Semi-weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings Co., S.D.) 1894-1898, 1895-10-23
KEPT POLICE At BAY.
Prominent Chicagoan Goes
Mad and for Hours Re-
slsts Capture.
With a Gun and Revolver He
Made Life a Misery to
All IN Sight.
Burning Sulphur in the Fur
mace the Plan Used to
Gust Him.

CHICAGO, Oct. 21.-Armed with q
Winchester rifle and a revolver, a mad
man defied the police for hours at S5
Woodland Park, in one of the most
aristocratic residence districts Of the
city.
Barricaded and locked in q second
story room commanding q complete
view of the park, the lunatic splintered
doors, shattered window panes and tore
holes in the plaster Of the rooms with
bullets from his rife, while he shouted
defiance to the police and others at
tracted to the scene. The insane man
was G. S. Merwin, of the hrm Of Rog-
ers, Brown & Co., pig iron dealers.
After IL hours of effort the police, by
strategy, surprised and overcame the
madman. Although he had fired lao
shots from his rife and revolver Mer-
win injured no one. but number OF
people had narrow escapes. After every
other attempt to
Capture the Insane Man
before he should kill some one or injure
himself had failed, sulphur was burned
in the furnace. All the registers were
closed excepting the one in the room
occupied by Merwin. In an hour after
the sulphur fire was started Merwin,
partly overcome by the fumes, laid
down ON his bed and was secured with
but feeble resistance.
Mr.. Merwin, Saturday afternoon, at
tended concert at the Auditorium.
When he returned home early in the
evening he complained Of pain in his
head AS the evening wore ON his
headache grew worse. He applied such
remedies as were at hand, but they did
not relieve him and in the middle of the
night he suddenly sprang from his bed
and, seizing his rife, chased his wife to
the kitchen. Throwing up a window
the terrified woman
Leaped to the Ground
ten feet below and ran to the residence
of Abram Baldwin, where she was
cared for. The police were notified and
three men were sent to the Merwin resi-.
dence. AS they tried to enter through
O rear window several shots were fired
at them, while the insane man yelled at
them calling them burglars and saying
he would kill the first man coming up
the stairs. He fired shots at the neigh
boring houses, breaking windows and
causing the inmates to take refuge in
the rear rooms. One or two bicychsts
passing by were fired at bat Merwin's
aim was bad and they escaped with a
bad scare. The police obtained chloro-
form and squirted it into the room with
syringe through the keyhole, but Mer-
win was shrewd and
Threw Up tho Windows,
thereby neutralizing it. Finally at
about o'clock sulphur was procured
and placed in the furnace as stated
above, and Merwin, having closed the
windows again, was soon overcome.
The unfortunate man was dressed and
taken to the Detention hospital.
Merwin is 35 years old. He came to
Chicago five years ago from New Haven,
Conn, where he was reared. Three
years ago, while in the iron range in
the Tennessee mountains, Merwin was
kicked in the head by horse and to the
consequent brain injury his present con-
dition is ascribed.
He was married year and half ago
to a. prominent young lady of New
Haven, Conn, and is member Of the
Union League and several other promi-
nent clubs.