News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1882-08-24
A FASTER.
living for Over Two Months on
Less Than Half a Cracker a Day.
from the Cincinnati Gazette.

The wonderful fast of the young lady
near Wabash, Ind, which has attracted
the attention of the people throughout
the West, still continues, and there are
no indications Is yet that it will be
broken. The name of the faster is Miss
Elizabeth Oswald. She is the daughter
of Michael Oswald, a farmer, in good
circumstances, who lives four miles
northwest of Wabash. Mr.. Oswalt owns
a large tract of land and lives in a very
neat residence. Miss Oswald is one of
a large family of children who have all
married and gone away or have died.
-Four years ago, before the death of her
mother, she worked as a sewing girl,
but 500 after Mrs. Oswalt's death she
went home and began keeping house for
her father. Subsequently she was taken
i'll and for eight or ten weeks she lived
on almost nothing. She was kept alive
by injections of nourishment, and had
it not been for the faithful attendance
of nurses she would then have died.
Finally, however, her appetite re-
turned and health was restored. AL
though never strong, she was able to do
the Homework until about~two months
since, when n day, after returning
from a visit to this city, she was sud
denly taken i'll and went to bed. This
was on the 7th of May, and since then
she has not turned herself or sat up in
bed without aid. From the start her
appetite failed her, and the most siren
uous efforts of her friends were INSULT.
eient to induce her to partake of the
daintiest viands money could procure.
The relatives. alarmed at the rapid loss
of vitality, sent for a physician, who,
finding his endeavors to revive her de-
sire for food without avail, began to
give nourishment by injection. Even
this, Miss Oswald said, caused her great
pain, and she recently has declined to
permit the administration of nourish-
ment in this way.
The quantity of food she has con-
sumed since she became i'll, on May 7,
has not averaged half a cracker per day.
For a week at a stretch she has gone
without eating a morsel. She also re-
fused to drink liquids of any kind, and
hardly enough water can be forced down
her to keep the tissues of her body in
solution. Lately an attempt was made
to get her to take milk, a small quantity
each day being prescribed for her. She
managed, when almost compelled, to
drink an ounce of the fluid, but since
then she has utterly refused to touch it,
and when the members of the family
visit her room for the purpose of per-
suading her to drink she begged and
cried until they gave her up in despair.
She asserts that the slightest particle of
food in her stomach causes her the most
intense pain, and on Wednesday, when
she swallowed the milk, she was driven
almost wild with agony.
Her mind is clear, and her reasoning
faculties entirely unimpaired, but she is
much cast down and a little inclined to
hysteria. Her strength is gradually
failing, and the physician, who is about
discouraged, says that she is almost
past recovery, though he is eff the opin-
ion that were regular injections of food
administered he could keep her alive
until her appetite returns. Miss Oswald
is apparently thlrty-two years of age,
and when in good health was rather
largo. No explanation of the cause O.
her fasts has yet been vouchsafed. He
relatives are all strong and healthy, ant
none of them are afflicted with any
chronic disease. The case is watched
with intense interest and forms the solt
topic of conversation on the streets
The people of the vicinity seem to thinl
that she ''lays over DR.. Tanner by
large majority, as, althoug h she ha
partaken of more nourishment than diC
Tanner, she has drank but little water
while Tanner drank water in large guam
kitias