The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-17
LONG SLEEPS.
Two Persons who Are Making N
Great Record.
From the Baltimore American.

From the Baltimore American.
There have been numerous instances in
which persons have slept for weeks with
out awakening, and usually they have
been the victims of a well-defined ner-
vous disorder.
Probably the most remarkable sleeper
of modern times is Herman Harms.
citizen of st. Charles, Mimi He has
slept almost continuously for twenty
years, and is still in the land Of the liv-
ing. He fell asleep in 1875, when he was
26 years of age, and was at that time
perfectly sound in mind and body, weigh
ing 1870 pounds. Though he has been fed
Systematically as well as circumstances
will allow during the whole of his long
sleep, he has been reduced to scarcely half
his former weight, being only eighty-four
pounds. Harms is fed usually once a day,
but sometimes goes two or three DAYS
without a drink, all his food being in
liquid FORM He is the father of a fam
lily of five. none of whom display any
signs of the unhappy malady which has
kept their father unconscious for twenty
years.
short interval, but he invariably relapses
again into slumber. In his moments of
partial consciousness he recognizes
friends and appears to be unaware of the
state through which he is passing.
year ago he was awake for some days
and every effort was made to preserve his
consciousness, but in vain. Harms sank
back to sleep in less than a week after
he had awakened, and has since slept the
11f no liXvin NJ, ctolo,
have given their attention to the case
and various means of arousing the man
from his lethargy have been tried, with
out avail.
Powerful electric batteries have been
applied to the body again and again. bat
the only effect has been to cause a slight
twitch of the muscles as if the sleeper
felt pain, and the next moment he is once
more in a dead stupor. All sorts of eX-
plantations have been offered of this mys-
terry, and doctors have variously stated
that Harms suffers from Bright's disease,
heart trouble or softening of the brain,
but so far no satisfactory conclusion has
been arrived at as to the cause of his
marvellous sleep. 1t is an aspect of physi-
cal science which has vet to be solved
Catalepsy frequently takes a peculiar
form, which is quite as difficult to account
for as the disease itself, for the doctors
are agreed that somnambulism of this
good health ever sleeps for such abnormal
periods.
One of the most eccentric cataleptics
ever known, says the London Globe was
Elizabeth Perkins, who lived in Norfolk.
This old lady spent most of her later life
in state of Inconsistencies, but regu-
larly awoke one day in seven, and in the
Philosophical Transactions" the case
IS mentioned of Elizabeth Orrin, who, for
ten years, never slept less than seven
teen out of twenty-four hours, and was
perfectly sane when awake. Another re-
markable feature of this strange ailment
is that 1t seiZes its victims without the
slightest warning and that while it locks
some persons in slumber for years, others
are released after a week or a month.
In 1886 lady fell asleep for seven days,
and awoke at the end of the week, as
usual, and in the summer of the same
year Russian soldier fell asleep in an
English workhouse, and did not awake
until the following August These COM
paratively short sleeps are often traceable
TO nervousness or physical weakness.
Fright appears to be the most common
cause of long sleep. Some years ago a
young woman was on exhibition In va
rious places who had been asleep since
she was u years old. At that age the
child suffered a severe attack of fever
on recovering from which she relapsed
into deep sleep, in which she remained
more or less until her DEATH which took
place at the age of twenty-six, after she
had been asleep fourteen years.
During the first few months OF her sleep
the girl awoke twice every twenty-four
hours for about ten minutes, but in her
most wakeful intervals she appeared anx-
ious to 20 to sleep. and when once sound
~ asleep nothing could rouse her. She
never complained of pain, but when asleep
her hands were always clutched tightly
and she appeared extremely nervous, oc-
casionally suffering from a violent jerk
ing and twitchlag OF the muscles and
limbs. Several cases have come under no
tice during the last few years OF persons
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