The Evening World

SUNBURN DROVE HIM TO MADNESS

Life-Saver at Coney Island, Scorched to a Bronze by the Sun's Rays, Is Removed to Hospital Violently Insane.

If the woman who goes to the seashore and lies on the sand for hours in the broiling sun to burn her skin because she thinks it adds to her beauty could see Joseph Perkins, strapped to a cot in the New York Hospital, raving with pain day and night, it would change her ideas about the value of sun-burn.

She would also learn from the attending physicians that sunburn is only a milder form of skin incineration, and that instead of adding to her beauty it brings deep lines in the face, hardens the cuticle and with age hastens homeliness.

Perkins is still crazed from pain. His is the worst case of sunburn that has ever come under the observation of physicians in the hospital. He has been raving now for twenty-four hours.

Although he is not in immediate danger of death, it will be fully a week before he is able to leave the hospital.

Perkins was employed as a life-saver at Tilyou's beach, Coney Island, although he only arrived from England six months ago. He is an expert swimmer and had saved many lives at the summer resorts in his native country.

Burned Through Suit.

His skin is like tissue paper, and when the recent terrific hot spell came the sun began to burn him, even penetrating his bathing suit. Perkins had never experienced such hot weather in England, and as each day went by his suffering was intensified.

He went on pluckily, hoping that the next day would bring cooler weather or rain.

Every one who saw the life-saver on the beach pitied him. He told Mr. Tilyou that his skin felt as though a red hot iron had been applied to it.

He couldn't sleep Friday night or Saturday night, so fierce was the pain. He could not lie down.

The only way that the sufferer could get any rest was to sit in an upright position. All sorts of remedies were applied, but without bringing any relief to the patient.

When Perkins saw the sun come up over the horizon yesterday like a disc of fire he gave up completely.

Clothing a Torture.

It was with the greatest difficulty that clothes which he had not worn for a week were put on the man. He cried like a child with pain.

Upon the advice of friends he started for New York yesterday afternoon just when the shower came up, and crowds of pleasure-seekers were hurrying home. He was jostled and bumped and nearly fainted more than once.

On the boat his mind gave way from the awful strain, the suffering and lack of sleep. He raved like a maniac and the captain had him lashed in a bunk until the boat reached this city when an ambulance took him to New York Hospital.

"We are doing all we can for Perkins," one of the attending physicians said to-day, "but he suffers frightfully. He has lucid moments now, but his suffering is pitiful even to the doctors and nurses, who are used to such things. It could not have been much worse were he burned by fire. Sunburn is only a milder form of the burn by flames."