The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-12-18
DEATH FROM HUNGER,
THE LENGTH OF TIME PEOPLE CAN
LIVE WITHOUT FOOD.

No Inhexible Rule Prevails, and
There Are Many Influences Which
Affect the Result-Opinions of an
Eminent Physician.
A pathetic story was attributed recent
ly to 3-year-old child in this city, who
was represented as saying that it had
gone nearly week without eating. AT
the time Of its discovery the youngster
was reported to be on the verge Of star
walton. though still alive. Whether cred
ible or not, the tale naturally raises the
question as to how long person can live
without food.
To the most casual observer II must be
obvious that no infexible rule prevails in
such matters. Some people can 20 much
longer than others without eating. There
are certain elements of yigor, of reserve
vitality, that would carry one person
through an ordeal which another could
not survive. Again. the conditions Of the
dividual would Withstand one cOmbina-
tion Of circumstances and succumb to an
other. 1t goes without saying that an in
valid would not show the powers of en-
durance which are to be expected from q
thoroughly well person, yet there are as
tonishing differences among invalids, as
indeed among those who would be pro-
nounced in good health by a physician.
In his well known work, "Practical
Dietetics," DR.. w. Gilman Thompson
points out that starving man can hold
out better il he refrains from exercise
than IL he engages in physical labor,
which would consume some Of his tissue.
Self forgetfulness, too, tends to prolong
life in time Of famine. One who is well
nourishcd can endure much more than
person who is already half starved.
Thus arctic explorers, after having been
kept on half rations for an extended pc
riod, would apparently not have as good
a chance of survival as if they had been
well fed up to the time of the complete
suspension of supplies. They might be
more fortunate, however, than a ship
wrecked mariner, who, in addition TO the
mental depression caused by his mlsfor-
tune, was compelled TO sustain drafts,
upon his store of physical energy through
the inclemency of the weather. More
over, a fat person may complain more
bitterly than his emaciatcd comrade, but
he would live longer under the same pri-
vations. In practical Dietetics" DR..
Thompson says:
"Chossat's experiments with starving
animals proved that while they lost 40
per cent of body weight the loss OF fat
alone reached 80 per cent, being greatly
in excess of any other substance. Ansel-
mier fed starved dogs on their own blood
and succeeded In thus prolonging their
lives three or four days beyond the usual
limit, and life lasted until 90 instead of
40 per cent Of their body weight had
been lost.
when food is wholly withheld (frcm
human subjects, life cannot be prolong-
ed beyond from six to ten days In tho
majority of instances. During the win
ter of 1867 an accident occurred in the
mines Of colliery of South Wales by
which four men and boy became i'm
prsOned four days without food. AT the
expiration of this period they were found
alive, and although very feeble they
were able to walk when released. They
had supply Of water, and the atmos-
phere in which they were confined was
moist. By another colliery accident in
Wales number of men were confined in
mine for six days without food, and
although their suifcrings were extreme
they nearly all were able to walk out on
being rescued.
1.-THE lack of food may be endured with
far less torture if water is applied in
abundance to the system. When water
is withheld, the body loses weight much
more rapidly, the tissues become dry, the
thirst excessive, the secretions are sup
pressed, and the suffering is intensified"
Replying to questions about the child
mentioned at the beginning Of this arti-
Gle, DR.. Thompson remarked that he had
not seen the story and was not prepared
to express an opinion as to its accuracy.
Nevertheless, there was reason to doubt
whether the child had such a good sense
of time as to realize what it was saying
if it actually pretended to have been
without food for several days. 1t is as
tonishing, however, to notice how long
person will survive who is already much
emaciated and whose supply of nutrition
is limited. DR.. Thompson cited the case
Of boy that he had seen in the Presby-
terrain hospital in New York. A photo
graph of the patient showed scarcely any
thing but skin and bones. The child was
the victim Of some malady which made it
diilicult>to receive and retain food. The
food was given in liquid form and by
means of medicine dropper, yet life was
sustained three weeks after the point of
death had apparently been reached.
Generally speaking, however, the au-
thor of practical Dictetics" believed
that most men could 60 only n week
without any food whatever and the ma
jority of children not over three or four
days. Even then they must have plenty
Of water.
Cases like that Of Tanner and Succi
are exceptions that prove the rule. They
had the benefit Of warmth, quiet and lack
of anxiety. Whatever advantage might
have been derived from special prepara-
ton for the ordeal was theirs, and they
used water abundantly. Moreover, they
doubtless possessed remarkable powers
of endurance, but it is absurd to imagine
that other persons can do with IMMUNITY
what those famous fasters did.
1t is a generally accepted fact, how
ever, that the majority of people in COM
Portable circumstances eat more food ev-
cry day than they require, If not more
than is really good for their health. !
Hence some form Of abstcmiousness ben /
ellts nearly every one who resorts to it. !
In various parts of this country for the
last ten years number of men and wo.
men have been going without their break
fasts and INDUCING in only two moder-
ate meals day. This practice--it can !
hardly be called "fad'-has probably |
been abandoned in many cases, yet it has
probably wrought more good than harm. |
The experience of Luigi Cornaro the
Venetian who lived to the age Of 1903
and was vegetarian for the last hnlf Of !
his life, is occasionally cited to illustrate |
the value of restricted diet Although |
Cornaro had lived a fast life during the |
earlier part Of his career, he reformed, |!
and for the remaining AZ years of his life |
confined himself to II ounces of vegcta- |
Bile food and IA ounces of wine n day. |
Any one who attempted to follow his ex-
ample with absolute precision, however, |
might perish OF starvation inside Of d |
year.-New York Tribune