The evening times., 1900-01-09

Twelve more insane soldiers arrived at
St. Elizabeth Hospital last night from
Manila. The men were in charge OF Hos
pital Steward Walter Phares and ten as
sistants. When the detachment started
from san Francisco on the special car there
were fourteen patients. Two Of them es-
capped on the way TO this city One. who
had spoken Of having relatives in Missouri,
had escaped from the train about forty
miles west Of St. Louis. He was George
W. Decker, Company E, Eighteenth Infan-
try.
Decker, according to the guard. had
/ been unusually well behaved for several
/ hours, and when he asked to be permitted
to get drink OF water he was allowed to
1 20 to the end Of the car where there was
water cooler. Decker tried the door Of the
| car which he found locked, and before the
! guards could reach him he had raised a
| window Of the ear and plunged headloug
from the train, which was going forty
miles an hour.
The train was stopped but no trace %
Decker could De found.
/ A telegram was received al the Udr
/ Department today stating that Decker lad
| since been recaptured and sent TO Jeler-
! son Barracks. 81. Lcuis, and that he would
be sent on 10 Washington.
1 The other prisoner who escaped was
limerick Mulner. Company p. Sixth Infsn-
/ try. He escaped in much the same man
ner that Decker did, leaping from
/ window Of the ear near Sacramento. Cal,
while the train was going at fun speed.
1 He has not been heard of since and no
| trace could be found Of him when the
guards stopped the train and Went hack
TO look FOR him
That both men should have escaped
/ death. or. at least. frightful injuries. IN
jumping from the train. Is considered little
short Of a miracle.
! The insane men who were turned over
20 the 81. Elizabeth authorities last hiSns
are as follows
Sergeant Thomas F. Collins. Company
G. Sixth Infantry; Sergeant Owen H.
Wissmau. hospital corps, Priyates Thomas
I F. Barry. hospital corps; Anton Barber,
I Company L Fourth Infantry. Nicnael
{ Gallagher. Company G. Twenty-third In
I fantry. George 81. Barton, Troop G.. Fourth
! Cavalry; Walter A. O'NeilI. Battery +,
Sixth Artillery, Louis Ford Company L,
/ Fourth Infantry; David f. Young. Com
pany A, Seventeenth Infantry; Frank
Thayer. Company Z. Seventeenth Infantry;
Joseph Holman. Company Z. TweUty-
second Infantry. and George J. Nixon,
Company 7. Twelfth Infantry.
Surgeon General SterubeIg. Of The army,
says he has received 10 report of the
| causes of so many soldiers serving IN the
Philippines going insane. He says that SO
FAR as he knows there is no special reason
for the prevalence Of Insanity amoug the
soldiers. Other army officials. however,
say thar it may be caused from what is
known as she SCudanese fever. which has
ragged amCng the Europeans troops serving
( iu Africa. a writer in the New YORK
| Medical Journal recently said IN regard
! 20 this fever.
/ Although not generally known The pos
/ sibihty of the breaking out u SCudauese
| fever among the American troops has been
/ seriously considered by the Government,
| and an expert has been appointed C. make
! special study OF the question IN hope that
he may be able 70 discover a remedy that
may be used should the trouble appear
| among the soldiers. In the same manner
1 the English Government has assigned ply
/ sicians 10 study the curious malaGy-'
! The climate OF South Africa and the
/ Philippines is said 10 be very similar. and
! army officers are not surprised at the out
/ break OF insanity among the American
/ troops
some OF the authorities ascroe the con-
dition OF the patients 10 the constant pres
| euce OF maIariaI fever in the blood OF the
/ troops in the Philippines, and 10 the pros
! trattug effects of the fierce tropical heat.
The theory is that while most people are
| subject 70 the attacks OF malaria, many
are peculiarly so. In person easily af-
fected by the presence Of malaria. the first
action Of the disease is 10 attack the liver.
A person Of this nature may go q month or
more. temporarily subjected 10 attacks OF
malariaI germs in the blood but finally
the action Of the disease is directed 10
the nervous system. and thence 20 the
brain. whereupon the patients mind be-
comes affected and a form Of insanity en-
sues The brain becomes confused and
/ The patient loses a partial control OF tho
/ senses. and becomes melancholy and de-
pressed. hence the technical appellation OF
confessional insanity or melanCh0lia-
In the case of the men from the Philip
pines. the effect OF the malarial germs was
rendered dCubly vindictiye bv the nervous
prostra;ion brought on By the terrible heat.
or the thirty cases SO FAR received at the
asylum, only a few are OF a very danger
Gus nature.
| Since the beginning Of military opera-
/ uons in Cuba and the Philippines the asv-
'um has been receiving the soldiers. At
one time over two hundred soldiers. uost-
~ volunteers. from the armies On Cuba
| and Porto Rica were under treatment at
| St Elizabeth. over SO per cent OF whom
have fully recovered and have since been
/ discharged The men brought from the
philippines are mostly regulars that have
been in the islands ever since the COM
mencement Of hostilities there. and have
/ finally broken down under the severe
strain Of hard military service in couu-
/ try TO strange climatic conditions and in
| hospitabie aspect.
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