The New Orleans Daily Democrat

A STRANGE STORY.
A Woman Driven Crazy by Believing that She Is Attacked by Ghosts.

For some nights past a woman by the name of Josephine Benjamin has been in the habit of applying at the Fourth Precinct Station for lodging, and has usually been furnished a place in one of the cells. Last night she entered the station and asked for lodging, and was told by the clerk to go to the same place that she was in the habit of going. Nothing more was heard of her until a late hour, when Corporal Delmore happened to go into the hallway of the prison for the purpose of releasing a prisoner. When about to ascend the steps leading to the cells he heard the shrieks of a woman coming from the belfry on top of the station. He immediately procured a light, and, in company with Sergeant Rowley, went up the steps leading to the belfry. As he reached the top of the steps he found the woman Josephine yelling, "They are trying to kill me." On picking up the woman, they found the perspiration rolling off her in a perfect stream, and all efforts to compose her were of no avail. On bringing her down stairs she was seen to be trembling from head to foot, and from appearances a raving maniac. The clerk of the station stated that when she came to the station she was quiet and perfectly rational. It was hours before she could be quieted or made to believe that no one was going to harm her. She said she wanted to see the Virgin Mary and to be given her prayer beads. There happened to be a set of prayer beads in the station and a small picture of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus in her arms. These two things were given her and pacified her to a considerable extent. She pinned the picture on her breast, and commenced offering up earnest prayers with the beads. When questioned as to what had happened to her, she said that a medium sized man, with a black moustache, accompanied by a little woman, met her on the steps and said to her, "Come with us: come up higher." Before she knew what she was doing, she was way up to the door leading to the belfry. When she got up there the man said, "We have come for you, and we must have you, woman." When he said this she tried to scream but could not. He then drew out a knife and opened a long blade. The little woman who was with him then spoke and said, "Strike her now." The man then turned to her and said, "I am going to strike, don't be afraid, you will feel no pain." I saw the knife go into me here (pointing to her left breast) but I felt no pain. He pushed the knife into me again and wiped the blood off on my hair. The little woman asked, "Is she dead?" He replied, "Hush! she is dying!" After that the man tried to tie my feet with a rope. As he was in the act I heard footsteps on the stairs, and that moment the building shook, and the man and the little woman vanished.