The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-04-12
PIN srAss DON'T nvsr H,M.
since He Was Horn Mr.. Howard Has
Been Immune To Pain.

uescriDeu Dy MS employer ana patron,
Captain John White. as an exemplar OF
East indian stoicism. In the strict
sense of the word. Mr.. Howard Is not a
stole, because a stole is a person who
bears with equanimity, or pretends to.
the unpleasantnesses of life, whereas
Mr.. howard recks not at all of those
things which. to the normal man, are
quite serious unpleasantnesses. To
sum up this gentleman's attachments in
brief, IL is only necessary to say that
he could sit down upon a pin and never
know the difference.
Invitation came from Captain White
yesterday afternoon for a representa-
tive of the u to call at room 142. As
tor house. for the purpose of meeting
a remarkable human being. The rep
resentative entered room I42, M was
somewhat surprised TO find himself
greeted by "A young man with a hatpin
through his forearm. bristling from the
midst of a delicate design I'm black
headed pins. OF which only the heads
were visible. He introduced himself
as Mr.. Howard. Several other report
ers had arrived before the Sun man got
there. One of these was sitting i'm a
corner looking rather wan about the
gills. Another stared out of the win
dow as IL he never before had seen
anything so unique and interesting as
Broadway. a third was contemplating
the container of the pins with an ex-
preston with which the bird gazes on
the fascinating snake. In truth, ii was
a spectacle more interesting than al
Turing to see that curious individual
calmly perforate his jaw with another
hat pin. ~interrupting the conversation
for only The few seconds required to
thrust ii in, n continuing Immediate
ly with the point projecting some three
inches beyond the cheek. Two WISH
tors hastily departed at this, and. i'm
deed. the Sun r9nOrf9r felt "A vaPlQ
calling to a nobler life of usefulness
outside somewhere. But in the inter-
ests of science he stuck 1t out.
In answer to questions, Mr.. Iowa.
briefly sketched his painless career. He
is 2S years old. and was born in the
East Indies, of English parentage His
childhood was singularly free from the
troubles incident to young years, and
he was a great lack of care to his moth
er. He cannot remember ever having
had an ache Of any kind. Even the
East Indian child's substitute for green
apples failed to produce any corrosive
effect upon his unarmored interior. and
In boyhood's happy hours when an
other boy punched him in the eye he
had to wait until the bruise appeared
before he could feel justified i'm setting
up a howl. In the lapse of years he
entered the British army. served in In
dia as a bugler and for a time as a
bearer of secret dispatches. In this
capacity, while on horseback, he was
shot through the right ankle, a mis-
hap which caused him great embar-
rassment. as he didn't notice it until
he tried To walk. and then ignominious-
ly rolled over in the presence of his
superior officers. The surgeons set the
broken bone while Howard looked on
interestedly, and asked If he could go
out that evening to meet a somewhat
pressing engagement, 1t was the opin-
ion of the medicos that he was trying to
have fun with them, and they frowned
upon him accordingly.
Being mended. he was sent to serve in
Egypt. There one Of the dusky inhab-
itants of the country, following the in
hospitable practice of these gentry.
jabbed a spear into the young soldiers
thigh; a sharp, unpleasant spear with
a shovel head. Howard failed to appre-
ciate this matter until he collapsed
from loss of blood. He spent a month
in the hospital. recovering his quota of
vital fluid. While he was relating this.
one Of the reporters reached over from
behind and jabbed an a~ble-bodied pin
into his shoulder hard. The pin re-
manned where ii was stuck. Howar
continued without interruption.
When I'd got a little money l bought
myself out of the service and went to
Australia, thinking to get a chance at
the mounted police. / didn't get that,
so / came on here to TAX a look at
the Canadian mounted police. | might
be good for the hard winter service,
because cold don bother me any,
though / have got a cold in my head
since l came here to New York, and
that's as much of an illness as w ever
had. / drifted along the Great Lake
until Captain White gave me a job on
his lake steamer the Lady Twilight.
I've been working there since. Until
lately I never thought anything of my
being insensible To pain. They took me
before some medical boards and the
doctors said / was a phenomenon and
talked Latin about me till my ears
buZzed."
Howard is now on his way to London
to be examined by Captain Whites
brother. who is a professor in the Royal
Medical college there. He and Captain
White sail on the Lucania on Saturday.
As to the genuineness of the tests
yesterday there could be nc doubt. In
addition to the pin tests. Howard nailed
his hands and feet to boards. using steel
nails as long as a mans middle finger.
or curse. he carefully avoided injuring
the bones in these experiments. Their
gruesomeness was largely mitigated by
the fact that there was little bleeding.
In fact. the man seems to have control
over his flow of blood. and where he SO
wll'ed II not a speck followed the with
drawal Of the pin. As to the cause of
his immunity from pain, he cannot re-
member that he ever suffered any blow
on the head such as might paraiyze
the nerve centers. In all respects but
this one he is normal. His senses OF
taste and smell are well developed. He
is healthy and much more powerful
than the ordinary man of his size. There
is a slight obstruction in ais speech.
The doctors, he says. are unable to de-
termine the nature of his case. although
they believe the secret les in some abb
normal formation of the brain. His
muscles have not been harmed by their
frequent perforatiOn. n his wounds
heal with remarkable rapidly.
After the experiments were over one
OF the newspaper men who had hastily
left the room was found in an adjoining
parlor in a lead faint. TIL performance
had been to much for him. He was re-
vived and taken away.