The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1884-02-20
SOMNAMRULISM,
Narrow Escapes and Remarkable Doings
OF Sleep-Wallxers.

remarkable incident occurred in Octe-
Der, 1878, during the run of an express
train at night over the Chicago, Milwaukee
and st. Paul Railway. Among the passen-
gers was lady named Dixon, with family
OF eight children, seven boys and one girl,
the eldest of the former being fourteen
years old. AS the train sped toward Mil
waukee the children one by one fell asleep,
and while they were flying over the rails at
the rate of fully thirty miles an hour the
mother missed her eldest boy and caught a
glimpse of his form as it passed through
the car and out upon the platform. She
hurried after him, but before she could
reach the platform he was gone. He had
stepped off the car and plunged into the
abyss of darkness that shrouded the train
! The poor woman became frantic and the
other occupants of the car were also terror
stricken and begged the conductor to stop
the train and have it backed to the scene of
the accident. Milwaukee, however, was
close at hand, and, on reaching there q
switch engine was despatched to find the
boy. He was discovered upon the platform
OF the last station passed, wandering about
in state of bewilderment, rubbing his
eyes and feeling of his shoulder and head,
which had sustained slight scratches and
bruises. The lad could give no account of
his singular action. He knew only that he
had fallen asleep in the car and was awak-
ened by the shock of striking the earth
upon his shoulders. He had passed through
terrible ordeal in somnambulistic state,
and escaped without n sprain or fracture
and no discomfort beyond that accustomed
by few scratches and bruises.
The residents of Irving place, this city,
We're treated to sensation at an early hour
IN the morning of October, 10, 1879, it
oeing no less than go-as-y ou-please-walk by
amedical student clad in a nightgown with
umbrella and piano cover. The young
man, who lived at Irving place and Eigh-
teenth street, being left alone, while still
sleeping arose and clad only in q nightgown
softly stole down into the parlor, possessed
himself OF piano cover and nm umbrella,
made his exit by window, and hanging
the bright colored cloth over the umbrella
SO that it fell almost TO his bare feet, strobe
down Irving place. He walked to Four
teenth street, reaching which he carefully
folded the piano cover, lowered the UNI
brelia, and whipping the drapery of his
gown about him, passed quickly up to
Thirteenth street. Great quantities of Bel
gian blocks were piled up in the street, and
the somnambulist gathered lot of these
under tree and made four regular piles of
them. On these he placed some boards,
and then spreading the umbrella again
placed 1t over his head and, shrouding him.
self with the piano cover, composed himself
to sleep. The noise he made in pilnQ the
stones awoke several families, and there
were many astonished people gazing ont of
the windows at the strange scene when the
young mans father and brother, who had
missed him, came up. He was awakened,
and was much astonished to find himself in
such curious position. While piling the
stones he had hurt his finger badly and it
was bleeding freely, but the pain had not
disturbed his slumbers.
In some Instances murders have been
committed by sleepwalkers, and sad case
of this kind occurred in the summer of
1880 at Tyro, a little village in Davidson
county, Va. Mr.. Uriah Phelps owned O
store at that place, and anticipating trouble
] with some negroes, he secured the services
of o. w. Click, young man who lived in
the neighborhood, who was in the habit of
walking in his sleep. Both lay in the store
and watched for half the night and finally
fell asleep, having stretched themselves
across n bed. 1t appeared from subsequent
developments that Click got up, and seiz-
ing an axe that had been placed near to be
used in case of ON emergency, dealt his bed
fellow two blows across the neck complete
| ly severing his head from his body. Click
was arrested, but protested to have known
nothing of the occurrence until some time
after the deed was committed, and even
denied that he did il until convinced by the
overwhelming testimony of the bloodstain.
ed weapon and the condition of his gar-
ments, together with the fact that there was
no one else in the room and no evidence
that any one could by any means have en-
tered and afterward gone out without dis
turbing locks and bars.
A remarkable case of somnambulism was
discovered in October, 1881, in the person
Of Martin Frobischer, q little boy of four
teen, residing with his parents in this city.
fhe lad had become greatly fascinated with
the study of drawing, and il had taken such
an intense hold on his mind that he was in
The habit Of rising in the night in n COM
condition working on an unfinished draw
ing with as much skill as though he were
awake. He was utterly unconscious Of
what he had done ON the nights on which
he had been up until he saw his drawings
the next morning.