The Philipsburg mail. [volume] (Philipsburg, Mont.) 1887-current, 1897-06-18
HISSKIN SCHLES0FF
John Fl. Prices Cuticle Falls off Repu
larly Every Year.
PdILIPSBURG WONDER IN BUTTE
1t Is Freak Of Nature, an Explana-
ton of Which the Medical World
Has Been Unable to Give.

John H. Price, who is now in Butte,
IS evidently giving the newspaper re-
porters there a shaking up Oh the pecu-
liar freak Of nature with which he is
endowed viz: the shedding of the
skin of his entire body each and every
year. Any Old, ime Phiipsburger
knows that such is tie case, ana now
the Butte people will have an oDpor-
tunity Of wondering why it is. and if
they wait until July 25th they will
doubtless receive ample and conclusive
proof OF the strange phanomena-that
i, unless the Butte smoke and impure
water interfere ~ 4 the peculiar caper
OF nature FIR tEe past 40 years. 1t
must be born" in mind that Mr. Price
has been e., .esident of Phllipsburg for
the past quarter Of century and has
been known to drink nothing but our
purest mountain water (without too
much copper stain III it,.
The following FROM the Anaconda
Standard shows that Butte is now
onto him:
John II. Price, the Philipsburg man
who sheds his skin every year, is in
Butte, anG he will probably remain
there until the shedding process takes
place. Mr.. Prices case has attracted
national attention and has puzzled the
most celebrated doctors and surgeons
Of America, who are unable to account
for the phenomenon on any theory.
On the 2+th day of July in every year
he sheds every particle of cuticie,
which is laced by an entirely new
skin. He first shed his skin when he
was months old. and he has been
losing it regularly every year since
then. He is now 40 years old and
year has never passed in which he did
not receive IA Few covering. The ear
lest that the change ever took place
was at . o'clock on the morning Of the
24th, and it has never occurred later
than 3 o'clock in the morning of the
25th.
There is no similar case to be found
in the medical records of the last 1000
years, and there are only two cases
tnat resemble it in any way. One is
that of a Georgia man and the other of
a woman in Nebraska, both of whom
have shed their skins hve or six times.
Mr.. Price stated last evening to
Standard reporter, in explaining the
freak Of nature, that the |
shedding Of his skin causes him very
little trouble and practically no pain. |
Two or three days before the skin |
comes off it congests and at that time
he has high fe?er and feeling of |
nausea, lasting several hours. The
fever comes quickly and goes Just as
quickly. When the skin congests the
pores close up. Just before it is time
for the skin to come off he takes brisk
walk and works up perspiration
which loosenS the outer skin as it can
not escape through it. The skin bis
ters and finally peels off nicely, leaving
the new cuticle underneath The new
'kln Is naturally very tender but If
soon hardenS. and Mr.. Price saws that
le usually resumes his work on the fol-
owing day. The feet are particularly
ender and he usually wears the old
skin as mOccasins for five or six weeks.
The old skin Is kept perfectly natural
~ oillng it before it comes off Mr..
Price went to Chicago at the request
If several eminent surgeons in 1890
md shed his skin in St. Elizabeth hos
)tal III the preso ce of several promi.
lent doctors. His skin was taken off
whole and stuffed and is still an object
If great curiosity in the hospital. The
loctors examined the skin by every
process and found it to be perfectly
formal and Prices blood was found to
re perfectly pure. The doctors were
Unable to advance any solution Of the
and although all sorts Of the
'ries were suggested none of them
we're satisfactory.