The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-02-18
A Proud Nan Nearly Dies Of Starva.
ton In Washington.

YESTERDAY AFTERNOON B W0l-QreSSeO
man of very good appearance entered
the War Department, and, ascending by
the elevator to the second floor, alighte.i.
When in front of the Secretary's door
he was seen to stagger and then fall
helplessly on the marble thing. He was
found to be unconscious, and was car
ried by the messengers to an adjoining
room and laid on the lounge. DR.. Lowe,
from upstairs, was summoned, and as
soon as he saw the unconscious stranger
he said at once, Why, the man is starv-
ing" He had partially regained his
consciousness, but was still in . stupor.
The Doctor at once called for brandy,
which the man at first refused to take,
as it was afterward found, from temper
ance scruples. A glass of diluted brandy
was, however, placed to his mouth and
his jaws closed upon it with such force
as to nearly shatter the glass. A sand
witch was then offered him, which he
seized with avidity, and was about to
swallow it all without mastication, when
he was prevented. The sandwich was
fed to him in small pieces, which he ate
like famished beast, and then . second
sandwich. He was then fed some oys-
ters-soup and removed up stairs, where
he at once went to sleep. He awoke in
the course of an hour, feeling much bet
ter, but still weak. The doctor said that
he was suffering from irritation of the
stomach, caused by the gastric juice
working on the walls of his stomach.
He was in the first stages of starvation,
and his pulse had run down to AZ. After
he had recovered sufficient strength to
talk, he told the circumstance by which
he had been reduced to such miserable
condition. At the same time he
evinced great anxiety that the matter
should not be made public. His
conversation showed him to be man
of education and culture, as his clothes
indicated. He said that he belonged to
respectable family residing near Bos-
ton. He had been in the army during
the war, and lost an arm in the service.
Since the war he has been practicing
medicine in his native town, but becom-
ing unpopular for the decided stand he
took on the temperance question, he
determined to come to this city and
begin the practice of medicine here.
At the same time he applied for clerk
ship in the War Department. His
sister, an invalid, accompanied him,
and they reside on Seventh Street,
where he opened an office. Soon after
his arrival his funds began to fail, and
he had no means of replenishing them.
He found that he could not purchase
food enough for both, and so invented
an excuse for not eating with his sister
that he got his meals down town.
This device worked well, and his sister
was completely deceived. He brought
home food for her to eat, but was slow
ly starving himself. Yesterday he spent
his last money in the purchase of bone,
from which his sister made soup, but he
refused to take any. He said that the
night before he had attended meeting
of Masonic lodge, but was too proud
to reveal his condition and ask for help
His appearance and manner gave the
impress of truth to his statement. His
war record was looked mp, and found to
be an honorable one. His case was
brought to the attention of the Secreta-
ry of War, and he appointed him to q
clerkship in the Surgeon Generals Office,
The circumstance excited great interest
in the department. Washington Cor.
Rnskosa Herald