Year: 1871

HE JACASoN MONSTROSETY.


fme Boy VIM. I'll. Forbes-He Eats Paw
| Meat and Drinks Warn. BIooa-par


ttcuiars OF Il Very Singular Case.


Correspondence of the Detroit Tribune.


A great deal has been said in our 10
cal papers lately about the wonderful
and unnatural appetite Of the boy vii
ham Henry Forbes, now confined il
the jail in this city, and to-day you1
reporter availed himself of the oppor
tunity presented to witness an exhibi
tion Of the boys capacity The fete
disgusting enough [ assure you. was
nothing less than the eating Of chick
en- raw. Quite crowd assembled in
the jail barn to see the sight which was
literally performed. A live chicken and
knife were placed in the boys hands
when the revolving operation COM
menced. The chicken was laid on
the floor and held down between
the boys knees, while he
sawed the head off with the knife.
The boy then placed the bleeding
neck in his mouth and deliberately
sucked the warm blood from the body.
He then began tearing the SKIN from
the body, which proved quite difficult
task, at the same time, as a sort of pas
time, chewing pieces Of the skin, which
had been partly denuded of the feathers.
Then beginning with one leg, the dis.
gushing lunch was begun [ say lunch,
for it was o'clock in the afternoon,
and the boy had already eaten three
mems rations for his dinner. After
finishing both legs, he stopped long
enough to remove the entrails, when
he proceeded to finish the chicken.
The fact Of his eating the chicken in
this way, was no less surprising than
his manner during the performance.
He stood in the middle Of the floor,
apparently regardless Of the lockers on,
or of their jokes, his whole attention
seemingly engaged i'll what he was do
ing, and his inhuman meal was also eat
en- with evident relish One could think
Of nothing to hken him to more fitting
than dog gnawing his bone, the glare
of the eye as he occasionally glanced at
one most forcibly suggesting the sim
ilarity. The capacity of this boys
stomach is prodigious. He isregularly
fed, an allowance sufficient for three
men at each meal He dispatched at
one meal one day 27 good sized pota-
toes, besides meat and bread in pro-
portion. For dinner yesterday he ate
three quarts of soup, and followed that
up with one pound of raw steak and
one and half pounds Of raw mutton
He viii take piece Of bread five or six
inches long, with thick crust on, and
begin at one end to eat it, and never
take it away from his mouth till he has
swallowed it all OF eggs he will eat
any quantity, preferring them raw,
shells and all. He viii take then in
his mouth and chew them up and spit
the shells out after swallowing the con
tents.


While eating the chicken, in reply to
some question he said he once swal-
lowed young duck alive, and no one
doubted the staten ent after seeing
him. In conversation the boy appeared
quite intelligent. He is nearly IS
years old, but is not larger than boy
at IL, and has a hungry, wonish eX-
preston, which creates the impression
that he has been starved at some period
Of his life. He was taken from the
poor house about six years ago by Ira
Gavitt, a farmer in the township of
Summit, and at that time eat no more
than ordinary boys of his age. He was
brought into notice by the arrest of
Gavitt, on complaint of his neighbor
for abusing this boy. Gayitt claims
that he was obliged to shut the boy up
or keep him chained, as he would eat
all the eggs and chickens unless re-
strained. The boy viii say nothing
against Gayitt or his family. He will
not admit that they ever abused
him, but on the contrary APP
pears to think good deal
of them. Whether this is true or the
mere effect of their training will doubt
less be known when Gayitt comes to
trial next week. An external examina-
tion Of the boy shows that his stomach
is inordinately developed, which must
be the case if it holds all he eats. The
boy says he is hungry al the time. At
ter finishing his own meal at the jail he
eats ali the other prisoners leave, even
to the last crumb. The case is one well
worthy the attention Of the medical pro-
fession, The boy was placed in jail on
charge of stealing, but really to get
him out Of Gavitt's hands. He ought TO
be sent to the house Of correction or the
reform school, where he can receive
good medical treatment, as there can be
no doubt that this terrible appetite
is q disease. He was asked if he
could eat a baby, and lie replied
that he could if he should try, and
that he came very near it once. 1t is
said that he attacked q boy on one oc-
casiop telling him he must kill him to
get his blood, for he must have blood.
Every feature of the lad bespeaks harsh
treatment, and if he has not been the
recipient Of it, it is indeed hard to ac-
count for his appearance and habit
His hair is very white, his eyes blue,
his lower jaw very square and strong,
nose fiat with a sinister expression to
his countenance, but over all is the ter
rible hungry look which strikes one
with pity. He certainly ought not to
be permitted to eat raw meat or in
dulge his depraved appetite, since If he
be the subject of disease, a remedy
would be more difficult to apply. We
hope our officers viii no longer indulge
a morbid curiosity by allowing such
beastjy propensities to be exercised.


A RnnTeFensibEa Hahit