The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-08-09
THE NEWToN sLEEPER.
Strange Life and Death of Connections
Farmers Boy.

1
Farmers Boy.
Newton Conn Special.
One of the strangeSt of the many strange
characters which this 'land.of steady habits has
given to the world was resident of this delight
fullittle town, in Fairfield county. Hisname WAS
Sherman w. Platt and he was known through
out the State as The Newtown Sleeper" He wasa
somnambulist, and the peculiar form which his
malady took made him an object of general
curiosity, as well as one of special interest to
the medical experts Of the county Young Platt
lived with his rather q well-to-do farmer, IN the
little hamlet of D0dgeintown, in the south
western part Of this town. He was never a
particularly brilliant child but he was by no
means dullard, averaging in intelligence
about with the ordinary farmers boy.
The strange somn0lent states which brought
to him so unenviable notoriety were first notice
able soon after he passed into his teens and
they continued nearly up to the time Of his sud
den ard as yet unexplained death. When the
disease-fer 1t is generally considered among
physicians that he was the victim Of some
strange and hitherto unknown intermittent
malady-at attacked Platt he would go to bed and be
at once wrapped IN the soundest Of slumbers.
dousing with baths of cold water, the APP
plication of electricity, and treatment Of a
similar nature were always uRavailing. He
would remain in his trancelike condition some-
times for only few days, but ofteRer the sleep
would lengthen out into weeks, and sometimes
of these frances according to generally ae-
ceptea report here, being within few days of
five months. During this long period he
seemed 10 have lost all power Of intellectual
effort and when he recovered from such
an attack the period of his sleep was all
a blank to him Instinetively, it seemed to
those who watched him, he would rise from his
couch at EirFegular intervals and partake of the
food or drink that was constantly kept in his
room to supply his wants When hunger and
thirst were abated, he would at once return to
his bed and continue his slumbers When he
arose at such times he would speak to no one,
would answer no questions pay no attention to
any interference, and was seemingly oblivious of
the fact that any one was near him. "A singular
fact in connection with the ease was that he did
not seem to lose either health or strength during
these prolonged sumbers, which it was natu-
rally expected would wear out his vitality. Ply
seians who were called in, from Bridgeport
first then from New Haven. and finally from
New York, could give no explanation as to the
cause of the strange disease, nor could they sug,
gest any remedy that was sufficient to effect a
cure, though many tried their skill
About a year ago, Platt having begun to
frighten his parents by taking short walks out
of doors while in his somnambulistic state, his
father applied to the Probate Court of this dis
trict, and Platt was sent to the Asylum for the
Insane, at Middletown. Application and COM
mitment were on the theory that his peculiar
malady was some form of insanity. He remained
in that institution, where there were a few but
short occurrences of his somnolency until the
Goth of last month, when he was discharged and
returned to his home here. He seemed much
depressed in spirits and his mind seemed to wan
der at times, Onthe Monday following his return
he wandered away from his fathers house. and
no trace of him could be had until the sue
ceeding Saturday. On that day his body was
found by one of a party of searchers in Sand
fords pond. 1t was perfectly nude, and this
added to the mystery of his death The theory
was advanced that he was drowned while bath
ing and this was very generally accepted at first
as the solution of the wayin which he was put
to death, as there were no marks of violence on
his person. Search was made all along the banks
Of the pond for his clothing, but it could not be
found, as it was argued it certainly would have
been had he beeh bathing in the pond. 1t
is possible that the clothes had been found and
appropriated by tramps, who sometimes FREE
quent the shores of the pond It is thought now
that he committed suicide, becoming despond-
ent because of the incurable malady with which
he was afflicted. This theory is borne out by
the fact that some of the people living near the
pond remember having seen man acting some
what strangely near there on the day after his
diSappearance