Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-11-22
Wife Reveals Tragedy In Death
ofFrank B. Tracy, Former Tribune
Man and Editor Of Boston Transcript

, Someone, however, must know tn
facts, and | am going to try to ma
this secretly today. You will no
send it to her, of course, nor will 20
by your letter to me acknowledge tina
you have received it, as all letter
sent or mailed here are read in tn
office. l am getting no treatment. Thi
is not a sanitarium. 1t is called
hospital. but it's full name is Butler
hospital for the insane.
Its doctors are shrewd fellows
who look after the money and tn
business. Probably they can do moth
ing for the poor devils, Of whom ! an
to be in time one of the worst. These
places thrive simply because of thu
publicity of the state asylums. Thu
latter are just as good. Think Of the
horror OF the place and my Wife's
blind credulity.
His Upset Comes.
II spend my time night and day go
ing ovcer the story of my upset career
over aud over again, and thinking
what l ought to have done, etc. There
is no change in the program, day after
day. If l 60 for a walk, al attendant
must go with me. I see the horrible
procession of listless, stumbling fell
lows go by my door, out for a walk.
The worse cases are kept locked up.
I hear them at times. and often hear
the wailing from, the women's room.
Yet l do not explode.
II even lie awake at night with my
brain on fire and say nothing, for a
man is on guard. How long l can
keep silence l don't know. The or
%ganization here is perfect. Nobody
can escape or complain aloud. lex
pect that the only ones that get we'll
are the new, acute cases who are vio-
lent, but who only need restraint and
quiet to get back their balance.
Uxorcide and Suicide.
do you SCI what my girl is UP
against, and do you see why l had the
uxorcide and suicide idea in my head
at times and have it yet? But l can't
do it, l couldn't kill myself or her if
l had everything ready. That's the
terrible aspect of the affair.
." don't know whether I'll mail this
or not. Why trouble you? There is
nothing you can do for me or Mrs.
Tracy. l writhe in agony when I
think Of her future"
The letter was unsigned, but the
writing has been identified positively
as that of Mr.. Tracy. 1t was dated
Oct. 6.
Mr.. Tracy's condition even at that
time, though, was not looked upon
as SO serious that he could not be
permitted to go about. With an at
tendant to guard him he was allowed
to attend the ball games and walk
about in the grounds of the Rhode Is
land institution. Nothing unusual was
noted the day before last Thanksgiv-
ing. Mr.. Tracy appeared to be in nor
NAL spirits, and the following day
Thanksgiving-he ate heartily at the
midday meal.
Escaped Through A Window.
/. Immediately after dinner he declar-
ed he would like to rest for a time
and went to his room. 1t was the last
e Of him. His failure to come
down stairs to supper led to a
vestigation, and attendants who fore
ed their way into his room found that
he has escaped through one of the
windows.
The hospital authorities started a
search at once, and with the assist
ance Of the Providence police traced
Mr.. Tracy to the steamship Tonnes
see. Officials of that vessel declared a
man answering the editors descrip-
ton went aboard at Providence. He
did not secure a stateroom and neith-
ed did he register.
He gave letters to one OF the por-
tiers and asked that they be mailed
when the steamship reached New
York.
One Of the letters written aboard
the vessel, perhaps more than n
other, contained a passage telling of
the frightful torture which the man
underwent.
Telling Of Tortures.
1t reads:
Il was in one or two states at But
Ter hospital, ether intense agony or
impious Indifference to everything.
The three months at Butler were all
endeavors to conceal my real condi-
ton from the nurses and doctors. ]
did not succeed, Of course, partially
because the doctors knew how l was
and partially because they found by
my blunder a letter to a friend in
which ! told the whole story.
For two weeks at first l tried to