Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1880-07-27
TANNER
How He Lives Without Food
What he Feeds on
New York sun.


rives his sustcnanCe. A reporter for the
Slm found that physician in Clarendon
Hall, last evening, and asked him: els
it true that you have discovered that Dr.
Tanner eats while pretending to fast?"
81 do not claim to have made any dis
covery ut ALL" replied The physician
"llOw could |, when | knew exactly
how he intended to feed himself at the
time when he first proposed to fast for
forty daysY
"Do You really mean to say that DR..
Tanner although carefully watched night
and day, is deceiying everybody, and
that he takes food as often as he wants
it?"
"The question is we'll put, and Is easi-
~ answered. do mean to say that he
has been supplied with food, and, fur
thermore, that IL has been given him
regularly whether he wanted it or not :"
"Do you allude TO the water that he
has absorbed while pretending to simply
rinse out his mouth twenty-five or thir-
ty times n day?"
"Nothing of the kind. And now that
you mention it | will say that water is
not food at all.n
"Others say it is."
~ know it. But water Is inorganic
matter, and nothing but organic matter
can he food to the body. If water,
which ia n combination Of two gases
oxygen and hydrogen--is food, then why
not atmospheric mir, which ia mixture
of the two gases, oxygen and nitrogen? :?
And IL air, or anything necessary to life
is food, then sunlight Is food, and iron,
and hundred other things not nowcon.
sidered food must be recognized as all
ment. Water cannot make muscular or
nervous tissue. lt.cannot even make a
blood corpuscle, which Is the beginning
of all the building processes in the phe-
nomcna Of life. Water is found In every
tissue aud structure Of the body even TO
the teeth; but IL is always the sume life
less, inorganic substance
"ls IL not then food for the bodyp
"No. lis principal function is 10 net
rs vehicle to convey substances which
ARE really food to their destination, A
boat load of wheat could not be convey
ed from Buffalo to New York without
water TO float It, No more can the ysrl-
ous organic substances Jaken Into he
stomach rs ioOd be conveyed 10 thrir
proper destination witbOnt u supply OF
water through which they may swim
and be forced along by the action Of the
heat"
"What sort Of food is II, then, that this
man Is taking"
Food ii force and this man is daily
receiving n certain quantity Of the very
Quiulesseuce of force"
"DQcs he receive this force IN the
form Of ordinary foOdY"
"Certainly he does, but he gets It in
such a way that any set of doctors or any
corps Of newspaper waichers-whcther a
double, triple or scXtuple corps should
be appointed to stand on guard, he will
get II all the same, aud they could never
detect him."
"Iou say that Dr. Tunner gets food,
and that this food Is received IN the form
of the quintessence Of force. How 60
you explain thatY"
GAS you must know, the great func-
tlons Of life all require the expenditure
of u certain amount of force. These
great functions are the maintenance Of
the nervous system, The blood Circula-
ton, respiration and animal heat. As
to the latter, IL requires but little TO keep
up In this hot weather, Everybody Is
familiar with the force stored up in II
pound o. gunpowder for Instance
Well the food that this man II receive
ing contains about 400 times M much
force, pound for pound, ~ gunpowdor
d0es.h
"lhat must bc strong kind Of food
"lt mny seem 50, but u isn't Dr.
Tanner has, during his sixteen days
fast, consumed, at u rough calculations
about twelve or fifteen pounds of II"
"And no one, not even The peycholo-
gNs, have detected lt''
"It seems so, and yctihc process Is as
plain us daylight.
"'Yon't YOU make itpmin 10 mcf"
"Wilh pleasure. Firsl, though !
must explain to you that the popular
llpa M 10 the 'pange uf hunger aud the
'rapngs of the stomach mc all ut sea,
hear per,o cay 'Goolncss gracious
II gel 20 hungry when have gone
without food for eight hours, what must
he the torture Of this man who hns not
eaten for more than three weeks. They
cannot understand the fact that The
stomach, having been corucred' M Dr.
Tanner calls IT, ceases lts urgent de-
mlnds for rcplenlshmeni aud that the
body then bcglus 20 .all Upon lts stored
up forces of susicnancc Or. Tanner
nj The beginning Of biz iast weighed
lb1i5 pounds. To-day BE- weighs only
1872. What hne become of the lost 26la
poundsY Most Of II has been consumed
by him. calculate roughly that he hns
consumed n pound Of iatuach day. That
would amount 10 sixteen pounds, q
quantity IN which there wne stored w.
enough force 10 propel locomotive hun.
dreda Of miles.
"And this ia the way IN which he bss
been iedY'
"Ccuanly."
earn Won W the opinion that ihr Only
way IN which he has recelycd food dut-
Ing thcae sixteen days Il by taking u
nom hia own body \"
81 have watched him every day, nnd ]
am 20 certain Of II that would bet my
NE against dollar bin. Why, for ihe
man TO take food w the ordinary way at
this or any other atngc ui che fast would
he certain defeat, aid might fpsul IN
DEATH The introductl,h of single
mouthful Of food ~ ihil time, for IN
stance. would aroutc The stomach nom
" topper, and The hye tlhst' hall lp lonphl
IN oonanorinp Il wonid hate IN be- fought
otpf sgsin. Ne 4 row living entirely