The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-09-10

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Charley as he came from the bath
rooms. The friend at once telegraphed
his folks, and they the asylum authori
ties. The telegram they received was
the first intimation the officials of the
institution had that any one had eS-
capped.
Charley was busy playing billiards
when. at ten o clock the same morning,
his keeper walked into the hall and
slapped him on the back.
Hello. Toni" was Charley's greet
ing. I've got sucker here" The
same evening he was again in the
asylum, but it amused him for weeks
to think how he event 20 Cincinnati
just to play game of billiards, " as he
put it.
If ever a man had determined to die.
come what may. that man was Francis
-, a powerful farmer from Au-
glaiZe County. He was one of the few
farmers who take a great interest in
politics, and the first symptoms of in
sanity in his case were noticed after he
was defeated for an Office at the polls.
Then followed financial reverSeS, and
finally his mind gave way to the ex-
tent that he was determined on self-de-
struction. He was sent TO this asylum
and placed with the other unfOrtunates
suffering from suicidal mania. He was
not by any means dangerous man.
but an eye had to be kept on him all
the time to keep him from destroying
his own life in one way or another.
Tom, young but powerful man, was
his keeper. Besides Francis there were
tweDty-four other maniacs in the ward.
and one can easily imagine what a nice
time an attendant must have watching
and caring for these poor people. Every
keeper must shave his patients at stated
intervals. and one day when Tom had
one of his subjects in the chair he COM
planned of the razor scratching him,
whereupOn Tom laid it on the window
sill and got out another one. While he
was stropping it he noticed Francis
standing in the door. looking furtively
into the room. Before he could think
the maniac bounded bv him and had
the open razor which Tom had laid on
the window-sill in his hand. 1t was no
time for thought. but action was what
was needed. Turning quickly, Tom
graSped the hand in which the maniac
held the razor, while he in turn. equally
on the alert, grasped Tom by the wrist
of the hand in which he held the open
razor with which he had been beating
the strop.
''Let gor' yelled Tom.
'Iet 90 yOurself!'' retorted the
maniac, glaring sayagely at the attend
ant
The next instant began battle for
life. The two men pushed, tugged and
twisted, but neither could be forced to
loosen his hold on the others wrist.
The third person sat quietly in his chair
as uncOncerned as if nothing unusual
was going on. Finally the insane man
got his feet entangled in an old coat
lying on the floor. when the keeper
managed to throw him and wrench the
razor from him. Francis got up, gave
Tom a terrible look and walked from
the room. In few minutes he returned
and explained that he did not wish to
injure Tom. and ontv fought for the
razor because he wanted to cut his own
throat. He said:
Tom, | amt mad at you, but want
you to know, once for all, that | am
going to cut my throat, and I'll do it.
no matter how much YOU watch me-"
And. indeed, he kept his word
The next day Tom was aroused by
terrible crash of falling glass at the ex-
treme end of the ward, where is To-
Gated the wash and bathrooms. He
ran to the place, and there stood Fran
els with his throat cut almost from ear
to ear. He laughed derisively at Tom
as he entered the room. He had broken
the window with his fist, and with a
piece of the glass cut his throat. He
had severed the windpipe, and when
he attempted to laugh gutteral sound
was all that could be heard.
Tom grasped the gaping wound in
one hand and held it together as much
as possible to stop the flow of blood as
much as was in his power. Two of the
asylum physicians were on hand almost
instantly. They took the patient in
hand, and by sheer force sewed up the
horrible wound, but as soon as the ma
Mae was put to bed he tore out the
The wound was sewed up
second time. and the suicides hands
incaSed in a pair of leather muffs, when
he managed to tear the stitches by jerk
ing his head backward and forward.
and from side to side. He was then put
in a crib, and a box made to place his
head and shoulders in, so that it was
utterly impossible for him to move the
least Bit He was kept in this contri-
vance for nearly seven weeks. much of
which time it was very doubtful wheth-
er he would recover or not. After being
taken from the crib he was transferred
to ward 10. His hands for a long
time afterward were kept in the leather
muffS. but he finally induced the at
on promise to not again at
tempt suicide, to take them Of Tom,
his old attendant, upon learning of this
fact, called on the new keeper and told
him he would regret taking off the muffs
before the week was over, and sure
enough he did. The third day after the
muffS were taken off the attendant was
in his room cutting 4 small piece of to-
baeco off of large plug with a small
pen-knife, when Francis sprang into
the room, grasped the knife out of his
hand, and before the keeper could in
terfere, drew it across his own throat.
1t then became necessary to put him
in the crib again, where he was kept
another spell of several weeks, but the
doctors again pulled him through. He