The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-09-09
Milton Rathbun Did Without
Food for ThlTt-Flve Days.
WEALTHY GRAIN MERCHANT
Not Only for Health but Also foT tAs
Good Of Mankind He Made
Experiments.

New York, Sept s.-Milton Rathbun.
who made himself famous In February.
1900. by fasting for thirty-fve days, died
in the Griffin house. at Riverhead. l.. L.
where he and members OF his family had
been stopping for several weeks
Mr.. Rathbun. who had fine home In
the Chester Hill section OF Mount Vernon,
went 10 Riverhead for his health. He had
been suffering from malaria and other
complaints.
Since his famous fast OF thirty-hve
days Mr.. Rathbun undertook severai
fasts OF shorter periods, and always
claimed that they benefited his health.
Mr.. Rathbun made large fortune In
the hay and grain business In this city
and was president of a company at 20
Fourth avenue. He was fifty-eight years
old.
He was a large, heavy man and under
took his numerous fasts TO reduce his
weight. During his fasts he lived on
spring water and was apparently so IT.
tie tnconyenienced by his abstinence from
food that he travelled from his Mt ver-
non home 70 this city every day and at
tended to his business as usual.
SO well pleased was he with the result
of his thirty-five-day fast that every
month or two he would start on another
fast. Though unusually fond of si.s pleas
ures of the table. he always had the rcso
luton to abstain from food for the
length of time he fixed as the duration OF
the fast.
He had some peculiar ideas about the
non-vaiue OF food The time he tasted
thirty-flve days he originally intended to
abstain from food forty days but In nt
OF anger over the attention visited upon
him he suddenly ended the fast on the
thirty-hfth day.
In the summer of 1899 he tasted twenty
eight days and threatened to end that
fast before the expiration of the time lin
1t because OF the notoriety given him.
He los. forty pounds by that fast, and
undertood the forty-day fast TO lose
eighty pounds though his weight when
ne started In on Jan. %, 1900. was not ex-
cessive for n man OF his frame. being V1
pounds. When he abruptly ended his fass
on Feb rs by eating hearty dinner he
weighed is4 pounds, having lost but forty
three pounds.
FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND"
During his thiity-flve days fast he said
IN explanation of his self-imposed ordeall
TITS for the good Of the human kind. /
want to establish q great principle-that
han Is not dependent upon food for a
living. II is the brain that does the work
OF keeping a person going. The brain Is a
dynamo giving force TO the body. II feeds
on tissues, true. but not until a man gets
down to skin and bones will the brain die,
and so long as the brain lives the man
will live. People eat too much. IL bear
can live for months on its fat. why cant
q man do the same thing, II snake and
other reptiles can hibernate on what they
eat In summer why can't a man go forty
days on water?'
Physicians all over the country took q
deep interest In Mr.. Rathbun and his fast
ing experiments. and opinions on theii
effect upon his constitution greatly differ
ed.
II is not known whether he had beer
engaged Ia a fast just prior TO his death
He always endeavored to keep secret hi
experiments in that line.
He Is survived by a widow and tive
sons. Frank and Charles. The body wa
removed TO Mount Vernon for burial.