Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1892-11-09
HYPNoTlsM GAVE RELIEF.
Protracted Case of Hiccoughing Cured
by Means OF Mesmerism.

A PrOtracted Case of Hiccoughing Cured
by Means OF Mesmerism.
An old man with remarkable all
ment hobbled into the city dispensary
and sank exhausted into the examining
chair. He was colored man, apparent
ly sixty years of age, and was hiccough-
ing violently. But his spasms were very
weak. sometimes being noiseless and
only noticeable by the horrible contor-
tion of his features, as though they gave
him excruciating pain. By the aid of
signs and fow disjointed words the old
man told DIR. Fitzpatrick that he had
been hiccouglling since Saturday night
at / o'clock, or about thirty-six hours.
His name WIS Jake Pittman, and he
lived at North Levoc, his occupation
being that of u roustabout on the wharf
boats.
While he was taking off his clothes he
suddenly began to hiccough, and do
what he might he could not stop. He
tried all the known household remedies,
such as drinking ''nine swallows of wa
ter without thinking of red fox's TAIL"
chewing up two green onions without
letting the Juice touch the left molar"
and allowing his wife to fire big pistol
beside his ear to "scare them away"
They were all fruitless efforts, and Pitt
man continued to hiccough with any
thing but agreeable regularity. All the
neighbors on the block came in and pre-
scribed with like result. All Saturday
night he hiccoughed, all Sunday and all
Sunday night. By Monday morning he
was deal more dead than alive. When
he dragged himself into the dispensary
he was scarcely able to walk
For some time DR.. Fitzpatrick worked
upon the unfortunate man, using num-
Der of remedies that promised well, but
bettered nothing. Then he had Pittman
partially strip himself, and with the aid
of an assistant bound a bandage around
the patients chest SO tightly that he
groaned from the pressure. This was
to loosen the diaphragm, the apparatus
directly affected, and seemed to produce
some effect, for the hiccough spasms
were less violent. But they were by no
means stopped. Even with the bandage
bound round SO tightly that it seemed to
sink into the flesh the curious disturb
ance kept up every half minute.
DR.. Fitzpatrick then decided to try
hypnotism. He made several passes be-
fore Pittman's eyes with his hands and
found the old man a ready patient. He
followed the physicians eyes with pain
full intentness and seemed to completely
lose the power of volition and motion.
When he saw the hiccougher was under
the influence" DR.. Fitzpatrick sudden
ly commanded him to close his eyes
'and Sleep" still keeping up the passes,
and as the obedient eyes dropped their
lids and the patients head sunk to his
chest the operator exclaimed, "When
you open your eyes you will stop hic-
coughing" In a few minutes, with
few light taps on the ears and slaps on
the face, Pittman was reused from the
hypnotic sleep, and strange as it may
seem his unnatural coughing stopped as
quick. To say that he was overjoyed is
naming Pittman's condition very mild
ly. He beaned all over, grabbed the
physicians hand and pumped it for five
minutes and skipped from end to end
of the room like a schoolboy. DR.. Fitz-
patrick had Pittman stay at the dispen-
sary for over an hour to see if the hic-
coughing would return, but it did not
again materialize. Pittman left the old
city hall the happiest man in st Louis
st Louis Globe-Democrat.