Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-10-01
INSANITY'S MAD FREAKS.
SOME OF THE CAUSES OF REA-
SONS DETHRONEMENT.

ei0AAnH WE'VE oh btAN AFfhNe~7N ="
Theory of tho Moons Influence EE-
ploded-Bsd Days tor Crazy People
a Country without Asylums.
THE action OF the Legislature in re-
quiring the superintendent Of the Insane
Asylum to give reasons for tie increase
Of insanity in Georgia. is ridiculous"
said a prominent physician Yesterday.
The gentleman in question has had a
large experience in the leading asylums
OF this country. why" continued he
every school boy knows that when the
equilibrium Of nature in the human sys-
TEN is, by any cause, destroyed, the most
sensitive part-the Brain--is naturally
the sufferer"
"But is insanity very largely on the in
crease in this State, DoctorY'
ut is on the increase; but this increase
is probably not very greatly out OF pro-
portion to the increase in our population.
You ask what effect prohibition VIII have
upon the sanity of our people. 1t will
certainly do US no harm in this respect
but you must remember that, while
whisky Is the cause of much insanity,
other kinds OF intemperance are equally
militant against reason. Nature IS de-
termined TO have her laws respected
! NOLuluR Is more COnQuClFe 10 Jhe preSGr-
walton Of sound mind in a sound BODY
than work; but too much work
and too much worry Will soon de-
! throne reason. EXcitement-n0tablv
religious excitement-and violent TEN
per have placed many man in mad
mouse. as also has persistent brooding
over one subject: for instance, a business
misfortune or a family bereavement.
! have known men to become insane from
! UrlaNinR lOgG a Qypqiorhf Ghps4
latter are rather cases OF melanchOlia,
which with cases OF religious insanity are
the most painful and stubborn that
| physician has TO contend with"
Are such cases hOpelessly incurable?'
They are very rarely permanently
relieved, though the sufferers may be
| temporarily benefited But for most other
cases of mental derangement-eXcepting.
Of course, congenital idiOcy-there is
always hope Of cure. Regular habits,
quiet life, plain diet, good hard outdoor
work in field or garden, have restored the
reason of thousands Of insane persons,
and can do so again. 1t is only by such
treatment as this that cases OF religious
insanity and melsncholia are ever bene-
fted'
Are there any signs by which incipl-
ent insanity may be detected by unprofes-
sonal persOnsY'
"Oh, yes. When a man begins to think
that the whole world in gene al and those
nearest and dearest to him in particular
haye-tO employ rather common express
sion-'gOne back upon him, YOU may be
certain that there is something wrong
with his reason. Then again, unusual
uneasiness towards evening, ana great
restlessness At night, are indications Of
incipient insanity; as is also "A supreme
disregard to the calls OF nature during
the daytime. Then there are other indl-
cations which neither physician would
care to announce publicly nor you to
print"
PECULIAR FORMS OF INSANITY.
"Insanity assumes some very peculiar
forms, occasionally, does it not|'
IAN insane person is often terribly
crazy upon some particular subject,
while apparently sane upon everything
else. This is acute mania. | once knew
a very estimable old gentleman who la
bored uuder the delusiOn that the Queen
Of England had given him all the land
east OF the Mississippi river, and that he
was being defrauded out OF his rights. It.
was necessary To cOnhne him, rs be vowed
injury to every government official with
whom he came in contact. | had once in
my charge very highly educated French
man VINO was crazy upon the subject of
yegetarianism. He carried MS views to
such an extreme that he would wear no
clothing of animal production. He
would destroy all the wooden coats and
the SHOES he could find, while he insisted
upon going bareiOOted in order to COM
nit as little destruction as possible in
the insect world BY lOcOmOtiOn. One
gentleman / cared for WAS crazy upon the
subject of stealing dogs. There was no
cur savage enough tn do him violence, nor
any that wORld refuse TO accompany him.
lie Ind a most unaccOuntabls influence
1 "a
home with dozen OF such hideous brutes
he had collected from around negro
cabins, one of which alone was enough TO
scare a man cut Of five years growth.
Negroes are very liable to that form OF
insanity known as mania, their indiosyn-
crasies usually assuming religious form.
One viii pronounce himself the Son OF
God, another the prophet Isaiah or the
prophet Jeremiah, and so on, and they
will regulate their actions accordingly -
AMONG THE NEGROES.
"Is insanity very prevalent among the
negroesr
'MOre so than among any other class
OF people, excepting, perhaps, the very
poor white agriculturalists. Negro women
are more subject to insanity than the
men, while with white people the reverse
is the case. This may be due TO the fact
that negro women often have burdens i'm
I
yOnd both their physical and mental ca.
7 pacity. The disease OF the men is due d
drink and abuse. ! am not in position
to give you any figures upon this matter
just now, but the above you may take iol
, very stubborn facts. ] stated that the
poor white agriculturalists we're very liza
Die to insanity. This is to be accounted
for by reason Of the hard life they live
, They labor from dawn 10 dark, and eai
; very little and very coarse food. Then
minds have no opportunity for healthy de
, YelOpment, and accordingly become weak
while their emaciated and enfeebleC
, frames add to the mental decay"
"What races Of white people are most
, ! liable TO mental trOublesY
at Is strange thing that we Ameri
cans, who rush, push aud drive from
morning till night as though our eternal
salvation depends upon the amount of stli
and buster we cause, are, with the An.
glo-Saxon race generally, the least liable
Of any people 20 insanity. Our TeWoniC
cousins, however, are an essy first. Tho
asylums Of this country, particularly
those OF the East and Northwest, teen
With insane Germans. the French, how
ever, do not figure up quite 50 badly, al
, though among the Creoles Ol LOuisiana
much insanity exists. The Italians ART
| high up in the list, aud like the French are