He derived his name from a
proboscis-like projection of his nose and lips, together with a
peculiar deformity of the forehead. He was victimized by showmen
during his early life, and for a time was shown in Whitechapel
Road, where his exhibition was stopped by the police. He was
afterward shown in Belgium, and was there plundered of all his
savings. The gruesome spectacle he presented ostracized him from
the pleasures of friendship and society, and sometimes interfered
with his travels. On one occasion a steamboat captain refused to
take him as a passenger. Treves exhibited him twice before the
Pathological Society of London. His affection was not
elephantiasis, but a complication of congenital hypertrophy of
certain bones and pachydermatocele and papilloma of the skin.
From his youth he suffered from a disease of the left hip-joint.
The papillary masses developed on the skin of the back, buttock,
and occiput. In the right pectoral and posterior aspect of the
right axillary region, and over the buttocks, the affected skin
hung in heavy pendulous flaps. His left arm was free from
disease. His head grew so heavy that at length he had great
difficulty in holding it up. He slept in a sitting or crouching
position, with his hands clasped over his legs, and his head on
his knees.
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