davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

II am through he said. 'I am on to
your game and you are on to mine"
Frequently the fakir is piled with ap-
petizers and tonics which develop raw
enous hunger. The physicians then give
him barely enough food to sustain life
and he skps.
Epilepsy a FavOrite Fake.
Probably the disease most often coun-
terfeited is epilepsy. Many of the faklrs
select prominent street corners in the
cities, where they "chuck dummy" to
use their own vernacuIar. The purpose
is two-fold. The sympathetic crowd whion
collects falls an easy prey to the dummy
ohucker's partner, who is a professional
and accomplished pickpocket. The fakir
himself is transported to a hospital, where,
il he has good luck, he may be enter
tanned for a while free of cost. Very
often, however, the epilepuc forgets to
observe some of the simp.e details. Per-
haps the man with a false fiji strais htens
out his thumbs when he clenches his fists
in commissions. The man who has a gen.
uine attack of epilepsy always has his
thumbs tightly inclosed in the fist. Many
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13
WIMTCKING MALADIES.
HOSPITAL FAKIRs WHO, TO GET
FREE LODGING, FOOD AND At
TENTTON.

,,,iIepsy. Coma, Heart Disease, Hy-
droDhobia, and stomach Trouble
,be Ills That They Mostly Claim.
IN Achieve Their Ends They Must
re skilled SimuIatOrs, for n Bung-
Ter Is Soon Found 0ut-AIany OF
Thcm Know Something of Medical
Sciencc-One Fal1ir Who Is Always
welcome as CuriOsity; He Can
Raise His Pulse at win to Extra
ordinary Rapidity-A Case of Fake
RABIES That Resulted Fatally.
Nany FnI1irs Actually Acquire the
Ailments They Have Long
Feigned-Harsh Methods Used to
Discourage Them.
Copvrjght 1901 by j. w. Harrington.
New York, Jan. lit is the trade of
,,o hospital fakir to seem i'll. Every hos
,ita1 in the United States knows him, and
b. will get into the wards where the beds
are clean and the board is free as long as
human nature is prone to deceive. The
bosDital fakir plies his calling with the
enthusiasm of the tramp. His life holds
charm which is all it's own Its prizes
are board, lodging and sometimes a little
alcohol. 1t fascinates the smulator of
strange symptoms, too, because he is all
WAYS running what is to him the really
delightful risk of being found out. He
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

than The ten devils of seasfckness One
day there We're so many bones TO set that
he was overlooked.
Doctor" came a voice from the cot
where he lay, Il have been neglected No
body gave me my medicine and | didn't
get my stomach washed"
Many of the fakirs burn themselves
specifically with carboic acid. bandage
the burned arm or leg and then hurry 10
hospital with pitiful story of acct
dent. The surgeon generally send such
persons to the dispensaries. Some men
end women, despairing on account of hun.
ger go to hospitals and declare that they
are III. The physicians find it very diff
cult to diagnose the malady of these UNI
fortunate and iA-nourished fakirs, for the
reason that they feign no symptoms They
nave genuine cases of general misery
Ihese persons are often detained for
weeks. 1t is not an infrequent thing for
them to get well and strong under hos
pital care, and then so out and make @
successful fight In the battle of life.
Many OF the professional fakirs, by rea-
son Of their devotion to their calling de
Velop nervous disorders. Some at them
actually become hypolhondriacs. There
have been cases on record where tue man
VINO has feigned disease has become "a
sufferer from the maiady which he has
successfully counterfeited. Nature fro
quently Visits upon such one a terrible
IGtribution. There are in the alm3houSes
ou'.asis who were once successful nos
pital fakrs. They are like the beGCat
who affected blindness NTH his eyrballs
Were scared and useless.
Many of the men who scheme to befool
ambulance surgeons have originally ner-
vous disorders. They are In an hysterical
condition which gives them a facility In
feigning misery. to which a person in
normal health could never attain. There
are those who. after study of symp-
toms can actually hypnotic themselves
into belief that they are suffering from
the diseases. of which they so loudly and
unremittngiy complain. The hospital IA
klr Is person to be punished, and yet
to be pitied. John W. Harrington.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

Their away from her and presently when
she sank down exhausted in a swamp
the light disappeared altogether.
Whatever truth there may be in the
story, it forcibly illustrates the career Of
many woman who has followed the
marsh fire of love in the belief that it led
to home and comfort and found herself
at last exhausted and deceived.
1r's BITTER LESSON
learned by many woman who thought
love all-suf6cient, that love alone cannot
be the foundation of the home. 1t needs
health. Strange as it may seem the
beautiful loving woman who is weak
may lose the love of the husband for
whom she broke all home ties, while on
the other hand woman who has no
greater dover than robust health may
win and hold the love of her husband
past all possibility of loss. The first re-
quisite of marriage is health. The wife's
first necessity is health. Health must
be the mothers or she will know no
happiness in her children. What makes
ill-health so common among women?
Why do they suffer with headache, back
ache and pains past description? These
sufferings are in general caused by dis
ease of the delicate womanly organs, and
they are in general durable by the use of
DR.. Pierce's Favorite Prescription.
III take great pleasure in writing you
what great benefit your Favorite Pre-
scription,' Golden Medical Discovery
and Pleasant Pellets have done me-"
says Mrs. P. A. Graham, of GIT Race St.,
New Orleans, La. 81 have been con-
slant sufferer for the last eight years
with female weakness, nervous and gen.
eral debility, trying everything l could
find to help me, but to no avail. Have
been treated by several country physi-
clans, and also had some of the best city
physicians prescribe for me. They all
said my case was incurable and was a
chronic disease of long standing, but,
thanks be to God and your great med
icine, I have found relief at. last, and
soon will be cured sound and we'll again.
have taken three bottles of DR.. Pierces
Favorite Prescription and two of Golden
Medical Discovery and two walls of his
Pleasant Pellets ] can't describe in
words how much benefit have received
from them. / think your medicine is
the best in the world for female diseases
and for the blood. l think Favorite
Prescription is the best medicine made
for women. feel safe in recommend
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

a fakir has been ingloriously ushered out
of a hospital because he has neglected
this simple thumb rule. The hurler of
false fits generally carries in his pocket
a small quantity of soap, which he uses
to represent froth at the mouth while
he CRASHES his teeth 1t IS inconvenient
for the fakir if willy physician finds
a saponaceous compound in the apileptic's
waistcoat pocket.
Many of the craft pretend to be in a
state of coma. They are not so far gone,
however, that they cannot hear CONVEX
sation. They often have to listen to
bloodthirsty remarks about knives and
quantities Of blood which are soon to
flow. They will lie still until they feel
a scalpel toying around their wrists. Un-
der such trying circumstances they have
been known to clear the operating table
with single bound. The knife test gen.
orally succeeds where ordinary ordeals
fail Paralysis is regarded as luxury
by the hospital fakir. The skilled medi-
cal hobo" hesitates TO attempt It, but
the novice will rush into a state of paraly-
sis where fakirs knowing their limitations
fear to tread. often men with normal
temperatures, normal respiration and nor
NAL pulse have had the shallow effrontry
to feign paralysis. The prick Of a pin or
the sudden application of an electrode is
enough 10 disabuse their minds of the be-
lief that they are fooling the surgeons.
Fatal Result of Imaginary Hydro
phobin.
There are many persons who affect hy-
drophoba. Very often they are in such
a state of hysteria that they believe they
have been actually bitten by a rabid dog.
There was brought to a prominent New
York city hospital year or so ago a We
terinary surgeon who showed some symp-
toms of hydrophobla. He said that he
had gone TO visit a friend who was ill.
He found upon his arrival that the invalid
had died during the night He averred
that a large mastiff stood guard over the
body. The animal attacked him. The
surgeon could see no marks OF canine
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

originally a drug clerk, who had become
a drug nend 1t IS his habit to impose
on the staff of every hospital in the large
cities which he visits. His method is 20
fall in commissions in some street in the
central part of the city. and after having
remained in ashospital as long as his de-
cepuon is successful, to go to the urban
outskirts and become grievously torment
ed in mind and body. He thus gets a
chance to spend a few days in each of
the Smaller hospitals. 1t is said that he
is still wandering through the country
exhibiting his choice collection of symp-
toms to the medical fraternity.
Clever as the average hospital "fakir'
is in his art, he must eventually be
caught. The physicians know of many
symptoms which cannot be constantly
feigned. The members of the guild who
can control their pulses, and who have the
ever present knowledge and the presence
of mind TO keep up the appearance of ILL
ness indefinitely, are comparatively few
The human instinct betrays the awkward
fakir at once, and the detection OF even
the most accomplished one is only mat
ter of time.
Z There appeared in a Buffalo hospital
several years ago a man, respectfully
dressed, who told a story of hard luck and
i'll health. He had he said, a malady of
the stomach which made life uncomfortable
to him. The physicians did everything
in their power for him. They finally de-
cided that there was nothing wrong with
any of his organs, and they planned to get
rid of him.
''My friend" said the chief of staff, II
think that you need exercise. Suppose
that you take the broom and sweep the
hall"
The patient swept the hall once, and
when the physician told him to begin all
over again. he threw down the broom in
disgust
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

will permit the surgeons to dose him with
disgusting mixtures: he will undergo
treatment which would make a strong
man i'll rather than suffer detection as an
arraut cheat. He also likes the atten-
ton. which he receives, for it gratiflcs
whatever personal vanity he may have to
see interested and sometimes anxious
physicians bending over him. struggling
10 reconcile his often contradictory
symptoms.
Hospital fakirs are of two kinds. the
educated and the ignorant The learned
one may have served an apprenticeship
as a drug clerk or a nurse. He may
have been an Office boy for a physician
or he may have at one time actually
studied medicine. The educated fakir
generally reaches his degraded condition
though liquor or morphine The ignor-
ant simulator of symptoms just takes a
chance usually without avail, for he
seldom passes the muster. even of the
medical tyro, and is promptly thrust
forth from the hospital shelter into a
cold world.
There are professional fakirs who take
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

can go to bed now and sleep till morn
ing. My appetite is splendid and all that
tired feeling has left me. I hope others
will do as l have done-iust give DR..
Pierce's medicines a fair trial, and they
will be sure to derive much benefit, as /
have. l am so thankful to think am
SO we'll"
WHAT WELL WOMEN SAY.
Here a few brief statements culled
from letters of women cured by the use
DR.. Pierce's Favorite Prescription
III feel like different being and look
well. Mrs. Maggie Spells. 4Io Eighth
Street, Mount Vernon, Posey Co., Ind.
when 1 think how I was five years
ago and how am now, say, God bless
DR.. Pierce's work for women. l have
had no return of my weakness and am
we'll and hearty. Mrs. Fred Kempson,
Cambria, Hillsdale Co., Mich, Box 81.
"Two bottles of 'Favorite Prescrip-
ton and one of Golden Medical Dis
covery' made a new woman of me-"
Mrs. c. Nelson, Chemawa, Marion
Co., Oregon.
There is no alcohol in vFavorite Pre-
scription and it is altogether free from
opium, cocaine and all other narcotics.
Do not allow the dealer to push off on
you a substitute for Favorite Prescrip-
ton" claiming that it is cjust as good"
The record of its cures and the testimony
ofthousands of women prove that there IS
nothing rjust as good " as Favorite Pre-
scrption" for weak and sickly women.
Women suffering from disease in
chronic form are invited to consult DIR.
Pierce by letter, free. All correspondence
is held as strictly private and womanly
condolences set down in writing are
guarded by the same scrupulous profes-
sional privacy observed by Dr. Pierce in
personal consultations at the Invalids'
Hotel and Surgical Institute, Buffalo,
N. Y. Address DR.. R. v. Pierce, Buff
falo, n. Y.
A GUIDING LIGHT.
However dark and devious the path of
health DR.. Pierce's Common Sense Med
ical Adviser will prove light to strength
and happiness. This great book contains
1908 large pages and over 700 illustra-
tons and is sent free on receipt of stamps
to pay expense of mailing only. Send
81 one-cent stamps for the cloth-bound
volume, or only II stamps for the book
in paper-covers. Address DR.. R. v.
Pierce, Buffalo. N. Y.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

pride in all their accomplishments. One
OF the best known of them was, several
years ago. a national celebrity. He had
at his command store Of Renaissance
which would have made an entertaining
book. Through some error Of a country
surgeon who attempted to set the
mans broken arm without the nee
essary appliances, the fakir was
set up for life as an anatomical Gu
riosity His arm. after it had
been set, failed to unite thoroughly.
There was a union of cartilage only. The
man, who generally passed under the
name of Harman, could throw this men,
Der about at any angle. He could reach
around the small of his back and caress
me back Of his head In addition to this
accomplishments he had the power to run
up his pulse at will. BY some means
which the physicians could never under
stand he could reach number Of heart
beats which would hardly have seemed
possible in normal human being. He
was such an interesting falSir that hospi-
tals received him gladly in order that the
physicians might show him in their clinics.
ar. IL. j. Janeway of New York city was
Inc first to discover him. He has been
me subject OF lectures in clinics all over
tHc country.
A NnStcr-Fnkir Of Diseases.
one OF the shining examples of the
Rentle craft Of hospital taking Is a dis
slmuator of universal genius named Gra-
nam He can at will be stricken with
nearly every malady known to science.
one OF his specialties is angina pectorls,
II. which role he is a consummate actor.
ne can without apparent effort, develop
ue1th-like pallor His pulse futters aud
ul7 features assume the expression of a
man who feels that ne is about to die.
'Ianlm, morturus takes keen delight IN
.'I'.ing physicians who discover his
.'''o. with vituperauon which is far
'lh 'ceble Pulse aud even temperature
"' cadcr his control. and he has the
''' MY Of regulating every muscle OF face
'' "ody. Graham. like several other
"e"-"Lown eXcmplars Of his class, was
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

believing to the last that he had hydro
phobia.
There was taken to a hospital in New
York City two years ago boy who bark
ed like dog. The surgeons found be
was merely hysterlcal. Whenever he
barked they made liberal use of an cleo
trio battery. lie was cured after several
opnlications. and he has never had any
desire TO bark since his discharge from
the hospital He had never been bitten
bv a dog. but had caught all the hydro
phobia ne had from reading Of mad dog
bites IN the newspapers.
Within few blocks OF large city hos
pbtal there was a hostler. a tall. broad
sbouldered fellow, who got the angina pee
toris habit. lie was Tor a month or so
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

Saturday night until the following Mon
day morning. 1t Is also helpful in case
Of prisoners who, to avoid going to ;he
workhouse for five days make such
bowling declarations of misery that the
keeper of the prison calls an ambulance
and ships them to the hospital to get rid
OF them. Very often the prison fakir
gains his point and stays in a cot until
his workhouse sentence has elapsed
There are some OF the guild who are
so devoted 10 their supposed ills that the
stomach pumps and drastic and bitter
medicines have no terrors for them.
There was once a faklr who for eight days
submitted to doses of quinine, epecac ana
duassia. Every morning his stomach was
washed out, an attention which Is worse
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

teeth. The patient threw himself into
convulsions barked like dog. and
then choked and gagged al the sight
of water. He said that he had been
bitten the day before he was brought
to the institution The surgeons con-
cluded that he was shamming when they
saw him devour a full meal with great
relish, for hydrophobia constructs the glot-
tbs and prevents the patient from swal-
lowing From a friend of the veterinarian
who visited the institution later the sur
geons learned that the story of the mastiff
was a myth The man was simply hys.
terical. He made so much noise that he
was sent to the alcoholic ward, where hrs
barking would not disturb the patients
as much as in the division where he was
placed. The strangest part of the story
is that three hours later the man died,
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13
Will O The Wisp.
WOMEN WHO ARE LED A.
STRAY BY MISCHIEV-
GUS MARSH FIRES.

Illustrative of the baneful power of the
marsh fire, there is told the story of a
woman who lost her way. She turned
in this direction and in that, hopelessly
puzzled as TO her whereabouts in the
murky night. Presently ahead of her
she saw the CLEAN of light. At once
she saw in fancy the picture of home, the
lamp in the window, the coy comfort of
those under the shelter of the protecting
roof, ccurtained and closed and warm.S
Steadfastly she moved towards the light.
But as she moved it seemed to change
its position. 1t was always a little far
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

taken in an ambulance to the hospital
every three days The surgeons learned
his name and pedigree by rote and gave
him stomach pump treatment, which effec-
tually dissuaded him from riding in amb l.
lances. He did not successfully simulate
a single symptom of the disease, yet he
always insisted that he had it. He is
still plying his vocation as hostler and Is
a highly healthy organism
Heroic Remedies for Fakirs.
There is not more effective remedy
for taking than the stomach pump. Many
a man who pretends to have all kinds of
strange diseases will weaken under this
heroic treatment and give the hospital
where it is employed wide berth forever
afterwards This old-fashioned remedy IS
especially cfiicacious in the case of per-
sons who desire hospital lodgings from
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

Had Paid for It.-"There goes man
with very interesting history" said the
clerk IN the book store.
you don't sayg' inquired the customer.
How do you know
Il just sold It TO him. Philadelphia
Press.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13
HOW Are Your nerves,

II they are weak and you feel nervous
and easily illustrated" can't sleep, and
rise IN the morning unrefreshed, your
blood is poor. Strong nerves depend up
on rich. nourishing blood. Hoods sarsa-
parilla makes the nerves strong by en-
riching and vitalizing the blood 1t gives
sweet, refreshing sleep and completely
cures nervous troubles. Begin taking II
to-day.
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

ing DR.. Pierce's Golden Medical Discov-
cry TO any one suffering from the effect
of impure blood and his Favorite Pre-
scription for female weakness"
crHE LAST SHALL. BIZ FIRST"
How many times that saying is illus.
trated by the use of DR.. Pierce's Favor
lite Prescription. It's the last thing
which is tried and the first to help. It's
often the last resort of hopeless women
and the first medicine to claim their
gratitude by an absolute emancipation
from the thraldom of disease.
DR.. Pierce's Favorite Prescription
makes weak women strong, sick women
well. 1t establishes womanly regularity,
stops enfeebling drains, heals inflamma-
ton and liberation and cures female
weakness.
III suffered for six years with ovarian
trouble" writes Mrs. Z. Waite, of lake
View Postofice), Chicago, Ill. vSome-
times I could hardly walk, and when
had to cough 1t felt as though a knife
was cutting me. Ny hands and feet
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

WCIc Colu ali the lliue. l
had such a tired feeling
and such a poor appetite,
and when I went to bed l
slept only about two hours
at a time. A friend ad-
vised me to use Doctor
Pierce's medicines, for
they had helped her; so l
got a bottle of 'Favorite
Prescription and by the
time I had used two bot
ties l felt SO much better
that l continued until l
had taken eight bottles OF
'Favorite Prescription
and one of DIR. Pierce's
Golden Medical Discov-
cry, and now 1 am so we'll
that my friends remark
how we'll 7 am 1ookiro 7
The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-13

The visiting season is now fully on
There is nothing like 1t outside of Wash
ington. The majority Of women take the
thing SO seriously that IL becomes huge
Joke to one possessing a sense OF humor
From three until six, the fashionable
woman Of this town makes from twelve
TO twenty calls 1t is a daily pastime
that has in 1t an element of excitement
and mild dissipation. 1t is also fatiguing
unless the visitor is systematic ana ab-
stemious Eight minutes Is the limit or
visit. In that time the society deVotee' IN
her dressy carriage gown and white hat
every one wears white this season-sails
maiestically into the drawing-room
snakes hands, highly, with the
hostess and remarks Sllbly, so glad
10 sec YOU. You are looking charming.
Prospect of a gay season, l think. Thank
YOU. YES. will look into the dining room.
Your punch is always irresistible
Through the shrong. with unconcern for
any but those upon her visiting list, goes
the fair one. and into the dining-room
where and-shaking and compliments are
in order, and just a sip OF punch or tea
followed by a hasty exit. What, going
"a soon?" saws the hostess politely. TN
deed. have fingered beyond my time.
So many on my Monday list. Come and
see me. soon, my dear / never see hale
enough Of you" Is the reply and my
lady Is back n her carriage and whiri-
ing to the next house. She does not give
much of her time or intellect to those
she visits. but It is the only way to pre-
serve her equilibrium and her nerves and
nothing more is expected.
Ii IL a saying here in town that when
the season Is on. intimacy IS off. There IS
no opportunity for anything Of pro-
loneed nature. ones time, conversation,
smile and clothes are all divided into in
fnitesimal portions OF usefulness, that
must cover the season and make as brill
liant a showing as possible.
The O. II. p. Beimouts have selected
the Washington Mclean house for their
future home in Washington. What a
brilliant record they are destined TO make