The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-07-27
Doctor Tanners Fast,


Doctor Tanners Fast
| While DR.. Tanner is re-cmincnil,
the sensation Of tho period, THROWING
into The shade Garfield and IfancocL
and the Turco-Grccian war and Tam
many and Anti-Tammany contest, anC
Whittakcr's cars and tic state Of Gov.
crnor Tildcn's health, he is in danger
nevertheless of having Ills laurels
stolen from him by proofs TINT wha,
ho is doing has been done before
When he began this task his failure
was confdcntially predicted, because
everybody had previously failed at 1t.
Now dozen or instances Of still great
CT cndurence than his have boon rcsur-
rcctcd. We are told that u Maryland
boy tasted forty days and then died
from inability to resume tho task OF
eating. A young man in Albany, in
1929, became religiously insane and
abstained from everything but water
for tifty-thrce days, at tho end OF
which time hc gave up the ghost. In
1910 Thomas Ford, Of Washington
county, Pennsylvania, lived thirty-ninc
days without food, owing to a closing
up Of the orificc Of the stomach. lie
died on The torticth day. Il Mr.. co."
of Connecticut, in 1889, lived on water
and little beer for forty days without
sustaining any bad effects. Ono Cal
vim Morgan, Of New London, Comcc-
| ticut, became converted during n re-
vival in 1910, and tasted forty days anti
nights, al the end Of which time ne
was tcaifully haggard and cmaciatcd,
but he recovered and was known
thcncctorth as "Forty Day Morgan" !"
n French Count, reduced to pcnury,
and too proud to beg, made wager
of three hundred dollars that he could
! live fifty days without ealing or drink
ing. The first four days his agonics
from thirst were terrible. Subsc-
qucntly his hearing and cycsight be-
came unusually acute. On the twcn-
ty-trst day lie died. In 1872 dcspcr-
ate ease of dyspepsia was cured at
Wilmington, Delaware, 10y starvation.
In twcnty-onc days The patient was
allowed to drink little rice water
which renewed her appetite and effect.
ed euro. a story is told of an old
Ptnnsylvanian, Il veteran Of the war
OF 1912, who in 1870 became partially
insane and for fifIy-thrcc days lived on
spoonful OF brandy and an ounce of
gnm-arMbic day. In no way could
he be induced to touch anything else.
On tho fifty third day hc forgot him
self and dcvourcd n glass of currant
Jelly, and from that time his normal
appetite returned. IIo lived four DAYS
longer.
a still more wonderful story was
told few years ago Of q IIindoo fakir
who had the power, as was believed,
of suspcnding tho functions of life for
several months at time. IIc allowed
himself to be cofflncd and buried aud
not taken out again until crop of bar
ley had been ripcned and was rcapcd
on his grave. At the end Of eight
months he was taken up and restored
to consciousness. Previous to going
INTO tho trance he curved his tongue
backward into his mouth; on being re-
stored tho tongue was unrolcdnnd fresh
milk carefully poured down his throat.
This story, as we'll as others told, has
The element Of toughncss very fully
developed. None Of them were fully
authenticated. With the virilant
watch kept over Tanner, his success
or failure will do much to put doubts
at rest.
1t must be observed that total ab-
stinenec from water rs well as food
III every case caused failure or death.
But with water, it is claimed. q man
can abstain from food. Tanner took
no water for number Of days and his
sl'iicflngs were intense. But as soon
ms he began to use it his restlessncss
and suffering disappeared. lie drank
lorty-thrce ounces Of water tho first
day and gained q pound and half in
weight. This means that his tissues
had become dry, and that they ab-
sofbcd the water inst as sponge
would.
The controversy between Tanner
and DR.. Hammond may be rcconcilcd.
Hammond maintains that total alb.
stenencc from everything causes dealt,
on the twelfth or fifteenth day. Tan
ncr proposes to live on water forty
days. lie tried to abstain from water
anu came near dying, rs Hammond
said he would. Rcsuminy its uso he
is in fair way to do what he SAYS Inc
can.
Hear how a judge decides in Hun.