THIRTEEN MONTHS' SLEEP.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1741, 16 January 1888, Page 3

THIRTEEN MONTHS' SLEEP.

A most singular case baa, says the " Birmingham Daily Gazette," boon lying at the Walton Workhoaae for a considerable time past, a man named Peter Winatoffsky having been the cause of a large amount of anxiety to the medical staff Winßtoffeky, who is believed to be a Russian, m 43 yeara of age, and from bia own account is unmarried, and has been earning his livelihood as a sailor- At the commencement of March, 1886, he entered the workbouße and stayed until April, when be left. On the 6th of July m the same year he again entered the hospital, but this time m an unconscious conditon, having been found lying m the street by a policeman. As very hot weather waa being experienced at the. time it was thought that Winstoffsky was suffering from sunstroke, and he waa treated accordingly, but with no apparent benefit, As several days went by, and he remained m the ea r ce condition, it was considered to be almost a hopeless 0a.89. The man [ never exchanged a word with any person, and did not make any reply to questions put to him. A very remarkable feature of the case was that he was always roady to eat hia meals From tho 6th of July, 1886, uutil the 6 h of August, 1887, he slept away, and merely took his meale. Frequent efforts were made to restore the man to his natural condition, some of them being of a severe na(ure, including the application of a utrong electric lottery ; but he was almost passive to everything) only a slight twitotyng of th* musclos being observed during the operations. At lagt, however, this modern imitator of Rip Van Wink'e woke from his long slumber of thirteen months. Ho spoke to the person near hlrp m tho ward, who was greatly astonished, and to Borne extent frightened, to hear tho man's voice at last: Peter did not seen: to b^ any the worse, and conversed quite ration,al}y with, everybody, and rficogojaed amqnst others the governor's v^ifo. Ho is still being attecdodj to by the doctors, and it is fco be hoped that he will completely recover.