(1885) 25 Years With The Insane by Daniel Putnam, 1824-1906
(1885) 25 Years With The Insane by Daniel Putnam, 1824-1906
(1885) 25 Years With The Insane by Daniel Putnam, 1824-1906
WITH
The Insane
D.PUTNAM
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TWESTY-FIVE YEARS
-WITH —
THE INSANE
By daniel~;putnam,
DETROIT :
Winn A. Hammond,
PRINTERS AND BINDERS,
DETROIT, MICH.
PREFATORY NOTE.
The author desires, in this way, to acknowledge
his obligations to the Superintendents of the asy-
lums for the insane in Michigan, and especially
to Dr. Palmer, of Kalamazoo, for his kindness in
ical suggestions. ^ • •
....
Messrs. Winn & Hammond also deserve grate-
ful mention for the beautiful form in which the
book apioears.
•^'?i4?.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER. PAGE.
I. IXTRODUCTORY AND PERSONAL, 1
CHAPTER I.
sion, not
if the cause, of much suffering and evil to
individuals. And not unfrequently such persons
have a very strong desire for such reading and
conversation. The chaplain likely be
will very
these
reproached for apparently neglecting patients,
and the officers in charge will be accused of cruelty
for refusing permission to attend church or chapel
exercises.
The inquiry has frequently been made of me by
those not familiar with the interior life of an asylum
for the insane, whether the services of a chaplain can
be of any value to the inmates of such an insti-
real
tution. My present position will enable me to ex-
press an opinion upon this question free from the
supposed influence of personal interest.
The inquiry comes, in most cases, from persons
who do not know, or fail to keep in mind, the widely
differing classes of inmates and the numerous
varieties
of mental disease. Patients suffering from complete
dementia, or from violent attacks of acute mania, are,
for the time, beyond the reach of instruction or of hu-
man consolation by any direct communication of mind
with mind by ordinary religious services. But
among almost all other classes of inmates there are
very many individuals who receive, directly or
given that they are not cast out from friendly and
Christian society and from personal and Christian
8 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
due credit.
Observation has also impressed me with the belief
that much insanity might be prevented. This is
true, I suppose, of most forms of disease, but it seems
to mebe peculiarly true in respect to mental dis-
to
orders. The opinion
is very general that insanity
CHAPTER II.
and fetters.
Hospitals and asylums were unknown in the old
world. Near the temples of ^sculapius, the god of
medicine and patron of physicians, houses were some-
times built for the reception of visitors who came to
seek advice and direction of the deity, either for them-
selves or for suffering friends. But these were
merely places of shelter and refuge, and not hospitals,
in the modern acceptation of the name, where medi-
cal care and attendance could be had. Organized
charities, either of a public or private character, for
the support or relief of the aged, the unfortunate, the
destitute, the sick, the blind, or the insane, had
no
place in the civilizations which preceded the Christian
era.
16 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
Europe.
In England the first house of a public, or semi-
public, for the insane, was
character established
Bethlehem Hospital, in London. Some shadows of
doubt and uncertainty have gathered about the ori-
gin of this institution. Statements put forth by dif-
ferent writers do not harmonize with each other.
The hospital seems to have been founded, about
WITH THE INSANE. 25
upon a money-box ;
we turned in through another
iron barricade, where we heard such a rattling of
chains, drumming of doors, ranting, hollowing, sing-
ing, and running, that I could think of nothing but
Don Quevedo's Vision, where the lost souls broke
loose and put hell in an uproar."
In one of his famous pictures in the "Rake's Prog-
ress,"Hogarth represents two ladies of fashion visit-
ing this hospital while the keeper is putting fetters
upon the poor rake. Near by stands a person sup-
posed to be the doctor, and the miserable woman
who has followed the rake in his downward course
is looking on. A
conspicuous figure in the picture is
a maniac, lying on straw in one of the cells, with a
chain distinctly in view. A
man, who imagines him-
self a king, is seen in another cell, wearing a crown
of straw. Several other insane characters can be
readily recognized, among them an astronomer, a
musician, and a high ecclesiastic. The whole repre-
sentation has a profound historical interest. Hogarth
seems to have drawn from life.
X
28 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
CHAPTER V.
Pennant, who
visited the spot in 1769, writes,
" The of the place is the well of the saint,
curiosity
of power unspeakable in cases of lunacy. The
patient is brought into the sacred island, is made to
kneel before the altar, where his attendants leave an
offering of money; he is then brought to the well
and sips some of the holy water; a second offering is
made that done, he is thrice dipped into the lake,
;
heart, some the head, some the liver, some the stom-
ach, and others to purify the blood. Hellebore is a
favorite remedy, as it was among the old Romans.
Another author recommends for epilepsy and
lethargy, poultices of ligs and mustard applied to the
head. Feverfew was said to be " good for such as be
melancholy, sad, pensive, and without speech."
Bachelors' buttons were prescribed to be " hung in a
linen cloth about the neck of him that is lunatic, in
the wane moon, when the sign shall be in the
of the
first degree of Taurus or Scorpio."
CHAPTER VI.
get rid of the bolts with which the patients were shut up at night,
on account of their harsh, ungrateful sound, and of their com-
municating to the asylum somewliat of the air and character of
a prison. The effects of such attention, both on the happiness of
the patients and the discipline of the institution, are more impor-
tant than may at first view be imagined. Attachment to the
place and to the managers, and an air of comfort and content-
ment, rarely exhibited within the precincts of such establishments,
are consequences easily discovered in the general demeanor of the
patients. It is a government of humanity and of consummate
skill, and requires no aid from the arm of violence and the exer-
tions of brutal force."
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
is
undoubtedly much greater if the patient can be
completely secluded, for a time, from all association
gaze.
As
a result of this necessary exclusion and of other
causes, against which no wisdom or prudence can
effectually guard, periodical outbursts of popular
feeling against asylums and their management are
liable to occur. Violent abuse is heaped upon trus-
tees, superintendents, officers, and employees gener-
ally. Newspapers are filled with stories of the most
fearful and terrible nature. Reports, gathered from
all sources, are eagerly received and accepted as
reliable evidence of shocking neglects and abuses.
Upon such testimony men and women of the noblest
WITH THE INSANE. 59
for tlie work of the hall and for the comfort and
welfare of the patients committed to his care, and is
furnished with as much assistance as the work
requires."
In the character, habits, and training of these
attendants is found a guaranty for the comfort and
humane treatment of the insane, scarcely less valu-
able than that found in the character of the Superin-
tendent and his immediate associates. The lady from
whose communication I have already quoted says,
—
"
In the fall of 1873, finding I was losing control of my mind,
and fearing to lose it wholly, I went to the asylum voluntarily.
I had ail confidence in the institution, from long acquaintance
with some of the attendants who had been there for years. I
was placed in the convalescent hall, and can speak confidently
of that. I received the most careful attention and kindest pos.si-
ble treatment from doctors and attendants; and my case was not
exceptional. In this hall were gathered ladies from all the other
wards, who had been removed there from time to time, as their
condition warranted. As there was no restriction placed upon
our social intercourse, I gathered from the general tone of remark
by patients and attendants from different halls, that harsh treat-
ment was censured, and that any attendant who was not uni-
formly kind to the patients was certain of dismissal, if the facts
were known at headquarters."
There is a most unfortunate inclination in the com-
CHAPTER IX.
regarded."
These things did not occur in the "dark ages" of
the far-off past. They are not imaginary fictions con-
"to point a moral or adorn a
tale." They
jured up
76 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
CHAPTER X.
I can not be ruined so. I must go. Keep me, if you dare.
They need not fear wliat I will say. They can say I was insane.
But all the imputations of insanity placed on me are false, and
with eyes intelligently open I have tried to save my brain.
Talent and character were to make my way, and they have tried-
to rob me of both. . . Can you imagine anything
.
worse than a heart and brain crushed by all the hellish devices
the arch-fiend could prompt, under the regime of a beastly dragon
of a woman? In the effort to make me of like passions with
themselves thoy have spared no pains to tear me from ray moor-
ings of religion and eradicate all I hold dear.
Could you know all of thought, emotion, and purpose that have
been born and died within me tlie past year, you would surely
say, this brain-wear were better devoted to practical purposes.
It never can be here. Shall any tell of good deeds wrought here
by me? No! They thwarted it by then- fiendish malignity and
brutality. I long for release to care for myself, and do my duty
by those who have done so much for me. Those who have done
all they could to ruin, need pretend no solicitude for my future.
honest industry, and ruin one of the best brains God ever gave a
woman. I must not plead in vani any longer.
Yours, etc..
going to write a letter for you to keep and read to revive your
drooping energies and spur your zeal for humanity.
If you can demonstrate that it is wise to come in contact with
degradingly when one might live nobly, then could you be guilt-
less in allowing me to remain. But because you have suffered
me to languish here, I want you to think of me when you gather
around your well-spread table in the society of cultiired friends.
I want you to see pictures of madhouse revels in the fire-light.
I hope the wild winds of winter will shriek in your ears of my
Order No. 2.
with shot and shell, and horse and rider, and to strike for life.
doubtful, and that heart fails me for fear. ^ly Christian expe-
rience (if I have had any genuine religious exercises) has been of
a somewhat extraordinary character, in which mere feeling had,
I fear, too great a share. You may. however, be better able to
judge of this when you know something of my education and
training. [Here is given a frank recital of personal history and
experience, deeply interesting and touching in its character, but
intended, as indeed the whole letter was, only for the eye of a
sympathizing friend.]
Excuse my prolix epistle, and be so kind as to answer.
Ever your grateful friend.
and holy joy. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his
benefits.
Though I have severe trials that often blind my eyes with tears,
CHAPTER XI.
(6) Artificial
incitements to study, such as prizes,
etc., shouldvery seldom, if ever, be employed. I am
not unaware that excellent men and successful in-
structors hold different views. None the less, how-
ever, I have a deeply rooted conviction that such
means of stimulating the activity of students are
moral
open to the most serious objections, both upon
and mental The moral objections are not
grounds.
in place here. Their natural influence upon the
intellect is the primary consideration, and, as neces-
their effect upon the bodily
sarily related to this,
health and vigor. Referring to this subject, a writer
says,—
92 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
CHAPTER XII.
specially charged
with the production of insanity.
It does not appear that the members of one church
aremore mental aberration than
liable to attacks of
members of any other. Nor does it appear that the
peculiar doctrines of an accepted creed exert an
character of mental
appreciable influence upon the
delusions.
It is due, however, to truth to say that individuals
of peculiarly nervous and unstable organizations can
WITH THE INSANE. 97
"But this state of things did not long continue. One morn-
ing there suddenly fell upon me a trembling consciousness of
100 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
was, could avail w?e nothing. I was all sinfulness, and he must
everlastinglj^ hate me.
"But there came a change, and for manj'^ weeks my heart was
literally burdened with a sense of Christ's love, though I still
felt he could never save me from sin and misery. I felt he had
waited all my life long to be gracious, and was finally forced to
yield to the overwhelming consciousness that, despite my wicked
heart, he could make me loving and submissive; and, in all
humility, I gratefully accepted the cup of salvation from his
bountiful hand.
"But my periods of enjoyment were comparatively brief,
though intensely rapturous, so much so as to make me fear that
they were merely the excitement of highly wrought feelings.
While they continued I could not doubt their genuineness, but
when thej^ passed away I grew doubtful and rebellious. After
more than a year of such intense suffering, relieved only by brief
intervals of spiritual exaltation, I was again attacked with brain
fever, during which I lay at the point of death for many days,
being constantly delirious, and was left in a state of confirmed
insanity which was not relieved until after I came to the
Asylum."
It is more than probable that all this intense suf-
fering and many long months of almost hopeless
insanity might have been prevented, if parents and
teachers and spiritual guides had understood better
the laws of physical and mental and religious life.
A singular phenomenon presents itself in some
cases of mental disease. The delusion under which
a patient labors is of a religious or a semi-religious
character, although the previous life has not been in
any respect, not even by profession, religious ;
nor
has the mind of the person, so far as can be ascer-
tained, ever been specially inclined to dwell upon
102 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
CHAPTER XIII.
power of the
will, and thus destroys the vital
essence of all true manhood. Of the confirmed ine-
briate there is little hope: the foundation is terribly
shattered, if not absolutely swept away. "When he
would do good, evil is present with him." He is
wretched, and is an object of pity. But he is also guilty
— guilty of slow and deliberate suicide. Humanity,
religion, patriotism bid us, by all possible means,
save the —
young save them from dishonor, degrada-
tion, crime, insanity, idiocy.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XV.
INHERITED TENDENCIES AND INSANITY.
to instruct.
The doctrine of heredity, in its general form, is not
new. A law has always been recognized "by which
all beings endowed with life tend to repeat themselves
in their descendants." It is not a recent discovery
' '
Defective nerve-power and an enfeebled, debilitated mm-ale
form the favorite legacy of inebriates to their offspring. Some of
the circle, generally the daughters, may be nervous and hysteri-
cal; others, generally sons, are apt to be feeble and eccentric,
and to fall into insanity when an unusual emergency takes place.
That the impairment of the bodily or mental faculties arises from
intemperance of one or both heads of the family is demonstrated
by the healthfulness and intellectual vigor of the children born
while the parents were temperate, contrasted with the sickliness
and mental feebleness of their brothers and sisters born after the
parent or parents became intemperate. The most distressing
aspect of the heredity of alcohol is the transmitted narcotic or
insatiable craving for drink, —
the dipsomania of the physician, —
which is every day becoming more and more prevalent."
It is stated upon apparently good aiithority that
"the records of asylums all indicate that the tendency
to insanity, in some of its forms, is one of those most likely
to be inherited. It is thought that more than one half
of the admissions to English asylums present evidence
of an inherited taint. The same is probably true in
reference to admissions to asylums in the United
States."
It would be strange if statements of this kind,
fortified by statistics of the most formidable character,
and left without explanation or qualification, did not
influence upon the
produce a deep and depressing
minds of those who have reason to suppose sa'ch a
"Can a j'oung man who, from some taint of blood, has inher-
ited from his parents or ancestors that morbid desire for
stimulants, be secured from this brood of evils? Yes, if the
taint of blood is not so strong as to wholly enervate the will;
but he only by total abstaining. And is it not possible that by
so doing, and by intermarrying with a person in whose blood
there is no such taint, he may do much towards eliminating that
taint from his descendants?"
thing, and to have a parent or relative who may have been insane
may be quite another. The somewhat general impression that
the child of a parent who
has been insane, is quite sure to suffer
in the same manner, by no means correct; it is often mischiev-
is
have been insane; (2), that most forms of mental disease are
equally curable, whether the patient has sane or insane relatives;
(3), that individuals of ordinarily good mental and physical con-
CHAPTER XVI.
body of
fairly intelligent citizens, the opinion, or
belief, becomes of consequence to the law-making and
law-administering powers. Trials can not degenerate
into broad farces and courts into objects of ridicule
and contempt without serious danger to the highest
interests of the whole body of the people, to say
find insanity where they earnestly look for it, the latter protest-
"
quently found in what are known as criminal
CHAPTER XVII.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS.
Increase of Insanity. —
The figures of each successive
census seem to show an increase in the relative num-
ber of the insane inall the States of the Union. The
apparent probably somewhat greater than the act-
is
ual increase, from the fact that more care has been
taken during the last decades to obtain full and trust-
worthy information in relation to this subject. There
Prevention of Insanity. —
The true province of gov-
ernment is to prevent rather than to punish crime.
So, it seems to me, the great purpose of medical
science and of physicians should be the prevention
rather than the cure of disease. This is especially
l-i-i TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
Treatment of the
Young.
—
This topic necessarily
received some consideration in a previous chapter,
but its importance will justify a few additional
remarks. Many serious nervous and mental diseases
have their origin in early childhood, or in that critical
twenty-four. Some
persons need even more, and a
few can retain good health with less. The demand
of the system for sleep is modified by age and, to
some extent, by emploj^ments. It was formerly
taught that brain-workers could satisfy the wants of
nature with fewer hours of sleep than men engaged
in mere manual labor. This idea has been aban-
doned, and it is now universally conceded that
vigorous mental activity exhausts the vital force and
the nervous energy more than muscular exercise, and
calls for a corresponding increase in the time set apart
for rest.
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