The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-01-23
A VICARIOUS CURE.
He Was Treated for Other PeO-
Piles Heart Disease.
4 MADMAN's STRANGE FANCY
Thought the Wires of the Walta Walla
Electric Lights Passed Through
His Heart.

Yesterday afternoon small, meager
man with nervous gray eyes, around
which were dark circles, came into the
PosT-INTELLIGEyCER Office and poured
forth strange tale. He was rather shah
billy dressed in dark suit, and his pock-
cts bulged as If they were crammed to
overlooking. His hair was short. but his
dark full beard was ragged and unkempt.
II am chemist" said he, land I was
the physician and professor of chemistry
at st. James college. Vancouver-you
know the college, Bishop Younger is at
the head of it.
''Well. l am just out of the Walla Walla
penitentiary. It's pretty hard on a man
at the penItentiary, and they put the
electricity in me all the time. But did
nothing wrong A man broke into my
office-a thief-and I assaulted him in
self-defense. For this they gave me two
years in the penitentiary, but cut it down
to two months by good behavior. Yet
they tried to kill me by putting the cleo
trlcity IN me-you know the kind
they killed Kemmler with. They were
putting it in me all the time and people
couldn't stay around because the current
was too strong" AS the man talked he
grew more and more excited, his mind
wandered further and his talk grew more
incoherent. He told how he had once
weighed l65 pounds, but now he was
down to ninety, because they had been
trying to kill him with electricity.
There was conspiracy against him, he
went on to say, and the government. in
stlgated by some British families. had ap-
propriated 100000 to be used in getting
him out of the ways, 900, 600, and he had
only 81, 600 wherewith to defend himself
against the Vaccinations of his enemies
They had kidnapped him and put him in
the insane asylum at Washington City,
but he had been Bidknaped out of that
place and taken to ireland. his old home.
When he was put into Walla Walla he
found that the guards were the very men
who tried to kill him by electricity at
Washington City. He thought there were
a dozen or so of them, and they were in a
regular conspiracy. He says that while at
Walla Walla all the electric light wires of
the penitentiary were passed through his
body, in order that the four daughters of
one OF the conspirators against his life
might be cured of heart disease
Then the story became still wilder. In
the year 1851 he came to America and
joined the army at Washington CITY.
But curlously enough whole lot of peo-
pie followed him from Ireland and Eng
land, and continued 10 conspire against
him. Among them were two unmarried
women named Spring, aged 80 and As
years, respectively. They lived at East
Eicles street. Dublin. There were also
two Misses Blood, aged 10 and %. who
dwell at Montgomery square, Dublin.
With them were a host of Others.
Miss Torpey, daughter of the lord
mayor of Dublin; Chief Engineer
Hugh McDermott. barrister whose
address is Fitzwilliam street, Dub
lin; Oliver J. Burke. a barrister: William
J. Burke and Owen Headford, of Galway.
They all came TO America and persuaded
the captain OF his company to have him
placed in the asylum at Washington CITY
In 1883 they kidnapped MIN, but he found
his way back to this country. The four
girls first mentioned had heart disease
and they could only be cured hy PASSING
electricity through him. When he was
dead the 100000 would 60 TO them.
He thought that John d. Geoghegan. of
Vancouver, had committed him to WalIa
Walla. The trouble was that one of the
professors at the college wanted To steal
his furniture. AT Walla Walla he f,np1
that Giddings, who had been at the head
OF the Washington asylum, was serving .
term for forgery-so he said, Gldding.
had Joined the conspiracy 20 nut the
electricity in the victim.
tie gave his name as DR.. J. B. O'Rria,
The police are keeping an eye ON bir,