The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-01-31
A QUEER PATIENT.
n.,,ors pnxzicd-A Man who Ha'
Never Had Hair or Teeth.
rpbiladclphia Press.

,,on county. Pa, was recently eNnin''u
hotore the Philadelphia Medicai society
peter vending was born foity-eight years
400 NJ Mount Ncbo, little village IN Lepa.
non county. nesting AZ the ioot Oh one oi
thc Pine mountains, about elgn'een I'iileS
trom Lebanon. Although nearly nan
century old he has never had any tee'h-
NOT even the deciduous 'eeln oi infancy:
NJ hos he ever had any distinct
-N.'. ,,h ~ hair on the scalp. He is entirely
SaV';,n,S NJ the sense OF smell, and almost
~ hat Of taste. In regard to the latter he
:, harcIy able 10 distinguish the difference
,,t,ycen the several kinds OF food. In the
words Of q prominent physician, "hc Is
~ about able 10 tell the difference OF
ta.fc between cheese and chalk" But the
mo.t wonderful thing about the man. that
hos sci the net theories Of the physi-
cians q! both hcmiSphcres at naught, Is
thu, nj. skin Is entirely devoid OF pores.
Under the closest scrutiny OF the mi
,.roseonc IL has been impossible TO dis
cover Respiratory glands, without which
the dociors have always contended man
,,pnot live. The fine. downy hair that is
commonly on the limbs OF an ordinary per-
.on /. entirely absent in this case, and the
kin i perfectly dry, and without the
SLIGHTEST suspicion Of moisture. When
working actively his body becomes in
ten.elv hot. and the only means OF aSsllag-
inc tii, heat is TO throw water over him.
What i. most peculiar is that Mr.. Vending
has never known days sickness, ana Is IN
every sense healthy man.
UNABLE To ,iAsTICNrE FOOD.
lie j.. Of course. on account of the en-
fire absence Of teeth, unable to maSlicatc
food. He cannot even crunch II with his
laws. as the lower one proirudcS 80 that
the gums do not meet. Besides vegetables
and loft food. he can only eat the tendereSt
Of meat, which. after cutting 1t up very
fine. he makes an attempt To chew by
pressing il with his tongue against the
roof Of the mouth. to extract the juice,
and then swallows il. He is among the
Youngest Of tweulv-One children, none
of which possessed any Of the pecuiari-
ties Of their brother. The parents were
also perfect. but his maternal uncle and
Grandmother. il is said, were both ~ sim
gularlv created as Mr. Vending. His
father wa, farmer and the son followed
this occupation for many years. When
working i'm the fields it was always neceS-
sarv 10 have a couple OF hoys bring wafer
IN him. A. he could not find relief from the
intense beat his body was subjected to by
per,mration, n ordinary people do. The
boyS threw the water on him, and his
clothes were continually kept wet.
He never suffered any Inconvenience
from this. and never knew what II
wa, 10 have q cold. 1t finally became rather
extensive 20 employ boys TO carry water 10
tbe field for him, and he concluded to
change his vocation. He then sought en-
plovmcnt in the ore-mines Of Cornwall.
Lebanon county. Here he was beset hy
another difficulty. His skin being dry and
slippery from want OF natural perspilation,
ne was unable To get a firm grip on the
pickaXc and the other tools used. This he
remcdied by wearing gloves, with which
he was able TO WELD his implements sOme-
what better.
lie soon grew tired of this kind OF work,
however. and about a year ago, haymg
learnt the trade of making shoes, he open
ed a little shoe-shop in Bismarck, Il small
village about seven miles south of Lebanon.
The smaller tools used i'm cobbling he can
easily manage. While at work i'm his little
shop he has a bucket Of water standing be-
side him with which he keeps his clothing
constantly wet. During the summer,
when il j. so warm that he cannot sleep,
he goes into the cellar, and lies on the
damp ground until he becomes sutii-
ciently ceol. when he again retires to his
couch and he is able TO slumber. He
frequently takes this means OF cooling off.
one OF his greatest delights Is To give him.
sell thorough soaking under the pump.
hi, scdcntary occupation has caused him
10 have a slight attack OF dyspepsia within
the last few months, as he was always used
10 outdoor labor Mr.. Vending has a
wife and eight children. His progeny
have none Of tue defects of the father,
with the exception that their teeth are i'm
perfect. one Of his daughters, who is
ulyeut sixteen years old, has only ten teeth
instead Of the twenty-eight she should pos
sc,,, and none OF them have full set. IN
tellccuaIly, Mr., Vending is perfect.
A MEDICAL EXAMINATION.
Professor :. II. Guiliord. OF the Phla-
dclpha Dental College, has been acquuint-
ed with Mr.. Vending some ten or twelve
years. lie has spoken to a number Of old
residents Of Lebanon county who have
known the strange man since his infancy,
and who cOrrobOraie all the facts OF his pc
culir history as related above Professor
Guilford has for several years been
anxious to get Mr.. Vending to come to
this city 10 be presented Ia the students
oil the Dental College. A. Mr.. Vending
j. Of retiring disposition the Professor
was unable TO accomplish his object until
This winter. 1t would have been impOssi-
BILE 20 bring him here i'm the summer, as
hi, clothes have TO be kept continually wet
during the hot months. and he would,
therefore. attract too much attention. Mr..
Vending finally consented 10 come
here and appear at the last meeting
Of the Dental College. This was done,
and the Professor, wishing to also eX-
hihit him before the Philadelphia Medi-
cal Society. made arran gements with
Or. William Il. Atkinson, who is trustee
Of the Society. TO that effect. At the last
meeting Of the Society Dr.. Atkinson pre-
Nented the queer patient. The physicians
made close examination, and were AS
founded. They all pronounced the ease A.
being OF the strangest character and one
unknown IN medical annals. Mr.. Wend-
ling returned home a few days ago. While
he was IN this city ms photograph was
taken, and will be published in the medical
papers.