Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-08-17
HOW IT FEELS TO Be INSANE.

course, many kinds III insanity.
som" nenta! disorders take i,:acc 50
gradually that even the closest com
panlons of the victim are at a loss 10
remember when tie trouble began.
1t must have lecn this way III mv
case. One evening. after an uppr,.-
slvcly warm day, II day when / cx
! perlenced more fatigue from the
heat than ever hrfor" ur since, | ,at
Oh ny porch tanning nIy 5olf This
arm that Is now III motion," 1 unused.
must one of these days be dust |
wonder how long will the time he. =
/ Then | nius"d upon tho evidence.
had If immortality. | conll do
things that other people could not
accomplish. | had gop" through
battle after battle. and though bullet,
sang and struck around me thick as
hail. yet | remaitrd uuiniurrd. [
bad passed through epidcmic9 of Sel-
low fever, My idea gained strength
, d. L mlised, and | Was convinced that
/ should live forever. No, this can
not he, for death follows ali mon
alike. Yes. | am to die ike other
men, aud believe it Is my duty to
mako the mcst Of life: 10 make
money, and enjoy myself, and Ia
educate my children. | wanted to he
rich. and | began t. study owe: an
immaginhry list If enterprises. At
last | hit upon .alishcs. People
mrlst have radishes. They should be
i'll every store. They could be dried
and sold i'll winter | would plant
fifty acres with ra,Iiah seed. aud peo-
pie all over the country would refer
to me as the "radish king" | would
form Il radish syndicate, and buy up
all the radishes, and travel around
and be admired. hastoned To- the
house to tell my wife that she was
soon to be ii radish king. At the
breakfast table | said:
Julia, how would yon like to he Il
radish queen:
Il WHAT she exclaimed
/ explained my plan of acquiring
great wealth, and during the recital
she acted So curiously that i was
alarmed. l feared that she was
losing her mind. Finally she seemed
to understand. She agreed with me,
but told me not to say anything more
about it, After breakfast | saw her
talking earnestly with her f.ther. and
| knew that she was explaining to
the old gentleman how she intended
to pay his debts whcE | became
known as the radish king. The old
man approached me, with much con
cern, and told me that needed rest,
and that | must not think Of busi
hess. He was old, aud sadly worried,
and L promised that | wonld not
think of business. Pretty soon !
went out to inspect my radish King
dom. Looking around, | saw the
old man following me- From the
field, | went to the village. | ap
preached a prominent cltizen. who
had always been my friend, and told
him how [ intended to become rich.
He seemed Srioved, and l saw at
once that he was contemplating the
same enterprise. 1t seemed mean
that he should take advantage of me,
and told him So He tried to explain,
but he made me SO mad that | would
have struck him il my father III law
had not come up and separated us.
| tried to calm myself, but could not.
Those who had been my friends
proved to he my enemies, aud | was
determined to be avenged, but before
| could execute my will, l was seized
by several men. My father n-law
did not attempt to rescue me. and |
hated him. l was taken to jail. My
wife came to see me, but she did not
try to have me released. / demanded
trial, but no lawyer would defend
me. Then l realized that the whole
community was against me. L be
came SO mad that my anger seemed
to hang over me like a dark cloud.
1t pressed me to the floor and held
mo there. Men came after a long
time and took me away, l thought.
to the peaitentiary. One day a cat
came into my cell. and | tried to bite
it. She made the hair fly, but [
killed her. | don't know how long |
remained here, but one morning the
sun rose aud shone in at me through
the window. 1t seem ,d to Ee the
first time | had seen the great lumi-
nay fer months A mist cleared from
before my eyes. My brain began to
work, ana suddenly realized that |
had been insane. called the keeper,
and when he saw me, he exclaimed:
Thank God! and grasped my hand.
l was not long in putting on another
suit of clothes, and turning my face
toward home. A physician said that
| was cured, and everybody seemed
bright and happy at my recovery. l
boarded train, with a gentleman,
and went home. My wife tainted
when she saw me and learned that |
had recovered my mind. | asked for
my little children, and two big hoys
and a young lady came forward and
greeted me. l had been in the asylum
twelve years. : Col. Weekly in Arkan
sas Traveller.