The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-08-17
SOME LONG SLEEPS.
Two Persons Who Are Making a Great
Record.

There have been numerous instances
in which persons have slept for weeks
without awakening, and usually they
have been the victims Of a we'll defined
nervous disorder.
Probably the most remarkable sleep
er Of modern times is Herman Harms,
citizen of St. Charles, MINI. He
has slept almost continuously for
twenty years, and is still in the land
of the living. He fell asleep in 1873,
when he was twenty.six years of age,
and was at that time perfectly sound
in mind and body, weighing $50
pounds. Though he has been fed sys-
tematically as we'll as circumstances
will allow during the whole Of his long
sleep, he has been reduced to scarcely
half his former weight, being only "a
pounds. Harms is fed usually once a
day, but sometimes goes two or three
days without drink, all his food be-
ing in liquid form. He is the father
of family Of five, none Of whom dis
play any signs Of the unhappy malady
which has kept their father uncon-
scious for twenty years.
Periodically the sleeper awakens for
short interval, but he invariably re-
lapses again into slumber. In his mo-
ments of partial consciousness he re-
cognizes friends, and appears to be
unaware of the state through which he
is passing. A 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 week after he had
awakened, and has since slept the
sleep Of the living. Numerous physi-
clans have given their attention to his
case, and various means Of arousi-g
the man from his lethargy have been
tried without avail.
Powerful electric batteries have
been applied to the body again and
again, but the only effect has been to
cause slight twitch Of the muscles as
| if the sleeper felt pain, and in the
next moment he is once more in a
dead stupor. All sorts Of explana-
tions have been offered of this myste-
ry, and doctors have variously stated
that Harms suffers from Bright's dis
ease, heart trouble or softening of the
brain, but so far no satisfactory con-
clusion has been arrived at as to the
cause of his marvellous sleep. ltis an
aspect of physical science which has
yet to be solved. Catalepsy frequent
ly takes peculiar form, which is
quite as difficult to account for as the
disease itself, for the doctors are
agreed that somnambulism Of this kind
is disease, and that no person in
good health ever sleeps for such alb
normal periods.
One of the most eccentric catalep-
tics 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 un-
consciousness, but regularly woke one
day in seven, and in the "Philosoph-
ical Transaction" the case is men
toned of Elizabeth Orrin, who, for
ten years, never slept less than seven
teen hours out of twenty-four, and was
perfectly sane when awake. Another
remarkable feature in this strange all
ment is that it seizes it's victims with
out the slightest warning, and that
while it locks some persons in slumber
for years, others are released after a
week or 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 comparatively short sleeps are
often traceable to nervousness or phys
ical weakness. Fright appears to be
the most common cause Of long sleep.
Some years ago young woman was on