From the May 20. 1943 Brooklyn Daily Eagle:

“There is living upon Staten Island, an old man who has devoted himself to the rigid and solitary life of the hermit. He has constructed a rude hut in the middle of a forest, where he passes both day and night, refusing to hold a communication with his fellow men, and living wholly upon cold water. He was formerly a sailor; and the only reason he can give for his curious delusion, is, that he was very wild and wicked in his youth, and that God, in order to punish him, has now commanded him to live upon water for the space of forty days. Fourteen of these days of penance have already passed, yet he persists in adhering to his simple diet. He is somewhat pale and emaciated, we are told, but quite vigorous and active. During the last summer, he took the same notion into his head, but after eleven days fasting, found out that his punishment was remitted for a time. It is again laid upon him, and he thinks he will be able to endure to the end.”