Litchfield Enquirer

MISCELLANY
[During our residence in Philadelphia, some
years since, we often met with the extraordinary
individual alluded to in the following article.]-Enquirer.

Dissection of the Monkey-Man.

The late Hervey Leach, commonly
called Hervio Nano, who died about 3
weeks ago, bequeathed his remains to Dr.
Liston. The Literary (London) Gazette
gives the following account of the construction
and appearance of the body:

"This extraordinary cripple exhibits
the very rare combination of perfect
symmetry, strength and beauty, with a
great amount of deformity. The head
is remarkably fine in form, and the expression
intelligent and benign; the chest
and shoulders, and arms, form a perfect
model of strength and beauty; the arms
are exceedingly muscular, and the hands
well and strongly formed; when standing
the arms could reach the ground
easily, so as to be employed in progressing
or leaping. In the place of legs, are
two limbs, the left, about 18 inches from
the hip to the point of the toes, the right,
about 24 from the same points. The feet
are natural. The easiest method of explaining
the nature of these limbs is to say
that it seems as though the thigh bones and
muscles had disappeared, and the knee
joints been raised up to the hips; the bone
on one side is tolerably like a leg bone
on the other; it is compressed into an immensely
strong bone of triangular form
with the base upwards, and knit to the
hip with very strong ligaments. These
limbs are furnished with the muscles
which should have belonged to the thigh
-and those of the leg are much increased
in size; the muscles of the calf
being comparatively small, on account
probably of his mode of walking, contribute
to give the limb the look of a lion's
fore arm. Nearly double power must
have been obtained over the feet by this
arrangement; and this would account for
his extraordinary feats of leaping, such
as following a horse at full speed on the
hands and feet, and suddenly springing
on its back like a monkey, or jumping 10
feet in the air. His mode of fighting too
was most original; he used to spring in the
air, and at the instant deal the
most terrific blow upon his unwary antagonist's
head, so that he was a very
formidable combatant.
It is said that in
his palmy days, while driving his cab, a
clumsy carter drove against him, and as
usual accused Hervio of being in fault
at which our hero sprang from his seat,
on to the back of the man, and gave him
a most terrible thrashing. His feats of
strength in his monkey characteristics are
well known. A very good cast of the entire
figure has been made, which will
doubtless be shown to those who may be
curious in such matters."