The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-08-14
Natures Curious Freaks.

merchant occupying a costly mansion
not far from the southern boundary OF
the Central Park. The Prince Treuot-
kline, who is justly regarded as one of
the most brilliant minds in the Rus
sian Empire, is the physical prodigy
Il monstrosity of an intelligent
man with his head at the termination
Of his right arm, and a hand and arm
growing out of his neck and falling
down over his breast. Born in 1858,
the Prince has received a thorough
education, and is known throughout
the Russian Empire as a statesman
and poet of high order.
The m%onstrosity that is so carefully
guarded in the mansion on West fifty
seventh street. is 4 perfectly formed
man about 80 years old. whose head
and lace is 4 block, as it were; that is,
the sides and the top of the head, as
well as the face, are perfectly flat or
slab-sided. The ears do not project,
but are interlineatal. and the same
with the features, the nose being a
very slight protuberance, but natural
in its functions. There is a good
growth of hair on the caput; the eye
broWs are perfect, but excepting a
light mustache no beard has ever
grown on the face beyond a coating of
down. Thus deformed, no effort was
ever made to educate the unfortunate
man. for the reason that he is so will
full that it has always been deemed
best to let him have his own way. He
possesses, however, much natural i'll
telligence, and has a remarkably re-
tentive memory. and, to a certain cX-
tent he has educated himself. Never
forgetting anything he hears, he re.
members dates, names and occurrences
and can carry on a conversation by re-
peatlng what he has heard Oh the sub
lect, eyinc;ng ar intelligent apprecia-
t on OF what he is saying. Chiro-
graphy eNcites in him the liveliest in
terest and wonder, and one of his
ldiosyncrasies is to treasure all pieces
OF writing that he comes across. He
is also much delighted by pictures,
and illustrated papers form his chief
amusement. The ample means of the
family enable them to provide him
With an attendant and every comfort.
and besides he has an inheritance from
i grandfather. formerly a very promi-
nent merchant in New England, which
W tn the compounded interest and ac-
crued income which has been allowed
10 accumulate in his trust in event of
family misfortune, now amounts to a
snug | tile fortune. He is generally
am'able and passive, although self
willed. and is apparently perfectly con-
tented with his lot. At times, how
ever, he becomes cross and vicious,
when he a only be governed by his
attendant now an aged Irish-woman,
who has had his car ever since his
birth. He occupies a suit of rooms at
the top of the house and, being rather
weak, but not otherwise unhealthy,
seldom cares to leave his apartments.
He is allowed, whenever inclined to do
so, to roam about the house econ.
panied by his nurse.
The only vicious trait manifested
by the unfortunate man is when in q
bad humor he always makes an effort
to start a fire, and the sight of flames
drives him almost to a frenzy of de-
light, mixed with savage glee. Once
he ran ahead of his nurse and man.
aged to secrete himselfe in the cellar.
Not Immediately found, he was allow
ed to remain ~unmolested, the nur-e
believing he would reveal himself
when he foand that 10 search was he.
ing made for him. Not appearing,
however, the nurse repaired to the eel
lar and found him throwing wood into
the furnace, evidently with the inten-
ton of starting a big blaze. AS soon
as he saw the nurse he skunk back into
a corner, evidently determined to de-
fend himself in his retreat to watch
the fire he had started. 1t is remem-
bered that shortly before his birth the
mother was terribly frightened by a
FIRE in the neighborhood which threat
ened to extend to the build ne of which
she was an inmate. His id osrncrasy
in regard to tie fire is physiologically
accounted Tor OF attributed to this fact.
He Will sit and watch the fire in the
CRATE or the gas burning by the hour
in contemplat We interest and content
ment. The CRATE in his room is pro-
tected By a strong iron network under
lock and key. and the gas burners are
similarly inclosed, so as to prevent
him from reaching the flame. 1t is
feared that he might lie inclined to
tamper with the burner in one of his
vicious moods. An indulgence is to
allow him to ignate a quantity of pa
per, the burning of which affords him
much pleasure. Pe%rceiving his father
smoking a cigar, heonce surrept;t:ous-
ly obtained one. but the taste of the
tobacco s;ckened him and he has new
er since attempted to become a smo-
ker. 1t pleascs him, however, to
watch his father smoke, and he will
frequently request his father to
smoke" A sister was born SUISSE
quent TO his birth, but she died in in
fancy. She was a perfectly formed.
beautiful, healthy little child.
The appearance of the head and face
OF this unfortunate mar suggests that
a circular and smooth compress had
been placed on h s features as he was
growing. and the result is that the
growth of all the features and The
curves of the face and head have been
suppressed and made uniformly
smooth all around. He was born with
this slab-s;ded deformity. however.
and growth has not developed any of
the features or the shape of the head.
There IS a number of deformities of
the head. ears and face strongly re-
sembling those of a pig, and to this
class the physicians ascribe this singu-
lar freak of nature. Usually persons
possessing deformities of this class are
viciously inclined, but this man has no
bad habits. He is clearly and careful
of his personal appearance, and sell
dom gives any trouble to his nurse, to
whom he is apparently much attached.
1t is fortunate for him. that the acct
dent of birth placed him in such good
circumstances. In a more humble
sphere of life he would probably have
been placed in a museum. Most of the
deformit,es exhibited in such places,
howeve1-among them the man-crab
and the four-armed boy-are simply
cases OF distorted growth, which the
snrrnnnfs Enifo could annii.. ,nn,al.