Cochise review., 1900-10-25
TRY 10 DODGE DEATH
Strange Freaks of Rich Men to Es-
 cape the Grim Reaper.
The Most Childish Expedients Re- sorted tO by MOnomaDiacs on Thia Subject Some of the
 Queerest Cases.

Queerest Cases.
 A man who, while poor, is not more
 afraid to die than most people, often
 develops haunting terror of death aft
 CT he has made 8 big fortune, and
 spends an unhappy life and huge sums
 of money in trying to avoid the com
 ing fate, frequently hurrying himself
 into premature grave through sheer
 worry and fear This passion, says London Answers, has turned the brains
 of good many wealthy people and
 made monomaniacs of them. They re- sort to the most childish eXpedients to
 keep death from their doors
 You remember Kipling's character,
 who had his chair siung on ropes from
 beam that the world might spin un- der him, instead of carrying him along to grow older. There was an actual case very like this few years ago, when John Islip, an Englishman, who made a huge fortune out of silver in Mexico, drove himself mad through worrying about his death.
 After eNhaustlng all the safeguards London could offer, he bought small rocky island called Brychil, on the West Irish coast taking with him one faith ful servitor. Here, in feverish haste, he had four stone pillars raised and a small one-storied cabin, with three rooms, rather like houseboat, slung on chairs from iron girders that crossed the pillars and swung clear of the ground. Once inside this, he shut him self up with some books and pet jack daw for company, and never left his swinging house until his death.
 The attendant. who lived in a small house close by, used to row to the main land--a mile and half--when the weather permitted, for provisions. The master spent his time reading and look ing out over the Atlantic from the cabin windows. His brain had given way, of course and he imagined his life stood still, while the earth revolved un- der him. He had no relatives to insist on his entering private asylum, and he died three years later in the cabin, worried out of life by the fear of death. His hair was snow-white, though he was only 43.
 Another wealthy man, Jean Ingle- ssnt, though he had made a fortune by shrewd speculation, also gave way to the oread of death. He conceived the idea that all movement and effort vast ed the tissues of the body, and this no. ton sunk so deeply into his mind that he went to bed iii quiet country house and hardly moved hand or foot for years; if he even stirred finger he did it with dread, believing it used up his vitality and shortened his life by so much time He spoke as little as pos sible, sometimes not opening his lips for days, and was fed by attendants with spoons All his food consisted of ''slops," to save him the fatal exertion of chewing, and his one amusement was being read to by the hour together, for he would not hold book or turn the pages. Even the reading he did away with toward the close of his life, believ- ing that listening shortened his exist ence.
 One of the queerest cases was that of a Mrs. Holmes very wealthy widow, who had terrible fear of germs and bacilli of all llin6s. She had studied the subject deeply. and it affected her req son, 10 all appearance The dread of death seized her, and she was convinced she would die by some wasting disease inspired by microbes. Knowing that cold is fatal to the average germ, she had two rooms adjoining each other fitted as refrigerators and kept con 1tantly al temperature of about 30 Iegrees, or just below freezing point One would suppose this to be more rying than any quantity of microbes; put the owner was happy in her con of freedom from germ dis ,ases Winter and summer the rooms were kept at the same point. and the rooms and hall were also ,ept cool, that no current of warm air night bring bacilH in
 This lady lived clad in furs through 'ut the hottest days that blazed out ide, and her attendants and servants we're obliged to constantly disintect before entering her pres nee They lived in perpetual at nosphere of carboic acid, and their mistress had 10 pay very high wagesto nduce any servants to stay with her.
 SPARRoWS PURSUE A CAT.