St. Paul daily globe., 1888-01-08
Stricken by Ague, He Geadu-
ally Sinks Into a State
of Somnolence.
A Fortune Spentin Vain in the
EndeaVor to Break the
Persistent Sleep.
Once a Strong Man, He Has
Wasted Until Now He Is
a Mere Skeleton.
The Brightest Medical Talent
Baffied by the Case--His
Wife'S FaithfulneSs.

Utica. Mimi. is town of perhaps $50
inhabitants, OH the Winona Il st. Peter
branch of the Chicago Il Northwestern
railroad, and it is situated in the center
of aSrich an agricultural country as can
be found within the state limits. Two
years ago fire nearly swept the little
burg out of existence, but the push and
perseverance of the citizens would not
down, and substantial stores and resi-
denceS rose out of the ashes, and to-day
no traces of the cOnfiagration are eXtant,
while the borders of the town are slowly
but gradually creeping out tow ards the
wooded bluffs that look down upon the
snug little hamlet nesting at their feet.
The people of Utica are modest, unas-
suming bodies, living contentedly on
from day to day in their frugal way,
caring little for the rush and jar and
struggle of the outside world They
have an elevator that offers
profitable market for the
grain raised by the surrounding farm
erS, who make periodical excursions to
town. Then there is the corner grocery,
where everything necessary to the well
fare of man, from a pin to a barrel of
-four, can be bought at rock bottom
prices. There the villagers congregate
nightly, and, seated on cracker barrels
and the counters, spit on the stove and
gossip about Jersey cows, WestcheSter
hogs and new varieties of grain. One
night each week the store closes early,
and the inhabitants of the town cOngre-
gate in body at the school house, where
questions of
NATIONAL INTEREST
are debated and Judgment rendered by
men of brains as we'll as muscle. A
New Englander. if he should chance to
wander into Utica, would feel in a
great measure at home. especially if he
should open the door of the corner gro
cery and pOstof1ice combined, where,
every time customer comes in to buy
pound of crackers, he fills his ample
pipe bowl from the box of tobacco be-
hind the counter. and lets his fingers
wander reckleSSly through the raiSin
box. while he entertainS the StOrekeeper
with careless gossip about the weather
and the prospects for long and tee
JUS winter. On the short, broad, glass
frOnted case, laid off into convenient
letter boxes, hangs a notice familiar to
all New England people, and which
runs thus:
&.-------.-. .............. ...-... .....+
The law does not require postoffices of
this class to keep open Sunday, but for
the accommodation of the citizens of
Ctica the postmaster will deliver mail
On Sunday between the hours of u and 4.
And so, it will be seen that Utica is
quiet town, populated with quiet peo-
pie, who naturally lead quiet life.
The only occurrence that sends a ripple
of excitement across the breast of this
peaceful community is the incoming
train bearing the mail. that stands long
enough at the cumpy brown station for
the conductor to step down from the
car, swing his hand over his head and
cry "All abOard!" After the mail is
distributed and everybody in town has
been to the pOStOffice, matters settle
back into their dull routine for another
twenty-fOur hours. 1t was here, in the
midst of these unaSsuming people,
that the GLOBE reporter discovered last
week a case that may prove of wonder
full interest to the medical profession:
case that will excite the curiosity of
the people all over the continent; a case
that for mystery and popularity has no
parallel in the history of unnatural
conclusions. Already, dear reader.
your curiosity is getting the best of you
and you are eagerly asking, ''What is
it?" 1t is the case of a man who has
slept continually, with the exception of
three mnnthc for cpvpD lODU yparc