Family Terrorized by Disturbed Man
A young man, denied commitment to an asylum, drives his family from their home at gunpoint.
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.
William Miller, who was discharged from custody the other day because he was not sufficiently crazy to be sent to the asylum, has since been cutting up great didoes. Yesterday afternoon he took a shot at an accordion in his father's house with a revolver. His father broke the weapon, whereupon the young fellow took a mattock and drove the family from the house. The father, mother, sister and brother fled across the lake, and the father came to town and notified Sheriff McGraw, who left for the farm at midnight to capture the madman and bring him to town.
“the father, mother, sister and brother fled across the lake, and the father came to town and notified Sheriff McGraw”
This story highlights the chronic historical issue of inadequate mental health resources. The reporter’s flippant tone—describing the man's behavior as 'cutting up great didoes'—is typical of 19th-century journalism, which often failed to treat severe mental health crises with necessary compassion or care.
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