The 'Snake' Delusions of Thomas McManus
A man’s frantic attempts to escape imaginary pursuers leads to a series of captures and a medical examination in rural Adams County.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On Monday morning, Fred Weiand notified the sheriff that he had captured a man and locked him in his cellar. The sheriff interviewed the man, Thomas McManus, who claimed several men were trying to harm him. After the sheriff assured him the parties were gone, McManus came to town, but local officers suspected his behavior was caused by 'snakes'—a term for delirium tremens—and released him with a warning. McManus soon wandered to the home of William Leonard, where he dove into a closet screaming, 'they are after me.' He was apprehended by the Leonard brothers and locked up. Drs. Adams and Burroughs have since examined him and are treating him, with potential commitment pending his recovery.
“It being the opinion of Mr. Weiand and the officers that it was simply a case of 'snakes,' McManus was given his liberty with the injunction not to drink any more at present.”
This story offers a stark window into how the 19th-century medical and legal systems handled mental health crises, often conflating severe alcohol withdrawal with broader 'craziness' and using incarceration as the primary mechanism for safety. It reflects the precariousness of life for transient laborers who lacked support networks in the burgeoning frontier economy.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.