Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-09-01
LOCKED UP AS INSANE
BITTER EXPERIENCE OF A FORMER
RUSSIAN MAJOR.

| Liberty-His Ruse Was Successful.
| f. e. o. Sucrow, the son of gallant
Russian colonel, and who himself was
once a major in the same army, has
recently been released from the Wards
island insane asylum by clever ruse.
Its success, he thinks, is proof enough,
| if he had no other, that he is mentally
sound.
| Major Sucrow was at one time wealthy.
| Until within a few years he did not find
it necessary to work for living He is
Of noble family and was a great yachts
man. He can recite offhand the COM
plete record of all the international
yacht races and says that he has twice
| been around the world in yacht of his
| own. He is about IS years old and
| speaks and writes well in English. He
lives st As Great Jones street. Ee
has not been ON good terms with his
| family for years, and his annual income
was stopped two years ago.
When this happened. he lIught some
| business enterl rise. and lis attention
was called to Il discovery for making
| hair grow ON bald heads, winch had been
successfully tried in two CT three cases.
He bought controlling interest in the
| restorative and commenced To boom it.
| lie had read great deal about Dr.
| ChaUncey NJ. Depew ana Thought it was
a pity that SO great d man should be com
PEELED to go through life baldheaded
| Furthermore. he considered that his for
tune would be made if he could be the
means of giving DR.. Depew genuine
| pompadour.
With this object in view Major Sucrow
fixed up package of his restorative and
called on DIR. Depew. The package, which
was neatly tied up, was about / inches
long, 8 inches wide and 3.tinches thick.
His visit was just after the attempt to
| blow up Russell Sage by dynamite.
Whep pr. Depew say the package and
heard the majors foreign accent, he
thought it was q crank and remarked
hurriedly:
MY dear fellow, am very busily en-
gagged today on important business that
! cannot be delayed. Leave me your name
and address, and shall send you a letter
making an appointment for an interview
for some other day"
Sucrow went away and waited for the
letter, which never came. In its place
appeared an agent of the department of
charities and correction, who questioned
him concerning his personal history and
as to the effectiveness of his tonic. Su-
crow was then taken before Dr. Wash
burn of AZ Irving place and declared
insane. He spent one night at the in
sane pavilion at Bellevue hospital and
was then sent to Wards island. He
was examined several times by different
physicians at Bellevue and at Wards
island and was questioned as to the story
he had first told.
My statements were all true" said
Major Sucrow yesterday, land so / had
TO conscientiously persist in them"
After his transfer to the island he kept
the attention of the physicians there CEN
tered upon him by his frequent declara-
tons that he was not insane, accompa-
MED by applications for his release. For
the first five months of his incarceration
he made these applications at least every
week, and sometimes as often as twiceor
three times a week. At the end of five
months, just as he was beginning to de-
spalr of ever regaining his liberty, he hit
upon new idea.
Il began to change my system" he
said. For the next month did not say
a word about insanity, nor did l make
any further request for my discharge.
AT the end of the month ! went to Mr..
Peppard, the head attendant, and asked
for permission to write to DIR. Wash
burn. 1t was readily granted, but l
hot tla ! I.
and read before it was sent, if, indeed, it
was sent at all.
1.-The substance of my letter to DR..
Washburn was that l now realized i
was not in my right mind when / was
committed, that the statements l had
made about belonging to a noble Rus
sian family and having once been rich
were delusions that had now been dis
PEELED, and that had made great mis-
take in having anything to do with the
hair tonic business. / told the doctor
that was humble mechanic and could
earn about $1S per week at my trade. l
also said that this was a good time of
the year to secure employment, and l
wanted to be released. a few days later
wrote letters to Drs. Adamson, Camp
bell and Petit of exactly the same i'm
port. had the story down fine and did
not vary single detail in any of them.
ga few days afterward Dr. Petit sent
for me and made an examination. during
which he asked me to tell my story
again. Then at short intervals Drs.
Adamson and Campbell examined me
and asked questions regarding my latest
story | told it to them all EXACTLY Nc
had written it in the four letters, and as
result l was in a short time discharged
as cured.
But" added Major Sucrow, there is
just where the point comes in. The
story which proved to the doctors at
Wards island that / was no longer in
sane, and secured my release, was the
only lie had told in connection with my
whole experience as 'lunatic.' Now
that have been set free l repudiate it.