The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-04-23
Il DAY 1T THE HOSPITAL.
The Insane Ward--E1cct of Promises
of Forty Acres and n Mule upon u
ColOred Man.


City Hospital, on MazycE street. under the guild
ance of DR.. f. Lcbby, health olilser in charge ant
Mr.. Arthur Farley, the steward. There are a
present in the hospital eigthty-hve whlte ant
| colcred patients fourteen OF whom are insane
The wards are well ventilated, and kept in a mos
cleau!y condition. as is the whole hospital. NO
where even In the ward where the venereal
gangrene and other offensive cases are treated, II
there the disagreeable odor which Is too Otter
found in hospitals. The laundry and bakery are
in perfect order, and furnished with every mo
| dern Improvement necessary TO accomplish Inc
work required. In the bakery is baked all OF tht
bread of the city institutions, and it is as good
and sweet as any one would desire to eat Until
recently the bread was furnished the city institu
tions by contract, costing the city, as we are In
formed, about s2S,0O0 per annum-about eight
cents loaf. Now the same amount Of bread
furnished, ami costs the city about three and
| half cents pc: loaf.
At present there are comparatively few patients
under treatment and all OF these, under good az,
tendance and excellent fare, are doing well.
A short time since DR.. Lebby had purchased for
the hospital o complete set OF meteorological In
struments, and every day at S A. M. and and
P. NJ, observations are taken and recorded.
THE INSANE WARD.
In this ward there ere fourteen persons, male
and female, white and colored. Most OF them
are quiet and are allowed to roam about the
ward at will. A few, however, are so violent that
tley have to be kept confined in cells to prevent
them from doing injury to their fellow-creatures.
The visitor is notified of his proximity to this
ward by loud shrieks, bursts OF laughter, and
considerable noise generally, which is the more
remarkable because OF the quiet which prevails In
the other wards. A visitor on tour Of tnspec-
ton through this ward sees and hears much
which at first eXcites SMILE despite the sadden-
ing scenes and influences surrounding him.
The most noticeable case is that OF lady about
thirty five years Of age, whose appearance now
denotes that she once possessed great personal
attractions. Her cell is nicely and comfortably
furnished, everything in perfect order, and re-
sembles more the chamber OF lady In moderate
circumstances than hospital cell. These articles
of comfort we're furnished by her friends. When
quiet she Is harmless, and her cell door Is left
open. Sometimes she gets in q furious mood;
tears up the bed clothes and everything else tear
able and breaks all t. glass and crockery ware.
In these moods, she is dangerous. Several per-
sons have suffered By encountering her While in
them; one day she stabbed with pair Of scissors
one OF the officers Of the hospital, who tried TO
check her in her work OF destruction.
A white man imagnes himself to be Jesus
Christ. and calls upon all to come to him If they
want TO be saved, arguing that no one will die
until the world comes to an end, which will occur
exactly seventy six years and six months from the
@;,~, no fs to1ly {u oil i'm troa n,
the yard, which he Insists is the tree Of Heaven,
and leaves plucked therefrom will prove bles-
sing to the possessor. There is an Irish woman
in the same yard who persists in asserting that
the tree Is shamrock tree, despite her compan-
ion's protestations to the contrary. She plucks
leaves from 1t and presents them to visitors as
''fourleaved shamrocks.n
EFFECTS OF PROMISES.
1t Is we'll known that tue promises OF "forty
acres and mule; to the negroes by office-seeIing
scoundrels have turned the lead o. many poor
colored man in the South; but We doubt ii any
one has been affected by these promises as is
colored man in one OF the cells. He was formerly
o preacher, but since the war has gone crazy,
and tmagines himself to be the owner OF thou
sands OF acres OF land, with plenty or hands aud
lnuleS, making crops lux tHc SoSeiHiueut auo 4ot
himself. IL is believed that the promises OF land
so elated him, that when his hopes were not real
lied his mind sunk under the shock. The white
man above referred to frequently insists that this
colored man may be discharged and allowed TO
60 and preach, and elevate the white race.
colored girl became crazy from the loss OF
her babe, but rag baby has supplied its place.
She treats it as IL it were animate and talks to 1t
in that strange language which is only under
stood by the mother and her babe. generally
known as "baby talk.' She frequently gets up
and, with the rag baby in her arms, dances and
sings until she sinks to the door. from sheer ex-
haustion.
Another one OF the insane is colored woman.
who is said to be Congo negro, having been
brought from Africa when very young. Her hair
Is as white Us snow. She does not know her age,
but Is believed to be nearly one hundred years
old.