The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1874-12-29
WALLED W ALIVE,
BarbarOus Treatment Of n Lunatlc-
Kept In llOrrId Confinement for
Twelve Years.


The Allentown pa Herald has lust
disclosed u case of barbarous treatment
of human being, In Washington
township, Lehigh county, which we
should reject ~ u romance or II gross
eXaggeratlon We're II not well authenti-
Gated, aud did we not know that sim
liar crueltles have been practlced In
other localities of this aud other states,
Briefly, the story Is this; a we'll
known citizen Of Allentown, while
hunting on the Blue mountain, had his
attention attracted by "A queer-loolSing
brick structure among the trees. IL
was simply four brick walls, about
seven or eight feet high, and inclosing
n space of aboat six square feet. He
walked round IL, and could find neither
door nor window, There was stencil
arising from 1t that made his examine
ton anything but q pleasant one, He
was about to leave the place, with the
mystery of the solitary brick building
unsolved, when suddenly his steps were
arrested 10y sound as Of u human
voice, which appeared to come from
the interior OF the structure. Again he
walked round the building, and this
time he dlscerned place in one of the
walls where u brick had been left out,
ail0rding an opening into this "dun-
geon'-- for 1t was dungeon, and IL
held n prisoner shut out from the light
of day, from all human fellowship, and
from all opportunity Of enjoyment ol
the common blessings of life, which
belong to the most unfortunate Of Gods
creatures. As the discoverer of this
strange ediiice discovered the only
opening in the walls, again he heard II
sound from the interior of IL. This
time there could be no doubt Of ii.
Strange, incoherent muiterings and
then cry of pain or rage fell on the
ear of the startled listener. He called
out and knocked upon the wall, and
the voice of man responded to him,
but he could make no sense of the
response. After u time he left the
place and made inquiries in the neigh
borhood, and then he heard very
strange story.
The man bricked up in that monu-
mental coffin is named Levi Hand
Werk, and the neighbors state that he
has been immured there for twelve
years. The strange story given by Mr..
Powell is that the father of HandwerS
died and left him quite young man
with $4,000. He was lunatic, subject
to fits of ungovernable rage, and when
these fits were upon him the lives of
those around him were in danger.
After the death of his father, the moth
er of Handwerk married again, and
the young man became altogether un.
controllable--a violent, raving mad
man. Then it was he was consigned
to this dungeon, which is simply a
bare spot of ground inclosed by four
walls. Here he has wallowed in filth,
his food passed through the small
aperture made by leaving out a brick
in the wall, exposed to the severity of
the winter weather, crying, shrieking
and yelling when the storm swept over
the mountain, and making the night
hideous with his frantic cries. The
motive given for his confinement thus
is that the lives of those about him
We're Lot safe if he were at large, and
'if he had been sent to a lunatic asy-
lum the money he was possessed of
would have been appropriated to keep
him.
The Herald's revelation of this
abominable horror at once aroused the
good people of Allentown, and ON
Monday last II party, consisting OF cor
oner Moser, George Herself, Edward
Powell and o. HI. Nothstein, proceeded
TO the place, under the leadership of
Mr.. Powell. The building is situated
about one hundred yards from where
his parents reside, and when the Allen
town party arrived there the constable
of Slatington and another gentleman,
who had preceded them, were already
making arrangements Tor the deranged
mans removal. The strong iron bars
guarding the entrance were taken down
by the constable, when the party en-
tered. The sight that met their eyes is
simply indescribable. Lying on u
patch of fine straw in o nude state,
covered with u thick crust of dirt from
head to foot, was human being, the
stencil arising from the bed of filth
being almost intolerable. The pen in
which he is confined is four feet square,
of brick, lined with rough pine boards.
When the gentleman entered they
found him lying in crouched posi-
ton, and it was only by assistance that
he could stand on his feet, his limbs
being paralyzed and unable to bear the
emaciated form. Together they car.
ried him to his mothers house, and
applied soap and water, after which he
was clothed, and in charge OF the Off
Ger taken to Slatington. This morning
q permit will be procured for his adj
mittance into the county almshouse, in
which excellent institution he will re-
ceive better and more humane treat
ment than was his lot heretofore.
When brought 20 the light of day he
looked wistfully around and OCCASION
ally muttered incoherently. Heruhbed
his eyes vigorously, which were almost
concealed by dirt, and, although his
sayings were unintelligible, it was no.
ticed that his countenance beamedwith
joy at having secured liberty after SO
long confinement. 1t Is alleged that
|years ago he was in his right mind, as
records kept where he sold game to
other parties testify of business trans
factions which were by no means con
Xducted by an insane person.