Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-06-26
HELPLESS FOR THIRTY YEARS.
valuable hint from Dumas' Monte
CristO" Improved Upon.


From the Utica Observer.
Inc life of John d. Williams, whose
death has been announced, was a most
remarkable one. In 1877 he caught cold
on Hudson river steamer by sleeping
between damp sheets, and became vic
tim Of inflammatory rheumatism. ParaIy-
SIS followed, both sides becoming affected.
lie became unable to move a muscle,
except his eyelids, and dumb and blind.
Or. Theodore Dimon reported the facts
10 r. >. Brayton, who was one of the most
intimate friends of the deceased, and he
became much interested in his case. He
remembered the recital in Dumas
Monte Cristo' of the invention of a lit
tie girl whose grandfather was paTalvtIc.
anected very much like Mr.. Williams.
she told him to wink once when emeant
yes" and twice when he meant no"
W hen he or she had other than atiirma-
tive or negative communications, she
would spell out the words by mentioning
letters of the alphabet until the right one
was reached, and by putting them togeth-
er their wishes were understood. This
system was adopted by Williams friends,
and by patience and perseverance the
wants OF the sufferer were made known
'tHA ANAACNNu as ldl as DO6slDiGs OlGONEEe
the little glr's simple code was improved
upon, and from lS4S TO the death of the
sufferer communication was kept up in
this way. BY ingenious and patient eff
lorts the sufferer became able to move his
arms tritle and bend his head toward
his hand. He was never able to walk,
and tbirty-seyen years were spent in his
easy chair or bed. Once he showed BY
the expression of his face, that he needed
assistance, ana with the spelling code
gave his sister the word "fl-y.v This
WAS very vague, but patience was viz
tue OF which there was an immense stock
IN this family. Mrs. Wager asked il he
wanted "A bird-if he wanted 10 fly-and
other questions Of that kind, but the re-
Spouse was in the negative. Finally he
spelt 's-i-e-e-Y-e," and on examination il
was found that fly under his sleeve had
been making tr0tting course of his deli
cate skin, much to his annoyance, while
be was unable to move the requisite mus
cles to obtain relief. This incident will
give faint idea of the daily life of this
sufferer and his devoted friends.
Physicians who had known all about
Mr.. Williams constitution when attack
ed predicted that be could not survive
forty-eight hours. The late Dr. Coventry
made an elaborate report of the case,
from members Of the profession. In spite
of all the physical debilities ofthe deceas-
cd, there was no deterioration of his mem
tai powers. He had a remarkable MEM
0ry, and his reasoning powers were excel
lent. He was kept we'll informed on the
current events OF the day by the reading
OF papers, books, magazines, etc. He was
patient, apprecatye, aud had admiral Bile
self-control, and was constantly attempt
ing TO devise means to relieve his friends
OF some of the cares his condition imposed
upon them. He labOred on deyising a
writing apparatus for long tune, but
obtained one from New York friend that
was Of service to him. With this he
learned to write quite easily after tedious
practice.
About month ago Mr.. Williams began
to fail. caused by a failure Of his digestive
powers. He was in his 72l year, and
tor over halt Of his life he was helpless.