Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1904-12-17
NUDE MADMAN ON A TEAR.

With a terrific crash a SOU plate
glass window in the new Metropolitan
Life Insurance Building, at Fourth
avenue and Twenty-third street, New
York, was smashed to smithereens early
yesterday. A little watchman, who was
startled by the crash, saw a vision issue
from the shower of flying glass. 1t was
the form of a man, stark naked, Wild
eyed and woolly-haired. From an ap-
parently material substance the agent Of
destruction vanished.
"'Tis bansheep gasped the watch
man. "aud / do now swear I've taken
me last" "
The crash brought policeman and
crowd of a hundred. The watchman,
when revived asked anxiously if any
other person had seen the destroyer.
He took the policeman aside.
'1m a temperate man, as my friends
well know" said he. "Tm not in
drink now, but swear be the name Of
ST. Peter / saw man wearn' no clothes
at all, and he opened the door OF a
shadow and bounced in.
''Promise me you'll drink no more. ="
said the policeman. "'1was the wind
that did ii.
Bang went another window.
The policeman and w0ichman trem-
bled in each others arms, their faces
wan, their hair on end. The banshee
was before them, with an iron bar up
raised. They 'dived behind pile OF
stone.
"Sind for DOCTOR" cried The watch
man.
make it two," cried the policemen.
Reassured by the ensuing quiet they
crawled from their hiding place. They
found another 5000 window in ruins.
They searched in vain for the destroyer.
Policemen Schmacke and Slattery
came along. Schmacke said no will-of-
the-wisp would smash windows. Slattery
was noncommittal. They decided to do
sentinel duty.
Directly they saw a woOlly head appear
from basement area. The bare
shoulders emerged, then the body aud
legs. The wild man was shockingIy
nude in his hands he carried crowbar,
While the guardians Of the peace
awed by the sight, looked on in terror,
be began an assault on tho windows
One after another they were crashed IN,
When the policemen charged on him
he swung his crowler at then and they
lodged aside. Another plate glass
went to pieces. On down Twenty-lhird
street the destroyer proceeded, smash
/ ing windows as he went. When he
desisted 10 we're in pieces-S3, 800 had
gone to bits.
Striking right and left at the police
men. the destroyer fled down Fourth
avenue. He perched on the top of a
snowpile and invited the policemen to
make the acquaintance of mis- crowbar.
He demonstrated beyond any question
that he was not spirit messenger, but
longshoreman gone daft
&" 'Tis me that's the king of the
castle" he cried in a maudlin tone.
"COme up, you dirty rascals, till break
your heads"
As the policemen closed in be swung
his weapon with murderiD his eye. His
capture promised to be at the cost of life:
The police were helpless. They could
not shoot. Various ruses were tired,
but the madman's cunning frustrated ALL
Hundreds of men watched the assault.
A number of women who had elbowed
their way to the front fled preclpitately'
The shades were drawn in all the nearby
houses.
Finally a cabman came bowling along.
His quick Wit saved the day. AS he
rode by he flung blanket over the nude
man and in an instant halt dozer
policemen were struggling with the king
of the snowpile. He was soon subdued
and dragged into the subway station
where he awaited the arrival of Belle
vue ambulance.
In the area from which the man had
issued the policeman found his clothing
He is evidently laborer.