The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1875-02-12
.ENToMBED ALJVE.

A
TARY CONFINEMENT IN THE WILDERNESS.
A strange and horrible tale comes to
us in the Allentown (Pa.) Chronicle, of
a man imprisoned on the Blue noun
tain in that section, within four brick
walls about seven or eight feet high,
bricked over the top and inclosing a
space of six feet square, without either
door or window. The discovery of his
whereabouts was accidentally made by
a Mr.. Edward Powell while out hunt
ing. He says the man bricked up in
that monumental coffin, and who suf-
fers death in life, is named Levi Hand
werk, and that he has been imprisoned
at that place for twelve years. It
seems the father of Handwerk died and
left his son g. 900. He was a lunatic,
subject to fits of ungovernable rage,
thereby endangering the lives of those
about him. The mother of Hand
werk married second time, and it
was then that Levi was consigned to
this dungeon violent, raving mad
man. Here, if the details of this hor-
filth, his food passed through the small
aperture made by leaving out brick in
the wall, exposed to the severity of the
winter weather, crying, shrieking and
yelling, when the storms have swept
over the mountain, and making night
hideous with his frantic cries. It seems
ncredIble-impossible Yet Mr.. Powell
is sure of the brick dungeon and its in
mate, and gives the story of the pris-
oner as it was given to him by the neigh
bors-some of whom say that the last
time he was seen he was perfectly nude
and his body covered with long hair
from head to foot.
The motive for the confinement is
that he is not safe to be at large, and
s' if he had been sent to lunatic asy-
lum, the S4, 900 would have been appro-
priated by the State to keep him."
Certainly, this story demands investi-
cation. It is dreadful, indeed, for
man to be deprived of reason-but to
be bricked up in the woods, to be for
ever removed from every influence that
might possibly soften his great afiic-
ton, to be left like beast in filth, to be
perpetually in darkness and in solitude
it is fate SO horrible that humanity
shudders at the thought of it, and we
cannot but hope that the story here re-
lated and made known through Mr..
Powell may be exaggerated, if not un-
true. MIR. Powell, however, positively
asserts that the man is there a con-
fined as described.
On Monday Mr.. Edward Powell, of
Allentown, the gentleman who first dis
covered Handwerk's situation, accom-
panied by Coroner Moser, Messrs.
George Hersh and d. 81. Nothstein,
proceeded to the place in Washington
township, and were led by Mr.. Powell
to the mysterious structure. The
building is situated, it is said, about
100 yards from where his parents Cd
reside, and when the Allentown party
arrived, q Constable from Slatington
and another gentleman were preparing
to remove Handwerk. The strong iron
bars were taken down by the Consta-
bic and the party entered. The sight
that met their eyes is simply indescriba-
bic. Lying on patch of fine straw,
in nude state, covered with thick
crust of dirt from head to foot, was
human being, the stencil arising from
the bed of filth being intolerable. The
pen in which he was confirmed is four
feet square, made of brick, lined with
rough pine boards. When the party
entered Handwerk was lying in a
crSuched position, and it was only with
assistance that he could stand on his
feet, his limbs being paralyzed. They
carried him to his mothers house, and
after washing and clothing him he was
taken by the Constable to Slatington.
A permit was procured for his admis-
sion into the Lehigh County Aims
House, in which institution he viii re-
ceive better and humane treatment
than heretofore. When brought to the
Light of day, he looked wistfully
around and occasionally muttered inco-
herently. He rubbed his eyes vigor-
ously, which were almost concealed by
dirt, and although his sayings were un-
Intelligible, it was noticed that his
countenance beamed with JOY at hav-
ing secured liberty after SO long con-
finement. It is alleged that years ago
he was in his right mind, as records
kept where he sold game to other par
ties testify of business transactions
which were by no means conducted by
an insane person.
4 PHOTOGRAPHIC NOVELTY.
An application of photograp hy,