The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-09-14
CONTAGIOUS MENTAL DISEASES.
Suicides that are Confirmatory of the
Theories of Commentators
From the Ne,o York Herald.

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From the Ne,o York Herald
The revived Ralston suicide was unie r
discussion at Lakewood, n j., day or two
ago, when an elderly gentleman advanced
the theory that it was peculiar inheri-
ia ce, If not absolu tely a contagion. in
some families. When those pr IS ent had
each il turn taken a shot at the old gentle
m MS alleged era kinesS he related the fol-
lowing authentic instances local to the
place IN support of the position he had
taken:
Somewhere about the year 1858 Daniel
William a llerably ell TO do farmer.
who lived three miles from Lakewood.
went to Freehold, niue miles distant t.
transact some business Later, a d when
alb ut eady to re urn to his home, Mr..
Williams called upon John Cox, who was
the sheriff of Monmouth county at that
time. After talking few minutes plea
antly Mr.. Williams said, SHERIFF. show me
how to tie a hangmals notn Sheriff Cox
)bllgln dy obtained piece of rope and
showed Mr.. Williams how to tie the knot in
tue m s. approved way To the sheriff his
old 4cqu intance appeared to be perfectly
sane, although he afte ward recallsl that
he watched him attentively while the moose
was being made. Mr.. Williams retur led to
his home at Bethel, and the next day seek
ing secluded place in the woods hanged
himself, having tied perfect duplica o of
the OF sho vn him by Sheriff Cox.
William ,Mages, near Igh or of Mr..
Villa MS, and distautly lated to him,
within a short time afterward took tracs
chain out o. his barn, went into an apple
orcha d at dawn and han led him elf from
the limb of a tree. Ii was admitted lat
Magee was at the time tnfatua ell with a
you g girl in the neighborho ID, and that his
relatives were opposed to his intim ,cy VITA
ner but tn both me were apparently of
sound mind was no. questioned at the tims
| of their suicide.
To further confirm the theory of suicidal
mania these facts were also related:
William Co lover, a prosperous farmer in
| good circumstances, lived at about
the time thai Villa rs aul
jIagee killed themselves at Hlr-
| mony, six miles fro n Lqkewo d. Mr.
! Conover was everywhere eSJesmei as a
man of excellent sense and undoubted in
tegrity. One ate noon he went into the
| woods not far from his home aAd cut bis
throat n reason except temp )rary i =
sanity was as,lg led for ths act N t
long afterward NJ S. V orhees, Mr. Como
YER sister, most esUimaDle woman of ii he
me ltsl attachments, cut her throat in
bsdr ON at her no ne. Temporary sanity
was again the cane assigned, but this
| theory he old resident who related the in-
| cidents strongly combated drew the
line berween ment alteration and suicidal
mania by the relatio of this lcident:
| Lizzie Skid nor pretty young W man
| living in the vicinity, was subject 10 epilep-
tic Cts She WAS tr3u il9i with them so
long that r mind was at ii mes slightly
! impaired. . Re da}, at 4 period en- sne
was sa e, some oAe told her that if she could
obt .ln a nail from / coffin tn ha be n
buried, and after having a ring made of the
nail W uld ear it, tle c Iarm would effect
a cure Of epilepsy. Sac secuted the lde / aud
rldiculed the pers N who gave her the ill.,
formation. Nevertheless the alleged cure for
her disease Sc ems to have made im1res-
ion upon the mind of Miss Skidmore, for one
Sunday about a mont la er, aft.r ecover-
ing from a fit and while her mind was still
disturbed, she went to the village grave
yard and began to open newly made grave
with great earnestteSs and rapidity. A
neightor passing that way saw Hiss Skid
mnre at work and at once informed her
pare is. They fastened t. th4 cemetery
and found that SIC had partly unc vered
tue Top of the cofiia nd was eagerly en-
deavoring to ext act from it a nail.
This, the elderly gen lsnan maintai led,
was case of mental a0erra ion; the
other cases he traced b. reasoning sa l>fac-
tory to himself to an inherited suicidal
maaia. AT any rate, the Incidents and
facts afford some lteresting data for stu
dents OF me ltal phenome a.