desperate encounter with a giant blacksmith, who had
suddenly lost his mind and become violent.
mr. hoffman, i believe his first name was john, was a blacksmith, and about thirty years old, six feet in height and weighed over two hundred pounds. he was a powerfully built man, quiet in demeanor and good natured. he was employed in the blacksmith shop of trax & cramer, which was the largest establishment of its kind in or about oil city, pennsylvania. they employed a large number of mechanics and their helpers.
it was a very warm morning in july and the men were hard at work at the shop, when suddenly the big man, hoffman, attracted the attention of his companions by his actions. he was known to them as a sober man, and[pg 250] his sudden and strange conduct was a great surprise to all around him. he became violent without any apparent provocation, and all in a moment. he began throwing things, hammers, tongs, and large sized pieces of iron and steel, in fact anything he could get hold of, through the shop. his fellow workmen were unable to get to him. he began foaming at the mouth and making a noise like the muttering of thunder in the distance. in short, he had evidently become violently insane within a few moments.
the city hall was situated on the opposite side of the street, and but a short distance north of the blacksmith shop. the messenger from the shop was sent, posthaste, for police assistance. i was the only officer there when the messenger arrived, and being the only one, i responded to the call.
on reaching the shop i found hoffman occupying the building alone. he was standing near the center of the shop with a sledge hammer in one hand and a large piece of steel in the other, and apparently ready to attack any person that might appear within his range. the other occupants were all in the street and outside the door and out of his reach. a large crowd of passers-by had been attracted by the excitement, and were blocking the sidewalk in front of and near the place.
on taking in the situation, as above described, i concluded that the only thing that could be done was to seize and overcome hoffman as soon as possible, so as to prevent him from injuring himself or others. the question then arose as to how this giant could be overcome and subdued without injury to any one. the bystanders were all anxious to see him captured, but there was none present that appeared willing to assist.
i noticed at once that hoffman was watching the crowd[pg 251] and that his attention was in that direction, so i went around to the rear door and approached him from behind, being unobserved by him. i seized him around the waist and threw him down on the floor, but as he was like a rubber ball and strong as a lion, and perspiring as though he had been sprinkled with a hose, he soon squirmed himself out of my grasp and sprang to his feet. i again grabbed him by the legs and threw him to the floor. although i was strong and a pretty good wrestler, i found it easy enough to throw hoffman to the floor, but it was impossible to keep him there, he being so strong and active. he had scarcely any clothing on, and by reason of this and his perspiring so freely, he was as slippery as an eel, and i could not keep my hold on him.
after i had thrown him down several times, which required every ounce of strength that i possessed, i found myself becoming exhausted, and finally in desperation i summoned all my strength and power and succeeded again in throwing him down, and this time i was fortunate enough to secure what the wrestlers would call the strangle hold, or neck grip, on him, thereby succeeding in shutting off his wind. i then yelled to the bystanders to help me, and finally a couple of them did.
with their assistance i succeeded in holding him down until another bystander brought a coil of clothesline from a grocery store, which was directly across the street. i took the clothesline while the citizens, who had volunteered to assist me, were holding him, and commenced to wind it around his legs from his feet to his body, and then his arms, fastening them so that he could not move. i then procured a wheelbarrow, patrol wagons not being known then, and placed him in it and wheeled him from the shop to the lock-up, where he was examined and [pg 252]pronounced violently insane. in due time he was placed in a straight-jacket and taken in safety to the county institution for the insane at sugar creek, pennsylvania, where he died in a few months without having recovered his mind.
this, i believe, was the most desperate and dangerous position i was ever called upon to face during my whole life.
the reader should remember that the blacksmith was almost a hercules in stature and strength, and being insane his strength really had no bounds.
