Newspaper Page Text
THE mORNlGr TJ!ME5.ffsg-yDA.Y, -APRlL 25, 1897. 13 fl IDE L '-1 li ,- m rni Tjr 1 - 'Z- "1-r '' ' 'lmi2-ll2mmmmmm -t--'S--t iP 'J " " T" mmmamimimm a il W K"mmmm' SHE-BHAeBEITI! ASLEEP Miss Annie Rossman a Most Re marlial)le Somnambulist. LIFE OF STRANGE ADVENTURE Her Incursions Are Always Made . VliJIe She Is Clad In a Nitfit Dre.-s and "Without Shoes or Stoelt- jUR(, HatulciiffK and Chains Fail to Keep Iler Indoors. A pretty girl is now being treated at the Ararahoc county hospital in Denver, who has broken tin' record in somnambu libin. Iler name in Aimie Rossman, and during lier excursions wliile asleep she lias leea Tescued from injury or deatli by the police nioie than 150 times. Bolts, bars, Handcuffs, and chains all failed to keep her within her room, and clad in her night TOte, she has roamed the streets or .Denver night after night. Everything possihlcwab doni' to cure the voting woman of her strange mania but to no purposf until she was placed in the hospital where she bab been caiefully watclied by an attendant, and cold water tlirowuln herface every Urn" she sought to leave her bed or escape. Tlilh plan seemH to beprovingeffiencious and for the present at least, her slecii-walklng career ha been brought to a tl'se. The story of her ex periences is marvelous, and there is no rec ord of any man or woman somnambull.sC who liab undeigone the perils that have fallen to her lot and escaped a falality. For eight years Miss Itossman has been a sleepwalker", ever since she was eighteen years old. She is a stenographer at pres ent, but her affliction has forced her to abandon her chosen plan, and work as a domestic. Under ordinary circumstances she seems to be possessed of unusual in telligence, and her education is excellent. In appearance she is icmaikably pretty, a perfect specimen or the blonde. She is both striking in physique and comely in feature. It is almost marvelous to consider the II 1 . l.. liniin Vi.mtl 11,1 LMIIVillEkf llll IIIUUIUUO 111.11- HIIVU UCU1 uiiriivv-ciiui... 2JiiIoiif-1 .- ctriti ltir rrnm liir nnoturual excursions. The windowbpf her room bave LeeSpckea and the key to Hie ooor hidden, but toho purpose. So Tar as the biding pluee of tlhvkey is concerned, slie has always, seemed"" ;Hsessed of almost supernatural powers, forSxlhe key was hidden in her own room she has invariably found it. When the door was locked from the outside she managed to cleverly pick the lock, and make her way to the street. At other times she hub I een tied in her bed so securely that it seemed as if in no way would she be able to release herself." In this regard she has exhibited the skill or the conjurer, for no knot couldbe tied that bhe was unable to loosen, and no mat ter how tiie ropes were arranged bhe al ways found a way to release herself. Handcuffs have been attached to her wrists and then chained to the bed, but her hands slipped through the lings in her sleep in a fashion that she could not ex plain when she awoke. In a waking con dition she could never perform the ieat At another time the key to her mom was placed in the bottom of a land or water that letted in one corner of hei apartment. But she t-ccuied the key, and the contact with the chilled fluid did not awaken her. There lias been no particular method Which she Jias followed in her walkh about the city, and. contrary to the general idea regai ding somnambulists, bhe has rarely seemed to have a definite idea of doing any paiticular thing on any occa sion. About thu only instance when she dis- Unctly i emenibcred having a puiposc in view, was the time when she wag found seated on a letter box with her aim around the lamp-post, when she declared bhe had believed herself to be seated on a rail at the theater with her arm about one or the supporting pillars This fact of general lack of intention is all the more singular because of the accepted beltu" that the actions of sleepwalkeis are meiely the f iiMilliiiint or dieanib tl at have seized upon them. One of the most narrow escapes she has had. i 1 not the narrowestot all. was on the occasion of a tiip she is supposed to have started ou to North Denver. She reached the bridge which crosses Cheiry Creek, close by the Old City Hall, but instead of crossing the btructurd made her way down by its s-ide, and apparently started for a walk through the water. It so happened that the creek was not "boom ing to any great extent just then, and a policeman happened to see her action, and rescued her from drowning. Even the bhock of the water did not fairly waken her, and it was several moments after her rescue before she entirely regained consciousness. It has always happened that whenever Hiss Rossman left her room and home nt night on one of these sleep-walking trips, she has never stopped to don any clothing beside the night robe, and has been guiltless of shoes or stockings. Just how bhe could so often make her way nhuut Denver's streets in this costume unobserved is a matter of almost as much mystery as the real cause of the afflic tion which has rendered her miserable Tor eight years. One night a few months ago, when she was 'living at Twenty-first and California streets, she left her home about midnight and wandered down Twenty-first to Cur tis street. When in front of the Curtis street hoi-chotwc a Twenty-second street cable car came upon her unexpectedly, and she was knocked down and to one side, entirely escaping injury except a few slight bruises. As usual, she was clad only in her night robe. She was picked up and taken into the hosehouse aud re turned to her home in the ambulance. One night not long ago she walked from her home clear down to the Uuion railway station. This time, however, she had lain down without removing her clothing, and so atti acted lass attention. She sat in the station awhile, where her peculiar actions were noted, but there was no suspicion that she was asleep. Finally she -went to the ticket agent's window and bought a ticket for Cheyenne. Then she left the station, made her way to the railroad traoks, divc-ted herself of most of her clothing and walked up the track toward the approaching train. Fortunately the cngineei saw her In lime to stop before he reached her, although she was walking toward the locomotive all the time. Agaia, she made her way down to Six teenth street one evening, or rather early In the morning, when there were quite a number or heavy wngons passing up the street, and calmly walked in front of one of the largest that was going west at a lively gait. The driver saw her and pulled up his horses, but she certainly would have been badly injured had not a policeman seen her Austin time and pulled her fairly from be neath the horses' feet. She was not even scratched. The stoniest danger which she ever en countered, even greater than In the Cherry Creek Incident, was one time when she attempted to leave her room, located in the third story of her home, via the window. She crept through the window, having rais ed the lower sash, and 'grasping the sill -with both hands, swungherseirout. As for tune would have it, a policeman happened to be passing along at the moment and saw what she had Tlono. lie raailo his way into the house, rushed up tho stairs, broke in the door of her room, aud seizing her bythc wristb, pulled her back into the apartment. Not until she was again in her own room did she realize what had happened. An amusing Incident of her experience was the first and only time she gave an exhibition of dancing on the street. That evening she walked clear to Arapahoe btreet, between Twenty-third and Twenty fourth. Standing near a corner, to the amazement of several children and two or three pedestrians who" happened to ap proach and see her, she began a scries of movements very like the double shuffle of a negro minstrel. No officer chanced to be near, and no one interfered. The movements of her feet and limbs grew more and more rapid, while her body swayed rrom stde to side, after the fashion of the Xnutch girl. Then, Hinging her arms above her head, she danced wildly and continued this at intervals without attempting to leave the corner, until a patrolman on his beat took her by the arm aud walked her toward the sta tion. She did not awaken until almost at the station door. v Once after she had left her home onone of these trips she apparently imagined herseir a lineman, for she essayed climb ing a telegraph pole, and succeeded in making her way well toward the top be fore she was discovered. She was lest ing in this fashion near the top of the pole, when a policeman happened to see her. Here was a quandary. If rnyone shouted to her, she might awake and fall to the ground. The officer could not climb the pole, so finally a ladder was procured from a neighboring fire-engine-house and placed against the pole- a. stalwart fire mau mounted it, and a moment later had Miss Rossman in his arms. Strangely enough, she awakened almost instantly and in a terrible fright She was taken home, and, though prostrated by the shock for several days, suffered no permanent Illness. Miss Rossman is disinclined to discuss the strange events that have surrounded the last few years of her life, butin order to make entirely clear the state of her mine at present, and how she looks upon tho events that have occurred, has writ ten the following statement: "To the Editor: "I fully realize that only for the good ness of peoplein general I should cer tainly have been In my grave before this, as I have, according to what has been told me, been often rescued by some kind man In time of danger. This, of course, I apprciate more than words can express. It can easily be realized how embarrass ing a position it Is for one to awjikcnand find herself In tho company of a policeman or In the patrol wagon attired only In her night robo. 'I have often bcon censured for things I oould not help, but there arc all kinds of people in this world, and I suppose we must expect to rseet them. I feel now that am going to he well in a short time, as I am undergoing the treatment that will THE GRANT MONUMENT AS IT WILL APPEAR nnnniinMif lif, rtffonfl.ol T HIT! stDftlPll Tl- 41jrjJtlll.JiiiJ ui. i.ii,wuuiii- .. ..... ...-- ,- peatedlyin various ways. One is by dash ing cold water in my face. Again, my clothes arc hidden, and I seem to possess a certain degree of modesty which does not desert me even in an unconscious con dition. "As for my part, I believe my affliction is not the ordinary sleep or somnambulism, for according to reports I am very hard to awaken, and naturally would take a few moments to renlize where I was. It has been a fearful experience and I am sure but for the weakness and sin of the action I should have put an end to it long ago. Perhaps all this strange trouble of mine will some day be explained. I am begin ning to feel that after all my life is worth finishing up. About all the things that are saidto havehappeaed to me really occurred,, for I had no idea what 1 was doing, and never acted according to dreams as they say most sleepwalkers do. "1 fully realize how often I have been near death and I know that onlyt what seemed to me a series of miracles has per mitted me to be here to write this story. My only hopeis I may never have any more such adventures. "ANNIE ROSSMAN." Miss Rossman is a native of Pecola, Kan.,andanumber of members of her fam ily now reside there. When she first began to walk in her sleep the attacks were not frequent, and it was only after she became a resident of Denver that her mania grew upon her. It is believed this was due to the air that Ik round at the high altitude inwhich Denver is located. Physicians who have studied MI.se Ross man's case say that her trouble is largely due to the sluggish condition of the blood. During the time she is under the influence of somnambulism her race is almost as pale and cold as that of a person who is dead. She is certainly the' most interest ing sleepwalker whose notions are re corded In medical history. 2sev Use for the "Wheel. A rather curious case occurred In Dublin not long ago. It appears that a lunatic es caped from an asylum and, having armed himself with a revolver, began tome pretty close firing in the busiest thoroughfare of the town. A policeman who attempted to disarm the patient was seriously wounded, after which the Insane man took to flight. An inspector and a constable went in pur suit, but seemed to have little chance for success. At that instant a young bicyclist appeared on the scene, took In thesituation at a glance, and, bending hib body over the handle-bars, rode straight for the fugitive with all his might. The collision was a terrific one, but, strangely enough, the poor lunatic was almost unhurt, while the youth was picked up in an unconscious condition and the wheel was a wreck. The method of capturing.the unfortunate patient was undeniably a severe one, but it no doubt saved many people from theindiscriminato use of the revolver. Chicago News.. GRANT'S FAMOUS MESSAGE. Ills Good WiJ' .areas to the Ameri can reople. OnEasterSundayalmosttwelvcyearsago toadayGen.GrantsentouthisIabtmessage to the American people. It was a true Easter message, a message bearing tid ings of peace and good will. The wires flashed the few simple words from North to South, from, East to West, and the lips of a nation took them up and re peated them to the echo. Even the most unrelenting of the rebels Telt that the man or war was a man of peace now, and they breaths! t wish that all might be well with him to his end, which was nearing. Thus his message was realized to the fullest extent. Dr. George F. Shratly, Gen. Grant's physician, really inspired this message, and it was dictated to him. When asked to tell how Gen. Grant dictated this mes sage, Dr. Shradysald: "There arc' several reasons why this message should be or .particular inteiest just now. In the first place, as the time set for the dedication of the Grant Monu ment approaches, everybody is interested in Gen. Grant as a man of peace, and this, the only message he, sent out to the American people dining, his long ill ness, was pre-eminently a peace message. Then, too, it was Issued ,on the last Easter Sunday or his Jlfe, and it seems particularly appropriate that it should be brought to light at this. glad season. Everything connected with that day is as clear to me as irit(vere but yester day. It was clear and crisp a perfect day for the time of year for it was on the 5th or April, 188D. Gen. Grant, as nearly everyone knows, lived at No. 3 East Sixty-sixth strept. jHe occupied the second-story front room, which has a large bay window ( overlooking the street and Fifth avenue. Just to the left of this room was a. small room fitted up as an office. It jyas cool enough for him to have a fire in his grate, I re member, and he was sitting directly in front of it in a big chair. "On the Wednesday night previous he had fallen almost into a stato of collapse, and it looked very muGh as if the end was at hand. But he rallied, and by Sunday began to realize that he had pulled through a crisis. He felt that he was near his death, and was In that state of mind where a man gives rein to his In nermost thoughts, Presently he put his elbows up on the arms of his chair and put the fingers or his two hands together and began to look into the fire with a far away expression, as he always did when in deep thought. Whenever he assumed this attitude, no one interrupted him, for It .was a sign that he wished to com mune with himself. He sat thus for some time, and finally fell asleep. "In the meantime I walked over to the window and stood looking at the crowd in the street It was alive with" WHEN COMPLETED. people from all the walks of life. Wom en attired in elegant Easter gowns and bonnets stood' side by side with maid servants, and millionaires were right in line with men or all work and day labor ers. All stood silent, and gazed anxious ly up at the general's windows. They didn't seem to be there out of morbid curi osity, but because they were interested, and they could not have possibly been more respectful in their bearing. "Presently Gen. Grant awakened, and 1 said to him: " 'General, we've had a fine April shower while you were asleep, and it scattered tlte great crowd who had gath ered in the street to watch your windows, but the sun is out again, and they are all back with lots of others besides." " 'It is a beautiful day,' he said, com ing over to the window and taking hi stand by me. Then he began to look down on the people in the street. He stood behind the curtains, and they could not see him that day, but frequently dur ing his illness when he went to the win dow to look out the people would catch a glimpse of him, and off every hat would" go. This always pleased him. " 'Sec what all these people think of you,' said I. 'They come here day after day, all sorts and conditions or men and women, and gaze quietly up at your win dows.' " Yes,' he answered, 'I'm "very grateful for their sympathy,' and then he walked over and sat down in front of the fire again, putting his hands up in his medita tive attitude. " 'General, why wouldn't It do for you to express that gratitude?' I said. 'All these bulletins I send out are about pain and temperature. The people would be so glad to have a message directly from you.' " 'I would like them to know that I am appreciative,' he said, and then he was silent. "I sat down at a table near him, and presently he said: " 'Write: Gen. Grant has just awak ened from a short nap, and expresses him self as being very comfortable.' "Here he stopped, and then continued: " 'Ho wishes it stated that he is very much touched by, and very grate tul for, the prayerful sympathy and interest mani fested for him by his friends and by those' hero, lie hesitated again, and then continued 'and by those who have not been regarded as such.' ".'Rut. gencrat,' said I, "why not dic tate something in the first person and Bign It?' " 'NO,' he answered, 'It is much bettor coming from you. How would it look for me to send out a bulletin about inyseir? You might say for me, "I desire the good will of all, whether heretofore friends or not.' " Dr. Shrady was reading from his steno graphic note3 as he talked. He put the document down, and handed to the repor- ter another, saying; "Here is the message as I wrote itout and submitted it to the general." It is written In pencil on a piece of yel low paper torn from a pad, and reads as follows: "Gen. Grant has Just awakened from a short nap and expresses himself as being very comfortable. He wloiies icstated that he is very much touched by, and very grateiul for, the pray erful sympathy manifested for him by his friends and by those who have heretofore not been regarded as such. "He says: 'I desire the good will of all, whether heretofore friendsor not.' "GEORGE F. SHRADl'. "April 5, 1885, 5:15 p. m." "Gen. IJadeau came into the room," Dr. Shrady went on, "just as Gen. Grant dic tated his last sentence, aud he cried: ' "Splendid, splendid! Stop right there. Gen. Grant. I wouldn't say another word.' "No bulletin was ever sent out without being first approved by the general's fam ily, particularly Mrs. Grant; but, as the general dictated this one , it was not deemed necessary to show It to her-before sending it to the little office on Madison avenue, between Sixty-fifth and Sixty-sixth streets, from which place all bulletins were issued. Ofcourso, as soon as it fell into the hands of Frank W. Mack, who was stationed at that office to cover the Grant case for the press all over the country, the wires were hot with it. "A Tew minutes after it had been sentout Mrs. Grant came Into the room, aud I said to her: " 'Gen. Grant has Just Issued an Easter message to the people,' and I handed to her this copy. "She objected to it because no recogni tion of the prayers offered for her husband had been made, and said we must recall the message and remedy that, r sent a bulletin boyovertoMackatonce.askinghlmtohold the message. So you see that word'prayer fuf has quite a history. The message had already gone on some of Its ways, and the question was how to alter It so as not to change the whole context. I suggested to Mrs. Grant that 'prayerful' be inserted be fore sympathy, and she expressed hersel f as being satisfied, so I started at once for,.thc telegraph office to attend to the matfer.'' Henmrhable Family. The tramp who "lost everything In the Mississippi floods" is now abroad in the land. One of them approached a benevo lent old gentleman In Atlanta Sunday. "And you say," said the old gentleman, "that your children were drowned in the flood?' "Yes sir," replied the tramp, wiping his eyes with his coatslecve; "seventeen of 'em, sir!" "God bless me!" exclaimed the old gen tleman, "you are a young man, scarcely thirty, and " 'T know it, sir," Interrupted the weep ing trnmp, "but they wuz all twins!" Atlanta Constitution. Scotland's Famous "Plighting Stane O'Lairg." COMES TO CANADIAN MUSEU3J Thousands of Fair 3In!ds and Hrave Gallants Have I'Ughted TrotU. Through This Odd aud ileinorablo "Work of suture Nothing I.fee 16 in AH the "World. A famous relic of ancient lore and lava has just been placed in the Canaman In stitute Museum at Toronto. It lb "the Plighting Stane O'Lairg." lt history goea farther back than anyone can re uiember.far beyond the time when leconls weie kept. It is known, however, to have been used by the mystic Diuiils. centuries before Robert Bruce and Ms hold clan made Scotland ling with their shouts and the sound of battle. For It is a Sccttl-sh stane, of course Its name tells that. It ib declared by those who know that thousands of true Scottish heart- have plighted troth through an oiiflce well toward the top that was made by naturo more centuries ago than one hkes to think: of. This i emarkable Druldical relic would be a fit companion to the .Blarney Stone, for while y one the tongue gains power to charm, by the other one Is enabled to win the charmer. Theie is nothing llko the stane in all the world, and It Is ma sidered a matter of very great surprise that the gcod folk of Sutheilandsliire. tho original home of "the stane, ever allowed it to be taken fiom the place where it has stwid so long that centuries have grown old aud gray. Mr. David Boyle, curator of tin-Canadian Museum, tren-mres the stone as he would the apple or his eye. He is greatly en thused over the addition to the museum. This Is what he writes concerning it: "To the Editor: What is prooaWy tho ol.Jest European stone relic iu America, not excepting even Cleopatra's Needle in Central Park, is the 'Plighting Stane O'Lairg,' now In the Ontario Archtological Muscumiu Toronto. Thisancientmemorial or the faith and superstition of our ances tors is supposed to date as far back aa the days of the Druids In Great Britain. For cent.irics It was connected with tha life history of the people in the north of. Scotland, where it was regarded as a silent witness to the vows and pledges of young and old In matters of love and commerce. "Pcottisi marriage ceremonies have al ways been characterized by simplicity, and those brought a'jout through the Plighting Stone O'Lairg are regarded as peculiarly sacred. Here the lovers meet in trie first! Instance, merely to promibe earn other faithfulness, and on a subsequent occasion, to renew th-ir vows and accept each olner for better or worse- Disgrace eternal, or even death, was suppo-ed follow the vio lation of such a pledge, " so universal was the belief in the virtuV or an oath or affirmation made through this stane, that it was resjrtsd to by all, and in the making of every kind of bargain. -Sales of land, exchanges or cattle, pru chases or all sorts aud agreements to per form military or domestic service wero ratified in the presence of a witness at th Plighting Stane. of did the prnctic ceaso when better light dawned on the people. Even the reformation did not eradicate a belief In its virtues, and up to a very re cent date it was the custom or the people to travel for many miles in order to avail themselves of the peculiar saercdness ttiati attached itself to promises samtiiied b7 this medium. "It is on record traditionally that numer ous attempts have been made by ecclesi astical authorities to do away with the superstitious belief, but in vain. Kirk ne-sH'iis icou-steti. but the !... j-.t- i.eitved The schoolmaster, however, appeared, and faith in the stone began to wane. Still, It was not until the ancient relic was re moved from its old place in an offshMU from one of the church walls that its glory departed. It was presented to the Ontario Museum through Mr. Hugh Nicliol, of Stratford, by Miss Mary Rncbanan, ot Lairg, and it may interest the donor to know that even in the New World; and in the light of almost twentieth century knowledge, some affectionate couples still stand on opposite sides of the stone and. surreptitiously grasp hands. "DAVID BOYLE." It was quite a victory for the Canadian institution to gain this stone, as it had a very formidable competitor in Oxrord Uni versity, the faculty of which had no liking forthe thought, even, or this famous old relic leaving bonnie Scotland. It is told that when the day came for i& to be boxed up far away in Sutherland shire that there was groauing and ex ceeding la mentation on all shies. Would tho luck o' Lairg depart with the sdnne? That was the question that was asked, and many were those who believed that Us going signified bad fortune. Thus far, however, is has seemed a stano of good fortune, for the clotds of trouble have not hovered over Lairg, neither has any ill-fortune come to Toronto because the static was moved. There is an old f.mp snnerstition among the peasantry all through Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales that those ancient stones, which mark places of worship of the Druids so many years ago, should never be inter fered with- To remove them, says su perstition, Is to invite a fierce contest) m with the furies. It yon live by a river and do anything or this sort, look out for the kelpie, that comes in the night and brings sore trouble If you live In a moun tainous or hilly district, the gnomes will surely descend upon you with hideous faco and wicked leer, and brew trouble tho whole nightlong. Now, all these things did the people of Lairg and the courageous museum official- at Toronto face- If what the story books tell Is true, the kelpie and the gnome can cross the Atlantic ocean in about five min utes, if they want to- There are unkind persons, however, who say that these little people never exist outside the story-boofc and legend, and among them are numbered the persons who have been concerned in the removal of this stane. This new importation ha" become an ob ject of themostdcclded Intercttoresiiicnt3 of and visitors to Toronto. Thinkof plight ing troth with your sweetheart where per haps Robert Brtic himsclfonce performed the same action! Doubtlc.. too, thosa unkind persons who are not Inclined to be trustful may feel that plijshting their troth to a woman surrounded by thvso superstitious memories may have suffi cient Influence over her to make her stick to her agreement, and not repent in favor of some other fellow. The ancient cus tom regarding thetonci3,a Curator Boyla Hays, being revived to a considerable ex tent in Toronto. A Toronto genins has suggested a. plight ing stane party, in whtoh the gu jsts shall each assume a costume In keeping with uiiiw niTlod during the many centuries of existence of this ancient memorial to love and faith. One lady to whom ipc sug gestion or this party w.-is made, stated that She thought it would be v.-ry good plan to present a tableau of Faith, Hopo and Chanty In this connection Knlth in the stnnc's pat, Hope that it might In fluence the people or today who went, through the ancient ceremony to keep the faith that they pledged, ami Chanty for those unwise person.- who pin hope and faith to a woman's word-