The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1895-08-17


n oiJ6aa6 N - q 1F6 -
a1ui1e c.
Wh6n III tidal Of vincensio Ni1o, tie
lt1ai1s barbce, No. IS Baxtsr strsst, Who
h charged With ths murder q his vifs y
the pesseace Of thsir childrsa, On fsbfu-
ary 10, was ssssnsd before Recorder
0o6 II General Sessions, this morning..
Two medical expert Witnesses told Of .
vsry singular ssriss nf sxpsrimsnts they
had undeetaksa upon the pefSoo of the
accused man.
Dr.. q. b. Chstwood, Of the 1ombs
Prison, and Dr.. Charles L. Dana, OF the
Bellevue Hospital, tie expert witnesses,
testified that they catered Ninob coll In
Tombs Prison, and there rehsarsed .
mock murder scene With the prisoner.
drawing the blunt edge of . razor across
their own throats, and requesting him to
show them upon . dumb figure that had
been placed in his cell how he committed
the murder of his wife. During al these
theatrical transactions recording instru-
ment that had been attached to Ninos
wrist showed that the action of the &C.
cused mans pulse was IN no manner &C
CELEBRATED. From this the medical experts
concluded that the murderer must have
been insane when be committed the muir
der.
During the testimony Recorder Got
asked DR.. Dana whether it would b pos
sible for sane person to feign insanity.
The physician replied: mo; not for any
length of time"
The Recorder hereupon asked the ply
stefan whether be knew that several per-
sons acting in behalf of newspaper in
England and America within recent years
had succeeded in obtaining admission to
insane asylums, where they were taken
for maniacs BY the competent authorities.
In the case of woman who recently got
herself admitted to the Ward Island In.
sane Asylum, the physician replied, her
feat was not so remarkable thing. as
she had merely simulated melancholia,
and had been admitted together with
some fifteen other patients whose motives
for entering the asylum we're never called
into question. The Recorder hereupon
asked the physician whether he did not
think that the unrestrained exercise of
the imagination might not lead to ulti-
mate insanity, as lnstanced by DR.. john
son, and asked him whether he had ever
read "Rasselas." The medical expert who
seemed somewhat astonished by these
questions, replied that he had read the
work.
"Dr. Johnson" he said, twas q man
who suffered great deal from depression
but he was not insane in any way. He
had some eccentricities. believe, so that
some eccentric alienists tried to make
HIM out insane"
"Well," exclaimed the Recorder, "Dr.
Hasbrouck, one of the greatest authorities
on mental diseases in England, contended
that DR.. johnson was insane in case be-
fore Lord Justice Campbell, and there
stated that there was no perfectly sane
man, and that the only truly sane mind
in the world was that Of God"
II have heard of that" dryly remarked
the medical expert.
"Now, referring to 'Rasselas,'" contin.
ucd the Recorder, lido you remember
where be says that the unrestricted in
diligence of Imagination concerning mat
ters that are never to be realized may
lead the human mind beyond the border
line of reasoni"
The physician recalled the passage.
"Do you think that 0thello was suffer
ing from delirium, or that he was respon-
sible for his murder of Desdemonai" per-
sisted Recorder Golf.
II DO not think that ne Was dellrlOus,
but that he was man of violent temper
who had merely been misled by the cir
cumstances of the case and by the malig-
nant insinuations of others. He appears
sane man, however, in the play, and
should assuredly have been made account
able had be committed the act in real
life," answered DR.. Dana.
us this also your opinion Of Leontes,
the jealous hero Of Shakespsare's Win
ter's Tale'l" inquired the Recorder.
"Both Leontes and Othello," replied
the expert, '.judging from the manner in
which their characters are depicted ir
the plays, were to oil appearances insane
and should therefore not have been held
accountable for their acts, had they com.