Morning journal and courier., 1891-01-29

um height.
THE MAN WHO SHEDS HIS SKIN.
He Wears His Cast-of Hands For
Gloves and His Feet For Mocca-
sins.
From the Chicago Tribune,I
The only man who was ever literally
skinned alive in this city is now in Mon
tana mining camp, and he left his skin
behind him. His name is not for publica
ton, for the reason that he is the most
curious natural freak in existence, and
being modest man he objects to the un-
pleasant notoriety which would unayoida-
bly, follow. A rough experience two years
with his desire to avoid publicity. He
was in mining camp when his queer
disease paid its annual visitation, and he
went out of his head through fear and
excitement. He was unable to leave the
camp for treatment, and when the miners
saw his condition they thought he was
leper, and decided to shoot him. The
mob advanced on him, but his brother,
with his revolver cooked, stood over the
man anu Oh bs
| ening to shoot the first man who drew his
weapon.
In one of the Office rooms of St. Eliza
beth's hospital hangs the strangest picture
that can be seen in Chicago, or in the
United States for that matter. Within
the frame gre four photographs repre-
senting a man in the act of shedding his
skin. The most characteristic parts of
| the skin are in the frame also-both hands
| perfect, with the exception of the finger
| nails, and the soles and heels of both feet,
with little of the upper portion-in
| fact, perfect pair of gloves and pair of
moccasins. In the center of the picture
are half dozen perfect nails, which for
merly belonged to this skin-shedding man.
| Then there are several large plates of
| the cuticle taken from various parts of
| the body.
One of the photographs shows this
strange human being with his arms out
stretched, the old skin peeling off and
hanging from his body in shreds like q
tattered shirt, while the new skin can be
| detected by the whiteness of the photo
graph. All the skin has been oiled, and
| some of the pieces are perforated, while
| others could be used as q gourd without a
| drop of water escaping. The hands and feet
| are of a yellow tint from being handled
| professionally, and from being used as
gloves and slippers by the former owner,
| the rest of the skin being of a milky hue.
The man who once wore this skin for
| natural purposes is now at work in full
possession of a new skin, which will leave
| him next summer. He has been peeling
off his skin from the crown of his head
| to the sole of his feet for thirty-three
years, the same day of each year, and it
was only on the last occasion that pub
\ icity followed and the medical profession
| became aware of this phenomenon of
| nature.
He is the second eldest child of family
| of thirteen, all of whom are living, and
his grandmother is ninety-seven years old.
In the winter of 1857 the home of his
| parents in Franklin, No, was burnt down
| during the Kansas-Missouri troubles. His
father was away and his mother escaped
to the banks of Meredensen river, where
| this remarkable man was born, exposed
| to the open air. This may or may not
have had something to do with his skin
shedding. At any rate, at six months of
his age his first crop of new skin appeared
all over his body. At that time and for
several years afterward his mother
thought it was only the eruptive fever of
childhood and paid little attention to the
yearly event. He remembers distinctly
shedding his skin at five years of age
while playing around his old home. He
has always been healthy in other respects.
photograph which was taken of him
Just before he shed his skin in this city
shows tall, well-proportioned man of
splendid physique, his muscles standing
out like those OF a prize fighter. He has
an intelligent countenance, wears a small
light mustache and is without spot or
blemish. Last July he left his home at
Phillipsburg, Mont, intending to 60 to
Philadelphia. He arrived in Chicago the
latter part of the month and as his skin
peeling spell of sickness always begins
July % of each year, he decided TO use
letter of introduction from Montana
friend to DR. Jacob Frank, II Lincoln
avenue.
When he quietly informed DR.. Frank
that he wanted to be admitted to a hos
pital so that he could shed his skin, the
physician was incredulous, but when the
| Montana miner went on to say that IL
three days, between the hours of IL noer
and D. m, he would be taken sick will
fever and vomiting and would be sick al
that night, that within day or two ar
eruption resembling scarlatina would sp
pear, that the skin of the hands and feet
| would come off first like gloves and moe
casins, that his hair would fall away ant
that all his nails would come off, DIR
Frank mentally decided that the maj
was either lunatic or a practical joker
, But the doctor arranged for the patien
| to be given a room at St. Elizabeth
hospital and invited Drs. Montgomery
, Newburg, Macarthur, Hyde, Sanford, An
, thony and other skin specialists to observ
the case.
As predicted-and this is the most re
, markable feature of remarkable case-a
, three O'Clock on the afternoon of July 2
, the patient had to be put to bed. The
! came a fever followed by vomiting, an
the neck, face and hands became red q
> | lobster. 1t took two days for the ol
skin to resume its normal color. Afte
, the sickness the old skin began to loOseI
and whole new skin took its place With
two weeks. II takes between two an
three weeks for the nails to come off. II
is able to be up and about after the frs
days sickness. and as his feet and hand
=, are tender he uses the old skin for proteI
ton. The minute that he takes sick b
stops perspiring and no medicine can max
him perspire except between the old ski
and the new one which is forming. b
|. returned to another mining camp in MOI
| tana before all his old nails had come of
and when they did he forwarded them b
mail to DIR. Frank.
II His case is the second of its kind whic
It is known to exist in the world, and in n
n spect 10 It's occurring tne saihr uhi ever
wear it stands alone. The medical name
u has been given is yearly Recurrent d.
n squamative Erythema, Scarlatina Forme.
In 1876 French physician reported I
:. the Academy of Paris case of skin-she9
ding which occurred three or four times
L one year, in another year seven times
/. The only similar case TO the American on
ar is that reported by Professor Besner. prC
fessor of dermatology in the university c
10 Paris. Between March and May of ever
E year this patient throws off the whole {
:. his akin, but he was not attacked until siI
ID teen or seventeen years old, and his ski
N doesn't come off in as large plates Pc
ID sonal idiosyncrasy is the only reason ii
lie profession can give for this mysterioI
le visitation, and influence of the mind is u
of only way the professors of medical juri
t prudence can account for its yearly recu
ie renee in the American case.