Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-05
As to the Condition Of "D0c"
Larkin.
WELLS ON THE STAND
Larkin, With Numerous Associates,
Went to the Hospitals
The Autopsy

At this mornings session of the Larkin
hearing DR.. George H. Wells was on the
stand He said he had been engaged in
practicing medicine u years; that he re-
ceived his medical education at the st.
Paul Medical college; that he was a
house physician of the ST. Joseph hos
pital, ST. Paul, for IS months, and had
had much experience in hospital work.
He began to study medicine in a hospital
for the insane: and had practiced medi-
cine in st. Pau three or four years be-
fore coming to Butte: his experience in
mental maladies was extensive. He was
operating his hospital in Butte in 1894
and remembered when James Larkin be-
came an inmate of his place. He de-
scribed Larkin's physical condition. Lar
kin was very much debilitated and con-
siderably wasted in flesh: he was also in
a condition of absolute filth, covered with
vermin. so much so that when the hos
pital attendants attempted to remove
his clothing the vermin created a stam-
pede. his clothing was piled in the middle
of the floor, scalded, and later burned;
the surface Of Larkin's body was raw in
some places; he was not able to feed him.
self. but after a time his physical con-
dition improved and he became able to
walk about the hospital; as to his mental
condition the witness said Larkin was In
a condition of chronic mental dementia,
of the alcoholic variety, induced by long
continued over Indulgence in alcoholic
beverages: he possessed, at the time, al
most no intelligence; could not feed him.
self, and was about as near being on a
level with the animal kingdom as men
usually get. The doctor described some
of the mans filthy habits, which would
not look well in print; under treatment
his mental condition improved some-
what; he would frequently go to the
water tap and turn on the water and
laugh at it. The flowing water was the
occasion of much merriment, for him;
he was quiet in his demeanor unless
someone provoked him.. He told the doc
tor thai he was looked after by his
friends and mentioned frequently the
name of Hank" He also spoke of Pat
Largely and Dick Watson and told about
: having killed a man some years before;
: he said he struck him and he fell over
into a hole, which was all he said about
it: his talk was never connected or
rational, and he would frequently talk
to himself. There We're no indications
that his condition was due to any acute
trouble. Larkin was taken from the hos
pllal 10 the dSS luII d I VAIN PAiHo
after having been ~adjudged insane; in
August, 1898, the witness performed an
autopsy on the remain of Larkin.
who made the complaint as to his In
sanity?' asked Mr.. Leonard.
Il believe Mr.. Largely made the COM
plaint," replied the doctor.
"Upon your recommendations"
yes, sir"
The witnes then described the condi-
tion of brain as revealed by the
autopsy. He produced the notes taken
al the autopsy and said there were Ole
fractures of the chin bone and the right
leg; the left side of the heart was en-
larged, the wall was about a quarter OF
an inch in thickness and very soft: the
heart muscles indicated fatty degenera'
ton; there was much fatty tissue Owe
the surface Of the heart: the stomacf
was somewhat ~distended: the Thickness:
e of the skull was normal; the BRAN
!. weighed two pounds three ounces; tn
left hemisphere of the brain was decldeo'
w smaller than the right, and wa!
%shrunken; the right hemisphere was OF
better consistency than the left, and wa:
of normal size but soft. the difference II
i, the sizes of the two hefnispheres lndi'
, Gated a process of regeneration OF lons
standing. The doctor stated that I'M
9 conditions generally indicated that TN
mental faculties of the man were nearl!
: gone.
All women know SECURE cures al