Anderson vs. The State of Georgia. appearance. Some time after he went into the employ of one Daniel Hightower, as overseer. While he was there the family sent for Dr. Louis and myself, their attorney, to adjust a difficulty; when we arrived we found prisoner in a great rage and greatly excited, using profane language and gritting his teeth and foaming at the mouth. He proceeded with accusations against a negro man named Wash, viz: that Wash contemplated an outrage upon one of the ladies of the family, and declared that he had to be killed. The brother of the lady and the rest of the family were present, but did not believe it to be true, considering it merely a hallucination on the part of the prisoner; whenever the man, Wash, would pass in sight of prisoner he would rave and cry out that he must be killed, and as soon as he would pass out of sight, prisoner would weep like a child; this occurred several times. We investigated the charges against Wash and found them to be utterly unfounded. This seemed to enrage the prisoner more, and we failed to quiet him for a long time; during this time he appeared to be perfectly reckless and unreasonable, and in a fit of uncontrollable anger. After remaining a large part of the day, I took the prisoner off to himself and advised him to leave Mr. Hightower. He still insisted that he must kill Wash before he left, but finally consented to leave; I then left. I saw prisoner a few times after that, during Buchanan's presidential campaign. When not excited he appeared very reasonable and quiet. I saw him on a few occasions during the campaign very much excited. I saw him also several times after his marriage, and he was generally quiet, until the last time I saw him, which was in August, before and just previons to the killing; I met him in the road seven miles from Hamilton; he was so changed in appearance that I could scarcely recognize him; he looked to be in a very low state of health, and had a wild, unnatural look out of his eyes; he was riding on a mule. I asked him what was the matter; he replied that he was nearly dead, showed me his legs, and referred to his troubles, and Anderson vs. The State of Georgia. said he had no money to buy provisions and medicine, and would have to rely upon his friends for aid. He seemed ravenously hungry, and devoured with great rapidity some peaches that lay in the foot of my buggy. A few days afterwards he came to my house and stated that he was hungry, and wanted to wait until after dinner, which he did; he pulled out his pipe and walked out into the piazza and called me to come there; he seemed to be very much excited, and referred to his difficulties, his condition and his poverty; that his family had possession of everything, that he would have to die soon. His conversation and appearance was very unsatisfactory and unpleasant, his expressions were wild, and he said that he did not care to live. I am satisfied at the time of our conversation, just before the killing, he was insane, and at the time of my investigation at Hightower's he was an insane man. He was not under the influence of liquor at Hightower's, nor at the time of our last conversation spoken of. Cross-Examined: Prisoner said that he was in great trouble about his wife and wife's kin. He condueted himself as men in his state do, while he was at dinner. He was considered a pretty good overseer while at Pollard's. He was under the influence of liquor a good deal during the presidential campaign. Dr. CHARLES BEDELL testified: I saw the prisoner, for the first time, in the streets of Hamilton. We were approaching each other on the street, when he called to me in a loud voice to stop, and at the same time drawing a pistol and advancing close up to me, waving the pistol up and down. He was furious, and seemed to desire a difficulty with me. He was an utter stranger to me; I had never seen him before. I was very much frightened, but preserved my presence of mind, and addressed. him kindly, and told him I was not the man he was looking for. His language was very violent, but he finally became quiet. My impression, at the time, was that he was some deranged man that had Anderson vs. The State of Georgia. escaped and come to the town. I was very close to him but could not discern an evidence of liquor. I walked with him to a store, and there some gentlemen got to talking to him, and advised him to become more quiet; he then became more quiet. He could give no reason for calling to me to stop. Cross Examined: He did not know my name and did not call me by name when he halted me. I cannot state, positively, whether his conduct was influenced by liquor; I did not smell liquor, nor did prisoner take any at the store where we stopped. SAMUEL MCCANTS testified: The first time I ever saw prisoner was at Pollard's; he remained at Pollard's about a year. One morning I saw prisoner standing on my plantation; I hailed him and asked him what he was doing there; he did not speak, but motioned to me with his hand, in a very mysterious manner, to come there; I went to him and asked him what was the matter; he answered, that there were two men after him trying to catch him. I asked him what he had done; he said, "I have killed a man;" he seemed alarmed, and kept looking for some one to come after him. He would not go to my house to breakfast, but he ate some that I brought him, sitting on the ground. After he had finished his breakfast, he asked me to lend him my knife to protect himself with; I refused to give it to him. I asked him where he was going; he did not answer, but pointed to the woods, and went to the woods. Cross-Examined: The prisoner stayed at Pollard's; he made a good crop. From what I could learn from him, he seemed to think that he had killed a man in Mobile. I was then Justice of the Peace in his district, and never heard him accused of killing anybody. Shortly after this, prisoner sent me word by Dr. Beall, "Please to put him in the Asylum." Col. JAMES N. RAMSEY testified: I have known prisoner since about seventeen years ago. When I first knew him he was overseeing for my father-in-law, Mr. Pollard. He came about the middle of the year and remained until the end of the Anderson vs. The State of Georgia. year. During that time there was no violent paroxysm, but his mind seemed unhinged, and would literally fly to pieces, for very slight causes. He was not in the habit of drinking, while at Pollard's. I have seen the prisoner at various times; he came to my office and spoke to me about his troubles, and about some law-suits, but I could not understand, his conversation was so disjointed. I looked upon him as a man of unsound mind. This was a short time before the killing. He said that he wanted to die-and said that the Bachelor boys were killing all the stock in the neighborhood, and bringing them to town and selling them. After talking awhile, he would bow his head in his hands and weep excessively. I advised him to leave home and go to Harris county, for I thought a change of scene would benefit his mind. He was not drunk, at our interview. I have seen the prisoner drinking; he generally gets stupid when he is drinking. Cross-Examined: He left Pollard's on account of a fuss with the foreman. When he was at my office he spoke about some business transacted by Colonel Mobley, but his language was so incoherent that I could not understand him. He said he did not want to commit murder-and did not want to be murdered. He seemed to be in great agony and would All of his actions were like those of an insane man. cry. Dr. R. GOODLOE HARPER testified: He was a physician, living in Milledgeville, Georgia. He became acquainted with prisoner, soon after prisoner returned from the Mexican war-was physician then for prisoner's family. Prisoner was in very low health-had chronic diarrhoea and dropsy, and his brain was affected. Prisoner was reduced in flesh and very weak, and from the infirmities of his body, his mind was affected. He was melancholy and misanthropic. Witness recollected upon one occasion when he was called to see prisoner, witness was firmly convinced that he was insane, plied him with questions to test his mind and prison Anderson vs. The State of Georgia. er's answers were incoherent and at variance with the questions; e. g., when he asked him, "When are you going away," prisoner replied "I did;" thinking that probably he had misunderstood the question, he expounded and repeated and repeated it; there came the same reply, "I did." To other questions answers given were equally foolish. Prisoner was not then intoxicated. Was called in to see prisoner on one occasion and found his throat cut. Prisoner had tried to kill himself with a razor. He then showed evidences of insanity. His mother and sisters feared him. He was easily aroused by slight causes, and when so aroused was violent. I considered his mind diseased-proceeding from a diseased body. Witness has practiced medicine for about twenty-five years; is a regular graduate; has lived during his practice in Baldwin county, Georgia. Mrs. L. A. GIBSON testified, that she is a sister to the prisoner. Lives in Baldwin county, Georgia. Prisoner volunteered in the Mexican war, from Baldwin county. Before, and at the time the prisoner left for the Mexican war, he was of a very easy and pleasant disposition and temper, and a healthy man; when he returned from said war, he was entirely changed; was very weak; could scarcely drag himself about, and was taciturn, sullen, and melancholy. He had diarrhoea, and doctors said he had dropsy. Witness' mother lived eight miles from Milledgeville. Witness and prisoner both lived with her. Witness and her mother were very much afraid of prisoner; he would be excited to frenzy by very slight causes, and often by no cause. They were cautious to address him only when necessary, and then in the mildest manner. While at his mother's, prisoner was kept in an out-house in the back yard. He was scarcely able to get about. He had no way to get to Milledgeville, except to walk, which he did not, because unable. He afterwards attempted to cut his throat with a razor; Doctor Harper attended on him while his throat was cut. Witness and her family now regarded him as an insane person, and sent him |