The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-02-04
TRYING TO BURN IT.
Alice Mccormick Attempts to Burn the JAN.

Alice Mccormick was adjudged insane
| in the probate court yesterday.
Immediately afterward she showed q
reasonable amount of good sense when she
made out with her own hands in the most
graphic manner an itemized requisition OF
the amount, kind and character of the
| clothing she required to make trip to the
asylum and signed 1t "Alice Mccormick,
supposed to be insane, This she sent to
the county commissioners, and they in
turn authorized Sheriff Royse to make the
purchase. Alice was not a bit modest
in detailing what she wanted and did not
hesitate to say that she desired IL shoes.
The commissioners wouldn't read such a
document again for $40.
Alice is not a stranger in the asylum.
She has been there once or twice before,
being sent up both times from Harvey
county.
The police of this city will breathe easier
now that Alice has been taken off their
hands. She was liable to drop into the
station at any moment. sit on Chief Cones
desk and talk to him till he would be nearly
as crazy as herself. Besides this she was
eternally causing them trouble and it took
Officer Sutton nearly half his time to keep
her out of harms way.
About week ago they told her that she
must go back hone to Newton or they
would lock her up, and after getting her
way paid she went. When she got to
Sedgwick she changed her mind, got off
the train, boarded a freight car and re-
turned to Wichita. The police then took
her and locked her up in a cell in the city
Jail. Alice is nothing if not sensational
and the first thing she did was to take off
her Clothes pile them on her bed and set
fire to the whole business. The yslls of
the other prisoners, who thought they
would be cremated, aroused the night
clerk and after hard fight with the
flames he succeeded in extinguishing
them.
Next day Alice promised to behave her
self IN fact. she told the police that she
intended to be an angel. and on this prom
ise the Humane society reclothed her and
enabled her to be presentable once more.
A day or two went by and Alice became
fallen angel and the police then sent her
in the hoodlum wagon to a private asy-
lum. There she made things too lively
and she was transferred to the county
Jail.
She proceeded the first night to give the
Jail folks touch of high life. When still
ness came over that institution after the
prisoners had been driven from the bull
pen into their cages, a cry of fire was
beard and when the jailer looked
towards Alice's cell she looked
like ghost peering through
the bars-a picture with back
ground of flames for she had again taken
off her clothes, piled them on the bed and
set fire to them. The fire was put out aud
Alice was removed to another cell and
cot instead of a bed given to her. The
jailor was about to retire when he smelled
smoke and he again dashed to Alice's
room where he found the cot on fire.
This was put out also.
The sheriff then searched all over the
room to find where she got the matches
and finally located them sewn in the
hem of her dress.
"What did you want to set fire to the
bed for" he asked.
"Oh, for meanness." she replied.
She will be taken to the asylum in q
few days.