly evert them.
making horrd case OF ectropiOn. In some
places his scales are silvery. in others dark.
and again in others IRE small and branny, His
OF his hands are ilssured. and on his palms and
eolcs the cuticle Is greatly thckened. The
and the skin '' is drawn drawn tightly tight back
over both feet and hands. The septum be-
tween the fingers and toes seem to extend
much further down than usual. thus suggesting
the webbcd Appearance before alluded to-. He
IL considerably over six feet in height. and IL
man OF q low order Of intelligence. He IN mar
rled, aud is the father OF several children. none
OF whom. fortunately. inherit his mandy; and
rs icthyosis is almost II not always a c0ngen-
ital disease. they are not likely ever to have II.
The fish man fails to present but a single vnri-
ETY. OF icthyosis, and that Is tho porcupino ds-
ease. rs IL Is called. In this, spines. formed by
hardened sebaceous material. prOtrude from
the skin. closely packed together. Wilson
an inch long, william reports having encoun-
tered them Of an inch in length. have never
Many years ago two brothers. in England hay
inR this form OF icthyosis. were exhibited in
the shows rs porcupine men.
Icthyosls IL one OF the rarest OF skin diseases.
am under the impression that II Is more fire.
quent IN Europe than in this country. In ton
years have seen less than a dozen cases. Its
cause. M stated in my report to the American
Chronological Association. in 1877. is scrof-
ua. according to my observation and expert
ence. II IL found in all the walks Of life. /
have encountered II with equal frequency
among the rich and the poor. Ii is commonly
considered incurable. and only temporarily
and partially mitigable.
The treatment which l have found sue
ccssfu in permanently removing ichthy-
osis. in more than ono case. consists in
tho use OF the conservatives I. e., cod.
liver oil. extract Of malt. syrup Of the iodide of
iron. syrup OF the hypophosphites. a.. attcn-
ton TO the digestive organs. and by giving the
richest and best fat producing foods. such ms
cream, butter. hog meat fresh or cured, sugar
ana other sweets. careful and thorough daily
amounting with some oeHginous substance is oil
great value. and prolonged vapor or hot water
baths should DO employed frequently.
l.. i. HANDELL NJ ID.