Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1882-12-23
OUR INSANE PEOPLE.
WHAT A SENTINEL MAN SAW
AT RENO RECENTLY.

anciOly Interest.
EDITOR SENTINEL: A few days ago, be-
ing In Reno, l embraced the opportunity
to pay a visit to the State Insane Asylum,
which is about a mile and a half east of
town. A word by telephone. sent by Hon.
q. G. Powning from John Myers drug
store, brought in Asa Dawson, the steward
OF the institution, who took your repre-
in a single-horse buggy. 1t
is a pleasant drive, parallel for most of the
way with the G. P. track. The road could
be greatly improved, however, and made
the incest drive in the State, by a little
work, which I am told the Commissioners
Washoe have been urged to bestow upon
1t. They have thus far refused to do SO;
but there is 80 much of the right spirit of
advancement among the Reno people that
the needed improvement will doubtless be
made soon by the people of the town if the
county fathers refuse much longer to
stand in. The Asylum is built within a
stones throw of the Truckee River, from
which ample water for any purpose is
readily accessible.
H ASYLUM GROUNDS.
The grounds upon which the building
stands comprise 22l acres of fine land,
which, with irrigation, can be made to
produce abundantly any of the crops pos
sihle anywhere in Nevada. The State has
an interest in a ditch flowing through the
land from the Truckee, from which a
plenty of water is had to irrigate the en-
tire premises. OF the 221 acres about 80
have been cleared off and plowed up. This
work has been done altogether by the in
The patient who does the blowing
takes the greatest possible interest in his
labors. His only happiness is in following
the horses as they turn up the soil in con-
tinuous burrows. He never stops of his
own accord, and when called off at noon
he has to be watched and made to give tie
horses an hours rest and time to eat.
Still he takes the best care otherwise OF
the stock, which he imagiues belongs to
himself. Next Summer, DR.. Dawson, the
Superintendent assures me, the insane pa
tients will make a crop of grain and vege-
that will be more than enough to
the institution for twelve months.
The only outside expense attending the
will be the employment of a
who is familiar with the soil to
direct operations for the first season.
COWS AND HOGS.
At present there are no cows on the
place. Milk, the incest kind, OF which so
gallons is used per day, is purchased for
the institution at 1915 cents a gallon. DR..
found that it would be more
onpnrnia, 70 rnf pn;ll, -, tI;, ., Co., ,Io
present rather han to purchase cows
Next year a large area will be sowed in
Then as many fine COWS as are
needed will be bought. They will be kept
in good order from the time they are pur-
chased by the green stuff grown on the
farm in the Summer and Fail and by hay
put up on the place for Winters use.
There are 20 hogs Of improved breed on
the grounds, which are looked after by a
iemented German, whom they call Ma
p~oleon." He is daft on the subject of
THE CoMET
After discussing hog-raising with him
he talked about as intelligently as
anybody-your reporter asked him what
Vas the condition of the heavens at that
time. "Oh, all right" he said. "There
are a lot of SIS of BIS who think they
understand it; but Tn the only one that
knows the secrets of the celestial world,
am in spiritual communication with God
Ill the time" "What do you think about
he comet, Napoleon?" l asked him.
This is what it is" he answered.: you
zee the blacksmith turn his bellows on his
ire and the sparks fly to hell. Just SO
with the comet !"
H BUILDING.
The Asylum building has been described
IN the SENTINEL once or twice already.
It is an Imposing edltice. elegantly finished
with Il mansard roof. 1t is built in T
with q frontage of 2J2 feet aud a
of 100. 1t is three stories high,
with II basement. 1t has six wards, each
Jf which has a capacity to accommodate
30 patients, while ~ more may be kept IN
the wing-the total capacity OF the build
ing being thus FOR 200 patients. There are
ibuut ll3 inmates at present. The build
ing is lighted by naphtha, manufactured
the premises. The wing contains the
room, kitchen, laundry and recgea-
hall. The boiler is "a douL!o affair,
one compartment being bald III reserve in
,ase of accident 10 the other. 1t supplies
not and cold water throughout the build
ing, and also heats the bailding by means
If the hot water pipes. All the water
lsed is Obtained from a well 10 feet deep,
Jour feet Ivy four, from which it is pumped
INTO q distributing reservoir higher than
my other portion of the Asylum. The
water is perfectly pure and prrcoiates IN
rom the bed of the Truckee. The kitchen is
supplied with all the improvements in the
art, while all the storerooms are
arranged to correspond. Charley Leggett,
the philosopher of the weather, presides
over the kitchen.
THE ANc HALL.
The recreation hall Ia the scene Of
strange, but decorous, festivities every
night, on which occasion the
assemble and dance. I was o
at the dancing, aud / regretted
the sight; but l am told that good
is furnished by one of the keepers
and two Of the patients, and that the
dancing is orderly, altogether proper and
as much as though the dancers
were of sound mind-which is about as
good n criticism of the saltatory art as l
of. In fact, Dr. Dawson tells me
that he is satisfied that some of the patients
discharged by him have been assisted to a
of their equilibrium by the rec
of dancing thus afforded. h is
probably homeopathic.
Ii OFFICERS.
The corps Of officers of the Asylum
consists of the Superintendent, DR.. A. l..
the steward, Asa Dawson. the
matrou, Mrs. A. u. Walker, the super
visor, Mr.. Martin, an engineer, a oarpsn-
ter, chief cook, baker. assistant cook,
night %watohman, Il outside iahorer,
eight male ward attendants, two female
attendants, n la~uudryman and a woman
OF all work. The monthly wages OF the
corps is 81 ,ai5, the Superintendent getting
$500 per month. the supervisor $780, the
steward $50. the matron $50, and 50 on
down. The male attendants, who go
about half the time with black eyes and
bloody noses, get from S35 to $50 u month.
How the State manages to get ~ahle-bodied
men to stick to such a job for such pay is
more than I can comprehend. They are
liable to have a fight with the refractory
patients at any moment, and they do moi
dare to strike or fight back. All that they