The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-05-01
| IN[ D N CLASSED
MORBID SLEEPER
Histories of Statesmen Afflicted With
Epilepsy Cited in
Court
STRANGE COINCIDENCE TOLD.
Napoleon. julius Caesar and Men Now
In Pubic Life Were
Subjects

A parallel between incidents in the
life of Abraham Lincoln and Ross
Freeman was drawn today in Judge
Bretano's court by Attorney Quin
O'Brien, who is defending the sleep
walking burglar. An instance OF
epilepsy of Lincoln Similar in many
of it's details to the inexplicable cpl
lepsy of young Freeman will be read
to the jury by the defendants attor-
ney. Attorney O'Brien went into court
armed with a half-dozen biographies
of the statesman.
CITIES LINCOLN LIFE INCIDENT.
1T is a strange coincidence said
Attorney O'Brien, that Freeman's act
and the similar occurrence in the life
of Lincoln should both occur on jan
uary 1. Lincoln was an epileptic and
several times consulted DR.. Drake, at
that time famous specialist. In one
of his letters he declared that he was
afraid to carry pocket knife.
"On January l, 1871, Lincoln was to
marry Mary Todd. He wandered away
and got lost The guests at the we'd
ding, after waiting until late at night
organized searching parties and hunted
through the country.
FOUND IN COUNTRY STORE.
He was not found until the next
morning and he was then discovered
in the rear room of a grocery of which
he had forced the door He was sit
ting among the boxes and bags staring
into space with wide open, unseeing
eyes. He was unconscious for three
days and was under medical treatment
for three months. During all that
time they kept instruments away from
him. You will find reference to this
incident in the lives OF Lincoln by
Merndon, Weeks and Nichotay and
Hay"
MOTHER ON WITNESS STAND.
Mrs. Mary Freeman, the boys moth
er, was the first witness of the morn
ing She told of an incident when her
son was found in the dining room Of
their home amid broken dishes and
lighting matches and averred he knew
nothing of it later when he awoke.
The earlier happenings of the same
evening were told by Bernard Hendeen
a fellow employee at the Crane company
who had been at billiard match with
Freeman. He told of an attack OF
somnambulism which occurred at Van
Buren, and Clark street.
NO CONTROL OF ACTS, SAYS
EXPERT.
DIR. Archibald Church, an expert in
nervous diseases, was called as a wit
ness for the defense, and after listen
ing to a hypothetical question to him
by Attorney O'Brien and covering the
entire career of Freeman, he answered
it in part, saying that while an exa-
mination of Freeman disclosed moth
ing unusual or abnormal, the action
Of breaking into the saloon as it was
described in the hypothetical question
was entirely within reason in consider
alton of the other circumstances stat
ed"
81 don't know how much conscious
ness a man has under those condi'
tions," added DR.. Church, "but it is
well proved that he has no control Over
his acts"
When asked if there are any well au
thenticated cases of great men who
have been subject to epilepsy, DR.
Church said: yes, Napoleon was sub
ject to epilepsy, so was julius Caesar
There are men now in public life who
are reported to be afflicted the same
way."-Chicago Daily News,