The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-01-21

could hang around the town so long,
but he had made up his mind and
wouldn't change 1t. More than fifty
suspects were arrested within a
week, but within another all were dis
charged. The detective was not cast
down over this fact He simply used
1t TO further his views. He had not
caught the man he was after, but the
hullabaloo had certainly driven the
fellow out of that part Of England,
and he would be heard of no more
He was working on the case for a
month. and though he accomplished
nothing. the town had to be satisfied.
Another three months passed by
without hearing from the ''Fiend. "
Then he broke out again. IN raiding
around the town for four nights he
Of public property, burned two barns,
killed two donkeys, defaced the doors
of the town hail. and assaulted the
Waterman of a private bank. The
Waterman heard some one fumbling
at the door at midnight and opened it
to see who was there. He was struck
from behind with an iron bar and
though knocked sengeless, the thick
ness of his hat saved him. No one
had entered the bank while he lay I'M
conscious. a great public howl went
up, and had suspicion pointed to any
particular person there would have
been lynching after the latest Amer
lean Fashion. While things were seeth-
ing, g salesman in a dry goods store
sat down to reason the case to himself
and he reasoned as follows;
The crimes have been too numer-
Gus to point to revenge as the motive.
Public as well as private property has
suffered. Had only one tombstone
been thrown down we could say that
the ghoul wanted to show his hatred
for one dead person, but he threw
down those at the graves of men, wo-
men and children to the number of
twenty-five. It is doubtful If he knew
or had ever heard of the people he as
saulted. A man might be hired to
burn building SO that the owner
could get the insurance, but would the
same man. on the same night, kill
horses or cows or ruin shade trees and
statuary2 There can be no connection
between running memorial windows
and assaulting a citizen living two
miles away. The crimes are committed
at intervals of about three months. It
would seem as If the man had period
zeal outbreaks. Some of his doings
have been absolutely silly and freak
ishs as tipping over the beehives, for
instance. while others have been of a
frenzied character. This plainly
shows the mind Of a person who is
off We have an insane asylum here
Suppose this sFiend' to be 8 patient
who has found a way of escap-
ing whenever he wishes. The craft
and cunning of the 'Fiend' would be
the craft and cunning of a Iunatic"
Don't you see how easy it was? De-
duction was worth more than the
whole police force. The salesman
went to the mayor and stated his case
J three doctors were consulted who
backed him up. and within three days
it was discovered beyond dispute that
a homicidaI inmate of the asylum was
the party wanted. He had found a
way to leave the building whenever he
wished. but he left it only when the
fits came on. OF course the law could
not reach him. but he was so confined
that he never broke out again and died
a few years later. Deduction would
have solved the case at once, but there
was no one to take it up Copyrfght,
1905, by Mcclure. Phillips & Coz