The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1885-11-21
AMONG THE INSANE.
Some Of the Peculiar Characters
at the Dayton, tO.) Asylum.
A Beautiful Crazy Woman Who Wanted
to Bottle Mems Souls-Chariey's Trip
to Cincinnati and His Game OF
Billiards-The Sdicidal
Mania Among the
Unfortunates.

In the past few weeks / have spent,
upon different occasions, a portion of a
day in the Dayton Asylum for Insane,
and have picked up quite number of
matters which believe will be of in
,terest One of the first matters of con-
sequence that dawned on my mind was
the fact that any such institution where
six hundred individuals bereft of the
power of their reason are huddled to-
gether. there surely must be skeletons
in the closet, and this thought is
Strengthened by the fact that there was
"a perceivable effort on the part of all the
Officials and attaches of the institution
ito be as obliging and polite as possible,
yet they, none of them, showed any de.
sire to talk of the very matters that /
wanted to learn something about. And
this was not because of any fear of
newspaper notoriety, as not a living
soul but myself knew l was coll
lecting material for newspaper letter.
1t seems to be the even tenor of their
ways with all visitors. and indeed it
could not be otherwise, if the welfare of
the institution is to be considered, for
were they to tell the secrets of a hos
pital of this kind the people would be
shocked with amazement. l know
from what l learned that there are
secrets in this asylum of which even
the officials know nothing.
This incident picked up through re-
porter in this city previous to my visits
to the asylum. and l reproduce it here
because of its fantastic eccentricity.
The young man who tells the story is
now engaged in this city, though previ-
.ously he was in the employ of the
asylum. Among the numerous patients
OF the institution are a great many who
are allowed to wander about the
grounds. Among this number was a
young woman, who shortly after the
birth of her first child became in
sane. She was an extremely handsome
creature, who when talked to gave no
indications of weak mind. She came
from some small place in Preble County.
Before her mind gave way she was
known as happy, vivacious creature,
who enjoyed life, but after becoming
insane she took a religious turn and then
became melancholy, and would not talk
except when it was necessary. She was
a handy person about the asylum, and
could be put at most any work. Her
name was Maud, and she probably had
more sympathetic friends than any
other patient in the institution. which
can be attributed to her beauty of face.
One day she accosted my informant,
asking him if he did not want to see her
two souls. The question, as was nat
ural. aroused the young mans curiosity.
and he followed her into the cellar of
one of the buildings adjoining the asy-
lum proper. She took him to the darkest
corner, where she held up before him a
two-ounce bottle she had taken from a
crevice. and remarked:
There they are, and bound to keep,
too. The one is the soul of Stonewall
jackson. and the other my husbands"
The young man took the bottle near
er to the faint rays of light that shot
through the cellar grating. and saw that
the bottom was covered with greenish
liquid, evidently water discolored by
age. The lady maniac went on to ex-
plain there was no need of any souls
being lost; that she could save them all
if the people would only let her cut
them out and put them into her bottle.
She knew the souls home was on top
the heart. and could be cut out without
any trouble.
Stonewall Jackson's soul was in the
bottle when she got it from the spirits.
and she had since put her husbands in.
lotv Ill Al -
asked the young man for his pen-knife,
and told him if he would lay down she
would get his soul out in few minutes,
and put it in the bottle to keep the other
two company. But the young man
seemed to have no desire to have his
soul preserved. This young lady has
since recovered, and is now at home
with her family, attending to her house,
hold duties as well as any woman in the
land of the free.
A cunning maniac was Charley, the
scion of wealthy and widely known
family living in Miami County, Just be-
yond the Montgomery County line. l
have used the term "was" because he
has been cured of the particular attack
Of which he was suffering at the time
OF which l write, but has since become
insane again and is now an inmate of
private asylum in Cincinnati. He is q
mngnificent-looking young man of not
more than thirty years of age, and
when not suffering from the dread
nfiiction to which he seems to be SUBJ
ject, is one Of the most entertaining
men possible to find anywhere. These
things say of him because / know
them to be facts. When suffering from
the awful disease he is. indeed. raving
maniac, though never very threatening.
BE is very ingenious fellow at all
times. and this is what always made
him . troublesome prisoner.