The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-22
PREVALENCE OF LUNACY.
An Interesting Talk with an Expert at
Wards Island Asylum New York.

NEW Y DIRK, Feb. lS.-Ihe sudden death
of the wealthy and homicidal lunatic Dill
Ion at the Union Square Hotel last week.
is another reminder of the prevalence of
unsupported insanity. Apropos of this
mans career, the chief official of the
Wards Island Insane Asylum said to me
the other day:
There are more lunatics in the world
than it is commonly credited with. The
exact number can never be ascertained.
There are few men not afflicted with some
kind of mania likely to develop until it
destroys the balance of the mental facul-
ties.n
What are the general principles in mod
ern methods of treating insanity: Kind
ness, always kindness, and the encourage
ment of any amusement or occupation,
which will divert the mind of the patient
from its mania"
A singular instance of the efficacy of this
practice was brought to my notice recently.
There was a man confined in one of the
asylums near New York, who for several
years had most positively refused to speak.
He labored under the delusIon that he had
been stricken dumb. With the exception
of this trouble his mind was particularly ac-
tive. Every effort had been made and sub
terfuge resorted to to catch him unawares
and cause his to speak, but without avail.
the evening in question, in connection with
another patient and two attendants, game
of draw poker was INDUCED in. As the
GENE proceeded, the patient became more
and more excited. At last on one of the
hands the betting became so spirited that
one attendant and the other patient drew
out. The dumb man and his opponent
raised each Others bet, until almost all the
chips were exhausted, when the attendant
ro1Ii,1er bic npnOnauf brpV down kIpcrG
and proceeded to take in the pot. The
dumb patient had by this time become so
excited that he jumped to his feet and
grabbing the chips yelled to his attend
ant: Hold on, you d fool, | have
four aces" 1t is needless to add that the
game had the desired effect, and the pa
tent has continued to use his tongue ever
since.
1.-The philosopher Locke says that mad
men do not appear to have lost the faculty
OF reasoning, but have joined together some
ideas very wrongly, and mistake them for
truths The truth of this assertion is shown
from the following letter which came to
my hands recently. The writer was pa
tient confined in one of the State asylums.
He was afflicted with typical case of gen
eral paresis. very similar to the disease which
carried of John Mccullough and from which
BARLEY Campbell is now suffering-one
symptom of this peculiar form of insanity
is the continued desire to write. The pa
tent is always writing, and that the most
arrant nonsense, though he appears to be
governed by logical reasoning This pa
tent wrote;
"To the kind Doctors and kind loving
Christian and well TODD God-fealing null
titude of the whole universe, Madames,
Misses and Mlsters, and to my beloved wife
Mamie, the Virgin Mary of the new exist
ance. Her husband, The Redeemer of the
World, his wife, the loving queen of the
whole of Gods universe:
We own the whole wealth of the world; we
got it in a legitimate way. | took my wife
Mamie to Europe on a steam yacht. 1t had
an electric power. 1t had what l call mil
lions of plunges. The vessel proper only
drew a few feet of water 1t hoated on two
long cylinders filed with gas. They were
sharp at both ends. The propelling power was
so great that it sent the vessel so fast that
it gained many, many millions of years. l
made it go some way, l cannot form any
dea, now, but arrived at the beginning OF
the world. / see Adam and Eve, likewise
the garden OF Eden.
intend to make everyone musical char
acter, also a musician, also a athelete, also
a great runner and walker. He can vault
and throw unnumbered somersaults. he
will be Gods noble man. | will tell you
how | will accomplished the great thing
In the first place will go to Cicilly where
the Castiilians and Cicillians are.
They are the most beautiful
race Of people on the face OF the
earth. They average feet Al inches "
foot, inches. They have beautiful forms.
intend 10 bring a lot Of these over here
with my fast yachts The next thing / will
do is 10 put their brains, or a small portion
of them in each Cicillians head. VIII adj
vertise aud get all the song and dance men,
also all the musicians together at the
Maison Doreo. / will promise % take al
their dancing leZs and musical Fingers, and
cut them up in thin pieces Or slices. VIII
distribute them b tbe singers AMI dancers u
the world / intend also b put SILVER su'ei
s,,,i,,es in every persons bones ! VIII have
thenl al intervals " an eighth n 81 inch.
/ viii also have their legs and arms tight
eue1 by Bear's, Lions, Tigers, leopafas,
Bull's, Bulldog's aud al sorts - siafNs.
also viii have great number " sDDli'