Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-27
MAN AND WIFE
FOUND INSANE
BOTH VICTIMS OF M0RPHIA
HABIT
Husband a Habltue Before Marriage,
Woman Follows Footsteps-Couple
Leave Young Babe With
Their Friends

Hand in hand, muttering the wild
nothings of insanity and patting each
others arms, Mobius Smith of Sparta
and his wife, Mrs. Marion Smith.
walked slowly from Judge Gibbs de-
partment of the superior court yester-
day afternoon, on their journey to the
insane asylum, for by the same decree
of the commission both husband and
wife were declared insane from the use
of drugs and both were sent to the
hospital at Patton for treatment
The woman had the wild look of the
] maniac in her great brown eyes, while
| the husband was listless and his eyes
bore the far away look of the dope
f1end. The sight was horrible to look
upon as the man talked in strange, in
coherent mutterings to the woman he
had sworn to protect, while she with
hands trembling and palsied from un-
strung nerves attempted in a mother
ly way to quiet him.
The case is one of the most peculiar
in the history of the courts. Smith,
the husband, is just "a years of age and
according to the evidence produced in
court yesterday he has been taking
drugs for the past eight years The
young mans mind failed him when he
attempted to tell how he had first used
morphine, later cocaine and then any
kind of drug he could get hold of.
A few years ago he married pretty
little English girl and 1t was thought
that Smith would brace up and do bet
| tetr, but affairs only became the worse.
The relatives of the young people tear
| fully told how the bride, sweet-faced
dear little girl had gradually become
as pale and haggard as an old woman.
Yesterday the girls face bore evidence
of the fearful ravages of the drugs.
Her eyes shone with unnatural bright
ness. Her cheeks were hollow and the
cheek bones stood out as though about
to break through the skin Heavy
wrinkles showed at the corners of her
eyes and about her mouth and her
arms, wasted to skeleton thinness,
were horribly Scared and purple from
old wounds where the caressng lance
of the hypodermic syringe had so often
entered.
The woman admitted that she had
fallen into the drug habit after she had
married Smith and that the two had
used drugs during the period of their
married lives
The husbands case was quickly set
! tied and he was ordered to be sent to
the asylum. The raVages of the drug
had secured a terrible grip on him and
his case is nearly hopeless.
Then the woman was taken before
the commissioners. She admitted the
use of drugs and finally stated that the
asylum would be the best place for her.
| Witnesses In the case stated to the
commissioners that some time ago
Smith had purchased revolvers for him
self and his wife and that a short time
thereafter Smiths father was found ly-
ing on the floor of his room with a bull
let wound in his body. He was taken to
Pomona for treatment and he is now
there in hospital. His wounds are
considered all the more serious because
of the fact that he is S6 years of age.
1t was further testified that a tiny
baby girl, the only child of the un-
fortunate couple, is laughing and en-
| joying her babyhod with friends at
Pomona, unmindful and uncaring for
! the horrible catastrophe which has al
| ready wrecked her little life.
| When the decision of the court had
been read yesterday the man patted
his wife on the arm and they walked to
| the door. There Smith held the door
open and let his wife pass out ahead
of him. AS the door swung shut the
court officials shivered and hurried on
with other work.
j. Grant, #. L. Deyo, a former de-
tective, and Miss Clara Murphy were
also sent to the asylum yesterday by
the commissioners. The woman was
affected with melancholia.