Bisbee daily review., 1908-11-26
(Phoenix Republlcan.l

No two insanity cases are quite alike but that of Mrs. Emma Lapham, which was heard In probate court on Saturday was widely different from ny within the experience of the court. Mrs. Lapham is a wealthy and eccen- 1T Chicago woman who came to the valley last September. stopping first at Mesa. She bought the SpdlnhCur ranch near there and had ut her son CI. It. She Lo'i2lt ...'rhG sock and made other investments in that neigh bcrhood.
 Then she came to Phoenix, stopping f-r time at the Hotel Adams, where she had had sonhe trouble and after that at the New Denuis. Nearly every one who saw her wss attracted by her eccentricity which was manifested es- peeiaI'y in the ease wita which she formed acqua ntances and held one sided conversations with them in the course Of which she diyulged her past and her intentions regarding the flu, ture.
 She wore at that time the most cost ly jeweIry and lots of it: she fairly glsemed with pearls and glittered with
 
 Charles w. Wartman property on Westmoreland street and moved into it. There was not a st ok of furniture in it, but sfe lost no time in having a telephone installed. She also hired a corps of carpenters to put a new floor in the attic. When she left the house in the evening with all the lights turn ed ou she invariably locked erself out and had to call on tue ne:ghbors to as- sist her n burglarizing her own resi- dence so that she could go to bed.
 In this unusual way Mrs. Lapham established an acquaintance Ithrough- out the neighborhood and the more her new nefghbors saw of her and talked with her the more queer they thought her.
 They understood her to saw last Fri day night that she expected to bring two of her children who were insane, to live with her and she trusted that they would not make things unpleasant for the neighborhood. Westmoreland Is a quiCt part of town and tends to- ward eXclus yeness. The intentions of Mrs. Papham therefore created some excitement and when the following morning she invaded the house of a neighbor and catechised the cook about the wages she was receiving. her age, the length of her residence in this part of the country and her i'm press.ons of 1t, 1t was thought that something should be done, especially when she believed that her own house was shared With her by witches who persisted in locking the doors after her.
 Accordingly her sanity was ques- tioned in probate court and a warrant was issued. Deputy Sheriff Adams went after her and found her sitting on a box ea ting of of a table formed by another box and talking to two young men who when questioned said that they knew nothing about her, but that she struck them as being queer.
 At first she declined to come to court but on second thought she sa she would rather like the ride, and came. She is a striking looking wo- man apparently of forty, though she admitted fifty. Her black har which Is luXuriant, was streaked with gray. Her eyes, large and black, set wide apart had humorous gleam when she was ushered into court.
 She proceeded at once to the bus: ness In hand. She uttered no protest, but said that this knd of a reception of newcomers was not calculated to build up the country very fast She first told all about berself. She was married but had been s".'GrGted from her husband for two years He was four years her senior and she said, l-Vnn NF bot dc difficulty in procuring employment" She said she would have left him sooner if he had been wealthy, or had been capable of taking care of him self, but he was not. When at last the situation became unbearable she left him after entering into an ar engagement to send him $35 a month, that was not much she said for she had been keeping him for years. ill addition to this stipulated sum, she