Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1898-06-22

cretly watch him. The man steafthIIv
slips out OF the yard into the road He
looks about him and is in ecstacy Ia And
himself free. He runs like a startled
deer. For the first few miles he con
stantly looks back Then he goes for
ward until the game is UP. Then the
attendants In a friendly way brings him
back. DIR. Gordon tells me he has dis
charged patients benefited by his Curl
BUS method of mental surprise.
lmagiLs bus load of wild men or
women taking night ride into the
country! The doctor found in his ex-
perience as a practitioner that night
riding and perhaps a touch of chill pro-
vokes sleep. So occasionally a dozen
patients who can't sleep, who are noisy
and disturb their companions are
packed into carriage and driven int,
the country for six Or seven miles at
night. They come back cold. tired
hungry. They are given some warm
milk and bit IF lunch and go to he'd
to sleep like children.
How to Avoid Going Crazy.
The doctor regards the insane as sick
people. Every Ican--if we all told the
truth-has moments when ne fre,= nm
der the stress OF worA. or sleeplessness.
worry or grief. that his mind may give
way. He has to brace himself to resist
the collapse.
What should a man do at such a
timer" l asked him, expecting some
wise. mysteries of drugs and scientific
treatment.
Rest" was the simple aad blunt re-
ply.
When a patient comes to the osh-
kosh institution he is taken to a little
building. stripped and given a bath and
scrub, while his clothes are put into
steril!zing machine (the fourth in use
anywhere). An air pump leaves a
vacuum into which steam works a tenn
perature of 230 degrees. No germs or
yermin can live there. The patient Is
taken TO his ward and for ten GAYS
regularly treated by physician and
his assistants. The bowels are artif-
cially cleaned by water injections: thefe
are complete Turkish baths, with the
scrubbing process and showers; the pa
tient Is rubbed with oil, massaged by
skilled hands and induced to drink
great quantities of water. The secret
of Waukesha and other water resorts,
the doctor tells me. is less In the pc
culiar excellence of water, than in the
fact that people drink lots Of 1t. Water
is pure when drank: defiled when it
leaves the body. 1t must carry i'm
purity away with 1t. Then the patient
Is entertained an6 cheered. There are
billiard tables and good reading.
Go to Church and Dance.
Once week there is q concert; on
another evening dance. Church sery-
Ices are held outdoors, when the at
tendants' band plays. They have picnic
suppers under the trees. There Is even
a school for study for those whose
minds need that particular form of
awakening. The patients no longer eat
In their respective wards fourteen for
men. twelve for women), but In one
great hall. with frescoed walls and
flowers on the table. The social con-
tact is helpful; nor do the attendants
seize upon the best food nor does 1t
get cold and unattractive in the long
delivery from the general kitchen. The
shaving and hair cutting Is no longer
half done by attendants. but profess
sional has a shop of his own. The
amount of coffee used Is cut down 80
per cent. The state Is saved $500 year
by the abolition of tobacco-and the
improved condition of the men and
women after getting away from nieo-
tine and tea and coffee is said to be
perfectly amazing. Less meat is used,
and more milk, suga', eggs and vege-
tables. Typhoid once did wicked work
in this big institution. Now the sew
age is depri yed of solids, which are used
as fertilizer on the land, and the bal
ance Is emptied into the lake at a
farther distance from the intake pipe
and the disease has disappeared.
Alone with Man.acs at Night.
If you have never walked through the
corridors of an insane asylum at mid
night, you know nothing Of that creepy
feeling. There are seven murderers
there. and their doors are kept locked
at night. In the old days all patients
were locked up and the attendants went
to bed. 1t was inhuman and cruel DR..
Gordon has night watches who pass
through each ward every ten minutes,
and most of the doors are bit ajar
The doctor took his big key and babe
me follow.
The great door opened and we were
dlOuG Win I'LL ty-ltNc crazy tuclis HI
their beds, in rooms of groups of four
or six. / expected to be stricken down
from behind by some shrieking mad
man at any moment My courage was
not strengthened by the big doctors
tip-toeing his way along in his desire
to waken no one. And it was strangely
quiet. Now and then we saw a patient
slip into a closet; and we met the
watchers in some of the wards-strong.
quiet men and earnest women, who
have chosen work that calls for nerve
and patience, and humanity, too; for
each month they must sign or explain
their refusal. statement that they
have done no harsh thing to their
charges, nor witnessed 1t in others.
How is Elke sleeping tonight2" the
doctor whispered to the watcher. He
is restless, SIR"
"Give him a warm bath"-or a drink
Of milk. or perhaps the was a tele