Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1910-08-04
ONE WEEK
WITHOUT FOOD

For normal and healthy man to
abstain from food for one week and
during this time not only to indulge
in his routine of exercise but also to
perform the dnties of his vocation is a
feat that is apt to cause no little won
derment, even i'll these days when we
have become accustomed to marvels.
Among other things it illustrates the
extent to which the necessity of tax
ing food-daily or less frequently--is
overestimated
In the concrete example before us
no less familiar parsonage than Post
Office Clerk r. B. Diehl is the hero.
Patrons of the post Office who as late
as Saturday night might have observ-
ed him at his work would not have
dreamed that he had not taken a
mouth full of food since early Monday
morning. Had they observed closely
they might have noticed that his eyes
had assumed peculiar look; also that
long tense lines had grown into his
face, which together with obvious loss
of flesh, impaired to him an appear
ance that was scarcely natural. Other
wise, however, he was his natural
self.
1t should be explained that Mr..
Diehl entered upon his voluntary alb
stinence from food for very good rea-
sons. This article has alluded to him
as normal and healthy man, all
of which is true to the letter barring
an occasional attack of Indigestion. 1t
was Mr.. Diehl's very good health that
made him impatient of Indigestion.
After trying few familiar remedi es
he decided to adopt heroic measures.
1t was food, he reasoned. that had
caused his stomach to go wrong there
fore, he would abstain from food and
give his stomach "A prolonged rest.
How long he could hold out he did
not know; it was to be an experiment.
During Monday and Tuesday, the
first two days of his fast, Mr. Diehl
states, he experienced usual symptoms
of hunger-a "gnawing'' at the stom-
ach-which was at times exceedingly
unpleasant By Wednesday this passed
away and he has had no desire to eat
since. He began by drinking all the
water that he could get away with,
but oddly enough after the second or
third day water palled, seeming high.
ly Objectionable to his stomach.
The fact must not be lost sight of
that Mr.. Diehl is slightly inclined to
corpulency, although by dint of mode
rate eating and systemtic exercise he
had reduced his weight very much
when he entered upon his fast. Up to
Saturday night he had lost seven
pounds, tritle over pound per day.
Notwithstanding his long fast he re-
tains his strength III a surprising de-
gree. He plays tennis and rows on the
river, IA little less stenuOusly probably
but with quite rs much zest as when
he enjoyed three meals a day. He is
conscious of diminution of strength
when it comes to hustling mail bags,
but in the performance of lighter dut-
les he feels no fatigue. He seems to
feel" the peculiar stare in his eyes
visible TO others-and at times his Wis
ion is slightly distorted. Whatever
there may be of discomfort in these
symptoms, however, is more than COM
pensated for in the keen intellect and
acutepess of feeling that follow as the
result of the fast.
Mr.. Diehl is a gentleman of integ-
rity quite as much interested in the
scientific as the curative phase of his
experiment. That all the facts relat-
ing to the fast can be implicitly re-
lied upon no one acquainted with the
circumstances for moment doubts.