The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-07-25
little trouble in managing nut grass and
her husband as mine, 1 will be content
Very truly,
e. D. T1LLMAN.
rn.L,, uul r,,o,
Strange Case of Insanity.


upper portion of the State. there is con.
fined in room the eldest son of the house
a maniac, condemned to die of madness.
His caseis one ofthe strangest. Without
designating him by name and notifying
his family and friends, the cause Of his
insanity can be told. The story is inter.
esting and weird:
he is astalwart young fellow, probably
IS, intelligent, heathful ofbody, handsome
of face, we'll read, and at one time there
was no more promising young man in the
Palmetto State-noted for its statesmen
and scholars. His malsdy is instructive
of how men, of however sound of mind,
can lethrore their reason by permitting
or forcing the brain to rest on and rcyel
in one subject.
When our unfortunate friend had fin.
ished his education he accompanied an
uncle on a trip North. Among other
places Of interest they visited the Smith.
sonion Institute at Washington, and the
young man was deeply interested in the
displays and specimens exhibited. Par
ticularly was his attention directed to the
botonical department. He minutely
examined and carefully studied the exhi-
bits there, read pamphlets bearing on the
display, and sought to make himself as
thoroughly conversant with the history of
each plant as possible. Strange as it may
seem, here it was that he posseaoed himsef
of the information that year later
brought about his insanity.
During his absence q negro had been
executed near his home in expiation ofa
brutal murder. When he returned the
people of his neighborhood were still
speaking of the hanging. The gallows,
q few hundred yards from the Jail, was
still standing. With three or four com.
panions he wenton moonlight night to
look at the scafold, and, incidentally, to
dispel the idea current in the neighbor-
hood that the criminals ghost haunted
the spot. While standing Under the awful
looking structure he inadvertently stopped
and plucked a. plant growing at his feet.
For the rest of his life he was maniac.
AS he pulled the weed from the ground
he cried to his. companions /: "Did you
hear itshriek ?" They we're dumbfounded
at lis subsequent conduct. He uttered
strange CALCULATIONS and raved, crying :
"Must I die madman 2" His friends
we're not long in ascertaining that his
reason had been dethroned.
He was conducted-rather carried-to
his fathers home. Every attention was
given him. Specialists from home and
taway failed torestore him TO sanity. His
family were reticent when asked for an
explanation. The inquiries were numer.
ous, for be vas popular and much below.
ed. In truth, bis reatiYes had no expla.
nation to make. Later on, however,
through information impaired during his
wild CALCULATIONS, the uncle With whom
he had gone North was able to give a
possible reason for his queer actions.
During his visit to the Smithsonian
Institute the young man was more than
interested in the mandrake plant and the
curious ancient legends which accompa-
MED the printed illusions to the plant in
the books of instruction on sale in the in.
stitute.
1t WAS a belief among ancient sooth.
savers that the mandrake grew only under
| gibbots. The root Of the plant resembles
human form aud was thought to possess
soul; the moss which attaches to the
root grows on only one side of the top of
it, and falls downward, as does hair on
the head Of a man.
It was believed that, growing only
under gibbets, the sex of the person last
executed determined the sex of the plant
last grown. The plant uttered q shriek
when pulled from the ground, and the
person who thus disturbed it would die of
madness
When the young man read of these
strange things while in Washington he
was much affected. he followed up the
history of the mandrake, devoting hours
and days to its study, and continually
spoke of it to his uncle and to those With
| whom he came in contact. He further
learned of it that the ancients used it for
ita soporifc and an@sthetic effects that
they procured it by having the earth
moved from its roots by man whose ears
were stopped with wax, when string vas
tied to it and a dog attached to the chord
and required to pull up the weed.
His mind was 30 worked up over the
Iplant aud its history that the uncle for
bade him to read further Of it and brought
him home.
Nothing more was ever thought of the
affair when the sudden insanity of the
youth was announced, but later the
uncle recalled it and explained the case.
While standing under the gallows the
young man thoughtlessly pulled weed.
Instantly the history of the mandrake
was pictured in his mind. He fancied
be heard The plant he held in his hand
shrek The horrible fear of dying in an
insane asylum came over him. His mind
was unbalanced. He had made himself
a madman. The. feeble mind was pow
erless to resist-evermore he is raVing
maniac.
= Five Indians recently appeared as
witnesses in land case at Los. Angles,
Cal, one Of whom, Juan sabera, claimed
to be one hundred and twenty years old,