The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-06
A RACE WITH A MANIAC.
The Strange Adventure that Ac-
counted for the Little Mans
Weak Heart.


Have you ever been so scared that
you dried up inside; so scared that you
couldn't utter a word; that your skin
burned; that your heart stopped; you
choked and your hair creDt over your
scalp? All, that's what it is to be really
frightened. And you don't get over it in
a day, either"
That's what the quiet little man said
We had been talking of the sensations
of a man when he is attacked by foot
pad or when he aWakenS to find a bur-
glar in his room. The sensations of the
coward were also discussed, and the ex-
quIslte pleasure of fear, as described by
Robert Louis Stevenson in THE Suicide
Club. was lightly considered.
Were y1u ever so frightened?" some
one asked the long, thin man.
Il YVES, and 1 have never fully recOV-
cred from it. he answered 1T was Il
curious experience, and, although it was,
in measure. ludicrous, it had an awful
terror for me. l lived in the country. IL
few miles from a town in Kentucky, and
a mile beyond the asylum for the insane.
l was in business in the town and used
to walk back and forth between my
house and my store for exercise. 1 had
moved from the town for that purpose.
| had to pass the asylum night and morn
ing by a path that followed the high
stone wall that enclosed the asylum
grounds.
"One Of the most violent and danger
Gus inmates of the asylum was a lawyer
OF the name OF Birch; powerful man
physically and hopelessly insane. He had
q mania for tearing his clothes from his
body and would rend the stOutest cloth
into shreds. In his attempts to escape
he had gnawed to pieces with his teeth
the window sill of his cell, much as q
horse gnaws his manger. But he had
never managed to escape. and although
we in the town heard of his desperation,
no one feared that ne would ever get
out.
"One evening about dusk I was trudg-
ing along the path beside the asylum
wall on my way home to supper. The
exercise had warmed me up, for it was
chilly, and 1 was feeling cheerful L
whistled as l went. Suddenly l heard Il
rattle in the bare branches of a tree that
grew inside the asylum grounds and hung
over the wall. 1 was startled and looked
up. Above me on the wall was a white
ghosty figure. The next instant it came
hurting down through the air toward me.
saw that it was naked man of huge
proportions. In terror [ turned and ran.
By the time the naked man had gathered
himself after alighting 7 was % feet UP
the path, running like a scared coyote.
As soon as l could gather my senses
l knew that 1t was Birch; that he had
torn his clothes off and had escaped L
knew of his violence and desperation,
and that if ne caught me he would stTan-
gle me with one twist of his hand and
then-but the thought spurred me to adj
ditiOnal effort. and [ ran with such speed
as l never thought myself capable of. A
few months of walking had hardened me
so that ! was in good condition, but I
was hampered by my OvercOat.
"AS l ran [ could hear behind me the
pat-pat of the maniac's bare feet on the
hard path. He was gaining on me very
slowly. / tried to estimate how soon he
would catch I'D with me if he continued
to so gain. 1 was becoming winded and
my effort to relieve myself of my over
coat lost me about three feet.
Il could hear the heavy breathing of the
maniac and the occasional gnaShin~ of
his teeth 1t was awful. We had long
since passed the asylum grounds and
Tfr0er -
Far ahead / could see the lights in the
windows of my house. My grounds were
surrounded by a high stone wall, in which
there was a door. If | could reach this
and get through 1 might be able to leave
my Dursuar on the outside until L could
get help.
Il could hear the painting of the maniac
coming nearer and nearer Once looked
I hastily over my shoulder. He was not
over five feet away, and his glaring eyes
and open, gaping mouth terrified me so
that | nearly fell. l was rapidly grow
ing exhausted L doubted if I could reach
the door in the stone wall.
The painting was now close to me. I
imagined I could feel the breath of the
madman on my neck and shrunk forward
( to avoid the heavy hand l momentarily
! expected to drop on my shoulder.
/ eat last we reached the end of the stone
wall l could go no further. / threw NY
/ self at the wall, turning in the air and
/ backing against it, determined to sell my
/ life as dearly as possible. On rushed the
maniac. he was close 70 me. HGreached
out his powerful hand It tapped me on
! the shoulder.
.Tagl You're itr he shouted Now
catch me- And he bounded off into the
/ darkness.
Three days afterwards they caught
/ him in the next county, where the entire
! population was hunting him for a wild
man. had about recovered from my
/ fright WHEN they brought him back, but
my hearts been weak ever since"
--a,-S1-zSso>-
New York Press: The only rhyme
that Cupid has is stupid"
Man is a political animal. Woman
is neither one