The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1920-02-26

nightmare. Some of walk have walked in
our sleep; most of Us know people who do And
a few Of US have Lad experiences so similar to
that of James Sapienza that shfver at the
remembrance of them
Those of who have had such experiences can
readily understand why J. s. Plumb, a manufac-
turing chemist of Jersey City, was impelIed to
write the following letter the prosecutor of
Newark:
81 am strikingl. reminded of a painful expe-
Hence OF mine many years ago, and 1 relate it
to you for what it may be worth bearing some
what cOrrObOratively upon the Sapenza case.
Early in my married life was in the habit Of
sleeping with revolver under the mattress at
the head Of my bed. kept it there because it
was equally as accessible but much less in danger
OF accidental discharge when under my pillow.
lone night 1 had wild dream of graphing
with burglar, and was awakened by my wife's
scream, or by my own action, both. to find, to
my horror, that had my wIfe's head under my
left arm while was digging for my revolver with
my right
at all in minute, with no serious
damage being committed but it a dreadful
thing, had naturally grabbed my wife rough
". It made realize that might have killed
my beloved wife had secured the weapon before
fully awaking, would have been quite probable
had it been little handler under the pillow.
Never again, said, and the revolver has been
banished to even less accessible place"
The literature of dreams is voluminous, as is
to be expected from mans interest in these mys-
teries of that mystery we call sleep. Science
attempting to classify dreams, has set aside
class which it calls nightmares or incubuses
To those which go beyond the limits of the Ordi-
nary nightmare it has applied the name "som-
nambulistic autOmatism.' In this class are in
Guided the nocturnal adventures in which persons
commit violent acts of which they retain no wax
ing knowledge. Apparently the person is sleep
ing he appears to have entered state which
is short OF total oblivion vet beyond the dividing
line of consciousness. Evidently to them the
real and the unreal are confused; the unreal
is to them as real as real itself Dream re-
suits in physical action.
Certain it is that have little exact knoHi-
edge of the essential nature of consciousness
even in our waking hours. We do know how.
ever, that merely portion of the mental life z,
represented in clear consciousness Many ca
pick brain processes are carried on in the pres
ence Of a consciousness slight as to be prac.
dcally absent, and the organic functions of the
human machine performed without any con-
seriousness whatever,
There is theory that dreams are frequently
merely the working out Of suppressed desires"
Several OF the crimlnologists, somewhat in cor
rOboration Of this theory, hold that the commits
sion OF crimes during sleep is entirely possible
under certain conditions. They express the be-
lief that the power OF suggestion is so strong that
in cases OF somnambuIistie autonIatism the
sleeper is the victim OF selfhypnosis and carries
out the idea which in his waking moments had
obsassed him.
Says DR.. Smith Ely JelIiffe Of New York. au-
thor OF work which devotes considerable space
to disordered dreams: without in any way
be admitted that a crime like his under such cir
cumstances alleged by the defendant is entirely
possible"
Assuming that James Sapienza has told the
whole truth is the unfortunate man answerabIe
TO the law for killing his wife?