The coast beacon. (Pass Christian, Miss.) 18??-1???, 1895-05-25
The Champion somnambal'st.

when Ben HOugeS aWOKe az tuo
City Hospital he did not know, at
first, where he was "at,s and not
until an attendant informed him of
his own whereabouts did he recall
how he came to be there. Then it
all come back, and he remembered
his early morning encounter with
Patrolmen Goetz and Hoffman. AT.
ter being attended by a physician
Hodges again started forth to re-
sumo his battle with the world,
Hodges is the original somnam.
bulist. About 3 o'clock yesterday
morning, clad only in a thin under.
shirt, he made a swift rgA down
Clark avenue to the river, and
would have drowned himself had it
not been for the interference of the
officers. They saw that something
was wrong with the man and took
him to fsi City Dispensarg., The
PHI sicistsS decided that II had
nlghtma g, aud sent him to the City
Hospital. He departed yesterday
morning in excellent spirits and at
once went about returning the suit
of clothes he has borrowed from a
friend.
Hodges is thirty-three years of
age, and is a painter. For several
years he has been boarding at the
Benton House, at 800 South Third
street, and occupies a room fitted
up particularly for him. Near the
head of the bed large iron ring is
| fastened in the wall, and to this be
fore retiring nightly Hodges secures
himself by means of heavy strap
4 secured to his wrist by paddock.
Yesterday morning, when one of
his ''spells" came ON him, he broke
the strap and scaled the wall to the
pavement. In some manner which
even he does not understand, after
breaking the wire ropes which are
used as bars to his window.
About a year ago Hodges emerg-
ed from his room in the same man
ner, and then attempted to climb
an outbuilding, but fell and broke
his arm. On Nov. 10, 1894, police
man saw him wandering on the
levee in his sleep and arrested hiin.
Hodges awoke and protested:
III am a somnambulist, " he urged.
81 don't care what church you
belong to-" replied the guardian OF
the peace, "I am going to arrest
YOU" And he did, and the obser
walton of the policeman is still be-
ing handed down to fame in the
funny columns of newspapers.
On this occasion Hodges was re
moved to the City Hospital, anC
become more violent thai he wa'
} ever known to be. He not onl!
, broke away from his moorings a
the bed, but bent the heavy irol
? bars of one of the cells in the insan'
4 ward and escaped into the street
r He was recaptured and remained
in the hopital about six weeks. Ac
< cording to DR.. Marks, then super
intendent, the man was a victim Q
epilepsy.
t Nobody yet has been found t
6 account satisfactorily for Hodges
It peculiar condition. He has no ser
q GUS disease since he was five year
C old, but when he was fifteen a was
IT on ran over him, injuring his heat
u So far as could be ascertalned n
o fracture of the skull resulted, br
q within a few years of that tim
d Hodges commenced walking in b
u sleep, and has been at it ever sin'
e! at uncertain intervals. AlthOug
W the tension on the system is vel
great, while these somnambuli
performances are in progress,
s. says he never feels any i'll effec
ID except a slight nervousness.
la T.ou;S Gloha. namOcrat. 1S