Chapter XI

NOTES AND PRESS COMMENTS ON VOLUNTARY FASTS.

The first voluntary protracted fast for the cure of chronic ailing to reach the public prints as a matter of interesting news occurred in the case of Mr. C. C. H. Cowan, of Warrensburg, Ill., early in 1899. He had been on the two-meal plan for a time, and wishing for something more radical wrote to me as to his entering upon a fast. I probably wrote him as I now find it necessary to write all who feel that fasts are necessary and cannot have my personal care, "Go on a fast and stick to it until hunger comes or until your friends begin to suffer the pangs of sympathetic starvation; then compromise with the sin of ignorance by eating the least that will bring peace to their troubled souls."

The results were summed up by the _Morning-Herald Dispatch_, Decatur, Ill., April 16, 1899:

"A few years ago Dr. Tanner, in New York City, fasted for forty
days and forty nights, and all the world wondered. Up to that
time the feat was considered impossible. From day to day the
papers told of his actions and his condition, and the entire
people became deeply interested in the performance. Medical men
and scientists became interested in the performance, and the
laity watched the faster through curiosity. Tanner's
accomplishment was considered marvellous by the medical
profession and laymen alike, but Dr. Tanner has long since been
a back number, and his performance is not now regarded as
remarkable, although there are not many persons who would care
to attempt the fast. Tanner was simply trying to prove that the
thing could be done. He did it, and within a year the man who
held the attention of the people of the country for forty days
was a visitor to this city. What Tanner did has been more than
accomplished by a Macon County man, but he went about his
undertaking quietly, and the fact that he was fasting was known
to only a few of his friends. The man is C. C. H. Cowan, of
Warrensburg, and for forty-two days and nights he abstained from
the use of food in solid or liquid form. He began his fast on
March 2 and broke it on the evening of April 13 at supper-time.
With the exception of the loss of thirty pounds of flesh, which
materially changed his personal appearance, Mr. Cowan shows no
ill-effects of his undertaking. When he began he weighed one
hundred and sixty-five pounds, and when he quit he weighed one
hundred and thirty-five pounds. Before his fast he was inclined
to be fleshy, and now, while still in fairly good flesh, his
clothing manifests a desire not to hold close communion with his
body. Mr. Cowan was in the city Saturday, and some of his
friends did not know him. He related his experience to some of
them, but he did this cautiously, and with the oft-expressed
hope that the papers would not devote any attention to the
affair, because he was not seeking and did not want notoriety.
At different times during his fast the _Herald-Dispatch_ has
referred to the fact in short items. Cowan is a disciple of a
Dr. Dewey, living at Meadville, Pa., who is an advocate of
fasting as a means of curing many of the ills to which the body
is heir. Dr. Dewey has many pamphlets touching the subject, and
has also written some books for his belief, and his reasons have
been made so plausible that a number of persons have coincided
with him. Cowan says the efficacy of the treatment has been
established in many instances, a fact that he can prove by ample
testimony. During his long abstinence from food he had numerous
letters and telegrams from Dr. Dewey, encouraging him in the
undertaking. When asked why he had fasted, Cowan explained that
for years he had suffered from chronic nasal and throat catarrh
which would not yield to medical treatment. His appetite was
splendid, and he ate many things that he really did not want. He
read Dr. Dewey's ideas, and became convinced that his system
needed general overhauling, and that this could be accomplished
through faithful adherence to the theory of Dr. Dewey. One of
these theories is to the effect that fasting rests the brain,
which is ofttimes overworked as a result of heavy feeding. It is
also supposed that the body throws off old mucous membrane of
the stomach and bowels, and that these are immediately
supplanted by new lining. Believing that he could get rid of his
catarrhal trouble and get the new lining referred to, Cowan
decided to fast, and without noise about the matter he
commenced, and up to Thursday evening he did not allow a bite of
food to pass his lips. The only thing that he took was water. Of
this he did not drink much, and he claims that he suffered no
pain or pangs of hunger. Looking at the matter now, it does not
seem to have been much of an accomplishment. After he once got
started he said it was an easy matter to carry out his plan
except for the worry of his family and some of his friends. They
thought that he was losing his mind and tried to induce him to
relinquish his idea, but he took some of them under his wing and
reasoned with them on the beauties of the treatment, expounded
the strong points, gave them reasons, showed them testimony of
others, and kept on fasting. When he began he had no idea that
he would continue for forty days; but as he progressed he had no
desire for food, and therefore did not desist. Thursday evening
he began to feel hungry, and that night he ate a reasonably good
supper. The return of hunger, according to his theories, was the
signal of the return of health. He feels confident that his
stomach has been relined, and for the present he knows that his
catarrh has left him. He is a firm believer in the new method of
curing bodily ailments, and says that during his fast he was
able to be around the village of Warrensburg every day, and was
able to perform his duties. His abstinence from food apparently
has not weakened his constitution. Since breaking his fast he
has partaken sparingly of food. Cowan's friends are very much
interested in the recital of his experience."

It so chanced that during this fast much more than his ordinary business came to him, and without the least inability to perform it. I saw him several months later, and found his physical condition seemingly perfect. He had found out that for the best working conditions a nap at noon was better than even a light luncheon, and that one meal a day taken after his business was over was the best practice. This fast was not in the right locality to excite the attention it deserved.

The second voluntary fast was destined to reach the ends of the earth through the public prints. The following appeared in the _New York Press_ of June 6, 1899:

"Twenty-eight days without nourishment and without letting up
for a moment on the daily routine of his business is the
unequalled record of Milton Rathbun, a hay and grain dealer at
No. 453 Fourth Avenue, and living in Mount Vernon. He is a man
of wealth, has many employes, and has been in the same business
in this city for thirty-nine years.

"He fasted because he wanted to reduce his weight, fearing that
its gradual increase might bring on apoplexy. He succeeded in
his efforts. He weighed two hundred and ten pounds when he
stopped eating; when he resumed he tipped the scales at one
hundred and sixty-eight pounds, a loss of forty-two pounds of
flesh.

"Mr. Rathbun's description of how he felt as the days and weeks
wore along and the pounds of avoirdupois slipped away one by one
is interesting. The remarkable point about it is that he
continued his work and kept well. He gave his account of it
yesterday to a reporter for _The Press_. Mr. Rathbun is known by
the business men for blocks around his own place of business,
and they all know of his fast.

"Every day his friends would come in and talk to him about it.
At first they told him he was foolish; that nobody could fast
that length of time, much less continue his work without
interruption. Then as the days went on and he kept up without a
break they began to be frightened.

"A crowd would gather about him every night at 6.30 o'clock,
when he would leave his office, for that was his hour for
weighing. Some days he would lose two or three pounds from the
weight of the day before; some days only one, but always
something. And as the record was scored up on the book each
night his friends would shake their heads and warn him to
beware.

"Finally, on the fifteenth day, his friends and employes got
together and made up their minds that something had to be done.
They were afraid that Rathbun would die. They appointed a
committee to wait on him in his office and beg him to eat
something. The committee took dainties to Mr. Rathbun, told him
their fears, and offered the good things to tempt him, but all
to no purpose.

"It was the night of April 23 that Mr. Rathbun took his last bit
of nourishment. He made no attempt to eat a large meal in
preparation for his fast. He ate his regular supply just as if
he had meant to continue eating on the following day. Then for
twenty-eight days he absolutely abjured all food. He drank
water, but that was all. Before going to bed he would take a
pint of Apollinaris.

"Had he remained at his home in bed or taken perfect rest, his
achievement would have been less remarkable. That is the course
which always has been adopted by the professional fasters. Dr.
Tanner, and the Italian, Succi, in their fasts were surrounded
by attendants who allowed them scarcely to lift a hand, so that
every ounce of energy might be conserved.

"Rathbun pursued a course diametrically opposite to this. He
worked, and worked hard. He came down earlier to his office and
went away later than usual. He made no effort to save himself.
On the contrary, he seemed determined to make his task as hard
as possible. On four of his fast days he spent the afternoons in
a dentist's chair, at which times his nerves were tried as only
dentists know how to do it.

"It was his idea to continue the fast until he began to feel
hunger. After the first twenty-four hours his hunger
disappeared, and he had no desire for food until the end of the
fourth week, when the craving set in, and he immediately set
about satisfying it in a moderate and careful manner. He
consulted two physicians while the fast was going on, to see that
he was suffering no injury that he could not appreciate himself.
One was Dr. F. B. Carpenter, of Madison Avenue and thirty-eight
Street, and the other, Dr. George J. Helmer, of Madison Avenue
and Thirty-first Street. He saw Dr. Carpenter on the eighteenth
and the twenty-first days, and Dr. Helmer on the twenty-fifth
day. Both expressed surprise at his long fast and astonishment at
his excellent condition.

"Mr. Rathbun is fifty-four years old, and five feet six inches
in height. He does not look more than forty years old, and he is
as active as a man of that age. He says he never felt better
than when he was fasting, and that he has experienced no bad
effects of any kind, while, on the other hand, he has reduced
his weight to a normal limit and removed all danger of apoplexy.

"He got the idea of the fast from the new theory exploited by
Dr. Edward Hooker Dewey, a practising physician of Meadville,
Pa., who recommends fasting as a cure for many ailments, and
advises all persons to go without breakfast and eat only two
meals a day.

"'I became intensely interested in this new system,' said Mr.
Rathbun yesterday, 'and I decided to put it to a practical test.
Dr. Dewey had said that he had many patients fasting all the way
from ten to thirty and forty days, and I concluded that if it
did them so much good it would be just the thing for me. So I
tried it.

"'On April 23 I ate my last meal, and from then until May 24 I
had absolutely nothing to eat. I drank water, of course, for
that is a matter of necessity. One cannot do without drink; but
I took no nourishment. For the first twenty-four hours I was
very hungry, and would have liked very much to take a square
meal; but I resisted the temptation, and after the expiration of
one day I had no desire to eat.

"'I had been in the habit of getting to my office about 8; now I
get there at 7. I generally had left at 5.30; I now stayed until
6.30. I had been in the habit of taking an hour or an hour and a
quarter for luncheon. The luncheon was now cut off, so I stayed
in the office and worked. I sat there at my desk and put in a
long, hard day's work, constantly writing.

"'At night I drank a bottle of Apollinaris, and went to bed at
8.30 and slept until 4 in the morning. I never enjoyed better
sleep than in those four weeks. And I was in excellent condition
as far as I could see in every other way. My mind was clear, my
eye was sharper than usually, and all the functions were in
excellent working order.

"'I had many amusing experiences. I went to a dentist on the
first day. I had some work requiring several hours' labor on the
part of the dentist. I said nothing to the doctor on the first
day. Four or five days afterward I kept a second appointment
with the dentist, and he asked me how the teeth worked which he
had fixed before. I said to him: "I haven't tried them yet."

"'You can imagine the look of surprise on his face. When I told
him that I was fasting, and had been since he had seen me
before, he showed the greatest concern, and said he did not
think I could go on with the dental work on account of the
weakness of my nerves. He solicited me to go out and have just a
bite of something. I refused, of course, and he continued the
work. I visited him on two days after that until he had finished
the work.

"'The men in my employ were greatly concerned about me, and
thought I would break down. I used to weigh every night before
leaving the office, and as they saw my constant wearing away
they became more and more frightened, and finally appointed a
committee to wait on me. The committee was headed by my manager,
who begged me to eat. He brought along some fine ripe cherries
to tempt me. I told him I would not eat them for one thousand
dollars, for I was interested thoroughly in the fast by that
time and would not have stopped.

"'After that they made no more attempts to stop the fast; but my
friends all shook their heads, and said that when I started in
to eat again I would find I was without a proper stomach.

"'On the twenty-eighth day the hunger began to come on again,
and I began to eat under the advice of Dr. Carpenter. On the
twenty-ninth day I drank a little bouillon, and afterward from
day to day increased the amount of food to the normal. I
suffered no inconvenience.'

"Mr. Rathbun says he is a firm believer in the no-breakfast
system of hygiene advocated by Dr. Dewey, and that neither
himself, his wife, nor any of the servants in his house eat
breakfast, and as a result all are remarkably well. His two
sons, one of whom was graduated at Harvard in 1896, and a
second, who is still at Harvard, practise the no-breakfast
system.

"Just before beginning his fast Mr. Rathbun ordered a suit of
clothes at his tailor's. He did not go for it until the end of
his long fast. Being something of a practical joker, besides a
man of great nerve, he walked into the tailor-shop and let the
tailor try his new suit on to see if it was all right.

"When he slipped on the coat the tailor stood aghast. There was
apparently the same man he had measured twenty-eight days
previously standing before him in perfect health, but as to
dimensions not at all the same man.

"'It doesn't fit any part of you,' said the tailor, after the
suit had been tried on. In the tailor's book Rathbun's
measurement was entered: 'Forty-three inches around the waist
and forty-two around the chest.' When he went for his suit his
measurements were thirty-eight around the waist and thirty-eight
around the chest.

"Dr. Dewey's theory, which led Rathbun to make his long fast, is
that the brain is the centre of every mind and muscle energy, a
sort of self-charging dynamo, with the heart, lungs, and all the
other parts only as so many machines to be run by it; that the
brain has the power of feeding itself on the less important
parts of the body without loss of its own structure, and that as
the operation of digestion is a tax on the brain, a long period
of fasting gives the brain a rest, by which means the brain is
able to build itself up, which means the upbuilding of the whole
body.

"In this way, it is asserted, the alcohol habit is cured and
other diseases eradicated.

"Dr. F. B. Carpenter said yesterday to a reporter for _The
Press_ that he had not recommended Mr. Rathbun to take the fast,
but had advised him while it was going on and after it was over.
The doctor said he was inclined to believe there might be
something in the no-breakfast system, as a great many persons
eat and drink altogether too much.

"Dr. Helmer said he had examined Rathbun on the twenty-fifth
day, and had found him in surprisingly good condition."

Mr. Rathbun had been on the no-breakfast plan for several years, and he was one of the first to write me after my book came out. It was not without reason he feared apoplexy, for Ex-Gov. Flower, an over-weighted man, had gone down to instant death though seemingly in perfect health and in the prime of business energy and mental capacity. During his fast my only trouble with him was in his drinking so much water without thirst, thus greatly and needlessly adding to the work of the kidneys.

Mr. Rathbun was so disappointed over the skepticism of New York physicians as to the reliability of the fast that he determined to undergo a longer one under such surveillance as would enforce conviction. He was mainly actuated, however, to go through the ordeal in the interests of science.

Again I had trouble with him on the water question, wishing him to drink only as thirst incited. He was differently advised by an eminent Boston physician, who, taking a great interest in the case, wrote him that he should have great care to drink certain definite amounts for the necessary fluidity of the blood. I had to respond that thirst would duly indicate this need; that in my cases of protracted fasts from acute sicknesses not one had been advised to take even a teaspoonful of water for such reasons; that at the closing days before recovery of such cases there was only the least desire for water, and this with no indication of need from the blood. Mr. Rathbun did not escape some trouble from overworked kidneys, and he became convinced that my theory and practice were more in line with physiology.

This fast was made a matter of daily record by the leading New York journals, and he became such a subject of general interest that in addition to his ordinary business he was greatly overtaxed, and was compelled to give up the fast on the thirty-fifth day, in part from the exhaustion of over-excitement.

This case was summed up as follows by the _New York Press_, February 27, 1900:

"Milton Rathbun has ended his long fast.

"After thirty-five days, in which solid food or any liquid other
than water was a stranger to his palate, he became extremely
hungry on Sunday night. At first he resisted the longing to eat
and tried to sleep it off. But he awoke in a few hours hungrier
than ever, and then he decided he had fasted as long as was good
for him.

"He ate a modest, light meal and went back to bed, only to awake
still hungry. Then he ate an orange, and was asleep again in a
jiffy. A bowl of milk and cream and crackers sufficed for his
breakfast, and at noon yesterday he enjoyed his first hearty
meal.

"As he walked around the parlor of his home in Mount Vernon,
lighter by forty-three pounds than he was on January 21, this
man of fifty-five years and iron will said:

"'I feel like a boy again. I think I could vault over a six-foot
fence.'

"Mrs. Rathbun herself knows what it is to fast. For five years
such a thing as breakfast has been an unknown quantity in her
house, save when guests were present or for the servants. To
this abstinence Mrs. Rathbun attributes the curing of catarrh,
from which she had suffered previously. And as she and her
husband do, so do their two sons.

"After the first few days of abstinence he had felt no desire to
eat until Sunday evening. Then he became hungry--ravenously so.
His first fast of a year ago--it was twenty-eight days then--had
taught him that sleep took away the longing for food, and, too,
he had said he would make his fast last forty days this time. So
he went to bed and to sleep.

"But he awoke at 11 o'clock; he was hungrier than ever, and he
decided not to resist his inclination for food. Calling his wife
he asked her for an orange, and ate it; then he took another.
His next demand was for oysters, and a dozen large, juicy ones
disappeared rapidly, to the accompaniment of five soda crackers.
Then he drank about two-thirds of a cup of beef-tea, and some
Oolong tea. His appetite was not sated by any means, but he knew
the danger of overloading his stomach, so he stopped.

"He soon was slumbering again, but he was wide awake at 2
o'clock in the morning. And his hunger was with him still. He
ate an orange to appease the craving, and again sought his
pillow. He slept again until 6 o'clock, and then, breaking some
crackers in a bowl of milk and cream, he ate again.

"At noon a meal was served to the still hungry man. He began
with a little clam-broth; then came half a dozen steamed clams,
followed by a small portion of mock-turtle soup. Of a squab he
ate one-half, and with it some canned pease and fried potatoes;
while for dessert he had a little lemon ice.

"'That was good,' he exclaimed, as he finished. The remark was
unnecessary; the relish with which he had eaten was convincing
testimony of his enjoyment. Asked why he had decided not to fast
for the full forty days, he said:

"'I ate just because I was hungry.'

"Asked how the weather affected him, he said:

"'When I began there was a spell of cold weather, and I found
it rather hard to keep warm at night. But it soon passed away,
and I made it a point to wear the same underclothing and outer
garments as usual. Oh, yes; I did wear a different pair of
trousers. I had them made five years ago, but they were so tight
around the waist I could never wear them. They are as loose as
can be now, however.'

"'From a scientific standpoint,' said Professor R. Ogden Doremus
yesterday, 'it is the most interesting and valuable experiment I
have known. Mr. Rathbun is a man of great nerve force. The very
fact that he attended to his business was what saved him, in
keeping his mind away from the thought of food. He could not
have done it had he been on exhibition or if he had remained at
home. If he had been at sea, in an open boat, he could not have
lasted more than ten days. He would have had nothing to think of
but his hunger.'

"Dr. George J. Helmer, who has given no little attention to Mr.
Rathbun, said:

"'I have examined him several times; I did so when his thirty
days were up. Well, it was remarkable. It's a wonderful
exhibition, that will attract the attention of the medical
world. His heart is as clear as a bell and his kidneys are
perfect. He is in absolutely rugged health. His temperature was
normal, his eye clear, and to-day, upon examination, any
insurance company would rate him as an A1 risk.'

"Following is from the diary kept during his fast, and furnished
by Milton Rathbun to _The Press_:

"_First Day_, Jan. 22, 8.45 A. M.--Weight, 207 pounds; height, 5
ft. 6-1/2 inches; chest measure, 43-1/2 inches; waist measure,
43-1/2 inches; hip measure, 46-1/2 inches; calf measure, 17
inches; biceps measure, 14 inches; forearm, 12 inches. 3 P. M.,
feels well, but hungry. In the evening felt well, not being
hungry or thirsty. Have taken no water.

"_Tuesday_, Jan. 23.--Slept well until 6 A. M. Rested a while,
then took sponge bath and rubdown. At 8.45 weighed 200 pounds.
Feel good, but a little weak. 12 o'clock M., no appetite and
feverish. 4 P. M., weighed 199 pounds; went home; drank one pint
of water during the evening.

"_Wednesday_, Jan. 24.--Slept well for nine hours. Got up at 6
A. M., drank one glass of water and took train to the city. 8.30
A. M., weighed 198-1/2 pounds; only half pound lost, which
shows how greedily the tissues absorb moisture and add to
weight. 12 o'clock M., have no appetite nor thirst, and no
fever. Retired at 9 o'clock, feeling comfortable but a little
feverish.

"_Thursday_, Jan. 25.--After having slept seven and one-half
hours took a sponge bath and brisk rubdown. Came to the city,
and at 8.25 A. M. weighed 195 pounds. Feeling good, with no
fever nor appetite. 4.45 P. M., weighed 193 pounds. At home
during the evening drank two and one-half glasses of water.

"_Friday_, Jan. 26.--Slept eight hours. No appetite and feeling
stronger. Examined by Professor Doremus and Dr. Carpenter.
Retired at 9 o'clock, feeling first class.

"_Saturday_, Jan. 27.--Came to the city on the 7.45 A. M. train.
Weighed 191 pounds. Feeling good. No fever and no appetite.

"_Sunday_, Jan. 28.--Drank one glass of water when I got up.
During the day and evening drank three more glasses of water.
Retired feeling first class.

"_Monday_, Jan. 29.--Slept eight hours last night, and came to
the city on the 7.45 A. M. train. At 8.25 weighed 189 pounds. 4
P. M., was examined by Dr. F. B. Carpenter, who found the
temperature 98-1/2 deg. F., pulse regular, tongue clean.
Measurements were: waist, 41 inches; chest, 41 inches; hip, 45
inches; calf, 16 inches; biceps, 13-1/2 inches; forearm, 11-1/2
inches. 5.15 P. M., weighed 188 pounds.

"_Tuesday_, Jan. 30.--Slept eight hours; weighed 188 pounds,
same as the night before; feeling good. 5.30 P. M., weighed
185-1/2 pounds.

"_Wednesday_, Jan. 31.--Slept 7-1/2 hours, drank one and
one-half glasses of water; weighed at 8.25 A. M. 187 pounds; Dr.
Carpenter found temperature 98 deg. F., and pulse 88; Professor
Doremus called a little later; weighed 184-1/2 pounds.

"_Thursday_, Feb. 1.--Rested quietly when not asleep; drank only
one and three-quarters glasses of water all day; weighed 184
pounds; retired feeling good.

"_Friday_, Feb. 2.--Not feeling any hunger; was examined by F.
B. Carpenter; temperature, 98 deg. F.; pulse, 84; weighed 183
pounds; retired feeling well, but tired.

"_Saturday_, Feb. 3.--Somewhat wakeful during the night. 5.45 P. M.,
weighed 182 pounds.

"_Sunday_, Feb. 4.--Read all day and felt well.

"_Monday_, Feb. 5.--2 P. M., temperature, 98.4 deg. F.; pulse, 82;
tongue clean. Measurements were: waist, 41 inches; chest, 41
inches; hip, 43 inches; calf, 14-1/2 inches; biceps, 13-1/2
inches; forearm, 11-1/2 inches; went to bed feeling a trifle
feverish.

"_Tuesday_, Feb. 6.--Wakeful during the night. 11 A. M., had my
eyes examined by Dr. L. H. Matthez, oculist, and found a marked
improvement in my sight over same tests of two months previous,
being 7 degrees stronger; felt a little weak, but no fever or
appetite; weighed 180 pounds; feeling somewhat exhausted from
the day's labor and in entertaining guests.

"_Wednesday_, Feb. 7.--Slept about seven hours during the night;
when I awoke felt rested; temperature, 98.2 deg. F.; pulse, 80; have
felt well all day; went to bed at 9.30; some fever.

"_Thursday_, Feb. 8.--Woke up two or three times during the
night. Drank water during the night and first thing this morning
when I got up. Came to the city, and at 9 o'clock weighed 182
pounds, showing a gain of two pounds over last night. Not
feeling so well owing to the amount of water I drank last night,
which was induced by feverishness.

"_Friday_, Feb. 9.--Feeling first rate. At 8.25 A. M. weighed
180 pounds. Heart action normal. No enlargement of the spleen or
liver.

"_Saturday_, Feb. 10.--Lost nothing in weight during the day and
have felt well all the while.

"_Sunday_, Feb. 11.--Passed the day in reading and drank
frequently of water.

"_Monday_, Feb. 12.--This being a holiday, did not go to the
city. Passed the day in entertaining callers. Have not felt
quite so well owing to a slight cold settling in my left kidney.

"_Tuesday_, Feb. 13.--Measurements: waist, 38-1/2 inches; chest,
40 inches; hip, 43 inches; calf, 14-1/2 inches; biceps, 12-1/2
inches; forearm, 11 inches; weight, 177-1/2 pounds.

"_Wednesday_, Feb. 14.--I attribute the cause of loss of sleep
to a hard day's work and in reading too long last evening.

"_Thursday_, Feb. 15.--Somewhat wakeful during the night.
Retired at 7.30 o'clock, after a hard day's work.

"_Friday_, Feb. 16.--3.30 P. M., temperature, 98.5 deg. F.; pulse,
74; tongue clean; weighed 172-1/2 pounds. During the evening
drank one cup of hot water.

"_Saturday_, Feb. 17.--After a restful night felt well all day.

"_Sunday_, Feb. 18.--Retired at 9 o'clock and have rested a good
deal during the day.

"_Monday_, Feb. 19.--Weighed 169-1/2 pounds, and retired feeling
well.

"_Tuesday_, Feb. 20.--Weighed 168-1/2 pounds; was examined by
Dr. Helmer, who found me in excellent condition; 4.30 P. M.,
weighed 169-1/2 pounds, a gain of one pound during the day, on
account of drinking a little more water than usual.

"_Wednesday_, Feb. 21.--Temperature, 98.5 deg. F.; pulse, 69; 4 P. M.,
weighed 168-1/2 pounds; have not felt quite so well during
the day.

"_Thursday_, Feb. 22.--Occupied the day--holiday--in reading and
reclining, and went to bed feeling pretty well.

"_Friday_, Feb. 23.--At 8.30 A. M. weighed 166 pounds; 3.30 P. M.,
temperature, 99 deg. F.; pulse, 98; lung expansion, 2-3/4
inches; went home and to bed, feeling considerably exhausted
owing to a hard day's work and too many callers.

"_Saturday_, Feb. 24.--Did not rest very well from overtaxing
the brain yesterday. Do not feel quite so well this morning
owing to that fact and from drinking too much water during the
past twenty-four hours. At 8.25 A. M. weighed 166 pounds; went
home not feeling well to-day on account of some stomach
disturbance, which probably comes from drinking too much water;
did not drink any water during the evening; feeling quite tired
at bedtime.

"_Sunday_, Feb. 25.--Slept nine hours and rested well, and did
not drink any water during the night. Kept quiet all day, lying
down most of the time, and felt the coming of hunger about 6
o'clock.

12 o'clock noon, pulse regular; tongue clean; temperature,
98.2 deg.F.; weighed 164 pounds. Measurements were: waist, 36-1/2
inches; chest, 38 inches; hip, 40-1/2 inches; calf, 14 inches;
biceps, 11 inches; forearm, 10 inches.

Was in bed at 8 o'clock, still feeling hungry, and after a short
sleep woke up at 11 o'clock with a sharp appetite, and ate a
dozen raw oysters, two oranges, two-thirds cup of beef-tea, five
crackers, and part of a cup of Oolong tea.

I insert a photograph of Mr. Rathbun taken shortly after his
second fast. There had been five years' trial of the No-Breakfast
Plan before these fasting demonstrations."

One of the hardest things on earth as a mental operation is to be fair to the opposition. Now lest I have beguiled my readers overmuch by the force of my convictions even to the point of danger, I will give an estimate of the danger of fasting by one of the most eminent physicians of New York City, Dr. George F. Shrady. I quote from an interview reported in the New York _Sun_:

"The strange case of Milton Rathbun, of Mt. Vernon, who, to
reduce his flesh and generally tone up his system, is said to
have gone without food of any sort for thirty-six days, still
continues to be the subject of more or less discussion among the
medical men of the city. Dr. George F. Shrady, in speaking last
evening of Mr. Rathbun's remarkable exploit, said:

SHORTLY AFTER HIS FAST.]

"'There are three things to say about it. In the first place,
the fact, if it be a fact, as it seems to be, is astonishing;
secondly, it was very foolish; and thirdly, it would be a very
unfortunate and dangerous thing to popularize such experiments.
Now as to whether the gentleman in question actually did go
thirty-six days without taking nourishment of any sort is a
matter I will not discuss. If he were a professional faster, I
would hardly hesitate to say his claim was fraudulent, for I am
fully convinced that all the professional fasters are frauds.
They are simply adept sleight-of-hand men. They work out some
adroit trick by which they may get nourishment into their
systems in spite of the always more or less negligent or
suspicious watchers, and then advertise for a forty days' or
sixty days' 'fast.'

* * * * *

"'Now, mind you, I do not say this Mt. Vernon case is anything
of this sort. I only say that if it is true it is most
astounding. It is in flat contradiction of all the authorities
on the subject of a human being's ability to do without food.
The extreme limit of all well-authenticated cases of total
abstinence from nourishment is from nine to ten days. Imprisoned
miners have been known to go that time and survive.

* * * * *

"'But at all events it was a very foolish thing for Mr. Rathbun
to do. About that there can be no manner of doubt. What will be
the future effect upon him--upon his heart action, upon his
impoverished blood, upon his nervous system, upon his organs of
nutrition, necessarily paralyzed for days? These are grave
questions, the answers to which may be unpleasant to Mr. Rathbun
as they reveal themselves to him in the future. You cannot fly
in the face of Nature and ignore all her laws in that way with
impunity. She exacts her penalties and there is no court of
appeals in her realm.

"'When I say that the extreme limits of abstinence from
nourishment in clearly authenticated cases is from nine to ten
days, you must not get the impression that all persons can last
that long.

* * * * *

"'It is a question of environment, of mental condition--whether
buoyed by hope or stimulated by ambition to do a great feat--and
above all, of course, of the physical condition of the faster.
Without food the body absorbs its own tissues. Mr. Rathbun, I am
told, was a very heavy man with a superabundance of tissue.
Naturally he could go longer without nourishment than a weak,
attenuated, thin-blooded man.

* * * * *

"'Yet Mr. Rathbun was exercising daily and about his usual
avocations, and he abstained from food for thirty-six days!
Well, it's remarkable!

* * * * *

"'But I sincerely hope Mr. Rathbun will have no imitators. It
would be a very unfortunate thing, fraught with grave
possibilities, if the newspaper accounts of his reduction in
weight and general improvement in health were to move others to
follow his example. Many persons would be injured for life,
physically wrecked, and perhaps actually killed if they
conscientiously did the fifth part of what he is said to have
done.

* * * * *

"'And right here it may be said that there is a great deal of
exaggeration in the sweeping statements made about people eating
too much. If a man sleeps well, goes about his business in a
cheerful frame of mind, and does not get what is called
"out-of-sorts," he may be pretty sure he is not eating too much,
even though he eat a good deal. My observation is that the
average man who works and gets a proper amount of exercise does
not eat too much. If you want to get work done by the engine,
you have got to stoke up the furnace. If a man wants to keep his
vital energies up to par he has got to put in the fuel--that is,
the food.

"'Of course, there are those who lead sedentary lives who get
too much absorbed in the pleasures of the table and overfeed.
There are a sufficient number of these, to be sure, but I think
they are the exception. But it will be a sad mistake if even
they seek a road to health by Mr. Rathbun's starvation
methods.'"

The doctor is astonished, and so am I that he is astonished. This would seem to imply that he has never had cases of acute sickness in which the amount of food taken during many days or even weeks was too small to play any part as a life-prolonging factor.

"It was a foolish, even dangerous experiment." How foolish or dangerous? What vital organs suffered? Was there evidence of a loss of anything but fat? What organs were "necessarily paralyzed" during the fast? Evidently not the brain, else longer days of labor would not have been possible; and the grave future possibilities in heart action, impoverished blood, nervous system, upon organs of nutrition "necessarily paralyzed" for days; and the extreme limit of nine or ten days before death from starvation; and that without food the _body_ lives on its own tissues!

One can easily see that the earnest doctor is full of strong impressions that have little of the flavor of science: truth that is not self-evident should have the instant logic in easy reach. I may here say that my hygienic scheme has from the first been subject to similar attacks by physicians from the standpoint of impressions, but no physician has ventured into print against it after becoming aware of its physiologic basis.

I am happy to assure all readers that in all the involuntary fasts of my cases of acute sickness or in the voluntary fasts in chronic disease, has there been any other than improved general health as the result. Notably was this the case in a man who fasted ten years ago for forty days for an ulcer of the stomach, and who had been troubled with indigestion for more than forty years. He had become nearly a mental and physical wreck when he took to his bed with an abolished appetite. There have since been some ten years of nearly perfect health, and now in his seventy-seventh year he is the youngest-looking man for his age I have ever seen. He walks the streets with the gait of a youth of twenty. To do without food without hunger does not tax any vital power, as Dr. Shrady may yet become aware.