The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-09-02

return, although in full possession Of
oil his senses, he was arrested as an
escaped lunatic. He had been kept in
the asylum when was there for over a
year at the county's expense. He was
strong, healthy, able and willing to
support himself, vet he was imprisoned
without rhyme or reason, and when he
asked for his release was quieted with
plausible promises which. were never
kept. l offered to send him a lawyer.
but he seemed to think that his father
would soon gconsent to his release--the
rule being in this asylum that a patient
must stay there. Sane or insane, until
his felatlves consent to his release. AS
ne would not accept my offer I had to
leave him to his fate, and he may be
there yet for all l know.
There was not any separation of the
patients y into different classes, the
violent and quiet. the healthy and
those suffering from loathsome and
diseases were all huddled to-
gether. At night the patients were all
locked in their rooms at the top of the
building, = which was furnished with
marrow and crooked stairs. In case Of
fire the loss of life would inevitably
have been very great. The drainage
was so imperfect that the air was
always tainted with repulsive and un-
wholesome odors. For over sixty,
patients there was only one closet, with
room for one person at q time. The
brutality. cruelty and inhumanity of
the keepers was Incredible. L would
not have believed that such Q state, of
things could have existed in civilized
community il II had not seen it with
my own, eyes. II new patient was
quiet, well and good. If not, his spirit
was broken. ] have seen three keepers
throw patient on the floor. strike him
with their fists, kick him in the face and
SO abuse him that ] thought he would
die under their hands. I often heard
them say: II wonder we didn't kill
that fellow. - The head keeper walked
up and down the room when he felt out
of humor, striking the men right and left
with leather strap and sometimes
pushed them down a fight of steps by
way of variety. / have seen men driven
from their meals. by blows over. the
head and then seen themsrunning about
the yard with blood streaming down
their faces. ] have seen an epileptic
beatens over the head until tho blood!
gushed from his nOstrils because he did
not give up a box of dominoes quick
enoughto suit tho keeper When the
assistant superintendent saw him the
next morning he said: f z.....
e'What's the matter with your facet"
"He's got themumps,' said a keeper
with sly wink, and they laughed over
the matter as > good joke. .~~
ssYou think we're cruel" said 4
keeper to me one day. "You ought to
see how they treat them in Pough-
keepsie. We're kind in comparison to
the way they treat them there. y =
The manner in which patients are
treated in cur public and private asy-
lums is disgrace to our civilization.
There will never be any change for the
better until q different class OF keepers
are employed. Young medical students
or graduates, who wish to make a
specially of 8 nervous diseases, could
find no more suitable place to study
their symptoms than in an asylum, and
/ have no doubt would willingly act as
keepers, or, as they euphoniously call
themselves, attendants Keepers are
not only brutal, but are also ignorant.
They mistake the hallucinations and
vagaries of insanity for ugliness or bad
temper, and they try to cure it by pun
ishment. Isaw . patient suffering from
melancholia given a cold bath, and
afterward knocked down because he
would not behave, himselfproperly. If
a patient says any thing insulting to
them they resent it as quickly as though
he was in his right mind. have seen
an old man over seventy have his ears
soundly boxed for daring to- criticise q
keepers baseball playing. When they
are not abusing the men they are teas
ing them for amusement, or in order
to kill time, so that in one way or
another they are always doing some
thing to aggravate mental disease and
change temporary into chronic insanity.
If had been treatad as most of the
patients were / would never have left
the place alive, as am naturally of an
unusually delicAt institution. Fortu-
nately was q hoarder, and to this
circumstance alone / owe my recovery.
Iwould earnestly entreat the rel
atives and friends Of lunatics never to
put them in an asylum II there is the
Slightest hope of their recovery. In
these institutions every thing is against
their improvement-the associations
Tor one thing. Imagine q consump-
tive, for instance, shut up with fifty
other eonsumptives;s the sympathetic,
action would certainly increase the
violence Of his disease and rctard its
cure. Tho same thing is true Of mental
diseases. Again, a person is taken
from q home where he has delicate
food on q table furnished with respect
able, for want Of . better word ! will
say, furniture, clean cloth, dainty
dishes, glassware, etc There he must
eat off bare plank, with i'll tasting
knives and spoons, made of pewter,
while all his food is mixed together on
one plates 90 aI,ound him are his fel-
low funatics. eating like hogs with their
fingers and fndtteffng to themselves
The. kecperSsmeSiiwhi1e ;are cursing and
swearing or throwing potatoes at the
men for joke. Your appetite is de-
stroyed, and the little food you manage
to force down is not digested and barely
sr1ffices to keep body and soul together.