The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-07-16
SELF MUTILATIoN' MAYBE.
THE THEORY NOW ADVANCED IN
THE WILEY CASE.


jured I'm jacksonville Is Discredit-
ed in That City as Well as Here.
Sailors Sometimes Have "a Weak
ness For InAictIng Wounds on
ThemseIves-Dr. Dudley Thinks the
Cut Was n Fresh and Recent One.
So far from clearing the mystery sur
rounding the unusual crime Of which J.
/ T. Wiley is the victim, his stories and
/ confessions make all the more doubtful
the real story behind the deed from
which he will suffer as long as ne lives.
| The belief among those who have had
! anything to do with the case now Is that
Wiley himself is the real perpetrator OF
/ the deed
The man has told so many conflicting
stories--in fact has acquiesced in any mar
radve that might be outlined to him
that the-one belief now is that he mas
been his own worse enemy in the affair
Dr. Dudley believes it. He was the
! first physician to dress the wounds. being
the house surgeon of the Savannah hos
pital and has been attending the man ever
since
The story given out by Wiley yesterday
In the nature Of a confession, which after
all was but the answering of questions Wig
orously put to him is not credited. In
point OF fact Dr. Dudley stated that in
/ his judgment, based upon his knowledge
OF the case and mis- experience as a sur
geon, that the wound could not have been
inflicted upon Wiley in Jacksonville Sat
urday night. If this were true IL would
have been nearly two days o.d when il
was brought to the inspection of DR.. Dud-
ley The wound was comparatively fresh
when he first saw it,
The story sounds empty to a doctor"
SAID DR.. Dudley, that the man could have
been injured in Jacksonville Saturday
night, and that he could have walked. as
ne states, seven or eight miles up the rail-
road track, and then rode on the train
-FOUR or five hours to Savannah spent an
other night in this city with this wound
all the while. The man would have been
sanguinated. He would have tainted He
would have been observed on the train by
the passengers, as man, who was suffer
ing. He could never have sat talking and
smoking at this negro boarding house that
night leisurely, and seemingly contented
and at ease. Besides, he would not have
Deen carrying in his pocket unknowingly
or otherwise, it is reasonable to presume
the bloody piece of cloth and the contents
II contained, all the way from Jacksonville
to Savannah.
The most reasonable story of the crime
yet, as 1t appears to me, is that it was
committed by Wiley, himself. Ii would
certainly appear that it had been done the
night he landed in Savannah. His man
ner at Livingston's pharmacy in conceal
ing where he had been cut, when he called
for medicine to dress a wound; his per-
sistent silence afterwards, breaking final
~ into Willingness to state anything and
everything as TO the when and the where.
having innocent men arrested for the
crime and all that sort of thing You can
figure out a far more plausible story on
this line than any other"
Dr. Dudley was asked if such self mu-
tilation is frequent
We can hardly say frequent" he re-
piled, though il is stated in Keys Sur
gical Diseases that this mode of self-mu-
tiiation is often resorted to by lunatics
or Enthusiastically young men-who
nave grown depressed for certain reasons.
OF course, in this case there is no lunatic.
The patient has his mind all right. He
talks clearly except that he does not make
clear the story of the crime of which he is
victim. He is as submissive, and passive
as lamb and prefers not to talk about
the affair at all"
Every effort has been made at the hos
pital by the doctors to get Wiley to tell
the true story about the case, and when
he was identified yesterday by the negro,
w. NJ. jefferson, at whose house he spent
Il
about the blood stains in the room assign
ed him, noticed for the first time by JEFF
ferson'e wife the next morning, he COM
pletely broke down and made what he
called his first confession of the true sto-
ry-that he was injured IN Jacksonville.
The house at which he spent Sunday
night was located by Detective Weather
horn through a shrewd bit of detective
work. IL is on Liberty street, not far
from the Plant system depot, and yet
Wiley states that he came to Savannah
from Jacksonville over the Florida Central
and Peninsular railroad.
1t is said by medical men that sailors
have a custom of doing themselves some
personal harm, either by tattooiug, or
puncturing their flesh for other purposes
as aimless and with as little reason. Wiley,
himself. has great splotches of tattooing
on his arms. on one arm there is a huge
emblem of friendship or fraternal fidelity
two hands clasped. Below this on the
same arm there is tattooed bracelet all
around the wrist. on the other arm he
has the smblems OF the nation tatooed,
the eagle. shield and the flag of the United
States. All OF this work is done in blue
colors of more or less shade.
Nobody has yet been able 20 ascertain
anything like the true story in the affair.
IL will be difficult now to ever arrive at il
for the reason that Wiley has told 80
many stories that none of them Will be be-
HeNtu neEtaltef unless "a strong cnaln OF
circumstautal evidence is adduced TO sup
port It, and so far there has been nothing
tangible credible brought out.
The Jacksonville story Is further told
In detail by the following telegram to the
Morning News:
Jacksonville, Fla, July 15-The fourth
and latest confession of J. r. Wiley the
mut.lated man, did not create a profound
sensation here. There was some gossip
over the story which was published in
the afternoon papers and public opinion
Is not al all in sympathy with the sailor.
The police. while inclined TO take this
last statement with a grain Of salt. are
working TO ascertain who the guilty
man is.
Capt Hunter Of the schooner r. w.
Dasey. which has been at Palatka since
last Sunday only returning TODAY, called
al police headquarters this morning and
asked II anything had been heard Of his
missing mate, j. Il. Wiley lie was
much astoushed when the sergeant told
that "a man Of that name had been found
IN a horrible condition IN Savannah. He
said that Wiley, who Is his first mate.