The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-03-05
UNDER THE DOME
Details of the Crazy Antics Of
Wade Thomas,
The Fiend Whom Tt Was Nee
essary to Subdue
WITH RED HOT IRONS
At the Hutchinson Reformatory
a Few Days Ago.
Simply a COIOred Maniac Rum
ming Amuck.

At the instance of superintendent
Case of the Hutchinson reformatory.
DR.. A. NJ. Hutchinson, appointed physi-
clan to the reformatory by Governor
Morrill,, tells the following story under
oath of the blistering of the hands OF
the negro prisoner, Wade Thomas, at
that institution:
In the discharge of my duties on
February Is as physician, entered the
cell house, and noticed quite a group Of
officers gathered about the door of the
cell occupied by Wade Thomas, a col
Ored inmate, located on the second floor
and about the middle of the south side
of the cell building. 1 was informed
that Wade Thomas was in his cell. had
torn his bed TO pieces, smashed his
furniture and refused to come out and
submit to authority. I went up to the
second floor and could hear Thomas
loud talk, vile oaths, obscene language.
and imprecationS before reached his
cell. The officers made way for me as I
his mental condition, whether insane or
only vicious, 1 stepped up to the cell
door, held out my hand to his between
the bars, and said, Hello, Wade, what
are you doing now?' He was standing
in the front of his cell door with q lamp
in one hand and a lamp chimney in the
other. He put down the chimney, took
hold of my hand and said Hello, Doc
tor, you here too?' Yes, Wade / an
swered, what does all this mean? He
answered nationally but passionately,
- officers; that they We're trying to
punish him just for wearing his hand
kerchief around his neck and that he
wouldn't go to the dark cell. He ming
led his talk with imprecation on two
or three of the officers, using the vilest
kind of profane and obscene language
I tried to reason with him and urged
him to surrender to authority, and re-
other administration, before they sent
him to the penitentiary; he had to yield
then and he would have to now. He
answered with an oath that he would
never surrender, and that he would kill
the first man that dared to modest him.
In the meantime he picked up and
fourished piece of gas pipe about
three feet long, and IL inches thick.
portion of his iron bedstead
that he had taken to pieces. also
noticed that he had been using the
tried to loosen the fastenings of his
door. While I was talking to him. Mr..
Hopkins, the assistant superintendent,
stepped up to the door and asked him
to pass out through the bars the pieces
of broken furniture. He turned upon
Mr.. Hopkins with the vilest of lang
uage, refusing to do so. Just at that
time / noticed some one from the floor
below pushing up an iron rod about II
feet long, the end of which was redhOt,
which was thrust through the bars of
the cell door. Thomas lodged to one
side and instantly hurled the lamp, the
chimney, and every loose missile he
could lay hold of at the parties hand
ling the iron. The officers asked him to
throw up his hands and surrender, or
he would get the worst of it. This he
refused to do and lodged into the front
corner of the CELL where the iron could
not touch him. The officers then bent
the rod into something the shape of a
fshhook so they could reach him, at
the same time calling upon him to sur
render. He made a grab at the rod
but it burnt his fingers and he dropped
it and seizing his mattress and bedding
crouched in the corner and covered
himself up with it. One of the officers
succeeded in getting hold of the corner
of the blanket and jerked it off from
him, so Thomas jumped up and said he
would surrender. He was required to
put his hands up and thrust them out
of the partly opened door one at a time,
while the handouts were put on, then
he walked quietly to the dark cell and
offered no further resistance. / exam
ined the burn upon his hand and found
it slight and superficial, needing moth
got well in a few days. While the
means employed may have been a little
harsh they were certainly effectual and
there was no brutality shown and no
more force than was necessary to COM
pei him to submit to the authority OF
the institution. He had it in his power
at any moment to stop the proceedings
by surrendering, and when it is remem-
bered that he was a desperate charac-
ter, had given the former administration
so much trouble that they were re-
quired to send him to the penitentiary,
I felt that the officers were perfectly
justified in using any means to compel
his obedience"