The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1870-05-05
49,, N E w TIE r M S.


~ For announcing caudientes, Five Dollars IN eacn
case, invariably in advance.
Mark Twain on ssThe New Crire.a
----sEhe extraordinary increase of finsanity among
the dangerous classes of society is 50 transpa-
rent that the well-knowm humorist of the Buf-
falo Erpress deyotss column to its descrip-
ton. He alleges that crime is dying out, and
in it's stead temporary alteration" is becoming
quite fashionable:
This country, during the last thirty or forty
wears. has produced some of the most remarka-
HE cases, of insanity of which there is any
mention in history. For instance, there was
the Baldwin case, in Ohio, twenty-five years
ago. Baldwin, from his boyhood up, had been
Of yindictive, malignant, quarrelsome nature.
He put boys eye out, once, and never was
heard: upon any occasion to utter regret Tor
it,. He did many such things. But at last ne
did something that was serious. He called at
2 house Just after dark, one evening, knocked,
~anskwhen the occupant came to the door shot
him dead. and then tried to escape, but was
.cautured. Two days before, he had wantonly
insllted helpless cripple, and the man he af-
ter,yards took swift vengeance upon with an
assassin bullet knocked him down. Such was
the Baldwin case. The trial was long and ex7
citing: the community was fearfully wrought
up. Men said this spiteful, bad-hearted vii
lain had caused grief enough in his time, and
now he should satisfy the law. But they were
mistaken, Baldwin was insane when he did
the deed-they had not thought of that. By
The arguments of counsel it was shown that at
10: 80 in the morning on the day of the muir
der. Baldwin become insane, and remained SO
for eleven hours and half exactly. This Just
covered the case comfortably, and he was ac-
Quilted. Thus, if an unthinking and excited
community had been listened to instead OF the
arguments of counsel, poor, crazy creature
would have been held to q fearful responsibility
for | q mere, , freak of madness. Baldwin went
clear, and although his relatives and friends
were naturally incensed against the community
for their. injurious suspicious and remarks, they
said let it 60 for this time, and did not prose
cute. The Baldwins were very wealthy. This
same Baldwin had momentary fits Of insanity
twice afterward, and on both occasions killed
people he had grudges against. And on both
these occasions the circumstances Of the killing
were so aggravated, and the murders so seem
inply heartless and treacherous, that If Bald
win had not been insane he would have been
hanged without the shadow of doubt. AS 1t
was, it required all his political and family in
auence to get him clear in one OF the cases,
and cost him not less than 10000 to get clear
in the other. One of these men he had noto-
riorsly been threatening to kill for twelve years
The poor creature happened, by the merest
pies.e of ill-fortune, to come along dark alley
at the very moment that Baldwin's insanity
came upon him, and so he was shot in the back
witl,la gun loaded with slugs. It was exceed
inely fortunate for Baldwin that his insanity
came on him Just when it did.
Take the case of Lynch Hacllett, of Penn
sylvania Twice, in public, he attacked a
German butcher by the name of Bemis Feldner,
with cane, and both times Feldner whipped
him with his fists. Hackett was vain, wealthy,
violent gentleman, who held his blood and fam
ily In high esteem, and believed that rev.
erent respect was due his great riches. He
brooded over the shame of his chastisement for
two weeks, and then, in a momentary tit OF in
sanity armed himself to the teeth, rode into
town. waited couple, Of hours until he saw
FsItiner coming down the street with his wife
on his arm, and then, as the couple passed the
doorway in which he had partially concealed
himself, he drove knife into Feldner's neck,
killing him instantly. The widow caught the
limp form and eased it to- the earth. Both were
drenched with blood. Hackett jocosely re-
marked to her that as professional butchers
recent wife she could appreciate the artistic
neatness of the job that left her in condition
to marry again, in case she wanted to. This
remark. and another which he made to friend,
that his position in society made the killing OF
an obscure citizen simply an "eccentriclty" In.
stead of. q crime, were shown to be evidence OF
insanity, and so Hackett escaped punishment.
The Jury were hardly inclined to. accept these
as proofs, at first inasmuch as the prisoner had
never been insane before the murder, and un-
der the tranquilizing effect Of the butchering
had Immediately regained his right mind-but
when. the defence came to show that third
cousin of Hackett's wife's stepfather was IN
sane, and not only insane but had nose the
very counterpart of Hacketts, it was plain that
snsanity was hereditary in the family; and
Hackett had come by it by legitimate inheri-
sanee. Of course the Jury then acquitted mn nm
But it was a merciful providence that Mrs
Hackett's people had been afflicted as shown,
else Hackett would certaiHfYhave been hanged
However, it is not possible to recount all the
marvellous cases of insanity that have come
under the public notice in the last thirty OF
fortv years. There was the Durgin case IN
New jersey three years ago. The servant girl
Bridget Durgin, at dead of night invaded her
mistress bedroom and carved the lady literally
to pieces with knife. Then she dragged the
body to the middle of the floor and beat and
banged it with chairs and such things. Next
she opened the feather beds and strewed the
contents around, saturated everything with
kerosene and set fire to. the general wreck. She
now took up the young child of the murdered
woman in her blood-smearing hands and walked
off through the snow with no shoes on, to a
neiehbor's house a quarter of mile off; and
told string of wild, incoherent stories about
soma men coming and setting fire to the house,
and then she cried piteously, and without seem
ing to think there was anything suggestive
about the blood upon her hands, her clothing
and the baby, volunteered the remark that she
was afraid these men had murdered her mis-,
tressi' hfterwarGs BY her OWN confession and
other testimony, it was proved that the mistress
had always been kind to the girl, consequently