The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-06-22
AL0NGEYITY LIST.

u have the records of more that ten
thousand persons who have lived one
hundred years aud upward" said Joseph
Z. Perkins to reporter of the Syracuse
Standard. Il have spent thirty years in
collecting these materials, which l am
preparing for publication. I have ran
sacked almost every branch of literature,
magazine, newspapers, medical works,
encyclopedias, ETC., and have personal
~ written to large number OF celtena-
rians to procure authentic statistics"
"Who is the oldest person you have
discovereds" asked the reporter.
According to the historian to the
king of Portugal man named Numas
de Cugna died in India in 1866, aged $40
years. / have SO names of people who
died more than $50 years old. l might
mention CT those of that number who
died in America slave named Sims who
died in 1898 aged $50. In 1880 Lousis
True died in South America aged 176
OF course, / cannot take into account the
aged people mentioned in the Old Tes-
lament, because in those days different
method of computing time was in vogue.
What country produces the greatest
number of centenariaEs?"
The cold countries Perhaps Russia
comes first Switzerland Sweden. Wales,
Scotland and Ireland produce great
many. Our country is among the first.
although many of our centenarians are Of
foreign birth. The American Indians
have remarkable longevity. We do moi
look for extremely long life in the tropics,
but a celebrated physician in Algiers
Africa, collected in thirteen years 16s
cases of Africans more than 100 years
old | wrote to him for the names, but
he had not preserved them. The Chinese
are not very long lived In 1856 the EN-
peror called convocation of all the ole
residents of his empire and of the mum
Der who responded only four were NOR
than 100 years old. Iudia has on record
large number of cases.
DO you find that civilization has any
thing to do with longevity"
Indirectly, perhaps. Almost all case
of extreme old age belong TO the lowe
classes. They have more robust consti
buttons to begin with and they are nc
subjected to the wear and tear, the lat
hours and the tendencies of dissipatio
that fall to the lot of cosmopolitan
OF all the European countries Franc
has the fewest centenarians. In fac
they are exceedingly rare there. The
nervous temperament has much TO d
with it. A curious fact, however, is thu
Frenchmen in very large numbers live
be between 60 and 80 years old, but dro
4 off without going beyond the latter fiji
ure."
Which sex lives the longer?"
There are more women who attai
the age of 100 than men. But more me
live to be exceedingly old than women .
care there many cases of longevity i
this city,"
II have collected more than fifty cas-,
of people who died in this country age
100 and over. There are living here
present three persons older than 10
These are Mrs. Driscoll. aged 105; co
ored woman named Williams, in the pool
house, aged 103, and. a United Stat
pensioner 1902 years old, living on Wat
: street, named Van Vail"
When will your work be ready Fl
publication
within year or two. 1t will !
called The Encyclopedia of Humi
Longevity; or, Records of People WI
7 Have Lived 100 Years and Upwards"
q will contain between two and three hu
bred illustrations, and. as ] said befor
more than ten thousand instances