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A Maniac's Crimes

A Maniac's Crimes image
Parent Issue
Day
26
Month
July
Year
1878
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

People in the vicinity of Rhea Springs were thrown into wild excitement Sunday by the peculiar antics of a religions monomaniao named Collins. At 5 a. ra. he went into the Methodist Church ani tore np all the books, as he said, ' ' to get the devil out of them." He tben passed through and out of town, a distancs of two miles. Concluding that the devil was in his clothing, and that Jesus had commissioned him to go into church as naked as he had come into the world, he pulled off his clothing, and in a state of nature started back on a dead run, followed by a constantly-increasing multitude of people, who faiïed to overtake him. Passing through town, he flnally approached the church, then occupied by a Snnday-school. A man atattempted to stop him, and was knooked senseless by a stone. Anotherhe felled with his fiat. By this time a crowd had gathered about him, but, owing to his profuse perspiration, which made him as slippery as an eel, it was difficult to hold him. Once secured and bound, he was taken to jaü at Washington. Monday morning the jailer went ia to f eed him. He seemed perfectly quiet and harmless. As the jailer passed inside tlie cell door and turned to lock ifc, however, Collins picked up a heavy board and struck him on the back of the head, knocking him down, and then beating hia head into a jelly. The jailer's wife subsequently came in to see what had become of her husband, but, raising her dress to go tip stairs, did not see Collins until she got to the top. He was covered with blood from head to foot. Collins at once struck her a violent blow on the head, knocking her head over heels down the stairway. He rushed to the cell coutaining his bloody victim and

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus