The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1890-01-16
CAN LIGHT HIS BREATH.
Tho Strange Case Of william Jsckson, o
Midtilebury, W.

M1ddlebury, w. t
The strange case of William jackson,
whose breath was inflammable, excited
great deal Of interest In medical and
scientific circles two years ago. At that
time, says the Albany IN. W Journal,
Mr.. jackson was photographer IN,
Fayetteville, N. Y. More recently he
has been engaged in this same business
in Middlebury, Vt. One evening at ten
o'clock he lighted a lamp with a match.
Then with q breath OF air sought to
elbow out the match" Instantly his
breath took fire with slight explosion.
Jackson gasped with fright, and the
fame of the combustible air entered his
mouth and blistered his tongue. HIS
lips and face also suffered, and his mus
tache, eyebrows and the hair above his
eyebrows were singed to marked de-
gree. The man was at first badly
frightened, and his wife, who was o
witness Of the occurrence, screamed
with alarm.
After waiting an hour to See II there
would be repetition Of the phenom-
enon, jackson went to bed. The next
morning he consulted his physician,
Dr.. T. r. Quinby, who recognised tho
case as a singular one, and engaged the
writer Of this article to report 1t for the
medical journals. The truth Of the re-
ports was at flrst questioned on all
sides, but, after the matter was thor
oughly investigated, It was admitted
that such case might possibly occur.
Then in 1874 1t was learned
that European medical Journal
had published report Of a SINH
lar phenomenon, and musty scien-
tiflo somes were searched, and one
Item discovered that substantiated the
present. Then Jackson discovered that
he could reproduce the phenomenon al
most ut will, but as the experiment
sometimes resulted in unpleasant burns
he would exhibit his popularity only on
special occasions. At last medical
men figured out theory TO explain the
freak. They came to the conclusion
that 1t was not the breath from Jack.
| sons lungs, but air bolched from his
stomach, that would take fire. The
| patient had ncvor been drinking man,
80 the gas was not rendered infam.
mable by tho presence of alcoholic
vapor, but for years no had suffered
from peculiar kind Of dyspepsia. DR.
| William Manllus Smith, professor o.
chemistry in tho Syracuse Medical Col
lcge, after careful study concluded that
| food in Jackson's stomach underwent 6
| butyric acid fermentation, one of tho
| products Of which was light carburetet
hydrogen, sometimes called ''marsf
gas" the "flrodamp" Of mines. Jack
son understood little about chemistr,
and one day he and the writer went t
an old, stagnant pond and collected (
bottleful of ''marsh gas" WheI
lighted 1t exploded, and burned pre-
cisely as did Jackson's breath. Th'
gas was collected by holding tho bottle
under tho surface of tho pond, stirring
up the mud in the bottom Of the pond
and catching in the bottle the bubbles
OF gas as they arose. jackson Is abou
thirty years old and genuine Yankee
He Is bright humorist, and as genial ;
fellow as one ever has the pleasure o
meeting. He has boon a newspaper
man, Indian fighter, photographer enc
half dozen other things He is alst
an artist Of no mean ability. His wifi
was formerly his school-teacher.