Pueblo County, Colorado
Insane Asylum Patients
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 11-19-1899 – The choking of an insane man to death. The brutal treatment of James Thomas, the decrepit, half insane “Buckskin Jimmy.” Food not fit to be fed to hogs, much less to patients, demanding the best of care and nutritious diet. ___ ____ from the porters and the ______ of nurses, many of whom are inexperienced. Foul, nauseating odors that are allowed to permeate the buildings. Such are the claims in an indictment against the county hospital. It is told by I. N. Tooke, a well known mining man and promoter, whose friends took him from the hospital last week. What he saw while an inmate of the institution is of such disgusting brutality that it justifies his impassioned statement: “If the people of Denver knew what was going on at the county hospital they would tear it down and burn it up.” … “I entered the hospital Sunday, October 22, from St. Joseph's hospital. I was in an intensely nervous state, due to an overindulgence in liquor. My physician was Dr. Hopkins. October 27, an insane man, a strong, large, able-bodied patient, was brought in. It is the rule to bathe patients before they are put to bed. It seems this man was obstinate – he did not want to be bathed. There was a struggle, the sounds of which made the faces of the patients blanch. Then the bath room door opened and the man, gasping, and with his tongue black and swollen, hanging six inches from his lips, was thrown on a stretcher and carried to the insane cells in the basement. I was not in that portion of the hospital, but those of the patients who had been, told me it is more of a stable than anything else, although not half as comfortable. He was locked in a cell, cold and moist – for the basement is underground – without a pallet to place his head upon. When he left the ward his only garment was a shirt and a sheet. I do not know, of my own knowledge, whether or not he was clothed before he was locked in the basement cell. Next morning they brought him up into the ward. He lay gasping and barely alive. Inside of two hours he was dead. I firmly believe his neck was broken by the terrible choking he received. A porter called Grant told two patients in ward 8, Patsy McNamara and a poor fellow by the name of Van de Vere, and myself, the same morning, how they had treated the insane man. This is his language: 'We choked the ____ __ ______ down into the tub and he fought like a tiger. He fought four of us. We choked him until he had no sense. Then we choked him up.' I know that when the man lay unconscious in the tub they did not desist from their inhuman torture. They placed their arms under his chin and raised him by that means. I am convinced that his neck was broken and that he was choked to death. I am going to lay the entire matter before the coroner and asked that he have the body disinterred and examined. The death was hushed up at once. All efforts on my part to ascertain the name of the dead man were met with rebuffs. The order was: 'Do not give his name.' … I am willing to make an affidavit to everything I have said. It is gospel truth. I tell it because I am going to do everything I can for the poor wretches who are dying there in a manner that the Humane society would prevent, was it accorded to dogs.” (Mr. Tooke willingly gave the affidavit accompanying this article, after reading it over word for word, and making a few minor corrections. Ed. Post.) Note: Portions of this article were of poor copy quality and unreadable.
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 11-23-1899 – The Death of Jacob Uhl – Wife and Daughters at Last Learn How the Husband and Father Met His Death – The mother and daughter of Jacob Uhl, foreman of the Globe smelter, believe that he was choked to death in the county hospital. Patients at the hospital on October 26 witnessed the struggle between Uhl and the porters, and the facts have gradually leaked out. Though Uhl was temporarily insane and possessed of abnormal strength, he was choked into submission by four porters. From the sworn statement of one of these witnesses the man was injured so that he died because he refused to enter a bath tub. The accusing women, wife and the daughter, denounce it as a murder. The shadow of the end of one they loved will never be removed. They do not ask pity, or seek consolation. Their grief has gone beyond tears. Jacob Uhl, for a long period foreman of the Globe smelter, was taken ill with brain fever, induced, said his physicians, from overwork. He was attended at his residence, 3607 Marion street, by his family. This was during the last week of October. The fever raged to such an extent that during October 25 he became possessed of the idea that he was in the smelter, that it was on fire, and to his distorted brain came visions of a great furnace, with flames leaping on every side and licking the floor at his feet. Leaping from his bed in his night clothes and underwear, he rushed downstairs, calling upon his wife and daughter to save themselves. They shut him in the dining room, alarmed and anxious. Wrenching open the door, he bounded past them in an insane desire to get air and sprang through the window, carrying glass and sash. The neighbors, hearing the commotion, became alarmed. Word spread that Jacob Uhl was crazy, had threatened the life of his family, and someone notified the police. The ambulance with several men was sent to the scene. A large crowd had collected around the back yard of the Uhl residence. When the police arrived they found the foreman in the barn, and his daughter held by strong, yet sympathetic hands, from going to him. She understood her father and did not doubt her ability to lead him quietly into the house. “He will harm you,” they said. In the struggle to go to him her outer skirt had been ripped entirely from the band. Uhl was coaxed out of his place of refuge, seized and placed into the ambulance by half a dozen men. He did not want to go and struggled to get free. When the wagon drove off he was held down by an officer kneeling on his chest. What occurred at the hospital caused terror even through the insane wards. It is the custom to bathe every patient when received. Jacob Uhl was a powerful man. Four of the porters were called to accomplish it. They took Uhl in comparative submission to the bath room. When he saw the tub he began to struggle. The sounds of this sent a shudder throughout the adjoining ward. Screams gave way to inarticulate curses; there was the sound of a body being thrown in water. The bath room door crashed open and Uhl was thrown on a stretcher and carried to the insane cells in the basement. It was in this place, scarce conscious, that he spent the night. He had nothing but a miserable pallet on which to rest in a cold, damp basement. The patients who were in the ward declare that when he was taken on the stretcher down stairs he was clothed only in a shirt and sheet. The next day he was brought up to the ward. It was seen he was dying. There were dark rings under his eyes; he was gasping pitiably for air. He died at 6 o'clock on the morning of October 27. In an affidavit it is stated that the morning after the choking a porter called Grant told two patients in ward 8, Patsy McNamara and one Van de Vere, of the struggle in the following language: “We choked the ___ __ _______ down into the tub and he fought like a tiger. He fought four of us. We choked him until he had no sense. Then we choked him up.” Choked him up! This was done, say the witnesses to the tragedy, by placing their arms under Uhl's chin, raising him from the tub by that procedure. Until Uhl's death his wife and daughter were not apprised of what had happened. They telephoned frequently to the hospital. In Mrs. Uhl's words: “After receiving replies that he was 'about the same,' we heard that he was 'much worse.' We made immediate preparations to take him home. When we went to the hospital we were informed my husband was dead. It was a young doctor with brown, almost reddish hair, that met us. Asked as to the cause of death, he replied that Mr. Uhl was injured. “ 'Was it of brain fever that he died?' my son-in-law asked. 'No,' was the reply. 'We have no name for the disease to which he succumbed.' Pressed to describe it, he put his hands to his throat and chest and said: 'He had a bubbling in here.' 'Well, if he died of rough handling,' I said, as well as I was able, for the shock was almost more than I could bear, 'he did not get it at home. He was not hurt when he was taken here.' At that he said not a word. He shut up and refused to speak of my husband's death, or his injuries. The body was removed to the undertaking rooms of Waters & Simpson. It was in horrible condition. From the knee of one leg to his arm pit, the skin was off and it was bloody, as if he had undergone some terrible struggle. The body showed other marks of violence. The undertakers fixed the remains so that they looked very presentable in the casket. It was rough handling, I am convinced, from the statements of the hospital doctor – I was too agitated to get his name – that caused Jacob Uhl's death.” The funeral was held October 30, interment being at Fairmount. There was much speculation among the police and the hundreds who knew Jacob Uhl about his sudden death. It promised to remain a mystery, as impenetrable as many of the unchronicled tragedies that the walls of that house of horrors, the county hospital, have witnessed. Had it not been that one of the patients was bold enough to speak, and the secret agony of the widow and daughter too great to bear, Jacob Uhl's murder would have remained unknown.
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 11-29-1899 – Evidence of the Grave – Cruel Fingers Choked the Life Out of Jacob Uhl – There is now no question that Jacob Uhl was killed at the county hospital. The corpse bears ghastly witness to the fact. Exhumed and stripped of its shroud it presents its own sickening but irrefutable evidence of the manner in which the strong man, suffering from brain fever and temporary insanity, was choked into his grave. The death certificate gave the cause as pneumonia. At an inquest yesterday afternoon two skilled physicians, after a thorough examination of the lungs, pronounced them perfectly sound, and established the fact for all time that murderous fingers and not disease had brought about the violent end. The family of Jacob Uhl called upon the coroner of Arapahoe county to establish the cause of death officially. The widow made the formal charge against the hospital management and authorized the disinterment of the body from its grave in Fairmount cemetery. Yesterday afternoon Coroner Rollins, two disinterested physicians and deputies from the coroner's office made the exhumation and devoted this morning to a chemical and microscopical examination of parts of the body. When the casket lid was removed the party started back in horror. “Murder will out.” Again the saying had been exemplified. The careful work of the contract undertakers for the county had been exposed by the grave. From the ear around the throat, hanging from the chin and covering the throat, was a moldy growth, a ghastly fungus that failed to disappear in the sunlight. This was carefully washed away and a series of bruises and contusions was discovered. Around the throat, fitting exactly, were the marks of fingers, five of them, sunk into the flesh. The mold was examined. It was evident that when the remains had been received from the hospital the throat and neck were in such condition that deception was necessary. The blood that had welled from the bruises and where the relentless fingers had pressed and cut deep into the flesh had been washed away. A pinkish substance, in all probability paint or some mixture that effectually covered the raw flesh, had been applied and powder laid thickly upon that, so only the closest inspection, as Jacob Uhl laid in his coffin, fresh from the skillful hands of the undertakers, could have determined what laid beneath. The preparation had become damp and the lack of skin over the flesh had caused the stuff to peel off and blister up, or hang. The clothing of the dead man was removed and the tale was completed. The body was a mass of bruises, blackened and congested blood and cuts. The head had been almost severed from the trunk. Extending from the back of the neck on each side to the chest, in a V-shape were deep cuts, that had been sewed together with a needle and fine, but strong, white thread. An attempt had also been made to cover this up, but unsuccessfully. The cuts were made by someone who evidently understood anatomy. The jugular vein had been cleanly severed and it was evident the head had been lifted from the trunk and the blood drained from the head, where, because of the strangulation, it had congested, bloating and disfiguring the features. From the condition of the body it was plain every possible drop of blood had been taken out of the veins and arteries, either by chemicals or draining. Yet Jacob Uhl was not embalmed. The head could have been pulled from the body with little exertion. When the physicians ripped out the threads that sewed it to the flesh of the chest it fell back, disclosing a gaping hole. If nothing else had established the fact that violence had been used, it could have been shown now. The interior of the cavity was swollen, bruised and bloody. It appeared as if the fingers of iron that accomplished the deed had pressed the delicate organs of the throat until they met in such embrace that they had clung together, and, when released, had refused to spring back, but had swollen and grew until the passage of air was impossible. The remains were in good condition, excepting the wounds and the bruises. The membrane was torn and black in the throat. Outside, the indelible impress of the five fingers was so deep it could not be removed. It cut lividly into the flesh, and each welt was covered, when the lid of the casket was removed, by the mold – a greenish crimson in color. On the back of the neck, between the hair and back, the skin was torn and bruised, showing the marks of fingers. The conclusion of the physicians and coroner was that Uhl had been choked by two men, one at the back, the other at the front. The back also showed a wound as if, in the struggle, the man who was being choked had fallen and injured himself. The legs were in horrible condition. On one, extending from the beginning of the calf to the thigh, there was scarcely an inch of flesh that had not been bruised and blackened. It appeared as if some one with heavy boots had begun by kicking the shins and ended by tearing and purpling the skin by jumping upon it. It was not the dew, the moisture of death, that caused the garments to stick so closely. When the physicians removed them much epidermis and coagulated blood remained upon them. It was a sickening sight. From what he had seen in the first and cursory examination when the clothes were removed, Coroner Rollins exclaimed that death undoubtedly was due to contributory violence. The lungs were thoroughly examined, so thoroughly that affidavits can be made that there was no affection, pneumonia or otherwise, at the time Jacob Uhl was gasping away his life in the hospital ward. They were in every respect normal and healthy, as healthy as any lungs can be when strangulation has deprived them of the necessary air. The skull was also opened and the brain revealed to a critical inspection. It gave no indications that it was other than normal. This agrees with Mrs. Uhl's statement that her husband had nothing but brain fever. Portions of the throat sufficient to establish beyond the peradventure of a doubt the manner in which death was occasioned, were cut from the remains, and other sections of the body removed for the minute autopsy of today. Then the bruised and mutilated corpse was again returned to the casket, the lid screwed down, and the coroner saw the body re-interred. To Mrs. Uhl and her daughter the statement was made by a physician at the county hospital, presumably Dr. Smithers, the resident physician at the institution, that Mr. Uhl's death was caused by “rough handling.” There is a chain of evidence that with the mute testimony of the disinterred corpse is now powerful in character, all pointing to the killing of a man who went into the hospital on the evening of Oct. 25 and was carried without life from there to the Waters & Simpson undertaking establishment on the evening of Oct. 27. In the words of the widow: “In my grief and the sudden shock of death I did not remark (upon) it then, but since it has come back to me in emphatic manner. Since Mr. Uhl was received into the hospital until he was brought to our home there was an evident desire to keep his family from seeing him. The day after he was taken to the hospital I called with my daughter and asked to see him. I was told to wait a day or so, probably until Saturday, as it would not be best for us to see him. I thought this was wise, as I reasoned that if Mr. Uhl saw us he would grow more dissatisfied and anxious to come home. I made preparations to take him away on Saturday. We frequently called up the hospital by telephone and invariably received replies of 'About the same,' until Oct. 27, when the answer was 'Much worse.' We made immediate preparations to take him out. At 7 o'clock that evening a man in a great hurry – he breathed as if he had been running – arrived at the house and told us: 'If you want to see Mr. Uhl alive you had better come at once.' In all haste we drove to the hospital. There we met a physician, who said: 'Mr. Uhl has been dead some time. He died at 6 o'clock.' I told him we did not receive word until 7. 'What did he die of?' I asked. 'We have no name for it,' he replied. 'Was it brain fever?' I asked. 'No, it was rough handling. He must have been hurt before he came here. He had a bubbling in here,' was the reply to our questions. I told him if Mr. Uhl died of rough handling he got it at the hospital, not at his home. At that he became silent and said nothing more. It was 7:45 o'clock when we reached the hospital. In 15 minutes the undertaker from Waters & Simpson, who have the contract for burying the county dead, came to the hospital, the doctor having telephoned for him, with the statement that I had better give the remains to the county undertakers. When the undertaker arrived I told him to prepare Mr. Uhl for burial and asked if I could see the body at the undertaking parlors. 'No,' the doctor said, 'don't go there. It's not a desirable place for ladies to go to.' But I went to Waters & Simpson's to choose a casket. I asked the same man who had been at the hospital if he had the body at that shop. Replying in the affirmative, I asked if Mr. Uhl appeared discolored. In evident reluctance and a desire to evade the question, which I thought then, was prompted by a feeling on his part to save me any misery, he replied: 'No-o; not much – only the bruise on his head.' When the body was brought home the pallor of the face attracted our attention. It seemed as if death even, could not have produced such whiteness.” Eyewitnesses to the struggle and the death of Jacob Uhl have told how he died. The words of one affidavit, that of I. N. Tooke, then a patient, are as follows: An insane man, a strong, able-bodied patient, was brought in. It is the rule to bathe patients before they are put to bed. It seems this man was obstinate – he did not want to be bathed. There was a struggle, the sounds of which made the faces of the patients blanch. Then the bathroom door opened and the man, gasping, and with his tongue black and swollen, hanging six inches from his lips, was thrown on a stretcher and carried to the insane cells in the basement. * * * (actual text) He was locked in a cell, cold and moist – for the basement is underground – without a pallet to place his head upon. When he left the ward his only garment was a shirt and a sheet. Next morning they brought him up into the ward. He lay gasping and barely alive. Inside of two hours he was dead. I firmly believe his neck was broken by the terrible choking he received. A porter called Grant told two patients in ward 8, Patsy McNamara and a poor fellow by the name of Vandevere and myself, the same morning how they had treated the insane man. This is his language: “We choked the ____ __ ______ down into the tub and he fought like a tiger. He fought four of us. We choked him until he had no sense. Then we choked him up.” I know that when the man lay unconscious in the tub they did not desist from their inhuman torture. They placed their arms under his chin and raised him by that means. I am convinced that his neck was broken and that he was choked to death. * * * (actual text) The death was hushed up at once. All efforts on my part to ascertain the name of the dead man were met with rebuffs. The order was: “Do not give his name.” Jacob Uhl for six years had been foreman at the Globe smelter. Two weeks before his death occurred he was taken ill and removed to his home. The family agree in their statements that he was not violent nor dangerous, and up to the time of his forcible seizure and entrance to the hospital was inoffensive and as sane as anyone possibly could be. He merely complained of pain and weariness, but took part in the family pleasures and read books with interest. Physically he was in good health. He was an athletic man of 47 and prior to removing to Colorado had lived in St. Louis. Mrs. Uhl believed he had a case of brain fever. On the afternoon of October 25 he was suddenly taken insane, as it appeared, and, although he knew his daughter and wife by name, he rushed downstairs, calling loudly that the furnace flames were devouring him. He fancied he was in the smelter and at work, but a conflagration was pursuing him and cutting off his path of escape. To gain the air he plunged through the kitchen window and took refuge in the barn. The noise and Mr. Uhl's shouts had alarmed the neighborhood and someone, not the family, summoned the police and ambulance. “Had they allowed us to remain with him,” says Mrs. Uhl, “I have no doubt we could have coaxed him to the house and after the fever, or whatever it was, had spent itself and he would have been with us today. But a great crowd collected; the neighbors took us in their houses, and when my daughter attempted to climb over the fence, they restrained her so forcibly that her skirt was pulled from the waistband. Then he was taken to the hospital.” Mrs. Uhl has the clothing untouched. It was returned to her from the hospital, and by the rents and stains shows a terrific struggle must have taken place. Dr. Lemen, who has attended Uhl as the physician of the smelter, states that he treated the foreman for epilepsy, of which he was subject. This throws another light on the illness of Mr. Uhl, for it is somewhat possible that he had an epileptic fit and fought with benumbed faculties. Police Surgeon Sharpley inclines to the belief that he was insane, judging from his actions. But it has been conclusively shown by the records of the county hospital that Uhl was not regarded as serious. His entry is accompanied by the description: “Dementia and pneumonia.” At the hospital it is the rule to give all patients when they are received a hot bath, take their clothes and give them hospital habiliments. The head nurse states that when received Mr. Uhl was very violent and had to be placed in the basement cells. She evades altogether what happened in the bathroom, stating that was the task of the porters, but admits that after the bath Uhl was reported as very ill. She had him removed to an upstairs ward. The autopsy was performed by Coroner Rollins in obedience to the wishes and the charges of Mrs. Uhl. Two physicians, whose names he does not consider it wise to give at present, performed it. A chemical analysis was made today and the results of the analysis will be reported to him tomorrow. With the cause of death established beyond any question, proceedings will then begin, and a heavy lawsuit against the county will be started by Mrs. Uhl. “The two physicians are disinterested and know nothing of the case,” remarks the coroner, “beyond what they learned from the body. Their report will be made in conformity with their examination.” It was stated this afternoon that the autopsy over the remains had proceeded far enough to substantiate unmistakably the conclusions drawn from the body at the exhumation.
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 11-30-1899 – The Morning Papers on the County Hospital Case of Jacob Uhl – (From This Morning's Republican) – A coroner's inquest will determine whether brutality alone or brutality and ignorance combined killed Jacob Uhl, who died at the county hospital October 27. It is not certain that he was not choked to death. Uhl's body was disinterred from Fairmount cemetery, where it had been hurried under ground, and a thorough autopsy was performed by Dr. Chauncey E. Tennant and Dr. George E. Brown. The physicians made their report to Coroner Rollins last night, and will make a supplemental one today or tomorrow, when a microscopical examination of the dead man's lungs is completed. Dr. Tennant and Dr. Brown discovered that Uhl came to his death from: Bright's disease; Acute meningitis; Contributory violence. The hospital records show that Uhl died from: Pneumonia of both lungs; Dementia. The experienced physicians who performed the autopsy were unable to say last night whether or not contributory violence was the chief cause of death, but they were perfectly certain that there was not a sign of pneumonia in either lung and that the hospital diagnosis in that respect was totally wrong. The term “contributory violence” in the case of Jacob Uhl covers a great many things. Dr. Smithers, the resident physician, admits that there was violence, but says the police used Uhl brutally in bringing him to the hospital; sat on him, in fact, and crushed his breast bone so that pneumonia was easily provoked. The post mortem yesterday showed that Uhl's breast bone was perfectly sound and that no other bones were broken, but it also revealed injuries which Dr. Smithers did not lay to the police and which testimony is accumulating to show were inflicted at the hospital. The responsibility for them must be fixed at the inquest, but it is said that an attendant was the leader in the attack upon Uhl. Policeman Easling, one of those who took Uhl from his home to the county hospital, says that when he had helped to carry the struggling man down to the dungeon in which the hospital authorities threw him he was about to shut the cell door when a burly attendant pushed past him into the cell. “Don't go in there,” Easling alleges he said to him. “The man's all right. I can shut the door.” Instead, he declares, the attendant entered the cell, seized Uhl and dashed him against the wall with fearful violence. “Uhl dropped to the floor and the attendant came out of the cell,” said Easling. “I don't know his name, but I do know that all the bad treatment that Uhl received was after he reached the hospital.” The true story of Uhl's end is clouded by conflicting statements, but enough is admitted by those who had charge of him at the time of his death and immediately after to show that an attempt is being made to cover up a very nasty scandal. The coroner's action will now make this impossible, and that official, after two days of active work, is of the opinion that ample ground for official action exists, and that a searching inquiry must be begun at once. The undisputed facts of Uhl's seizure and his transfer to the county hospital are as follows: On the afternoon of Oct. 25 he became violently insane at his home, 3607 Marion street. He was subject to fits at intervals and had been moody for several days. Uhl drove his family from the house, threw bricks at the windows and broke all the glass. A police ambulance in charge of Dr. Sharpley took him to the county hospital. Dr. Smithers says Uhl arrived there with a crushed breastbone and that two or three policemen were sitting on him. “He was very roughly handled,” is the way he sums it up. The hospital record bore no mention yesterday of any injury to Uhl's chest, and Dr. Wood, the interne, who attended him until his death, said he knew nothing of any such hurt. Uhl's hand was slightly bruised, he declared, but there was nothing further. Police Surgeon Sharpley, Nurse Walker and Policemen McIntosh and Easling say that, notwithstanding the fact that Uhl was extremely violent and dealt McIntosh a severe kick while being place in the ambulance, he was handled with the utmost care. “I went with the ambulance,” said Dr. Sharpley, “to make sure that the man was properly cared for. He was on a litter in the ambulance. I sat beside him, one man held his arms and two others his feet. Aside from a bruise on the forehead, caused by a fall on the day before, Uhl was without injury when he was carried into the county hospital. It was impossible for any one to sit on him.” Uhl was carried through the hospital corridor by the two policemen and two hospital attendants, out into the yard and down the narrow stairs that lead to the cells. He struggled violently and gave a great deal of trouble. At the bottom of the stairs the policemen, it is said, let go of Uhl, turned him over to the attendants, but followed to see if further aid was needed. There the assault by a hospital attendant described by Policeman Easling is alleged to have taken place. The policemen went away and Uhl was left alone in his dungeon with a small pillow and perhaps a mattress – none was there yesterday. These cells beneath the ground at the county hospital are not comfortable places. They are perhaps twelve feet square, with a small grated window and a barred door. The floor is of rough plank and the place is certainly cold and possibly damp. There is no padding or any other precaution to prevent an insane patient from injuring himself. As to what happened to Uhl after the door clanged behind him there is the statement of the resident physician, Dr. Smithers, the additional and often conflicting testimony of Dr. Wood, who attended the patient, and the very meager and incomplete hospital record. Dr. Smithers declared yesterday that about an hour after Uhl's incarceration he was brought upstairs and given a bath. He was quiet, he said, but would not go to bed. He was placed in one of the upstairs wards, where his talking disturbed the other patients, Dr. Smithers said, and he was sent down to the cell again. “At that time,” went on Dr. Smithers, “nothing was supposed to be wrong with him in the shape of the injury to his chest. It was supposed that he had been roughly handled; that was all. I went with the porters to see that no undue violence was used and there was no more force than was necessary to subdue him. You couldn't talk to the man at all. Sometimes you can talk to a demented man, but Uhl was fearfully violent.” However, Uhl was returned to his cold cell after his hot bath, dressed in little beside his shirt. It is likely that the return trip was attended by more violence than the first, for the effect of a hot bath upon a man in Uhl's physical and mental state would be to enrage him, said a disinterested authority last night, and cause him to fight furiously. Uhl was flung into his dungeon, fearfully bruised, it is certain, and lay there for hours. Toward morning, says Dr. Smithers, the nurse who makes half-hourly rounds of the cells noticed that Uhl was breathing with difficulty. He was again carried upstairs and put to bed. His temperature was taken with a clinical thermometer and showed 99.8 and 99.6 in the right and left armpits – nothing very abnormal – according to the chart. Just before Uhl's death, not many hours later, his temperature was 108. There is a strange absence of detail in the hospital records as to the treatment of Uhl which lends color to the sinister suggestion, made yesterday by an official active in the investigation – that as a matter of fact the unfortunate man never left the cell alive and that anything approaching a history of the case would be impossible without the exercise of a singular talent for fiction. There is a mass of matter as to Uhl's parentage and early life, but between his admission as a patient on the evening of October 25 and the morning of October 27 there is practically nothing of value. “On the morning of October 27,” says Dr. Wood's record, “he was found in a semi-unconscious condition. One lung was found to be full of mucus, the pulse was very weak, and at times radical. The patient died,” concluded Dr. Wood, “at 6:30 p.m. of pneumonia of both lungs. Diagnosis: Pneumonia and dementia.” That is all the light shed on Uhl's death by the hospital authorities and their records. Here is the condition of his body when it was disinterred on Tuesday as accurately described by one who was present at the autopsy: The back was fearfully bruised from the neck to a point below the shoulder blades, the shins were covered with contusions, as though kicks had been showered on the victim in life; there was one large bruise on the right up leg, an incised wound penetrated to the femoral artery, two more cuts appear under the right and left ears, showing that the jugular vein had been emptied and there are still two other wounds above the clavicle, or collar bone, showing a further attempt to empty the body of blood. More terrible in their ghastly significance than any of these marks are the imprints of fingers discovered on the neck. The dead man's throat had been pressed in such a murderous grip that the flesh was broken and the skin pushed back. Where the contusions occurred decay, as is usual, was evident. Traces of pink paste, which had been used to conceal the business, were apparent on the neck. The incised wounds on the neck were accounted for by Waters & Simpson, undertakers, who buried the body. Mr. Bostwick, an assistant, who prepared Uhl for burial, explained them by saying that when the body was brought there the face was much discolored by congested blood, due to the body having lain on its back. There were many bruises on the face, too, he said. It took him nearly an hour to cover them with composition. He opened the femoral artery and the jugular vein, he said, to relieve the discoloration of the face, and then embalmed the body. It looked very well when he had finished. No serious bruises were apparent, said Mr. Bostwick. The Republican's informant, who was present at the inquest, asked yesterday (and the question will be asked again at the inquest): “Why did they embalm the body? It could have been kept without difficulty for a month. In is a most unusual proceeding for this time of year. They drew every drop of blood from the body and then injected some substance such as formaldehyde, which had the effect of drying up the arteries and making it appear as though any wounds had healed. The opening of the jugular vein was most extraordinary. Of course, if there had been any choking the blood would settle there and by drawing it out and by the use of hot water the discoloration could be temporarily removed. It would return in a day or two, however, so that, supposing concealment to be the object, a prompt burial would be necessary. I regard the case as most suspicious in many of its aspects.” Mrs. Uhl, the wife of the murdered man, tells an astonishing story. She is a believer in Christian Science and had been treating her husband for some time. When he became violent she was very reluctant that he should be taken to the hospital. She inquired several times there how he was progressing and was told, she says: “About the same.” They refused to admit her, she says, and when she insisted they told her that her husband was “very bad.” On the morning of the 27th she took some clothes to the hospital and, as usual, was refused admission. Soon after she reached her home a messenger arrived and said that if she wished to see her husband alive she must hurry. When she got to the hospital she was told that Uhl had been dead for several hours. She asked where he body was and says she was told that it would not be right for her to see it. “We will have it fixed up and send it home,” was all the satisfaction she was able to get, she declares. “I am sure my husband was murdered,” she said last night, “and I intend to see that justice is done.”
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 11-30-1899 – The Morning Papers on the County Hospital Case of Jacob Uhl – The News' Account – “A Hospital Case That Calls for the Most Rigid Investigation” Was a Headline – (From this morning's News) – The body of Jacob Uhl, who died at the county hospital, was covered with one mass of abrasions of the skin, bruises and other marks of violence. The man was most cruelly treated before his death, and while the actual cause of the demise was most likely not the violence, it contributed quite materially to the hastening of the end, as well as made the last few hours of the old man a living torture. This, in a few words, will describe the result of the coroner's investigations of the remains which were exhumed at Fairmount cemetery Tuesday afternoon. The body was dug up by order of Coroner Rollins and taken to the vault under the cemetery chapel, where Drs. C. E. Tennant and George E. Brown performed a most careful autopsy. Dr. Tennant was in charge of the work and he did the cutting, while Dr. Brown assisted by suggestions and otherwise, and made copious notes of the findings. Portions of several organs as well as of the bruised and discolored skin were taken away for preparation as microscopical specimens to form an indelible record of the case. Aside from finding the remains in a remarkably well preserved state and the body covered with bruises and wounds, the two specific diseases mentioned were visible. But in addition to that last night's microscopical examination verified, and the first glance revealed, the patient did not die of pneumonia. A venous congestion of the lungs indicated strangulation. On the right side of the neck was an oblong bruise and discoloration that exactly fitted the imprint of a thumb. On the opposite side of the neck were more extensive bruises and discolorations that might have been made by four powerful fingers that pressed into the flesh and shut off the breathing until the patient was choked into submission or coma. The congestion of the lungs at once suggested the latter. Last night Dr. Tennant worked until late arranging and inspecting the different sections of anatomy taken from the body. He refused to state any conclusions except in the final report to the coroner, which will be made this evening and signed jointly by himself and Dr. Brown. The autopsy was witnessed by six persons, the two surgeons, Coroner Rollins and his deputy and Superintendent Harper M. Orahood of the cemetery and one attaché of the place, who assisted in handling the body. “The body looked as though it had been run through a threshing machine,” said one of the witnesses last night. “It was fairly covered with bruises and scars, and the man must have gone through an awful experience. His legs from the feet to the abdomen were scarred and bruised. On his back were several large welts. The neck indicated only one conclusion. Dr. Tennant, when he came to that portion of the body, simply laid his hand over the bruises and said nothing. The dark places corresponded to his thumb and fingers. But before that it was necessary to wash away a great collection of mold and paste that had been placed there by the undertaker to conceal the wounds and bruises. The washing brought the strangulation idea to light quite forcibly, and I don't think there was a word spoken by any of us. We simply looked and imagined the struggle that had taken place. To give an idea of the number of the bruises, I am quite certain it required more than an hour to enumerate and describe them while Dr. Brown was taking notes. On the face there were large patches of soft skin that had evidently been made by bruises, but successfully concealed when the blood was withdrawn. Paste was thickly spread over the abrasions. The arms were badly bruised and discolored, and one or two soft spots on the head indicated bruising by a rather slight blow, such as bumping up against a wall or being thrown to the floor. But there was not a fracture of the bone. I believe some of those bruises were the result of epileptic falls, but not all of them, and especially those inflicted just before death.” Since the autopsy there is no longer a disposition to conceal the fact that Uhl was brutally treated and that his body is covered with a mass of wounds and bruises. But a dispute has arisen between the county hospital and the police as to the responsibility for the affair. The police insist that the man was not roughly handled before he was admitted to the hospital, but that within five minutes of his reception he was brutally thrown up against a wall and otherwise mistreated. The hospital people say that when Uhl was received he was crazy and violent, and his body showed the effects of hard usage in handling by either the police or somebody else. They claim that during the trip from the city jail to the hospital one of the officers sat on the man's chest and that another held him by the feet. Those who had charge of the trip from the jail to the county institution were Police Surgeon Sharpley, Professional Nurse W. T. Walker and Policemen Levi McIntosh and Easling. They are unanimous in claiming that the man received no injuries while in their hands. Dr. Sharpley says Mrs. Uhl objected to her husband being taken to the county hospital, saying that he had received treatment by Christian Science healers, and that she did not want the doctors “to have a whack at him.” Policeman Easling said: “I held Uhl's feet while we were making the trip to the hospital. He was quite violent, but there were enough of us there to hold him down without making use of any particular force. I helped the assistant at the hospital to take the man into the underground cell. The assistant grabbed Uhl by the neck or collar and handled him violently – more than was at all necessary. When we pushed Uhl into the dungeon I told the assistant not to follow, but he persisted in going in. He went inside and grabbed Uhl and threw him up against the wall so that the fellow fell over on his face on the floor and did not move. This was entirely unnecessary and uncalled for.” Contrary to the general idea, Uhl was not buried as a pauper. In that event his body might have gone to one of the colleges and all traces of violence concealed. The bill for the funeral was $125, of which $65 was for the casket. The day after death the body was taken to Waters & Simpson's and embalmed. George H. Bostwick did the embalming and dressed the body for burial on the morning of the funeral. He noticed bruises and scratches about the throat, but believing the patient to have been insane, paid little attention to them. Regarding his knowledge of Uhl's condition, he submitted the following signed statement last evening: “There were marks of discoloration about Uhl's throat and neck, but these marks, as I noticed them, were such as would be caused on a man's hand by his bumping it against the corner of a desk. They did not seem unusual to me, for I had been given to understand that I was handling an insane man. Such things are common with insane. The incisions in the neck, spoken of, I made in order to draw off the blood from the body. The face of a person as full of blood as Uhl is bound to be discolored, because of the presence of that blood, so I drew it away by means of those incisions. First I took up the femoral artery, in the leg, and injected embalming fluid into that, then opened both jugular veins. This liquid, like blood, flows from the vein to which it is injected through the capillaries into the arteries, and thus all through the body. As I injected the fluid into the femoral artery, I drew off the blood from the jugular vein, and washed the blood vessels in that way. The incisions, which were not more than an inch and a half long each, followed the clavical (sic) bone. There was a space of about two inches between the two lower ends of the incisions. They did not come to a point. Neither member of the firm saw the body until it had been placed in the casket. I embalmed the body on the morning of October 27, and dressed it for burial on the morning of the funeral, October 30. I did the embalming so as to turn out a good job and give nobody an opportunity to criticize our work. If I had not done so the face would have looked very bad. I did not pay particular attention to the bruises which I noticed. They did not look any more like finger marks than like any ordinary bruises. The death certificate was signed all right by Dr. J. A. Smithers, chief resident physician at the county hospital, giving pneumonia as the cause of death, and so I did not notice the marks as attentively as though murder had been the cause of death. They did not excite my curiosity sufficiently for me to call anybody's attention to them. George H. Bostwick.” G. Simpson of the undertaking firm presented this statement: “We were notified, as county undertakers, on the morning of October 27, that Uhl had died during the night, and were told over the telephone of Mrs. Uhl's address. Mr. Bostwick took a car and rode to the residence. A few minutes later Dr. Smithers called up to say that Mrs. Uhl was at the hospital. Mr. Waters got on his wheel and rode to the hospital to meet her. He was given charge of the remains, and was told to bring them here for burial, which he did. Mrs. Uhl came here the next morning and made the final arrangements for the funeral. After dinner on October 30 we took the remains to the residence, 3607 Marion street, and the funeral was held that afternoon. George H. Bostwick embalmed the body. Uhl was a very stout man and full of blood. He drew that blood off. Mr. Waters sold Mrs. Uhl the casket, and made all arrangements with her for the funeral. There were a good many marks on Uhl's face and chin, but nothing to excite our curiosity. They looked very much like scratches. Though we did not say anything to Mrs. Uhl about embalming the body, we embalmed it for our own convenience. George Simpson.” In private conversation at the police station last night, an undertaker expressed surprise that the jugular vein was cut to drain the body. To cut the neck, he said, was an obsolete method and might lead to the supposition that friendship for the hospital attaches was behind a desire to shield or conceal the marks on the neck. The unusual precautions to further conceal the marks on the neck by the use of paste was remarked upon during the autopsy. Only vigorous scrubbing brought out the marks on his neck. Uhl's clothes, now in possession of the widow, are badly torn and blood-stained and will be exhibited to the jury to show to some extent the degree of violence to which the crazy man was subjected. Dr. J. A. Smithers, chief resident physician at the county hospital, last evening made this statement of the Uhl case: “The man was brought here and put in a basement cell about 5 o'clock. Later he was brought up for a bath. He was stubborn, and the attendants did not find him as easy as a little child to bathe. Head Porter Charley Harrison and two assistants brought him up from the basement. Harrison told me today that they did no choking. My personal knowledge of the affair ends with Uhl's being lodged in the basement for I followed the attendants down there with him. I did not see him brought up again. Attendants who have to deal with insane patients are permitted to choke them into submission, but not to strike them.” “Is there not danger of their going to far with the choking operation?” he was asked. “I think not. I saw marks on Uhl's throat. They looked like scratches. He may have done it himself, but I do not say that he did. Harrison is an experienced man in the handling of insane. He tells me that no brutality was used, and that no rough treatment which might have caused death was inflicted upon the patient. My experience has taught me that a man who is choked to death generally dies instantly, for choking a person to death is simply cutting off his air until the heart stops beating.” Harrison works during the day and last night the hospital authorities declined to disturb him. Therefore he could not be questioned regarding his knowledge of the treatment accorded Uhl. He directed the bath taking, and is supposed to know exactly what happened from the time Uhl was taken from his cell until he was returned after the bath. In the records of the hospital appears a statement of Uhl's sister regarding the case. It says that his present trouble was first noticed a year ago, when he fell down, became unconscious and bled at the mouth. Later he had three similar attacks, which were supposed to be epilepsy. Every time he was attacked he fell and bruised his body. The Sunday previous to his being taken to the hospital he displayed signs of insanity. He was very boisterous upon entering the hospital, and the services of a policeman and three other men were required to conduct him to his cell. In the cell he was quiet, but would not go to bed. Early on the morning of Oct. 27 he was found in a semi-conscious state. On both lungs were found mucus and his pulse was very weak. He died at 6:30. Coroner Rollins last night refused to make any statement regarding the case until after the reception of the report of the surgeons. Then he will impanel a jury and hold an inquest, probably tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime steps will be taken to prevent any of the interested parties leaving the city. While the advisory board has direct charge of the county hospital, its actions are governed by the board of county commissioners, of which Frank L. Bishop is chairman. “There is absolutely nothing in our favor to have anything wrong at the hospital,” said he last night. “Any one with common sense would know that. The hospital is open at all hours of the day and night to any one. If anything goes wrong at the hospital we want to correct it; and if any one in the employ of the board has been guilty of wrongful actions we want to punish him. We cannot anticipate any action until we know the facts in the case. I am unfamiliar with this Uhl matter. We have not talked it over among ourselves. Had we any facts or complaints upon which to work we would take action. We have nothing whatever to conceal.” Dr. R. F. Le Mond, one of the county hospital supervisors, said last evening that a concerted action would probably be taken to prosecute those who have actively circulated stories which he says are wholly false. “We are sick and tired of this matter,” said he. “Were the hospital a private institution, instead of a public, charitable hospital, there might be some excuse for the attacks, but to abuse in such unmeasured terms, and without sufficient grounds, the Arapahoe county institution is a little more than we intend to stand. The law will put a stop to it. We will not endure this sort of thing any longer, and intend to meet and express ourselves in some manner that will be surprising. Uhl was a crazy man, and hard to manage. While he might have been handled roughly, he was never choked to death, nor was his death hastened by his treatment. Why, if an employe had been guilty of such charges as have been made, he wouldn't retain his position three hours. It is a contemptible shame, the manner in which this proposition is being handled.” Mrs. Uhl refused to say anything last night. She said she had not decided what she would do, but that she meant to do something. She has not seen the coroner since the autopsy, but only hinted that she would not drop the matter. She says she does not know who sent for the ambulance to have her husband taken away, but supposes some of the neighbors did. He had a good home, and was never at any time so insane that he did not know them all, and never tried to do them any injury. Mrs. Uhl feels that it was an outrage to have him taken to the county hospital, but when she took over some clothes for him she told the nurse that he was to have anything he needed and she would pay for it. When she was sent for on Friday, October 27, the day he died, she said she had her first suspicions that something was wrong. “What was it that made you think so?” she was asked. Mrs. Uhl only shook her head and said she “just felt it.” The fact that he had been so tractable while he was at home and never been violent, makes it harder to believe that he became so on entering the hospital, and could have succumbed so suddenly. It is this on which she will hinge her strongest argument, if anything can be judged from what she is willing to give out at the present time. There is no doubt that she has put the case in the hands of some one, but she will not say who.
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 11-30-1899 – Death of Jacob Uhl – Examination of the Body by Two Disinterested Physicians Shows Clearly That it Was Not Caused by Pneumonia or Any Ordinary Illness – The report of Dr. George E. Brown and Dr. Chauncey E. Tennant, the two physicians who performed the autopsy over the remains of Jacob Uhl, who was disinterred Tuesday afternoon, shows that death did not result from pneumonia, but from violence. The minute examination, the condition of the body, the brain and the organs examined, while showing chronic ailments, point beyond doubt to the fact that Jacob Uhl's end was by the agency of the injuries he received at the hands of the attendants of the county hospital. Today Dr. Tennant devoted to a microscopic examination of the lung. It was found to be in a highly congested state, and from its appearance, Dr. Tennant believes this state is due to violence. It will furnish another link in the chain of evidence the grave and living witnesses are forging. The physicians found the body so well drained of blood and so well preserved by powerful chemicals that it was a cause of instant suspicion. In the minds of the physicians there could be but one conclusion – that extraordinary means had been taken to disguise and cover up the evidence of brutal and murderous treatment. The report shows that Uhl had Bright's disease and meningitis. As to the last there is doubt. The skull was laid open and the brain was found to have been in a feverish state, supporting Mrs. Uhl's declaration that her husband had brain fever. The autopsy has revealed that he was not insane. Dr. Brown said this morning: “Jacob Uhl was chronically ill, but the autopsy demonstrated an acute or more recent lesion of the brain that would render him violent. He would fight but not know he was struggling. It would be the ambition or purpose of the moment to resist, not knowing he was sick. To injure, or brutally handle one in this condition would be attended by grave results. Tender care is essential for recovery. Ante-mortem indications are that the brain was feverish when he was received at the hospital and the patient was in such a state that he should not have been thwarted but treated tenderly. “When we placed the body on the table in the chapel vault,” continued Dr. Brown, “neither Dr. Tennant nor myself were aware who the man was or what had caused death. I had not read the accusations of the widow and family, or the statements of hospital patients who had observed the struggle. In every way I was disinterested. After the examination of the remains I am convinced that great violence was done previous to death and it is impossible to separate the chronic affections from the violent handling Uhl's body shows. And I cannot but conclude these violent injuries were materially responsible. The body was in a good state of preservation. It was remarkable that decomposition had not extended to the fatty portions, but these were white and firm, as if he had died but a few days previous. The body had been drained of blood by the undertakers, and some powerful preservative applied that had kept it fresh and engendered the suspicion that it was done for the purpose to cover up something from suspicious eyes. The mold washed away disclosed a paste-like substance on the cheek and around the throat and neck, and underneath deep bruises and abrasions. Although the neck of a corpse is about the first to decompose this one showed plainly that the flesh had been injured. One side under the jawbone was in a state testifying to violent handling. On the other was a purple bruise as large as your thumb, resembling that member of the hand in shape and size. There were, also, several ugly bruises and contusions on the head that had been covered with paste and powered. On the back of the neck the skin had been cut and bruised. There was also a wound on the skull, above the neck. There were bruises and cuts on the rest of the body. The jugular vein had been cut and the head practically severed, the undertakers having drained the body by that means. Dr. Lemen has given us the history of Mr. Uhl while he was being treated for epilepsy. The wound in the back of the head is such that it could be caused by a fall, produced by an epileptic fit, or seizure. For instance, there was the mark of a former wound on the shoulder that must have been caused by a fall. It is possible Mr. Uhl was in an epileptic attack when taken to the hospital. Meningitis was evident. The brain was covered with lymph and congested. It was in a feverish state. We are not positive that meningitis had been of long standing or whether it was produced just prior to death. The brain was feverish and, in a case like this, instead of violence being used, quiet and tender care was imperative. It would be impossible to make a report and not give our opinion of the cause of death. From the examination there is but one conclusion: Although meningitis and Bright's disease are apparent and he was an ill man, the injuries, violence and shock experienced, undoubtedly brought about a condition that terminated in death. Before submitting the report we are awaiting the examination of the lung. It was found to be in a congested state. I believe it was a passive congestion. Dr. Tennant holds it was brought about by injury. Dr. Tennant holds that Uhl's death was actually due to the complication of disease, “but the bruises and violence possibly hastened the demise. All the physical excitement and struggling during his resistance to the treatment he received would have much to do with the actual hastening of death, and to this might be added the shock of the injuries themselves.” Both physicians, therefore, agree on the material part the injuries played in producing a condition from which death would be the result even if the porters had not choked him. Their conclusion is outside of the choking, and it is thought the congested condition of the lung will add to the irrefutable evidence of the throat. Police Surgeon Sharpley, who conveyed Uhl from his residence, 3607 Marion street, to the county hospital on the afternoon of Oct. 25, is positive he did not receive the injuries that the autopsy disclosed while on the journey. He states Uhl was not struck nor thrown, but six policemen seized him, pinioned his arms and lifted him into the ambulance. An officer knelt on his chest to keep him from rising, but that was all the exertion (?) used until he was received at the hospital. The evidence that the fatal injuries were not received before Uhl reached the hospital is complete, overwhelming and irrefutable.
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 12-1-1899 – Coroner's Inquest – Jacob Uhl's Death Will be Probed – The inquest to examine into the death of Jacob Uhl was called by Coroner Rollins at 2 o'clock this afternoon. To the jury of six impaneled on the case, the report of the two physicians who performed the autopsy, Dr. Chauncey E. Tennant and Dr. George E. Brown, was read. It stated three significant facts: Death was brought about by contributory violence. The venous congestion of the dead man's lung indicates strangulation. The flesh on the throat and neck, torn, swollen and bruised, was made so before death. Dr. Tennant was required to explain the report, which entered fully into the condition of the body when exhumed Tuesday afternoon at Fairmount cemetery. It described in detail the bruises and cuts and deceptions that had been practiced in preparing the body for burial to avert suspicion. The report described, minutely, the condition of the brain, lymph-covered and with plain evidence of fever. The physicians determined the affection was acute meningitis. An old chronic case of Bright's disease was also present. “Contributory violence,” explained Dr. Tennant, “may be described by the illustration of a man with a weak heart, with heart disease. If he is fallen upon and beaten severely upon the street so that the injuries or shock affects the heart and causes his death, the violence is contributory. While Mr. Uhl was an ill man, and the complication could have caused death, the time of that death was problematical. He might have lived for years. But violence, such as the body shows, undoubtedly brought about the condition that terminated in speedy death. The marks around the throat indicate a hand. On one side a bruise resembles a thumb. On the other the flesh is so bruised and torn that it is practically one great sore. While everything indicates a hand we are not positive. There is no doubt, however, Uhl was choked and these marks come from choking, and they were inflicted before death. It is possible that he died from strangulation as the lung corroborates the testimony of the throat. I finished a microscopical examination of it yesterday. It held a quantity of venous blood, a condition due, apparently, to strangulation.” The condition of the corpse was entered into fully, and a searching inquiry directed to the part the bruises and cuts played in producing death. A dangerous and gaping wound in the back of the skull was described with an enumeration of bruises and contusions on the cheeks and head. The neck was purple and swollen. From the neck extending to between the shoulder blades were bruises and cuts bearing out the affidavit statement that Uhl was choked down into the bath tub and then choked up. All appearances were to verify the statement that the choking had been done by two men, one at the back of the head, the other at the front. On one of the legs, extending from the beginning of the calf to the thigh, there was scarcely an inch of flesh that had not been bruised and blackened. From the condition of the cuts and the color of the bruises Dr. Tennant and Dr. Brown came to the conclusion they had been inflicted just previous to death. Mrs. Uhl's belief that her husband was merely suffering from brain fever was corroborated by the evidence of the physicians. Meningitis had irritated him in such a manner that he was irresponsible for his actions. Dr. Brown's opinion was that Uhl had but one thought – to resist any compulsion, and a man in his condition should have been handled tenderly and quietly. As the physician explained in reference to a portion of the report: “Brutal handling of a patient in the condition of Jacob Uhl would be followed by grave results. Tender care is essential for recovery.” A large number of witnesses had been summoned by the coroner, among them Mrs. Uhl and her daughter. The widow's recital of the forcible departure of her husband from his residence, 3607 Marion street, on the afternoon of Oct. 25, was broken by her grief. The horror of the grewsome affair has affected her until her nerves are on the point of collapse. Her statement was that previous to the 25th of October Mr. Uhl had been entirely rational and had perused books with interest. He had not had an epileptic fit for months. Dr. Lemen, the smelter physician, had treated him before for epilepsy, but he was not subject to it in the sense that it was chronic. Mrs. Uhl charged Dr. Smithers, resident physician of the county hospital, with a plain admission that her husband died from rough handling. She described Dr. Smithers so accurately that, although she did not know the name, her word-portrait was recognized as painting the resident physician. After they had been hurriedly summoned on the evening of Oct. 27 to the hospital and found Mr. Uhl had been dead over an hour before they received notification that he was dying, they met Dr. Smithers, who announced (the) fact. “ 'What did he die of?' I asked,” continued Mrs. Uhl. “ 'We have no name for it,' he replied. 'Was it brain fever?' I asked. 'No, it was rough handling. He must have been hurt before he came here. He had a bubbling in here,' putting his hand to his chest and neck. After I remarked he must have been hurt at the hospital for he was not injured at his home, he refused to say anything more.” Police Surgeon Sharpley's statement in connection with the case, more particularly to the claim now being made by the hospital authorities, that Uhl was choked in the ambulance before he arrived at the institution, left no doubt that Jacob Uhl was not injured in the wagon. After describing how Uhl was overpowered and lifted into the ambulance by six men, they clasping him around the arms and lifting him with united strength, the police surgeon said: “W. T. Walker, a professional nurse, was with me and the officers in the ambulance. Uhl was not injured while we had him in charge. He was placed upon the litter. I sat upon a stool at his side and Walker held Uhl's hands. Walker, at that time, was suffering from an injured hand and he could not have hurt Uhl even had he tried.” Mrs. Uhl's testimony was to the effect that she had seen no violence while Uhl was being placed in the ambulance after being coaxed from his barn. She saw a man kneeling on Mr. Uhl's chest, however, when the ambulance drove off. She had not experienced any great anxiety until a telephone answer to her inquiry came: “Much worse.” Before Coroner Rollins had concluded with Mrs. Uhl, and to make his position plain in the investigation, he introduced in evidence a demand upon him signed by Mrs. Uhl, and dated Nov. 27, giving his permission to disinter the body of her late husband, and containing this paragraph: “Last month my husband died at the county hospital of a cause alleged to be pneumonia. I am not satisfied with the cause of death. I believe he did not die of pneumonia, but 'violence,' at the hands of brutal hospital attendants. It is your duty to investigate.” Upon this demand the coroner acted. Following Mrs. Uhl, Mrs. Mary Thady, her daughter, was called to the stand and gave her testimony, corroborating her mother's recital of the afternoon and the scenes at the home. Surgeon Sharpley and police officers accompanied the ambulance, and the professional nurse, W. T. Walker, followed. It will probably take two or three days before the inquest is finished, as the matter will be sifted to the bottom. The jury is composed of John J. Fleming, James Monahan, James Clark, D. A. Clark, Edward Brake and D. W. Ames. The jury is sitting at the coroner's office.
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 12-2-1899 – Testimony of the Doctors – The Evidence in the Uhl Case as Presented by the Corpse, the Report of the Physicians and Their Added Statements in Response to Questions by the Coroner and Jurors – Late yesterday afternoon the coroner's jury empaneled over the case of Jacob Uhl finished its first session and adjourned until 1 p.m. today, when the county hospital attendants and authorities will be called to the stand. When the jury arose from the table in the coroner's office the principal witnesses for the prosecution – if it could be called that – had told, without varying, a tale that substantiated every one of the charges in connection with the horrible death of the Globe smelter foreman. In the examination of witnesses the district attorney's office was represented by Deputy District Attorney Marcus Haines. An emphatic corroboration of the stories of eye witnesses of the choking and brutal treatment Uhl received at the county hospital was furnished by the report of Drs. Tennant and Brown, the two physicians performing the autopsy on the mutilated remains of Jacob Uhl. The technical report, although written in cold and profession(al) terms, reveals that Uhl was killed and the most extraordinary precautions taken to prevent the unskilled eye from discovering the violent acts culminating in death. The effect of the report was heightened by the lengthy and searching questions of jurors put to the physicians, and the evidence of these physicians, the evidence of the grave, was convincing and irrefutable. It should be borne in mind that when Drs. Brown and Tennant made this examination they did not know the body was that of Jacob Uhl – they were simply told to examine and report upon a corpse. The report made to Coroner Rollins by Drs. Tennant and Brown on the death of Jacob Uhl, in full, is as follows: Autopsy held on the body of Jacob Uhl on the 28th day of November, 1899, at 2:30 p.m., in a vault at the chapel of Fairmount cemetery by Drs. C. E. Tennant and George E. Brown. Description – Body that of a male, about 48 years of age, height 5 feet 9 inches, weight not determined. Inspection – Rigor mortis not present. Muscles rather stiffened. Considerable decomposition and mold about the face and neck, the mold being especially marked on the left side of the neck over the chin and at an angle of the left lower maxilla (jawbone). No mold found on any other portion of the body. On the left side of face there was considerable paste, especially over the maxilla, molar and temporal bones, as well as the muscles on the upper left side of neck. Underneath this paste is found several abrasions, with much softening and discoloration of the skin. On the left side of the neck there is much swelling of the tissues as far back as the angle of the jaw and about three inches in width; the skin is denuded in many places, and over the entire surface enumerated the skin is very soft, with marked discoloration. Over the larynx the surface of the skin is denuded. There is no displacement of the larynx. The right side of the neck is slightly discolored with a prominent area of discoloration and abrasion, ovoid in shape and 1 ½ inches in length, about ¾ of an inch in width. Over external angle of right supra orbital ridge there is considerable extravasated blood, and immediately above this on prominence of forehead is a purplish spot, which had been covered with a pasty substance. The entire lower portion of face dark purple, with the surrounding tissues of the neck the seat of extensive extravasations. These marks and abrasions are all ante-mortem in character. On right side of neck over clavicle is a post mortem sutured incision of silk about 2 inches in length. On the left side, in a relative position to the clavicle and over the jugular vein, is a similar incision. On the posterior surface of body over spine of right scapula is a raised, blackened spot, 3 inches in length. A straight line marks the inner border, while the outer border shades off gradually to a point below. Over the head of the left humerus posteriorly is a discoloration, semi-circular in form, and 2 inches in length (a crescent). Over external angle of 10th and 11th rib on left side is a discoloration 2 inches in length by two-thirds of an inch wide. On posterior side of left leg in the lower third of the leg there is a black spot two inches in length by one-third of an inch in width. The lower end of this spot joins a circular one about the size of a silver dollar and is immediately behind the ankle joint. The right leg has a spot the size of a dollar in the lower third and on the outer border of foot, on same side a black spot the size of a 10-cent piece, 2 inches above the external malleolus is another spot. On left leg, on the anterior surface is another spot, while the foot on the same side presents several discolorations or spots. The shins of both legs present spots with considerable abrasion of the skin. On inner side of right thigh over femoral vein is a post mortem sutured incision, 5 inches long. Over middle of right arm and over elbow the skin is discolored with these black spots. All of these discolorations or spots described are circumscribed in character, many of them presenting abrasions of the skin, but hard and dry, and with the exception of those already described as post mortem are ante mortem in character and the result of violence. The dependent portion of the body presents a slight general discoloration from the gravity of the blood and is quite evenly distributed, save where pressure of the parts prevents. Internal Examination – Tissues on section are unusually firm and hard, there being no evidence of putrefaction. Subject well-nourished, and a deposition of fat, one inch thick, in the abdominal muscles. Thorax – Pleura free throughout the entire cavity. No consolidation in any portion of lung, all portions floating in water. Surface of both lungs presents a network of peri-lobular veins engorged with venous blood, outlining very distinctly each lobule. There is a venous congestion present, pericardium fatty, the heart itself well covered with fat on the anterior surface. An absence of peri-cardial fluid. Heart valves are all normal and cardiac walls, right ¼ of an inch thick; left, ½ to ¾ of an inch thick, ventricular. Abdomen – Marked adhesion of the upper surface of the liver to the under surface of the diaphragm. Liver normal in size and color, with a slight cirrhosis. Kidneys – Normal position; capsule strips very readily. The parenchyma soft and pale. In a state of parenchymatous nephritis. Weight of left kidney 8 ounces. Both kidneys presenting the same appearance. Intestines are normal their entire length; no adhesions about the appendix or bowel. Stomach normal in position and structure, with a partial distension. Bladder partially distended. Spleen in normal position and normal in structure. Head – Beneath scalp and over prominences of forehead are discolorations. Scalp thickened over the vertex and the periosteum underneath deeply injected. The calvarium is unusually adherent to the dura, and upon removal discloses some congestion. There was no fracture of the bones of the head. Dura deeply engorged over vertex beneath the thickening on scalp. Adhesion between the pia and dural membrane, with considerable extravasation of inflammatory lymph. Pia mater (matter?) greatly injected throughout its entire surface, as is also the dura. Ventricles empty. Choroid plexus engorged. Incisions through the cerebral hemispheres and ventricles reveal no further abnormality. Cerbelli and pons also normal. Conclusions as to cause of death – We do hereby state that, in our opinion, the cause of death in the case of Jacob Uhl was acute meningitis, chronic parenchymatous nephritis and contributory violence. Signed C. E. Tennant, M.D., Geo. E. Brown, M.D. As soon as the report was read by Dr. Tennant the jury began asking questions about those portions that to a layman's mind were obscure. The coroner, addressing both physicians, asked: “Were there any signs of pneumonia?” “No.” “What shape are a man's lungs in when he has been suffocated?” “There is a venous congestion – a discoloration about the lung.” “Was this condition observable in the lung of Jacob Uhl?” Dr. Tennant – Yes, we found the venous congestion and discoloration and, in my opinion, with possible violence around the neck. Violence must have caused the congestion. “Would the lungs exhibit the same appearance if a man had been hung and had been cut down immediately, but not soon enough to prevent death?” “Yes, the appearance would be much the same.” In response to further questioning from the coroner Dr. Tennant said if pneumonia had been present the lung would not have floated – it would have sunk. Dr. Brown interjected that the lung in the post-mortem examination had been soft; had there been pneumonia it would have been hard. A juryman asked for a definition of acute meningitis. Dr. Tennant – It is an inflammation of the brain – A juror – Can it be caused by violence? Dr. Tennant – Yes, if the violence is sufficient. We could not tell the origin of the meningitis in Mr. Uhl. If it existed before the violence it is very possible the violence might have complicated the meningitis. A Juror – If a man was partially strangled would meningitis result? Dr. Tennant – No. A blow on the head might cause it; not suffocation. A Juror – Would the case Mr. Uhl had of Bright's disease cause his death? Dr. Tennant – With Bright's disease he might go on for twenty years. That was the only prominent disease with which he was affected. There is no evidence, however, that he died from Bright's disease. A Juror – Would meningitis itself cause death? Dr. Tennant – Not necessarily. Violence taken in conjunction with its presence would cause the gravest results. Any violence would add to the gravity of the case. A Juror – Could these wounds and bruises on the body be inflicted by the patient himself? Dr. Tennant – Yes; but the peculiar position of most of them leads me to doubt if they could have been inflicted by the patient himself. In reply to the question if the wound between the neck and shoulder blades on the back could have been made by Mr. Uhl, Dr. Tennant replied: “That is the question. As I said, I am in grave doubt whether the patient could have injured himself. And I say that while it might be possible, it is almost improbable that they could be self-inflicted.” Coroner Rollins – How was it possible that this injury to the back could have been sustained? Dr. Tennant – From the nature of the wound, if it was self-inflicted, he could only have fallen upon or against some sharp instrument. A Juror – How could he have inflicted those wounds around the throat? Dr. Tennant – That is the question I raise. It seems improbable he could have done so. As the investigation proceeded we felt that violence had been used, although we did not know who the man was or his story. But the marks of violence were unmistakable. He must have been handled roughly. A Juror – Why had the paste been placed so carefully over the bruised spots and neck? Dr. Tennant – To cover up the marks of violence. We had to use warm water to wash off the paste. When we had it off we discovered that the skin underneath each covering was gone. A Juror – Were any of the cuts or bruises on the rest of the body – the trunk and limbs, covered with this paste? Dr. Tennant – No; only the exposed portions – the face and neck. A Juror – You found both veins cut, didn't you? Dr. Tennant – Yes. A Juror – Was the body embalmed? Dr. Tennant – Yes, the blood was gone. The tissues were well preserved. There were not two teaspoonfuls of blood in the body. A Juror – Could these bruises in any way have been caused after death – when decay set in? Dr. Tennant – No; they were not decomposition bruises. A Juror – How much would Jacob Uhl have weighed in life? Dr. Tennant – He was 5 feet 9 inches in height and in life must have weighed 155 or 160 pounds. Dr. Brown – I think it might be well to add here that the cuts on the neck were made transversely, not longitudinally, an incision apt to be made to get out congested blood in the head. A cut of this nature relieved the extravasation of blood. Replying to another question if the bruises could have been made after death, both Drs. Tennant and Brown stated that they both agreed, for there could be no shadow of a doubt that the contusions, bruises and hurts were of an ante-mortem character. Question – Were any bones broken? Dr. Tennant – No, there were no fractures whatever. After the physicians had gone Police Surgeon Sharpley was called to the stand. In brief his testimony was that he did not know where the telephone call for the ambulance came from. It was to the effect that an insane man was at 3607 Marion street and to come at once. He took along Officer McIntosh and W. T. Walker, a nurse. When the end of Larimer street was reached Officer Easling was picked up. Witness did not see Uhl exhibit any violence or break any windows. When the police officers took him to the ambulance he began to fight and struggle. The police surgeon denied that any violence had been used toward Uhl. Walker held his hands as he lay on the stretcher. The surgeon was on a stool between the head and hips, McIntosh was sitting at his side about the knees and Easling was at the end of the stretcher holding Uhl's feet. There was no occasion to use force. Uhl was talking in a rambling manner and made no attempt to get up. “At the hospital,” concluded Dr. Sharpley, “three or four porters came out. Uhl began to fight all the way to the cell where he was confined. There was once a general scuffle and he fell, but I do not know whether they were all on him or not.”
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 12-3-1899 –The Truth Dragged Out – Hospital Witnesses Unwillingly Confirm the Charges of Brutal Treatment of Jacob Uhl – Dr. W. M. Woods, a physician of the county hospital, swore at the coroner's inquest yesterday afternoon that he had seen a brutal attack upon Jacob Uhl, when three porters had held the defenseless man, while a fourth, whom he did not hesitate to name, rained blows upon him. George H. Bostwick, the undertaker who prepared the body of Jacob Uhl for burial, swore that the face was blackened, the body bruised and the neck purple with contusions, when it was received from the county hospital. Miss Maude Marker, the head night nurse of the county hospital, who saw Uhl gasping and purple in the face and hands, described the horror of his place of confinement and his condition so thoroughly that it strongly corroborated and swelled the now irrefutable mass of evidence, supporting the charge made to Coroner Rollins that Jacob Uhl came to his death from brutal handling by the attendants of the Arapahoe county hospital. When the inquest convened yesterday afternoon for its second sitting it had finished with the witnesses bringing the charges against the hospital management and the coroner called those from the hospital. The three examined, the senior interne of the hospital, who stimulated dying Jacob Uhl with injections of strynchnine sulphate, the nurse who visited the dying man in his chilly basement cell, and the contract-undertaker, who prepared the bruised remains for burial, proved witnesses for the prosecution, whose signed statement will be material factors in the consideration of the district attorney. It was accomplished by the masterly examination of Deputy District Attorney Marcus A. Haines, who is representing the district attorney's office. Aided by the evidence of the grave, the report of the autopsy, signed by Drs. Tennant and Brown, who performed the post mortem examination of Jacob Uhl's body last Tuesday afternoon in the vault of the chapel of Fairmount cemetery, the deputy district attorney dragged from unwilling lips the story, piece by piece, that fastened, beyond any doubt, the death of the Globe smelter foreman on the county hospital management. The witnesses were led on by as clever acting as was ever witnessed behind the footlights. With knowledge of human nature, and an appreciation of the truth glimmering behind unwilling witnesses, the deputy district attorney disarmed suspicion as the examination of each witness progressed, and brought out admissions that were seized upon by him with lightning-like rapidity, and used against the startled witness in a fashion that forced the truth. It was an admirable place for the stern drama being enacted before the jury of six men: John G. Fleming, real estate agent; D. W. Ames, brother of the county assessor; John R. Clark, a business man of South Denver; James Monahan, real estate; Edward Brake, formerly a deputy sheriff; and J. H. Clarke, formerly state representative. Levity would be mocked by the black caskets of the coroner's office; the air was heavy with the odor of quick lime and chemicals associated with the dead. On one side was the morgue; on the other, a private mortuary. It was the rapid following-up of a careless slip that hurried the witnesses into a flood of admissions. They were not annoyed and the questions at the beginning of the examination were so harmless that wariness gave way to assurance. The patience exercised in the preliminary questions, the splendid acting of the attorney in disarming suspicion and putting a witness at his ease, and the bewildering pursuit, after the fatal phrase had been dropped, are responsible for the surprising results obtained from the hospital witnesses. The most damaging testimony yet is that of Dr. Woods, who tells in detail the terrible punishment given Jacob Uhl the night of his reception at the hospital by Charles Harrison while Uhl was held down on the floor by three burly porters. Describing the chill and bareness of the cell, Dr. Woods expressed wonder that Uhl did not die of pneumonia. He was thrown, without covering, save a blanket, into the cold cell after a hot bath. Another new feature was that Uhl was in the hospital an entire day before he received any medical attention. George H. Bostwick, the undertaker for Waters & Simpson, who prepared the body for burial, made the candid statement that he embalmed it of his own volition, for the remains were in such a condition when received from the hospital that all blood had to be drained from them. The neck and face were black, he stated, from congested blood. Dr. Woods testified that the hospital supervisors gave notice, through Commissioner Watts that there would in all probability be an investigation and Dr. Smithers, the resident physician, told Woods that he (Woods) was mistaken in regard to the struggle in front of the bath room door, an occurrence he had witnessed and had stopped. The inquest adjourned until tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 o'clock. Several other witnesses will be examined, but the case has already been proven. Both the autopsy report and the physicians' conclusion that death was caused by meningitis, Bright's disease and contributory violence, have been borne out by every witness so far called. And, now, Dr. Woods has corroborated the affidavit of eye witnesses at the hospital who first made the charge that Jacob Uhl was choked to death, and gave publicity to the horrors prevailing at the county hospital.
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 12-3-1899 –The Truth Dragged Out – George H. Bostwick – He Embalmed the Body to Hide the Bruises and Establishes Part of the Case – George H. Bostwick, who prepares the bodies received by the undertaking firm of Waters & Simpson for burial, was the first witness called at the second session of the coroner's inquest yesterday afternoon. He had kept the coroner and the jury waiting for him until 1:25 o'clock, but the six men did not care to proceed until he arrived. Somewhat defiantly he entered the office and took the oath to tell the truth as administered by Coroner Rollins. The flaring gas jets above his head threw deep shadows under his eyes. He looked worried and was on the alert, watching the coroner and Deputy District Attorney Haines incessantly. To the questions of the deputy district attorney he testified that he had prepared the body of Jacob Uhl for burial. When it was received the face and neck were discolored. Otherwise the body was in good condition. “During your experience,” questioned Mr. Haines, “how many bodies have you prepared for burial?” “During the six years I have been at it,” answered the witness, “between 700 and 800.” “Then you can tell us,” said Attorney Haines, “how long Jacob Uhl had been dead when you first saw him.” “He had been dead but a very short time – about a day.” “Who notified you?” “Dr. J. A. Smithers told me Jacob Uhl was dead. Dr. Smithers said the man died about 6 o'clock on Oct. 27.” Mr. Bostwick stated he had gone for the body next morning, Nov. (October) 28, to the hospital. It was covered with no clothing except the county hospital robe, made of black cloth, with sleeves, and cut down the back. Covering the body was a white sheet. The gray of the afternoon and the gloom of the interior, with the gas jet lighting the way to the white-painted walls of the morgue just beyond the room used by the coroner in his official capacity seemed to have entered into the spirit of the deputy district attorney. He stifled a yawn and turned wearily to the witness. “Did you undress the body?” was asked. “Yes.” “Did you – ha-um-m! (stifling another yawn) examine it?” Evidently the undertaker was more at ease. He did not glance at the six interested men sitting beside him, but watched the interrogator. The stenographer paused for his reply. “Why – yes,” Mr. Bostwick answered. “I glanced at the body before I began to embalm it, about 10 o'clock. I saw it was in a state that demanded immediate attention. The discolorations in the neck and face were quite dark and had to be removed to make the body presentable.” The deputy district attorney had both eyes shut. The coroner asked: “How did you go about preparing it?” “I took up the femoral artery and injected embalming fluid in that artery. I made two incisions, one on each side of the neck, over the clavicle bone, about an inch and a half in length, and cut the jugular veins. I made a transverse cut in the skin, following the clavicle line all around. The reason this was done was so as not to have the cuts apparent. The embalming fluid pushed the blood out of the face, thus removing the discolorations.” “Ha?” queried the deputy district attorney. “You see,” hastened to explain the undertaker, “the fluid entering the veins, arteries, etc., pushed all the blood out. It was necessary to do it, although I had not been told to embalm the body. There was a blackness over the entire face. It was more dark in the lower parts, along the jawbone, than in the upper parts of the face. There were several bruises on the face. One on the left corner of the forehead, several smaller ones on the right side, one underneath the chin and one on the right side of the neck. I saw no other bruises on the head than I speak of. Both legs had bruises on them.” “Did you form any conclusion as to the discoloration or bruises?” “From my examination of the face at the time I thought he had fallen against a bed or something, causing a rupture of the skin. I do not know how the bruises were caused. The skin was not broken.” “On whose authority did you take charge of the body?” asked Attorney Haines, in a voice of which there could be not mistake. He was plainly anxious to have it over. Mr. Bostwick's answer was: “I took charge of the body by authority of Mr. Waters, who told me to go to the hospital for Mr. Uhl's body.” “Did you have any authority to embalm the body?” “No. I had no authority to embalm the body except through the authority of having the body. We embalmed it to protect ourselves. Friends looking in a casket at a decomposed body at a house might ask who the undertakers were. If the answer was 'Waters & Simpson' they might make remarks that would injure the firm's reputation.” “Then the body was in such a condition that embalming was necessary?” “Yes.” Mr. Bostwick was asked as to the preparations placed on the neck and face to cover the bruises. “They were made of Vaseline, face powder and two or three other kinds of powder to give a flesh tint. The bruises were of such a character, even after the blood had been withdrawn, that they had to be covered up.” “Have you ever had any conversation in regard to Mr. Uhl with Dr. Smithers or the nurses of the hospital?” asked Attorney Haines, listlessly. “No. I have never talked with them on that subject.” “With whom have you talked about it?” “To nobody but the firm,” was Mr. Bostwick's reply. “Do you know Charles Harrison?” The question, apparently, was innocent enough, but an expression lurked around the corners of the undertaker's mouth, an expression not pleasant to see – a smile seemingly frozen beneath troubled eyes. “Ye- es.” And then blood surged to his cheek. “Yesterday – Friday – I had a conversation with Harrison. That was the only time I have talked of the death of Jacob Uhl to others than the firm.” The deputy district attorney had his chair comfortably tilted against the wall. But now it came down with a crash. There was no sleepy cadence in the voice that rang across the table, causing the jurymen to straighten up and the witness to cast his eyes to the floor. “What was that conversation?” shouted the attorney. “Tell us!” Bostwick looked up, foolishly, then his self-command seemed to go. After that he was plastic clay. “The conversation took place in the afternoon,” he replied, hurriedly. “I began it by saying: 'How much do I get out of this by keeping still?' He said: 'What do you know about it?' I replied I didn't know anything about it. Then he spoke about Walker, 'who used to be porter here.' Harrison went on to say that when the ambulance arrived at the hospital Walker came running in, saying: 'Boys, we want you all here – we've got a ____ __ _____ here that we've been choking all the way out.' I made no reply, simply laughed, drove off and the conversation ended. I was out there after a body.” Before he had time to pause another question shot across the table and, involuntarily, the witness seemed to answer it, although five minutes before he said he had not talked with “Dr. Smithers or the nurses, or attendants about it.” “Did you talk with Dr. Smithers?” “Yes. I asked the same question: 'What do I get out of it, if I keep quiet?' The conversation ended in a joke.” So completely was the witness taken off his guard that rapid questions met rapid replies. Bostwick continued that when The Post came out with the first statement about the choking of Uhl he had talked about it with Mr. Waters and Mr. Simpson, and read the article. He denied that he had received any instructions as to his conduct before the coroner's jury. Friday he was told by Mr. Waters that the whole trouble grew out of a fight between the doctors of the homeopathic and allopathic schools. After he had read The Post, the members of the firm asked the witness about the condition of Uhl's body. “I told them,” said Mr. Bostwick, “about the bruises and the incisions I had made. Neither of them had seen the body.” Juror Ames as this point asked: “Mr. Bostwick, have you ever handled a body that died with pneumonia? Have such bodies shown bruises?” Replying in the affirmative witness said that he had, and, further, that they sometimes had marks on the body. He did not look closely at the bruises on the neck. Another question elicited the answer that without embalming the body would have kept until the funeral, but unless it was embalmed the bruises and blackness would have shown. “Have you ever had any conversation about the death of Jacob Uhl with others than those you have mentioned?” “About thirty dozen.” The witness was again taken off his guard and unconscious that his answer had contradicted him. A few moments before he had stated he had no conversation with anybody except the members of the firm and Charles Harrison. “Have you been asked to withhold anything?” asked Mr. Haines. “No, sir,” came the answer. “I talk on the subject with everybody.” The long-hand statement was then read to the witness, and after a few minor corrections he signed it. The jurors could scarcely reconcile his varying statements, but his testimony about the condition of the body was too clear to be impeached. Under the shrewd examination it was apparent he had not intended to state things that he was surprised out of. To Attorney Haines the witness was eminently satisfactory.
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 12-3-1899 –The Truth Dragged Out – Miss M. Marker – The Head Night Nurse Saw Discolorations – Insane Cells Too Cool – Miss Maude Marker, head night nurse at the county hospital, was the second witness. She testified she had been employed at the institution since Sept. 11 last. She was collected in her answers and positive as to some of her statements. Asked by Attorney Haines when she last saw Jacob Uhl, she replied: “I saw Jacob Uhl on the morning that he died. I don't know of my certain knowledge the date he died. I believe it was the 27th of October. I think he died in the afternoon. Miss Marker did not know what nurse had immediate charge of him. When she saw him he was in the basement. “Where do you stay? What is your ward?” Mr. Haines asked. “I stay a great deal in the office. The night nurses are under me.” The last report received of Jacob Uhl's condition was early on the morning of the day Uhl died. Witness was told by the porter that Uhl was unconscious. She visited him in the basement, where the very violent insane are kept. The basement cells are not padded. She found him in a small corner room, with two grated windows and an iron door. The furniture consisted of a mattress, some bedding and a pillow. There was no chair in the room. “Who was the porter who reported to you?” “I think Charles Harrison is his name.” The witness said the other two porters were called “Paul” and “John” – she did not know their surnames. The head night porter was called “Larry.” “We call the porters by their first names,” she explained. Witness said the night nurse's name was Miss Rose Waters. Miss Marker testified that when summoned to see Jacob Uhl, she told the porter to fetch the interne, Dr. Straub. He came in a very short time, five or eight minutes, and made an immediate examination. The patient's condition, the witness said, was serious enough to cause her to remain. The nurse went after hot water bags and blankets. After the examination by the interne he ordered the porter to move Uhl up-stairs to a room on the first floor, ward 3. “I left the patient in the basement, before he was removed,” Miss Marker continued. “The order to remove the patient was given between 6 and 7 o'clock in the morning. The patient lay on the mattress in the basement cell, covered by a blanket, and partially dressed. Apparently the patient was unconscious. He was cold. I examined his hands and feet, and ordered, as I said, heat to be applied. I have seen patients in epileptic convulsions present the same appearance. I could not state he was in an epileptic convulsion, although he looked like it – had the same bluish color of the skin.” Miss Marker replied to a question that the events she had related occurred the second morning of Uhl's stay at the hospital. She knew Miss Luella Thomas, a nurse. “Now, is it not a fact that Miss Thomas had charge of Jacob Uhl, instead of Miss Rose Waters?” “No,” Miss Marker replied. “Miss Thomas might have come on later. I quit at 7:30 o'clock in the morning. Up to the time I quit Miss Waters had the patient in charge. When she returned for duty at 7 p.m., Oct. 27, she found Uhl was dead. After the newspapers had come out about the death Miss Marker said she had inquired how Uhl was handled. She asked the head day porter, whose name was “Charlie.” She did not know if his last name was Harrison. “Well, it is very strange,” broke out Mr. Harris, “that we cannot find out the names of any of these porters or nurses or attendants at the hospital.” Witness said “Charlie” told her Uhl would not sit up, but laid prostrate and was not roughly handled. The conversation in regard to the matter was very short. “When things are said in the newspapers about people being badly treated at the hospital, doesn't it concern you; doesn't it cause you to ascertain the truth or falsity of the reports?” asked Attorney Haines. “Well, in some things,” answered Miss Marker, “it is best to know too little than too much. I'm not an investigating committee.” “Did no one superior to you start an investigation?” “Not that I know of.” “Who is supreme in authority at the hospital?” “The superintendent, Mr. Sheriff.” “Did you have any conversation about these injuries with Mr. Sheriff?” “Yes.” “Ah, you were led to investigate. What did he say to you concerning it?” “He had no direct conversation with me regarding it.” In reply to a continual stream of questions Miss Marker said the newspapers had stirred up a general discussion and, it was possible, an investigation at the hospital. She excused her hazy knowledge of the Uhl case by saying her duties were such that she had but little time for conversation and rarely came in contact with the day force that had handled Jacob Uhl. “When you went on that morning to the cell did you notice any marks on Jacob Uhl?” “Yes, what appeared to be scratches on the neck. The ones I noticed in particular were on one side. The face had a cyanosed appearance – a discoloration. This morning was the first I had seen Jacob Uhl. “And with the poor light that you had there you saw the bruises and discolorations?” “Yes.” Witness said the temperature of the room was very cold. Uhl was covered with one single blanket. All he had on was the hospital garb – blue overalls, jacket and ordinary underclothing. His feet were bare. To a question of Juror Ames, Miss Marker replied she had asked the porter, “Larry,” about Uhl's condition. Larry had replied, said the witness, that Uhl had been violent when brought in. Miss Marker was also required to sign her testimony after it had been read to her.
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 12-3-1899 –The Truth Dragged Out – Dr. W. M. Woods – The Interne Saw Porter Harrison Strike Jacob Uhl – He Gives the Case Away – The last and most important of the three witnesses of the afternoon was Dr. W. M. Woods, senior interne at the county hospital. He had been waiting during the testimony of the preceding witnesses in the outer offices, and could hear but little, if anything, of what was said. After his questioning of Miss Marker Deputy District Attorney Haines seemed thoroughly fatigued. He went to where a black covered casket stood above an iron grating guarding a vault and kept the witness waiting while he leaned upon it, almost as indistinct as the shadows. The six jurors walked up and down the long room, and several lit cigars. The coroner went to the telephone, and two medical students opened the front office door, letting in a blast of snow. Coroner Rollins came briskly in and administered the oath. Dr. Woods took a chair, and his example was followed by the jurors. The senior interne graduated from Gross Medical college last spring. He was on his guard, realizing that on his shoulders depended the burden of testimony, fair or foul, the coroner and district attorney's office desired to draw from the side of the hospital. Dr. Woods evaded the eyes of the jury and talked with the coroner until Attorney Haines dissolved from the shadows, and, tipping back his chair, soberly regarded his finger tips. When he had comfortably settled himself and the stenographers dipped their pens in the ink-well he asked without animation what was the doctor's duty at the hospital. At the same moment the jurors drew their chairs closer to the witness. “The duty of an interne Dr. Woods?” “The duty of an interne is to examine a patient when received and report to the staff physician the patient's condition.” “Do you know if the chief resident physician made an examination of Jacob Uhl when he was received?” “I cannot say as to that.” “When Jacob Uhl was received at the hospital what porters were on duty?” “The porters on duty at the time were Charles Harrison and Sidney Probst.” Deputy District Attorney Haines turned to address a question to Coroner Rollins, who was sitting by his side, when his gaze encountered Miss Marker nearby on a chair with a pad of writing paper on her knee and a pencil in her hand. “Mr. Coroner,” said the attorney, “I do not wish any hospital people, with the exception of those testifying, in the room. I am afraid you will have to ask Miss Marker to step outside.” His gaze encountered two men by the door. “Have you any interest in this case?” asked Mr. Haines. “No, sir,” volunteered one of the young men. “We are medical students and just stepped in.” “I am afraid I shall have to ask you to step out.” When the room was cleared the examination of the physician proceeded. It became evident to the jury that Dr. Woods was an honest, but stubborn witness. There was something of mental excitement in the contest between the representative of the district attorney's office and the interne, subpoenaed from the hospital. The doctor was on his guard; his answers were nervous and short. He paid no attention to those around him but the placid face of the questioner. If Mr. Haines' appearance of listlessness was a trap, similar to the one successfully laid for George H. Bostwick, the first witness, it was so well acted out that the dullness it engendered over the proceedings was infectious. The jurors relaxed after the manner of the deputy district attorney and stretched out their legs. Matches flashed and the cigars that had burned out, for the moment neglected, when the star witness came to the stand, were again odorous. Dr. Woods, from a feeling that all were antagonistic to him, began to think the jury, the coroner and the deputy district attorney were not so bad as he had suspected at first glance. “Yes, I saw Uhl just after he had been given a bath,” said the witness in reply to a question, after a pause longer than usual. “Who gave Uhl the bath – who were with him?” “The porters with Uhl were Harrison, Probst and another named Dodson.” “You saw him directly after the bath?” “Yes.” The deputy district attorney's voice was like oil as he asked, his eyes still closed: “What occurred when you saw him?” “Uhl was on his back, and the three porters, assisted by another, were trying to subdue him.” The jury was already interested. There was a pause. Then Attorney Haines asked: “Where did they take him to?” “To the basement.” Dr. Woods continued that half an hour after the struggle at the bathroom he had gone down to the basement to report Uhl's condition. “Uhl was trying to climb out of his cell,” he continued. “He had his hands on the bars of his door trying to lift himself.” “Did you speak to him?” “I called, but he returned a vacant stare. He said nothing. Three-quarters of an hour afterward the staff physician began to question Uhl, but could elicit no answers.” “Was Uhl treated that night?” “Uhl got no treatment that night. While in the office Dr. Smithers told me in a half joking way that Dr. Sharpley had told him Mr. Uhl's family had requested that he be given no treatment. I took Dr. Smithers at his word, and Uhl got no treatment from me.” “When did treatment begin?” “Treatment was begun on the afternoon of Oct. 26.” “He had been in there practically a day without receiving any treatment?” “Yes.” “What kind of treatment was given him?” “Stimulation was the only thing given. He was administered strychnine sulphate and spartine sulphate.” “This was on the afternoon of the 26th, was it?” “I can not state he got this stimulation on that afternoon, but it was a fact that he was given heavy stimulation the next morning.” “On the morning of October 27th?” “Yes. I saw him at 7:30 o'clock on the morning of October 27. One of the doctors came to me with the statement that Uhl had been found in a semi-unconscious condition and was in a pretty bad way.” “What was his condition?” “He was in a semi-unconscious condition; his hands were blue, or, rather, mottled – the condition when the circulation is poor. I increased his stimulation and might have put artificial heat to him. On that point I am not sure.” “Was there a nurse by him all the time he was in this critical condition?” “No. He got only occasional visits. If his family had made provision – that is, if they could have afforded it, he would have had a private nurse. As it was, the nurse on that floor had others besides this one patient. I could not order a nurse to remain with him, although Uhl was in a very critical condition.” Dr. Woods said there was some one to see Uhl the day before he died, but the callers did not see him. He did not explain why. “Doctor, you closely examined and diagnosed his case, didn't you? Did you see any injuries on his body?” “Yes, sir.” “When did you first see them?” “On the morning of the 26th. I saw some marks about his throat and around his jawbone. I do not know how they were inflicted.” “Have you talked with anyone since how they were inflicted?” “Yes, I have discussed this newspaper talk.” “How did you happen to notice these bruises?” “I could not help noticing them. Uhl stood up before me. They were plain.” “Did you hear anyone say who or what had caused them?” “No.” “Did you have any conversation in regard to them?” Dr. Woods hesitated, but it was only for a second. The deputy district attorney was still nodding. “Yes, I had a conversation with the hospital superintendent on the morning of the 27th.” “What was the nature of that conversation?” “He asked me about the marks on Uhl's throat. He told me to go down and examine the marks. I did so.” “How did the superintendent happen to know about them?” “Mr. Sheriff was on his rounds in the hospital when he noticed the bruises.” Dr. Woods was talking lazily and had regained his composure. The jury was following the testimony closely, but the dullness of the atmosphere had not been relieved. Attorney Haines opened his eyes. “Did you hear Mr. Sheriff talking about these bruises?” he asked. “I saw Dr. Smithers and Mr. Sheriff talking about the marks. They asked me about them.” “Have you ever had a conversation in regard to their cause with Charles Harrison?” “No.” “Has Harrison ever said anything to you about them?” The witness paused. He shot a shrewd glance at the face of Attorney Haines. The deputy district attorney was on his feet. His eyes compelled those of the witness and in a voice that went like an electric thrill through the room, he threw down his verbal card: “You have said enough. What was that conversation?” Dr. Woods looked as startled as a man that had been roused from sleep. He answered: “I was present at a conversation between Mr. Watts, the county commissioner and Mr. Sheriff, the Monday following the report in The Post. They asked me about it –“ “What?” “The marks.” “Go on!” The deputy district attorney was towering over the doctor. The jury had mechanically leaned forward. “Go on,” commanded Attorney Haines. “They asked you about the marks – ” “While I was speaking Charles Harrison came in to contradict something I said – ” “What did you say?” “It was in regard to the struggle with Uhl at the bath room door.” “What had you told?” “I – I saw Harrison strike him – ” “Who?” “Uhl. Harrison contradicted me. He said it was not so.” “What did Mr. Watts or Mr. Sheriff say?” “Mr. Watts said it was all right, and then talked on general matters.” “How did they know you knew anything about it?” “I had made a report to Mr. Sheriff that I saw Harrison soak a punch into Uhl's abdomen; that I saw him lying on his back, struggling, trying to straighten up, but still struggling. After the punch, Uhl kept on struggling. When the porter looked up I told him to stop that at once. Then they took Uhl away.” The cigars had gone out; the thick air had been cleared of smoke. Like a flood came the interne's confession; the words seemed to fall over each other. “Did you see anyone choke Uhl?” “No.” “Have you discussed what you saw with anyone?” “At the hospital we have discussed it among ourselves.” “What was said at that conversation between you, Mr. Watts, and Mr. Sheriff.” “Mr. Watts said there would be an investigation in regard to the matter. I told him I would state to him what I would state before an investigation committee. I wanted to make myself plain.” “So Mr. Watts came out to fix this matter all up, did he?” Dr. Woods disclaimed any knowledge of the purpose of Mr. Watts' visit. After the contradiction from Charles Harrison, the commissioner, the superintendent and the interne talked of other matters. A juror: Doctor, was the basement cell in which Jacob Uhl was confined sufficient to cause pneumonia? Dr. Woods: I believe Uhl contracted acute pneumonia by being placed in that damp, chilly cell after a hot bath. It was difficult to tell in a man in his condition, but I diagnosed it as pneumonia. The breathing was labored. He had the symptoms. If he did not die of pneumonia it is a mystery how he escaped it. A juror: Was there anyone holding Uhl when Harrison hit him? Dr. Woods: When Harrison hit Uhl in the stomach three men were holding Uhl, the three I mentioned. Harrison was a-straddle of Uhl's right leg. Juror Clarke: Just God! And are there creatures, calling themselves men, who would do that? Dr. Woods was asked and did explain the manner of the blows Harrison was giving the prostrate form of Uhl. It was with all the force of a short arm blow. Attorney Haines again took up the examination: “Do you know whether Miss Thomas was on duty on October 27?” “Yes, sir, she was.” “Was she on the same floor as Jacob Uhl?” “Yes.” Dr. Woods said he saw Miss Thomas with Jacob Uhl once. Miss Van Trotha was in the room also, taking the patient's temperature. “Did you ever see any of the other porters striking patients before you saw Harrison strike Uhl?” “No.” Deputy District Attorney Haines reverted to the struggle with Uhl at the bathroom door. “Harrison,” said Dr. Woods, “when I saw him was straddle of Uhl's right leg. While in that position he gave him a punch on the left side.” “What was the condition of the body at the time of death? Would it keep?” “Yes.” “Was it necessary to embalm him?” “No, not to keep him for three or four days.” “Was he much discolored?” “No, not much, outside of the bruises.” Dr. Woods said he had no knowledge how the bruises came, other than Uhl got them while struggling. “I have not the least idea how he could get them himself,” he added. “When a death occurs at the county hospital, are the county undertakers, Waters & Simpson, those who have the contract for the burial of paupers, notified before the family of the deceased is notified?” “Yes, sir.” “Why is this done? So they can get there first and secure the body?” “I don't know about that.” “Have Waters & Simpson the contract for burying the paupers?” “That is my understanding.” “Why is it that they are notified before the families of even the comparatively well-to-do?” “It is a custom.” “So the superintendent can get a commission?” Dr. Woods was in doubt. “Are Waters & Simpson notified before a patient dies, so they can make arrangements?” asked a juror. “No,” said Dr. Woods, positively. He signed the statement of his testimony in the presence of witnesses.
Uhl, Jacob
Denver Evening Post 12-15-1899 – Verdict – The coroner's jury at 2:30 o'clock this afternoon, after a short deliberation, returned the following verdict on the death of Jacob Uhl, who, it was charged, was killed at the county hospital Oct. 27: We find the deceased came to his death at the county hospital in Arapahoe county, at or about 6:10 p.m., Oct. 27, 1899, from acute meningitis, chronic nephritis and contributory violence, and we further find from the evidence that the lack of attention given the patient was criminal, barbarous and inhuman. We condemn the management of the hospital as there was not sufficient medical attention given Jacob Uhl for the disease from which he was suffering. We further find that Porters Harrison, Propst and Dotson were incompetent, barbarous and inhuman in their treatment of the patient. John G. Fleming, D. W. Ames, J. R. Clark, James M. Manahan, Edward Brake, James H. Clarke. The session of the jury Wednesday afternoon was adjourned until 1:30 o'clock Saturday afternoon. It was decided yesterday, however, that enough evidence had been adduced to prove the case and allow the district attorney to proceed. The jury was summoned together this afternoon and after a short discussion the verdict was returned. Upon it the district attorney will act.
Uiswenter, Hannah
patient race W gender F age 71 marital status M place of birth Pennsylvania source 1910 census
Uletter, Phillip
Leadville Daily and Evening Chronicle 11-1-1892 – Phillip Uletter, a German, aged about 60 years, was picked up on the street yesterday afternoon by Officer Barth, in an unconscious condition. He was taken to the county hospital, where County Physician Crook gave an examination and adjudged him insane. The sheriff was notified to take him in charge until a legal examination could be made of his condition. Uletter has lived in Colorado for about 15 years, and worked at the baker trade in this city in 1879. A number of the bakers in the city now, who have known him for the past few years, say that he has been mentally impaired for some time, and that he was not a reliable workman. However, he has been very saving of his earnings, and at one time had nearly $1,000 in a bank at Breckenridge, which he lost through the failure of that institution. He continued to work in Breckenridge, however, from that time until a few months ago. He came to this city from Pueblo last week. It is not known whether he has any money at present, though he was never known to spend much, and his friends say that, owing to his penurious disposition, he has been in the habit of depriving himself of the necessaries of life. He was dressed neatly when found, and had $40 about his person.
Ulia, Victor
Carbonate Chronicle 9-2-1912 – Insane Man From Eagle Co. – Victor Ulia was brought from Gypsum yesterday by Ed Slaughter. He is to be sent to the state asylum as soon as possible. Ulia was once before an inmate of the Pueblo institution, having been tried in the county court here for insanity in July 1909. He was taken to the asylum by William Campbell, who at that time was holding the office of sheriff. Later the unfortunate man, owing to improvement which he showed at Pueblo, was allowed to come back to this district on probation. For the past two years his conduct has been fairly rational and his friends had hoped that he was entirely recovered from his mental disability.
Ulibarri, Anamaria
patient gender F race W age 60 marital status M birthplace New Mexico source 1930 census
Ullriech, Alex
patient gender M race W age 42 marital status M birthplace Russia source 1930 census
Ullriech, Alex
patient race: W sex: M age: 32 marital:M place of birth: Russia occupation: ward helper source: 1920 census
Ulmer, Kenneth H.
patient gender M race W age 27 marital status S birthplace Michigan source 1930 census
Ulrich, Martha C.
patient gender F race W age 62 marital status M birthplace Tennessee source 1930 census
Underdunder, Elinora
Leadville Daily Herald 1-27-1884 – County Commissioners – Resolved, That Hon. A. T. Gunnell, county judge, he, and is, hereby earnestly requested to cause to be furnished to the county attorney certified copies of the record of the county court of the adjudication of lunacy of all lunatic paupers found insane in said court since the organization of this county, except those in cases of Elinora Underdunder, John Sullivan, Christmas Carlson and Paul Strecklin, to enable said attorney to complete the account of this state on account of insane paupers and present the same for payment.
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Rocky Mountain News 1-9-1884 – Insane Patients Returned – Pueblo, Jan. 8 – Dr. McFarland, business manager of a private insane asylum in Illinois, to-day arrived at the State insane asylum, bringing twelve patients who had been there a number of years, having been sent from Colorado when there were no accommodations for them in the state. The newly completed asylum building makes the keeping of insane patients out of the state unnecessary hereafter.
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Rocky Mountain News 9-20-1891 – Briefs – County Physician N. Baker yesterday went to Pueblo and will return with nine persons to be released from the insane asylum.
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4-28-1911 – Ouray Plaindealer Week In The News 4-22-1911 Patient dies after fight with nurse in Colorado insane asylum.
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Buena Vista Democrat 3-10-1887 – Johnny Mears took an insane subject to Pueblo yesterday morning.
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Buena Vista Democrat 3-31-1887 – Sheriff Findley took an insane subject to the asylum at Pueblo, Tuesday morning.
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Leadville Daily Herald 3-9-1884 – County Commissioners – The board of county commissioners met… A communication from State Auditor John C. Abbott, regarding insane fund, was read and ordered filed. Ordered that Dr. McFarland, of Oak Lawn Retreat, Jacksonville, Illinois, be and he is hereby notified to return the two insane persons in his charge from this county to the state insane asylum at Pueblo, in charge of a guard. To send his bill for transportation to the commissioners of this county for payment. Ordered that the clerk of this board be and is hereby instructed to notify the state auditor that the board of county commissioners have ordered the two remaining insane paupers at Jacksonville, Illinois, to be removed to the State Insane asylum at Pueblo, and the bills be sent to Lake county.
unknown, baby
died 8-17-1897 buried by Dr. Thombs on Hospital grounds somewhere. Aspen Weekly Times 11-19-1898 – Insane Asylum Horrors – ... The subject of the child born to one of the inmates of the asylum has been gone into, and testimony covering this matter was given before the committee. It appears from the disclosures that the child was born July 27, 1897, and lived three weeks. The mother was an insane woman, who had been in the asylum six years. The father was an insane convict, who had been sent to Canon City, and was afterwards transferred to the asylum. This man became a trusty and was given some work to do in the woman's ward at a time when no attendants were present. The woman later confessed to the attendants but Dr. Thombs had the matter hushed up. The affair was not reported to the state board. The child was buried by Dr. Thombs himself in the night.
unknown, female
Rocky Mountain News 4-15-1890 – Sent to Insane Asylum – Glenwood Springs, Colo., April 14 – Sheriff Thomas took one of Glenwood's demi monde to the insane asylum at Pueblo yesterday. Her weakness was religion, she believing that a change of her life was necessary to her existence. The patient has some $700 in money.
unknown, female
Rocky Mountain News 3-17-1889 – Points From Pueblo – A young girl was adjudged insane in the county court to-day, but was turned over to her mother for care until there is room in the asylum.
unknown, female
Rocky Mountain News 7-20-1886 – Arvada Notes – The young married woman who attempted suicide some weeks ago, at Mr. H. D. Calkin's place, has recovered from the wound caused by stabbing herself with a butcher knife, but has grown worse mentally, necessitating her removal to an insane asylum.
unknown, female
5-10-1889 State Herald – One of the female inmates of the Pueblo insane asylum committed suicide a few days ago by cutting her throat.
unknown, female
Leadville Daily Herald 3-16-1884 – County Commissioners – The board met… The following communication from P. R. Thombs, superintendent of insane asylum, at Pueblo, was read and, on motion, ordered spread on the minutes: This is to certify that George C. McFarland in person and assistant did, on January 1, 1884 deliver to this institution, in good condition, two female paupers, from Jacksonville, Illinois, belonging to Lake County. Very respectfully, P.R. Thombs, Superintendent.
unknown, female
Carbonate Chronicle 7-27-1914 – Progressives Off For Colorado Springs – Starting off at 9:30 yesterday morning in four motor cars, all but two of the eleven Progressive delegates from Lake county to the state Progressive assembly at Colorado Springs today went in an automobile yesterday through the drizzling rain which started soon after they left… Sheriff Harry Schraeder and Frank Zaitz, the other two delegates, made the trip by rail, the former taking down two insane men to a Pueblo sanitorium…
unknown, female
Rocky Mountain News 1-5-1890 – Local Brevities – Herman Weber, a deputy sheriff, left for Omaha with an insane woman last night and Officer Wheeler went to the Pueblo asylum with three demented people.
unknown, female
Fort Collins Courier 6-10-1908 – Demented Woman Is Wandering Over Country – Deputy Sheriffs Whittaker and Walker drove down to Fossil Creek last night in an effort to find a demented woman, who is said to be wandering about over the country. They could not locate her. The woman carries a small bundle of provisions. She sat down in front of a ranch house yesterday to eat her lunch. She is unable to give an account of herself.
unknown, female
Fort Collins Weekly Courier 8-11-1909 Sheriff Carlton went to Pueblo this morning with an insane woman committed to the state asylum by the county court yesterday. On his return he will leave for San Francisco with Ernest Ayers, the young man arrested a week ago as a deserter from the navy.
unknown, female
Glenwood Post and Weekly Ledger 4-10-1897 – The authorities arrested a woman from Aspen the first of the week who was considered to be insane and after spending the night in the county bastile she was sent back to the silver city.
unknown, female
Bayfield Blade 3-19-1915 – Allison Notes – Dr. Spencer went down below Rosa to see a Mexican girl; she was pronounced incurably insane.
unknown, female
Castle Rock Journal 5-15-1889 – One of the female inmates of the Pueblo insane asylum committed suicide a few days ago by cutting her throat.
unknown, female
Castle Rock Journal 4-17-1895 – A woman supposed to be insane is lodged in the jail here awaiting a hearing.
unknown, female
Castle Rock Journal 4-24-1895 – The insane woman who was mentioned last week was taken to Denver by Sheriff Priest as it was found that she belonged there.
unknown, female
Telluride Daily Journal 7-3-1912 – Crazy Woman – A woman alleged to be partially insane stirred up Durango a day or so ago by parading up and down the railroad tracks in a nude condition. She was arrested and will be tried as to her sanity.
unknown, female
Haswell Herald 1-14-1915 – An insane lady was brought from near Chivington early yesterday morning. Mrs. Manlove is acting as nurse for the patient at the Sands Sanitarium.
unknown, female
Record Journal of Douglas County 4-23-1909 – Sheriff Anderson was called to Sedalia on Sunday to take charge of an insane woman who had escaped from a Denver hospital. She was taken back to Denver on Monday morning.
unknown, female
Rocky Mountain Sun 5-11-1889 – A female inmate of the state insane asylum at Pueblo suicided the other day by cutting her throat with a very dull case knife. Only a short time ago one of the inmates was run over by an engine and killed. In both cases the victims were supposed to be on the high road to recovery, and so far advanced as to not need any care. Someone is paid to care for these unfortunates, and the salary should be sufficient to make them vigilant. The inmates of the asylum are entitled to much more care and consideration than the 200 or 300 people confined in the penitentiary who should have been hanged years ago.
unknown, female
Wray Gazette 2-12-1909 – Local and Personal – The neighbors of the demented woman who was adjudged insane by the County Court several months ago are complaining considerably because she is not taken care of by the authorities.
unknown, female
Rocky Mountain News 2-8-1897 – Personal Mention – Sheriff O'Mahoney of Lake county passed through the city yesterday in charge of an insane woman who is to be placed in the asylum at Jacksonville, Ill. The sheriff registered at the Oxford hotel.
Unknown, Female
Rocky Mountain News 1-28-1887 – Bereft of Reason – The Legislative Committee Pay a Visit To the State Lunatic Asylum at Pueblo Yesterday – Pueblo, Jan. 27 – The legislative committee on state institutions… This morning at about 9 o'clock they visited the State Insane asylum, and were shown about the premises by Superintendent P. R. Thombs, General Supervisor T. J. Borroughs and G. W. Mundabaugh, the very pleasant and gentlemanly attendant of the convalescent ward. The committee were unusually well pleased with their inspection of the place… One woman with a still rather handsome face, sat in the door of her room. She came from Butte, Montana, and has the general appearance of an English woman. To a remark by one of the visitors she said: “Are you Richard Oakley's son? Was your mother an honest woman?” This creature, who had probably once been a woman of some intelligence and culture, talked incessantly and made some allusion to a murder with an axe.
unknown, Jinny
Leadville Daily and Evening Chronicle 1-6-1888 – “Crazy Jinney, was an old washer woman who did most of the washing in the camp-when there was any to be done. She lived 'way down on Elm street, near the old cemetery, in a small log cabin. Jinny used to come up to the O. K. after the bar-keeper's washing every Tuesday morning. She would tell fanciful stories about her husband being a sea pirate. How he had captured her when a young maiden, carried her off and married her. Then she would give realistic accounts of how the pirate disposed of the prisoners he had captured. Boiling oil and roasting over a fire were the principal means of torture, she said. Once her husband injected a large quantity of pepper into a man who he had hated for a long time, using a morphine injector for that purpose. Jinny never tired of telling of her husband's deeds of valor, and would entertain us for hours with her rambling talks. There are few who can remember her now; I believe she is in the insane asylum at Pueblo at present.
unknown, John
Ouray Herald 6-29-1899 – Booze Made Him Buggy – A colored man known as “John,” who has been a fixture around Ridgway saloons for years, was brought up last week and lodged in the jail. The only crime of which John had been guilty was excessive indulgence in any and all kinds of liquor for all time since he has been known to the writer. Whiskey finally gets its victims and John's time came last week when he was taken with erysipelas, which appeared in the most hideous form in his face and affected his brain as well, so that he was partially insane. The county will “pay the freight” as usual. It is a sad case.
unknown, Kate
Rocky Mountain News 12-2-1883 – Going to Pueblo – The county officials will send six insane patients to the state insane asylum, at Pueblo to-morrow. Mrs. Godfrey, Kate, a colored woman; Mrs. Langsam, John Long, Thomas Donelan and O. T. Mauff.
unknown, male
Rocky Mountain News 12-13-1887 – Pueblo Paragraphs – Pueblo, Colo., Dec. 12 – The advent of a crazy Chinaman into the state insane asylum is causing a commotion among the inmates of that institution.
unknown, male
Rocky Mountain News 12-7-1883 – Commissioner Shreve yesterday took an insane man from upper Holladay to the county hospital.
unknown, male
Rocky Mountain News 2-9-1886 – Colorado Specials – Carbonate Cullings – Since Leadville's dog-catcher became insane and had to be sent to the asylum, the canine race has increased to the point of becoming a nuisance. If something is not done pretty soon we shall have to admit that we are going to the dogs.
unknown, male
Rocky Mountain News 1-10-1885 – Mountain Mention – Golden – An employe on the ranch of Thomas Howlett, east of town, was arrested Thursday as an insane person. When being brought to town he escaped and went over Table mountain and back to the ranch where he was recaptured, brought back to town and placed in jail.
unknown, male
Rocky Mountain News 1-24-1885 – Mountain Matters – Golden – The crazy man from Howlett's ranch has been taken to the insane asylum at Pueblo by Sheriff Nichols.
unknown, male
Buena Vista Democrat 5-5-1887 – A Salida man has been attending a revival of the Buena Vista Christian Church. He has paid so close attention to it that he is insane and will be taken to the asylum. When a Salidaite essays to probe the intricacies of religion, it proves too much for the brain. Murder, larceny and lust is about as much as they dare tackle.
unknown, male
Buena Vista Democrat 11-24-1887 – Colorado Condensed – Denver has a real estate man who was converted some months ago and imagines that at the time of his conversion the devil went out of him and sought judgment in his wife, and he now considers it his duty to eradicate the evil spirit from her. In accordance with this idea he has shown her considerable violent treatment of late and has frequently threatened to throw her out of the window. He will be sent to the asylum for the insane.
unknown, male
Denver Evening Post 1-21-1899 – Madmen Pass in Review at Pueblo – Pueblo, Colo., Jan. 21 – When the asylum investigating committee met this morning… An insane gardener, unkempt and haggard, appeared before them with two red balls which he kept throwing up and down catching them behind his back in an expert manner. The man eloquently pleaded his case; he said he is two hundred billion years old and had been over the world twice; was it right to keep him here? As on yesterday the insane were paraded continually before the room occupied by the committee…
unknown, male
Record Journal of Douglas County 9-1-1911 – On Tuesday evening, a young man, about ninten (nineteen?) years of age who was wandering through the country, was taken in charge by the sheriff, and at a trial on Wednesday was adjudged insane. His parents were located in Denver and his mother is expected to be up today, and if she can give satisfactory evidence that she can care for the boy she will be given charge of him, otherwise he will be taken to the asylum in Pueblo.
unknown, male
Fort Morgan Times January 29, 1886 – State News – A man in Aspen who claimed to be the Second Christ, has been taken to the Pueblo insane asylum.
unknown, male
Fort Collins Weekly Courier 5-19-1909 – A demented Greeley farmer declares he has been commissioned and endowed with the power to depopulate grave yards by raising the dead, and has gone to Pueblo to test the system. The field is certainly an ideal one for the experiments.
unknown, male
Telluride Daily Journal 7-29-1914 – Departed With Insane Man – Sheriff Grover Brittain came over last night from his home in Rico, having in custody an old resident of Dolores county recently convicted of insanity. They left this morning for Pueblo where the latter will be committed to the insane asylum.
unknown, male
Telluride Daily Journal 10-14-1915 – A strange case has appeared in Pueblo. A man hopelessly insane for the past 10 years escaped from the state asylum the other night, broke a window in a Pueblo grocery store and in his trance worked the combination on the safe and robbed it. He was later found in a trance.
unknown, male
Longmont Ledger 11-24-1905 – Home News – Marshall Wiedman took a man in charge Monday on Main street, who was either insane or his mind shattered from some cause. He was apparently about thirty-years of age and supposed to be from Indiana. He had a friend with him named Gus Schubert, but who knows nothing about his past. Under Sheriff Thorne came over from Boulder Tuesday morning and took him over to Boulder.
unknown, male
Daily Journal October 12, 1921 Sheriff Wheatland Takes Insane Man To Pueblo - Sheriff J. H. Wheatland and a companion were in Telluride Tuesday evening on their way to Pueblo from Cortez. They are “escorting” an insane man to the state asylum.
unknown, male
Fairplay Flume 4-18-1902 – Sheriff Pollock went down to Grant this week and brought up the man supposed to be crazy, and he was tried before a jury in the county court and found guilty of insanity and sentenced to the insane asylum at Pueblo. Pollock left for there with him Wednesday.
unknown, male
Castle Rock Journal – 1-27-1886 – State News - A man in Aspen who claimed to be the Second Christ, has been taken to the Pueblo insane asylum.
unknown, male
Fort Collins Courier 2-16-1923 – Insane Mexican Slashes Himself With Big Knife – The sheriff's office received a hurry call Friday forenoon from the Colorado & Southern Railway roundhouse where it was stated that a Mexican, apparently insane, was wielding a knife and had inflicted several wounds upon himself. Deputy Sheriffs Charles and H. H. Sanders responded and the man was taken to the county jail for safe-keeping. The name of the man had not been secured by the officers at a late hour Friday afternoon. His age was apparently about twenty-five years. It is stated that the timely arrival of the officers perhaps prevented the demented man from injuring others. He is said to have cut himself upon the hand and also inflicted a body wound but neither were considered serious.
unknown, male
Durango Democrat 12-19-1902 – Sheriff Casad of Silverton went out to Pueblo yesterday with a negro, who had been adjudged insane. He is the man who stole clothing from the Grand hotel there some two months ago. He is a powerful fellow and Casad had his hands cuffed and shackles on his feet.
unknown, male
Fairplay Flume 10-30-1914 – Reward for Insane Man's Identity. Colorado Springs. - The sheriff's office is offering a reward for the disclosure of the identity of an insane man who cannot tell his own name and knows nothing about his movements of late. The man was picked up north of town and adjudged insane after a brief examination. He is about 40 years old, a German or Dane and says he came from “the other world.”
unknown, male
Bayfield Blade 5-5-1910 – An unknown man, well dressed and apparently insane, was found near Estes Park the other day and taken to Fort Collins. He had on his person one penny, two theatre tickets, a railroad ticket from Pueblo to Colorado Springs, besides a paper containing the name of the Park Floral Company with no address.
unknown, male
Eagle Valley Enterprise 7-12-1912 – A man who was thought to be mentally deranged had been wandering around the vicinity of Pando, but was regarded as harmless until Monday when he became dangerous. Mr. Yoder took him to Red Cliff where he was adjudged insane. He was taken to Pueblo Wednesday.
unknown, male
Castle Rock Journal 3-15-1893 – A man with numerous aliases was brought before Judge Palm last week from below Sedalia and adjudged insane. Notice was sent to Pueblo to find if there was room for him in the asylum but that institution being full he still remains at Castle Rock in charge of Sheriff Benton.
unknown, male
Castle Rock Journal 5-17-1901 – Tom Curtis and Foreman McGinty of the Colorado & Southern section at Parker were in town Friday, appearing as witnesses in the trial of an insane man arrested there.
unknown, male
Telluride Daily Journal 7-21-1902 – Wants Reward for Killing McKinley – Denver, July 21. – An insane man armed with a huge revolver, visited Governor Orman's office today and demanded a reward for killing McKinley, claiming to be a relative of Czolgosz and saying all states had offered a reward for McKinley's murder. He was taken in charge.
unknown, male
Telluride Daily Journal 4-15-1905 – Sheriff Dick Kermode, of Montezuma county, stopped in town over night on his way home to Cortez from Pueblo, where he took an insane man.
unknown, male
Mancos Times-Tribune 5-3-1918 – Durango sent a young fellow to the insane asylum this week who reached his unfortunate state of mind by the cigarette route. The best time to quit smoking cigarettes is before you begin.
unknown, male
Record Journal of Douglas County 9-1-1911 – Two Insanity Cases in Co. Court This Week - … On Tuesday evening, a young man, about nineteen years of age who was wandering through the country, was taken in charge by the sheriff, and at a trial on Wednesday was adjudged insane. His parents were located in Denver and his mother is expected to be up today, and if she can give satisfactory evidence that she can care for the boy she will be given charge of him, otherwise he will be taken to the asylum in Pueblo.
unknown, male
Silverton Standard 5-23-1903 – A man was adjudged insane in Denver the other day at his own request. Think what a clearing up their (sic) would be if the practice became general.
unknown, male
Carbonate Chronicle 2-21-1910 – Terrorized Women – Grand Junction, Colo., Feb. 15. – Women of this town have recently been terrorized by the actions of an unknown man, supposedly insane. The man hurled an axe through the window, narrowly missing one woman and called another to her door and attacked with a scantling and then fled.
unknown, male
Carbonate Chronicle 7-22-1912 – The peculiar actions of a young man for several days last week frightened a number of families camped for fishing and pleasure in the vicinity of Pando, says the Red Cliff News. E. S. Yoder, of Pando, was appealed to by those who had been frightened and Mr. Yoder induced the young fellow to come into his store and gave him some food. The fellow said he was hungry, but could not give any coherent account of himself or where he belonged. He frequently declared that he was divine, had been twice buried and resurrected. Mr. Yoder invited the man to join him in a “little ride down the valley” to which he readily assented. The “ride” terminated at Red Cliff Monday afternoon when the insane man was turned over to Sheriff Farnum. It was apparent that the stranger was demented and Tuesday his case was brought up before County Judge Tague. Judge Dilts (?) was appointed by the court to represent the unknown in the trial as to his sanity and District Attorney Hogan represented the state. Dr. Gilpin made an examination of the man and declared he was insane. The doctor found evidences of an injury on the right side of the man's head which, no doubt, caused a pressure on the brain, resulting in his insanity. A jury was impaneled as follows: W. S. Colerick, Frank McAvoy, Hans Harter, J. C. McCoy, A. Hanscombe, W. S. Bacon. When asked his name the man promptly replied: “John C. Angel. I am divine; have all the attributes of Christ; was buried at the age of 2 years and resurrected from four feet of earth.” He admitted that Angel was not his name, but that he was through with his other name. He also informed the judge and jury that he was never at a wedding in his life. Angel claimed to have all the divinity and powers of Christ and that he could resurrect the dead and bring them back to life. Another feature of his mania was that the government had in some manner defrauded him of $200,000 in connection with some land transaction. Close questioning elicited statements to the effect that he was born near Gum Fork postoffice, Scott county Tennesee, in 1877; that he had been in Colorado about six years; that he had voted at Paonia, in Delta county in 1908; that he worked in the Rush coal mine near Palisade and last September was injured at this mine. This injury has left a peculiar elongation of the lobe of the right ear. He seemed to recollect that he was in a hospital, but could not locate it. He could give no information about his family, how he came to Pando or where he came from. The jury returned a verdict pronouncing the man insane and Judge Tague committed him to the asylum at Pueblo. Sheriff Farnum left with the unfortunate for Pueblo Thursday. Judge Tague is making an effort to learn something of the man and the whereabouts of his people.
unknown, male
Telluride Journal 9-10-1908 – Several days ago the police picked up an insane man and locked him up at the city jail, where he is being held awaiting a decision as to his dis. It seems he is originally from Silverton, strolling over the range from there to Ophir and later arriving here. The chances are he will be returned to Silverton and his friends allowed to take charge of him.
unknown, male
Steamboat Pilot 10-29-1919 – A Sad Case – Down at Pueblo, at the state asylum for the insane, there is a pitiable case of mental delusion. A man, once possessed of all his faculties, became so violent that his family could no longer control him. His mania took the form of an insane hatred of the president. One day he blamed Mr. Wilson for being absent from Washington and the next he complained because he was in Washington. In other words his attitude toward the president became so strikingly like that of Senator Reed and his conferees that his poor wife became genuinely alarmed and called in an alienist who diagnosed the case, pronouncing it dementia – Wilsonia, which the expert declared was a new form of monamonia due, in most cases, to a slight bruise or heartwound inflicted by the object of the victim's hate. Being a man of powerful frame and wild emotions, even when in his normal mood, it became a serious question how best he could be transported to Pueblo. After much reflection it was decided to hold a mock election which should result in the selection of the victim to represent his state in the senate of the United States. After this election which was held, it was as easy as lying to induce the poor man to go to Pueblo for the purpose of being sworn in and taking his seat in a body of his peers. Since entering the asylum the deluded one has introduced 23 amendments to the peace treaty and, up to Thursday night, had addressed his colleagues thirteen times on each of his amendments. As we go to press word comes from the superintendent of the asylum that his patient is in the midst of a bitter assault upon Woodrow Wilson which he launched at the breakfast table. This, when completed, will make his 300th speech on the peace league. – El Paso County Democrat.
unknown, male
Aspen Weekly Times 3-11-1882 – Mere Mention – Dr. Teller was called to Sparkill on Thursday to treat an insane man.
unknown, male
Aspen Daily Leader 8-24-1892 – Who Is He? – Boulder, August 23. – Last night a stranger fell in a fit near the court house and was taken to the jail for protection. He has no papers about him to show who he is or from whence he came. To-day he is insane and suffering badly. The county officials are desirous of knowing where he belongs, and give the following description of him: Five feet, ten inches high; weight, 170 pounds; has on dark coat and vest; dark pants with white stripes; white straw hat; black sateen shirt; is dark complexioned; hair cut short; beard about a week old; light brown mustache; brown eyes and has lost one front tooth. If he does not get better he will be sent to the insane asylum at Pueblo.
unknown, male
patient race ? gender M month born . year born 1877 age 23 marital status S place of birth New York source : 1900 census
unknown, male
Steamboat Pilot 6-3-1908 – Unknown and Demented – An unknown demented man was held in the town jail last night on his way in charge of officers to Hahns Peak, where he will be tried for lunacy. The man is not known, apparently, to any one. He was found wandering on Conger mesa in a very bad condition mentally. He can not give his name. It is said he tried to throw himself in front of a construction train on the Moffat road.
unknown, male
Leadville Herald Democrat 7-1-1887 – Sheriff Griner, of Eagle county, passed through the city last evening, on his way to Pueblo with an insane man in charge.
unknown, male
Leadville Herald Democrat 7-7-1887 – Curious Freaks – The crazy man who was taken to Pueblo from Red Cliff a few days since, mention of whom was made in this paper at the time, performed some very curious freaks before his capture. He had been acting quite strangely for several days, moping about apparently oblivious of all that was transpiring around him, when one day he started from his room, as wild as could be, and running down the principal street of Red Cliff, he seized a little child that was out at play, and enfolding her in his arms, started on the run down the street. A few men noticed the strange occurrence and started at once in pursuit, fearing some injury to the child. The insane man then took to an alley, and after going a short distance, turned into a boarding house. Those in pursuit did not dare to offer violence, fearing the child would suffer in consequence, by receiving some injury at the hands of the insane. After he had been in the house a short time he dropped the child, and seizing plates and other dishes (the table happened to be set for a meal) he began a war upon those present, inflicting some slight injury and making it very unpleasant for those in attendance. The men seized chairs, and by bearing down upon the man from all sides, finally succeeded in capturing him, not, however, without some considerable trouble, for the prisoner is a powerful man.
unknown, male
Leadville Herald Democrat 2-25-1888 – A Strange Behaving Man – Would Not Work – A true story is told us of the peculiar freaks of a person who at one time lived in the city of Breckenridge, this state, and we will endeavor to give them as near as possible the way they were told. It seems that this party, whose name we will not mention, was for some years a justice of the peace, but after serving for some time had a successor. This did not seem to fit him very well, and he swore by all that was good and bad that he would not do another stroke of work as long as he lived. For two or three years he made good his vow and stopped at nothing to gain his ends. He would watch houses until the residents left, and would then burst in and steal everything that was possible for him to dispose of, and would even set houses on fire so that he might pilfer them under cover of assisting to save the contents. In fact he would stop at nothing to get what he desired to eat, wear and drink, which he did very heavily. The citizens grew tired of his actions and thought to do something with him, thinking such a thing possible as to prevail upon his better feelings and get him to work at something or other which would at least cover his body with clothes and feed him, but nothing could be done. He refused every encouragement offered, and swore still harder that he would stick to his old ways if he died for it. Things becoming worse instead of better, the citizens fitted up a cabin with things necessary for ordinary comfort, and filling the locker with the best that could be purchased, put him in the place and fastened the door so that he would be unable to get out. This was a picnic for him, as he expressed it, for the world owed him a living and he was going to have it. After a while he grew tired of his confinement and longed for an opportunity to be out in the open air and to have some more fun setting houses on fire and robbing them, and becoming desperate he commenced smashing the furniture about the place and trying to break the door down, which, however, he failed to accomplish. He then tore the bunk down from its place and threw the bedclothes all around the room, swearing harder and harder as he advanced in his work of destruction, until at last, becoming frantic for something to do, turned upon the glass in the small windows, which were not very large and would not permit of his body passing through, and smashed them to atoms. This kind of action aroused the people of the city, and they held a consultation and turned him over to our informant. He at once told him that it was his intention to make a man of him or drive him from the camp. He was again placed in the cabin and the broken windows nailed over with boards. He was given food and clothing and allowed to exercise himself two or three times each day by a walk around the grounds about the house. It was no use, he would act and maintain the same obstinacy that he had previously done. His attendant then warned him that he would try a little cruelty and see if that would work. So he placed his diet to the extent of a baker's loaf of bread and a quart of water. For a time this treatment seemed to have a little of the desired effect, but was doomed to fall back into the old ways, and he again began tearing things about the cabin into pieces. His guardian told him he would take his blankets away from him if he would still persist in throwing them around on the floor, and although it was in quite cold weather he paid no heed to the threat. The people of the city had him brought before a jury and tried for lunacy. He was given a just hearing and unanimously convicted of lunacy, and sent to the asylum at Pueblo. There he stayed for a time, and being very cunning, succeeded in convincing the keepers that he was of sound mind, and they believing that he was undoubtedly cured discharged him. The people of Breckenridge were during this time enjoying considerable rest, when lo! and behold! in stalked their persecutor. Once more they tried to bring out the better traits of man in him, but as it had been before so was it the second time, and again becoming tired of his actions he was given a second trial and sentenced to the state lunatic asylum, where he now is, and it is hoped by those who are familiar with his peculiarities he will continue to remain until he is cured and of sound mind.
unknown, male
Wet Mountain Tribune 10-28-1921 – The Rio Grande had a detective in here last week investigating the cause of the burning of the engine house and suspicion points to a crazy geek (Greek?) who spent a few days here and disappeared soon after the fire. The detective says the description given corresponds to that of a man who some months ago tried to damage the railroad company at Walsenburg and was finally sent to the insane asylum at Pueblo, from which institution he made his escape on September 17th. He had not been apprehended at this writing.
unknown, male
Denver Evening Post 9-15-1896 – The Berthoud Bulletin says: “John Cross, the popular deputy sheriff of Larimer county, was in Berthoud last week. He says there is one goldbug in Fort Collins. There were two, but he took one of them to the insane asylum at Pueblo.”
unknown, male
Leadville Daily Herald 1-17-1885 – A Crazy Man at Large – Sheriff Evey, of Eagle county, told a reporter of the Herald last night of the strange actions of a man who for some time past, has been working on a ranch below Red Cliff. His name was not known to the officer, but it would seem a few days ago he was brought to the county seat for the purpose of having a commission of lunacy appointed and the poor fellow sent to the insane asylum. Shortly after arriving in town the man made his escape from the people having him in charge and since that time his whereabouts has not been discovered. The poor fellow is supposed to have wandered off into the mountain and perished.
unknown, male
Leadville Herald Democrat 1-16-1886 – An Eventful Year (1885) – A Full and Comprehensive Chronological Record of Important Local Occurrences – November 12 – Jailer Lechmere is furiously attacked by a mad man in the county jail…
unknown, male
Leadville Herald Democrat 6-14-1888 – Convicted of Lunacy – The half-witted vagrant who has been wandering about Leadville in a muddled state, was to-day examined by Judge Phelps and a de lunatico inquirendo jury in the county court. It was evident without any doubt that the poor wretch was hopelessly insane and a verdict to the effect was rendered. He will be sent to Pueblo to-morrow.
unknown, Robert
Leadville Daily and Evening Chronicle 1-5-1888 – The County's Insane. Marshall Phelps, who was recently summoned to Pueblo on an official errand, and at which time Campbell, who was several days ago adjudged insane, was committed to the walls of the grim asylum, accepted an invitation to inspect the institution to which this locality has contributed so many. He describes the experience as one of the most thrilling that has ever marked his voyages through the institutions of the state, while his reference' to the inmates who were dispatched from this city will be read with interest by those who know them. “The first greeting I got from the unfortunate guests of the place,” remarked Mr. Phelps, a shade of pathos appearing on his face, “was from young Robert, who presents a healthy appearance, and who youth makes his prospect for recovery exceedingly encouraging. His insane love for alms, however, still manifests itself, and surveying his visitor for a second he lifted his hands to my shoulders and asked for a nickel. Other than that he makes no demonstration, and his keepers entertain strong hopes that his reason will be eventually restored. At times he enjoys a rational period; I was told, when he expresses a pitiful desire to return to his friends and relatives in Leadville. We were going through the meanderings of the institution, however, when a shrunken, emaciated figure darted before us and grasped my hand with all the fervor of a prodigal returned. Only a feeble, wasted shadow of its former self, I had no difficulty in identifying the figure with its hump-back as that of poor Oakley, better known as Obey, who for years resided in this city. He was as looney as ever, poor fellow, and began to chatter like a magpie, his face all the time beaming with delight at seeing us. You've no idea how he has wasted! His thigh is no bigger than my wrist, and yet he is rarely confined to his bed. In referring to his health he said he had lost his left lung and ear but if I would write to his grandfather-heaven claimed him long ago-he would replace them with a diamond lung and gold ear. Obey very reluctantly permitted us to continue the journey through the building but finally releasing ourselves we were admitted to the women's ward. There we were confronted by the most heartrending spectacle that appeared during the expedition. The keepers were just putting a straight jacket upon a woman-her name I forget-who was sent from Leadville last year. Well sir, it made my heart tremble with pity to see her writhe and twist in her insane frenzy. She is the most violent inmate of the asylum and –heaven help her husband who is living in this city-the keeper informed me that she cannot live longer than a month. We had seen enough of the fierce place at this and retracing our steps sought the reception room in the meantime passing John Peterson, who killed a man on Iron Hill, in '84, and who was adjudged insane. Peterson has but very little to say, is of a shrinking disposition and appears in constant fear of an imaginary enemy. "But it's time to change shifts,” and the marshal darted into the falling snow. It was on just such a night as that which has just passed that Peterson committed the crime for which he is now paying fierce penalty. The winds were howling in mad fury, snow drifts were heaping themselves about the head of the hill and dancing in riotous glee when a bullet from Peterson's six shooter swept along with the blasts, and pierced the heart of a man named O'Brien. They had been rival applicants for the hand of a young girl on the hill, and while one surrendered his suit in the sepulcher, the other disappeared in the grim vaults of despair. Peterson landed in the jail at a time when it was crowded with characters who had “killed their men,” and to lift the monotony of prison life, they determined to subject the assassin to a mock trial for his life. This was administered with hideous effect and predicament in which Peterson had placed himself became more horrible. He was found guilty of murder and shut in a cell by the inmates of the jail, was condemned to “hang by the neck until dead,” in just ten minutes after sentence was pronounced by a prisoner who was himself held for murder. Those proceedings are said to have been carried out with such realistic effect that Peterson thought them genuine. The shock was so severe that he emerged from the cell a maniac and was a few days later so adjudged. There were a number of other cases in the asylum from this locality, the names of who escaped the memory of the marshal.
unknown, William
Record Journal of Douglas County 5-20-1921 – Russell and Reason Stout, boys who assisted Theodore Knight in the rescue of the aged insane man known as “William the Prophet,” during the great storm here in April, were presented with watches by the Colorado Springs Rotary Club. The Stout boys live on the Cheyenne Valley ranch, where William was taken after being found in a marooned automobile.
unknown, William
patient race W gender M month born . year born 1847 age 53 marital status M place of birth England occupation miner source : 1900 census
unknown, William
patient race W gender M month born . year born 1841 age 59 marital status W place of birth Ohio occupation carpenter source : 1900 census
unknown, William
Littleton Independent 7-27-1917 – The lunacy commission appointed to act on the case of “William, the Prophet,” found him “guilty” of lunacy. He is still confined to the county jail and has filed a written plea for a new trial.
unknown, William
Littleton Independent 8-10-1917 – William the Prophet asked for a trial by jury so he was tried on Monday and found insane and sentenced to the asylum at Pueblo.
Unruh, Anna
patient race: W sex: F age: 62 marital:M place of birth: Poland occupation: none source: 1920 census
Unruh, Anna
admitted 3-18-1915 from Kit Carson, Co - Woodcroft Hospital
Unshur, Julia
patient gender F race Neg age 39 marital status M birthplace Virginia source 1930 census
Uplinger, Alva A.
patient race W gender M age 16 marital status S birthplace Nebraska source 1920 Woodcroft hospital census
Upshur, Julia
patient race: B sex: F age: 29 marital:M place of birth: Virginia occupation: ward help source: 1920 census
Upton, Grant
Colorado Transcript 8-13-1902 Grant Upton of Hygiene, aged about thirty-five, who was declared insane in Boulder county and taken to Dr. Work's private asylum at Pueblo.Sunday, died there August 4th. He leaves a wife and two small children .
Upton, Grant
Eagle County Times 8-9-1902 – Grant Upton of Hygiene, aged about thirty-five, who was declared insane in Boulder county and taken to Dr. Work's private asylum at Pueblo, Sunday, died there August 4th. He leaves a wife and two small children.
Upton, Grant
Elbert County Banner August 15, 1902 Grant Upton of Hygiene, aged about thirty-five who was declared insane in Boulder county and taken to Dr. Work's private asylum at Pueblo, Sunday, died there August 4th. He leaves a wife and two small children.
Upton, Grant
9 August 1902 Glenwood Post, Grant Upton of Hygiene, aged about thirty-five, who was declared insane in boulder county and taken to Dr. Work's private asylum at Pueblo, Sunday, died thee August 4th. He leaves a wife and two small children.
Upton, Grant
Longmont Ledger 8-8-1902 – Hygiene Local News – The funeral sermon of Mr. Upton, the man who died last Monday in the insane asylum at Pueblo, will be preached next Sundayat 2:30 in the Dunkard church by Elder G. W. Colcord.
Ureno, Juan
patient race: W sex: M age: 48 marital:M place of birth: Mexico occupation: none source: 1920 census
Uron, Tom
Denver Evening Post 4-24-1896 – Late Town Talk – Tom Uron, a Jefferson county lunatic, was temporarily lodged in the city jail last night by Sheriff Kelly.
Uron, Tom
Rocky Mountain News 4-24-1896 – Strength of a Lunatic – Six Strong Policemen Required to Handle Tom Uron – Sheriff Kelly of Jefferson county arrived in the city last night with Tom Uron, a lunatic, formerly the owner of a ranch fifteen miles northwest of Golden. The prisoner caught hold of a ratling at the city jail and hung on for dear life. It required the strength of half a dozen policemen to pull him away.
Usnick, Matt
patient gender M race W age 43 marital status S birthplace Austria source 1930 census
Usnick, Matt
patient race: W sex: M age: 32 marital:S place of birth: Austria occupation: none source: 1920 census
Utt, Charles
patient gender M race W age 57 marital status S birthplace Illinois source 1930 census
to the Pueblo County Index Page.
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