Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-10-08


one OF the strangcst penalties that eccentric
fate has ever inflicted on a member OF tho
human family Is shown In the case OF John
Snyder who resides at Mile Grove. small
station thirty miles east OF here on the Chicago,
st. Louis and Pit.sburg road. HIS peculiar des
tiny appears 10 be that he shall not stop walk
ing until he walks into the grave. Accom-
panied by his son he came into Marion to-day,
On his way To visit the iair IA the adlacent
town OF Warren. Except for CHARACTERIZATION ior
his son he would have saved raiiroaa iare,
ana walked 10 Marion. Even while on the
CARS he Was unable TO control the spirit OF IN.
rest THAI possesses him, aud Kept up ms perpet
uai promcnadng from front to rear aud rear 10
mont In leaving the coach, while his iocomo-
ton was impeded by the other passenger, his
ieet aud legs refused ~ pause Ia their pedes-
tiian motions up and down. lie had six hours
10 WALL here between trains. in that time ne
walked several miles into the country ano back
up one street aud down another. around block
.istef DOCK, never aalting, never lausing. lie
ooarded a Toledo, 81 Louis, and Kansas City
train Tor w rrcu, aud : tue engine pulled out
| form 10 platform.
snyders strange afiiiction dates back to n lit
TIE over Two Years ago. Al that time ne became
Tue victim oi some sort OF nervous complaint,
iroin which he found relIei in "A measure by
walking until completely exhausted. His
sir,hge maiady became more and more aggrs.
Nateu, ana ne would get up in the middle OF
the uigat aud walk ave, ten and fifteen miles
before sufficiently exhausted TO sleep. Then be
would walk twenty.iour hours on a stretch. It
l. asserted ON anqucstioued authority that the
enIire lime In the saSt year Ihat he has been OF
MS feet would moi aggregate over three or four
souls. Eating anu Sleeping. IN aylight aud
darkness, he Keeps up his tireess and
perpetual tramp, tramp tramp. Around
ms house Il IA beaten pam nearly a foot decp,
worn by months oi inccssanI waIxlug, lto
goes at a steady gait of little over three
miles an hour, al miles every twenty tour
| hours, SIS miles eaca week 22su miles a
| month and 1900 miles "A year An the last
Two years he has walked lar enough To twice
| encircle the globe. Two years ago ne was be-
| heved I'd be Insane aud seut IA tue asylum
| al Indianapolis. After a short confinement IL
Was shown that he Was not a subjeci ior IN eu tai
| treatment and Was released. A distinguished
authority on nervous diseases gave ID as ais
opinion al the time That AZ Snyaer was 10 be
| bound iland ana loot lac would become "a raw
| iils maniac and die la "A few hours. lie mas
| walked ever since aud cannot STOP IL he nalts
| Tor a lew seconds his kxgs become cramped aud
| eNnioft conNussiSe tendencies, ana there In
| no rest or relief but To continue his tramp.
| A strange feature Is related IN connection win
| ms pedestrian tendencies: \ few months ago
| he was put 10 sleep ia a recun bent Position Dy
| the Use OF opiates. On AWAKENING he was 30
| sufcharged with the demon $50 uiet that he
| spriug up and ran for five hours at a RAE of
| about twelve miles an hour, wnen he again
| iapsed INTO his accustomed gait, which lac has
| Since Maintained without Interruption. lie
| appears 10 be thoroughly and permanently
| wound up, and until the runs down viii remain
1 the best example OF perpetual motion that has
| yet been discovered.
| shy der is about 90 years old and has a large
| lalplly. In Other respects his health Is good,
| aua aside from hasss aud haunted express
Sion there Is nothing unusual In his appearance.
/ nus step lacks spring aud sprigntlIness, aud
/ lntoieraole WEAKNESS. All belief that his M lid
Rage Is an assumed one has long since been dis
slpated. HIS case IL Remarkable one and
Is apparently beyond the ken OF physicians %