Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-06-12
A LIVING STATUE.
Iowa Man Who Never Spoke In
Fifty two Years of Life.

Stranger than fiction is the story of
the life of Joseph Philpott, who died
near Creston not long ago.
His life is a mystery which no one
seems able to fathom, as during his en-
tire life he was never known to give
utterance to an audible syllable. He
was born dumb, but had as acute a
sense of hearing as any man that ever
lived. 1t was thought by many that he
could speak Ii he would make the effort,
but his brain seemed to lack the motive
propensity and physicians all agreed
that it was not in his power to speak
bad he so wished to do.
Ihruout the entireperiod of his life
OF hfty-two years he remained as silent
as the tomb and altho he showed by his
acts that he heard all that was said, yet
he never obeyed command or wilied to
do thing the doing of which required
muscular eXertion.
He never initiated, and it is not
known that he formed any habits. The
whole course of his life seemed to indi-
cate that he was a silent figure. with
clliy one potent power at his command
the power to partake of his food
Ihat he understood what was trans
plring around him was shown by his
demeanor at times when something out
of the ordinary would occurr He feared
storm, and always sought shelter
when the clouds We're threatening. He
seemed TO appreciate music and at times
would attempt to make musical noises
but he could never utter musical note.
lie began at the cradle to puzzle his
relatives and went to the grave shroud-
ed in mystery. Physicians have been
unable to render diagnosis of his case,
and all of them, under whose observa-
ton his case has ever come, agree that
his is enc of the Strangest they have
ever witnessed.
All efforts to educate him proved un-
successful. His mind was entirely
without the power of conception. and he
never showed that it possessed acouis-
tive power.
Various acquaintance tell of a little
romance that came across Philpott's
life, the details of which show that his
amative powers We're at least partially
developed. During his teens he min
gled much with school children, and as
he approached 20 singled out a favor
lte among the SchOOl girls, all of whom
paid him the attention that school girls
seem to delight in bestowing upon I'M
fortunates.
For their little courtesies he seeme;,
grateful. and as time passed he showed
his affection for certain girl who was
more beautiful than the rest He SEEM
ed to delight in her presence and would
do various little acts to add to her COM
forts.
He, of course was not encouraged.
but the manner in which his face light
ed up while with her and his desire to
be constantly near her marked period
of his life when he would try hardest to
make known the feelings of his soul
But time rolled on and he relapsed into
that state of melancholy which charac-
terized him the remainder of his life
The girl of his affections was married
and moved away. and from that period
may be dated the beginning of his de-
cline physically. He was never belfast
until about three weeks prior to the
time of his death. and al the last he de-
clined rapidly and the physicians We're
unable to account for his death with
any other reason than a broken heart. |
He passed thru this world as a blank |