American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1879-08-16
FASTING FORTY DAYS.
Young Woman i'm Reading, Pa, Giving
Her Friends Considerable Trouble.

A Young Woman i'm Reading, Pa, Givin,
| Her Friends Considerable Trouble.
A Reading Pa.) special to the Phila
delphia Times says the strange fasting
of Miss Sarah Root, aged 20, of thai
city, is attracting unusual attention
among the medical fraternity. She is 6
lady of excellent character. Herself
and sisters are respectable dressmakers
A few years ago she dressed in exceed
| ing good taste, and always made a very
fashionable appearance. Suddenly she
became very devout and pious. Her
attendance at church was almost con.
slant. She became deeply interested in
Sunday-school affairs, and, up to last
4th of July was in good health. She
then discontinued eating, and commence
ed long period of fasting. From July
to II she ate but few berries. Then
she stopped eating altogether. On the
14th of July DIR. Smoker was called on.
Miss Root turned her back, and said she
was not in Feed of his professional serv-
ices. She persistently refused to take
nourishment, and, throughout all the
hotspell she drank no water at all. Final
~ she was threatened that food would
be administered to her by force. She
was growing pale, thin. and emaciated.
Her former rosy cheeks had faded, the
sparkle lad left her eyes, and she be-
came moody, thoughtful and silent. She
became frightened at the Doctors
threats, and, taking an ordinary crack
er, she held it under the hydrant and
thoroughly washed it. On the 18th of
July she ate that cracker, but took no
other nourishment. DIR. Schumacher
undertook to convince her that 1t was
her religious duty to eat, and not kill
herself; that, instead of it being her re-
ligious duty to fast, she was slowly COM
hitting the great crime of suicide. She
paid no attention to this. Basin after
basin of water was used in bathing her
hands. She would continue this wash
ing for half-hour. She has been
known to have spent five hours on her
knees reading the Bible and praying.
She "had dream" to fast forty days
and forty nights, the same as Christ did
in the wilderness. All efforts of mother
and sister failed to induce her to eat
and drink. Finally DR.. Schumacher says
he stopped calling on her because he
could do nothing for her. DIR. Mastin
Luther was next called in. Miss Root
was very weak, but still able to be about
She persistently refused to eat or drink,
and her people thought she was dying.
It was finally decided to resort to force
in the matter, and spoon was inserted
in her mouth between her teeth. Moth
ing could be done, BECAUSE she would
not swallow. When her nostrils we're
b Id shut she breathed through the in
Of her teeth, but would not
swallow. Finally DR.. Luther inserted
silver tube through her nostrils and in
jected cruel and milk into the gullet,
and thence to the stomach. Only a
small quantity was injected. The men,
oranous lining of the stomach was
greatly infiamed and too much food ad-
ministered would have killed her in
stantly. The young woman is now be-
ing kept alive by forcing food through
her nostrils into her stomach. She is
aboring under religious hallucination,
and fears are entertained that she can
not long live. She is quite intelligent,
and she has no fears, saying that she
' guesses it will end all right" To-day
,he made no resistance to the tube being |
in her nose, but she positively
refused to take any food or water.