The New York herald., 1879-03-28

the i4th day of November Mr.. Graham visited his
| wife end took her home At that time she quiet
| and healthy. During the following month another
lob was offered to him the steamer City Of Austin
| bound for Galveston Texas He hired room in tho
| house where his motherin-law lived and placed his
Soon after his departure his wife again became
| crazy and complained that some one had poisoned
her: She became violent and police on oucer was
sent for, and she again taken to the iitnatic
| asylum There she remained until the oath
of the present month The. City .e OF Anstin Austin
voyage and put into Norfolk Harbor.
This delayed Mr.. Grahams return and he only ar
rived home last Friday. During his absence fhe
| mother visited his wife every two weeks On last
Saturday Mr. Graham visited his wife and found her
emaciated starving and covered with sores e
| with her:-- tlssf
OFFICIALS ACCUSED OF BRUTALITY
~ went up there last Saturday and brought her an
orange. an apple and piece of pie These she ate
ravenously and then asked me to lock the door. as
| she was afraid they would beat her"
'Do they beat you r. l asked.
EYES," She said, ''they do Don't let them come
| in"
She then told me they used frequently beat and
abuse her. She almost starved. The cell was
small and marrow and its only furniture was an iron
bcdstcad. told her that would take her home on
Monday.
the asylum if he would take better of her That
conscientious individual said he could not take
money. as it against the rules, but he said he
would like cigars. There Mr.. Graham promised
to bring him. Mr. Graham also spoke TO nurse there
and asked her how his wife treated She seemed
AIister cannot tell YOU anything of what goes ON
here because / would get discharged If l did," On
the following Monday Mr.. Graham obtained the fol-
lowing discharge for his wife:-
New York CirY LuSArIc ASYLUM, March "a 1879
Emily Graham is hereby discharged from this institu
s"S m E srRi 81 Sss
At the same time that she was discharged "as inl-
proved the authorities informed Mr.. Graham that
his wife would not probably live till she got to New
York. This pleasant prediction was not fulfilled.
Mrs. Graham arrived home safely though in a very
weak condition. DR.. Duncan summoned and
administered stimulents to her. but said from the
first that she could not long survive. Her body
very ithy and emaciatcd, and she appeared to be in
Starving condition. She died at quarter past four
death she became dorious, and cried out. "Thoy
coming to beat me-" "Keep them OFF, ..They Will
WHAT THE DOCTOR FOUND.
DR.. Duncan, when asked to give his impressions Of
"My statement of the is simply this-on
| Monday night Mr. Graham called at my Office and
| asked me If would not come to see crazy woman
| that had been just discharged from the asylum
Blackwells Island came around with him and
found her body just in about the same condition
| you have just seen it-very emaciated, sores all
over it and absolutely filthy. The only thing
that could do under the circumstances was
simply to order concentrated and nourishing food
for her and stimulants. That has been about all the
ity OF her recovery. Her husband told me that she
had been in the asylum and they told him she could
eat noth,ng found tnat on giving her anything to
ment has been strong beef tea, eggs, milk punches
and other stimuants thought proper to mention
with the death certificate that from all Appearances
she had not had proper treatment on Blackwelrs
Island"
DIR. srREw's EXPLANATION. s
reporter of the HERALD crossed to Blackwell's
Island from the foot of Eighty street. about
near the Female Lunatic Asylum he admitted to
the house of the Resident Physician, Dr. Strew. who
very promptly, and with an appearance of frank
ness entered into u statement Of the case of the
woman Graham.
This putient" said Dr. strew "cane here in octo-
bcr. After remaining while she went home. but
returned month afterward. When she first
came she was. like all other new inmates placed
her case and found that her habits were
then extremely filthy ordered her placed in pavil
ion G, where those Of her class usually confined.
Soon afterward she became violent and noisy that
she was very obnoxious to the other apd older pa
tents there, and caused her to be transferred to
Lodge No. 5, known the madhouse IT is set apart
for rontrollnblc and incurable subjects She had
been thcre for some time. when she began to suffer
from paresis, general wasting of the vital powers.
1t. in fact. is gradual and complete paralysis. In
many the system deteriorates that the least
p scratch wound. be ii ever trihing develops
INTO and into fetid and sluggish uccra-
ton and this was her condition. She had only morbid
appetite. At times she would eat voraciously at
others she would refuse all food and would labor
der the delusion that everything that given her
was poisoned. She had chronic darrh@a and it
six times day. The uurses will tell you that this
was done.
HOW THE SORES WE'RE CAUSED.
''5he soon became extremely cmaciated, and sores
developed her hips and thighs. like those which
are called bed sores so that she was unable to walk
aud could only creep and crawl about her
room Mrs. Smith, her attendant, informed
me that she had to take her up in her
five six times each day and carry her to the
bathroom, where she would wash her and put clean
clothing upon her. In this condition Of things I
found that tho like most OF those that are sim.
liar to it, rapidly drawing towarl an end. and
I ordered her transferred from lodge No 8 to the
hospital hall In the main building. There she
was attended by nurses OF the best class all OF them
being graduates Of the training school. Everything
done for her that possibly could have been done
in any private home. and certainly more than would
have been done in her own house. be shown you
by and by She was given increasing doses of stimu-
Iants and ordered her to be placed upon water
bod. concluded that she couldn't last more than
short time at the best. and her friends were accord
REMOVED by HER HUSBAND
''On Saturday her husband came up herc and tho
doctor in charge of the hospital hall Informed s me
him that there might be come doubt as to her
living long enough to reach home. and
for her-nuch better in fact than he could He said
that he did not want her to die in unatic asylum.
and. as he anxious to remove her, at length
consented on condition that when he should como
for her on Monday he should bring carriage with
while the way. He promised to do so and
Monday he accompanied by his mother-in.
law. who brought some clothing for her. whilo
they were waiting for her to be discharged
the nurses were busily engaged in wash'
ing her and putting these clothes upon
tho rido she given hyperdermic injection.
Two nurses accompanied her In tho ambulance to
New York aud afterward in q carriage to her home.
A promise was exactcd from her husband that ho
would send for d physician Immediately upon her
arrival.
Now" continued Dr. Strew. "these facts will be
substantiatcd by the nurses and attending physi-
clans. and by my matron, who has been for thirty
years charge of the hall. Knowing what were the
habits of the patient before leaving the asylum
can realty understand what her condition may have
become before she reached her home. Why, If we
had known that there anything wrong about
her we naturally would not have permitted her to
go.
IL have acted conscientiously, and II more false
hoods are uttered against shall demand thor.
ough investigation. We practice violence at all
toward the patients. The sores which were on her
person were of kind which never heal.
The doctor said that the husband of Emily Gra-
ham is u diver in the employ of the New York Coast
Wrcckng Company. and that his brutal actions frst
caused her insanity. The doctor had been told by