Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-03-09
A MURDERoUs DELIRIUM.
Terrible Encounter scith an Inmate of q
NetC York Inebriote asylum.

NetC York I5IeJri0te asylum.
George Mahan, an engineer, was taken
to Bellevue hospital on Saturday suffering
from delirium tremens and was placed in
the alcoholic ward. The next morning he
Drained another patient with stool, kill
ing him instantly and fracturiug second
patients skull with spittoon, besides in
ficting minor injuries on the attendants
and officials who tried to restrain and Sc
cure him. The name of the head man
is Michael Kelleher, merchant tailor,
who was admitted on Friday. The in
jured patient is James O'Connor,
man -of-war's man, who at one time
was acting as assistant keeper and was the
only one in charge. Mahan, VINO is thirty
four years old, was first admitted on the
31st of January, and was discharged as
cured on the following day. He is SIX feet
in height and weighs $50 pounds. Until
he took to drink, few months ago, his
relatives say he was peaceful and indus
trious man. He was employed for a num-
Der of years by the Hudson River Railroad
company, and was chief engineer of the
grain elevator at the foot of Sixty
third street and North river from the time
of its construction until five months ago,
when, owing to his growing habits of in
temperance, he was discharged. Since
then he has found employment in Brook
Ign. He came to this country from Ire
land in 1869, is a widower, and has two
children living in his native place-Lon-
donderry.
Between and 8 o'clock Sunday morn
ing Keeper Connolly went to church, leav-
ing O'Connor, convalescent patient, to
serve the breakfast and to look after the
patients generally. Only two of
the I- inmates we're able to
leave their cells. They were admitted
to seats in the corridor, the others, num-
bering seven, being locked up in their re-
spective quarters. The alcoholic ward is
located at the southerly end of the build
ing, parallel with Twenty-sixth street. The
corridor is divided into two sections by
longitudinal partition wall, which is
pierced by three open archways. At the
further end of the corridor there is long
table, extending close to a door leading
into the kitchen. Between this table and
door Kelleher was seated on low, three
legged stool, his elbows on his knees and
his face buried in his hands. Mahan, who
had been quite tractable but Eighty, was
at large in the corridor. Suddenly he
seized one of the low wooden stools, and
before Kelleher could change his
position or be made aware of his danger,
Mahan dealt him blow with force that
would have felled an OK. The unfortunate
mans skull was smashed in. Mahan fol-
lowed up the attack by dealing Kelleher
several other savage blows until the stool
was broken in splinters on tire mans head.
OConnor ran forward to restrain Mahan,
and, if possible, protect Kelleher, bat the
unfortunate man was already dead. His
face and head were frightfully crushed and
battered, and his neck broken.
Mahan's fury was now directed upon
O'Connor. Lifting heavy crock spittoon
he smashed it in pieces over OConnor's
head, cutting deep cash from the nose to
the forehead. Then began a desperate
struggle between the two men. Mahan hav-
ing secured another stool, O'Connor is a
small man compared with the Hercules he
had to contend with, but he fought bravely
and manfully defended himself until 9TH
ers came to his assistance. For fully five
minutes he and his frenzied opponent
fought duel with stools. Disabled and
enfeebled by the loss of blood, O'Connor
parried the blows aimed at his head, but
at last was driven to the wall, whence
further escape seemed impossible.
Fortunately all of Mahan's blows were not
accurately aimed. In one of them he struck
the stool against the wall and shattered it
in splinters. Before he could rearm himself
six men came running in from the cook
house. One man lay on the floor dead,
the blood from his wounds flowing in rivu-
lets along the floor, and two others, COW
cred with blood, were struggling furiously.
As the attendants rushed upon Mahan he
hurled them from him as if they had been
schoolboys. They closed upon him again,
but he was a match in strength for them
all. They flung every available missile
they could lay their hands on at him in
not to feel the blows inflicted.
At last long rope was procured and
the mailman lassooed around the legs and
thus thrown down. Another prolonged
and desperate struggle followed, as he was
almost as dangerous and formidable Oh his
back as he had been en- his legs. He now
used both hands and feet with terrible en-
ergy, and again and again sent his captors
| flying to all sections of the corridor. The
rope was so coiled around his legs that he
| could not get ana at last he was secured
and carried to his cell, where, after anoth-
er fight, he was strapped to the bed. His
face and forehead were badly bruised and
cut, and Git is believed that his skull is
fractured.
The corridor bore ample testimony to
the desperate character of the encounter
/ There were seven stools and one s2ittoon
broken, tables were upset and fragments OF
clothing and clots of blood were visible
| everywhere. The men who rallied from
| the coOk-house were cut and kicked, but
nOne of them seriously. The brave little
fellow OConnor was taken to the surgical
ward, where DR.. Seabrook removed two
pieces of bone from the forehead
Kelleher's body was taken to the dead
house, and his family notified. His son
called and made arrangements to have
the remains taken to No. $50 East Ninth
street, where his family reside. Kellehel
was forty-One years of age, and in com
Portable circumstances. His face is shock
ingly disfgured. There is an ugly gast
across each temple, and the top of th'
head is battered to pulp.
Mahan's figure was bound down by stou
leathern straps upon bed in one of thu
| inebriate cells when a Herald reporter Wa,