The evening times., 1899-05-20
HORIZONS QUEER Ways
DESCRIBED IN COURT
Physician Says Defendant Has
Hysterical Insanity.
Peculiar Actions Of the Prisoner
While a Police Officer.
Miss Florence Nally Describes His
strange Conduct shortly Be-
fore His Crime.

The usual large number Of spectators
| were present today when the trial Of
George w. Horton, who is charged with
the murder of Jane Nicholson. in June
last, was resumed in Criminal Court,
| No. 1.
The testimony was In keeping with the
line Of defence. and was intended to show
tai condition.
DR.. Noble T. Barnes, who was examined
yesterday, was the first witness called today
for cross-examination by Assistant District
Attorney Shillington. The witness said
that the mental trouble from which the
defendant suffered is known as "hystericaf'
insanity and is rather transitory than
chronic in its nature. When under the in
| fluence Of such disease the subject, the wit
ness said, was prompted to destructiveness.
person suffering from this phase OF in
sanity is Of very emotional tendency, can
be merry one moment and in tears the
| next.
DR.. NJ. B. Strickler was called and said
that at one time he was one Of the police
surgeons in this city. He stated that he
knew Horton and believed he was suffering
from love" melancholia. The witness
stated that he came to this conclusion
from what the defendant had told him and
from observation. Horizons condition, DR..
Strickler said, must necessarily end in
mental degeneracy.
Lucy Craig. colored. a servant in the
home of the defendant for five years i'm
mediately prior to the commission Of the
crime OF which Horton is accused. testified
that on one occasion she took Horton a
shirt and he snatched it from her hands
and tore it into shreds. She also said that
on another occasion he fired a pistol in the
house. Speaking of the defendants moth
er. the witness said she often acted very
crazy and would sew white clothes with
black cotton. Horton. too. she said acted
crazy like
James S. W. Cotton. proprietor OF the
Empire Steam Laundry. southeast. was
next called and stated that formerly. he
was Horizons partner on the Metropoli
tan police force. On one occasion while
they were on duty they received infQrma-
tion that there was woman in house
at the corner of Seventh Street and Vir-
ginia Avenue southeast, in a starving con-
dition.
The witness said that they went to the
house, and, although it was o'clock in
DlOFuluS, luStSttO OH SOlUS Oll
and getting groceries and coal for the wo-
man. Cotton also said that Horton COM
planned often of having pain in the back
Of his head. He saw Horton the morning
of the day on which the defendant killed
Mrss Nicholson. He was standing under
some trees and said he was picking up
cherries. The trees under which Horton
was standing were common shade trees
The witness opinion was that Horton was
crazy.
William ]. Work. formerly a member of
the Metropolitan Police. testified that he
was acquainted with the defendant, Hor-
ton. On one occasion, the witness said.
he and Horton were detailed to watch
house in which a corpse lay. At that time
Horton insisted on staying in the same
room with the corpse.
Miss Florence Nally said she had known
the defendant for three years. She saw
him three weeks before he committed the
homicide. He came to see her father and
remained about an hour. but only spoke
about half a dozen words. He tHorton),
the witness said. was continually b.tiug
his lips. Altogether she thought the de-
fendant acted queerly. Miss Naliy said
Horton was a frequent visitor at her IA
thars house during the three years prior
to tie death of Jane Nicholson. His ey.s,
she said, were strange looking and he con-
stantly gazed at the ceiling.
DIR. John F. Stratton, who resided in the
same house with Horton for four or Eve
years previous to the killing of Mrs. Mich
olson. was called. He said that for six
or eight months prior to the death OF Mrs.
Nicholson lie had noticed many peculiari-
ties of the defendant. He said that once
the defendant told him he wished the cars
would run over him. Since he had known
Horton, the witness said, his mehtai condi-
ton had grown gradually worse. His ac-
tions were peculiar sometimes, but he
never considered him insane in the general
acceptation of the term. The witness had
seen Horton under the influence of liquor.
He visited Horton at the Sixth precinct
stationhouse on the night of the murder.
about an hour and a half after he COM
mitted the crime On that OCCASION. he said,
Horton conversed coherently concerning
the affair He also visited him at the jail.
and there Horton spoke nationally.