Bellevue Hospital, in the 1890s, would have been a good place for Henry Hertzel.

Henry Hertzel wasn’t exactly an ideal neighbor. A slaughterhouse worker in Lower Manhattan near the end of the 19th-century, Hertzel was batshit crazy and eager to demonstrate his special brand of insanity. To add to matters, it would appear according to this article I found that his undergarments were somehow “socialistic.” On August 17, 1890, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle had a piece about a man who scared an entire neighborhood. An excerpt:

“Henry Hertzel resides at 325 First avenue, New York, and among the residents of the vicinity is better known as the crazy terror of First avenue. As the story goes, Hertzel gets as crazy as can be at intervals, and during those periods he seems wholly bent upon the destruction of everything within reach.

One of these spells seized him yesterday morning. He arose and, as his wife thought, started to his work in a slaughter house on the east side. He did not go there. Instead, he called at Louis Siglock’s men’s furnishing store, at 837 First avenue, where he purchased a suit of red underclothing, telling the party in the store, who knew him, to send to his house for the money, as his wife had it. Later on Mr. Siglock called for the money. By this time Hertzel had returned to his home and went to bed with his brand new suit on. When he heard Siglock demanding the money he jumped out of the bed and, divesting himself of his socialistic garments, sent them flying out of the window and, while in a nude state, sent the dry goods man from the house at full speed, threatening to kill him. Shortly afterward Hertzel dressed himself and went to a saloon and coffee house kept by one Besthoff, at 833 First avenue, and at once proceeded to take charge of the place, but was finally ejected.

This seemed to arouse his frenzy. He dashed across the way to a bakery kept by Mr. Smith. Here he tried to seize a large bread knife. Mr. Smith saw that there was something wrong, and saw as well that the madman wanted the knife. The baker was too quick for him, and Hertzel, instead of getting the weapon to revenge himself upon the saloon people, found himself stretched on the floor with a well directed blow by Mr. Smith. Picking himself up Hertzel rushed back to the saloon from which he had been ejected. Now he was clean mad and everyone made way for him. When he reached the saloon he found the screen doors fastened against him. With one wrench he had them off their hinges and flung them into the street. This finished, the now utterly crazed man stopped at nothing and in a furious manner proceeded to destroy everything he could lay his hands on and cleaned out the place entirely.

He then made a dash for the street and the first man he encountered was Siglock, the men’s furnishing man. Then he got mad in earnest and bore down upon Siglock like a wild Texan steer. In a trice they both were engaged in a fierce hand to hand struggle. By this time, at least a thousand men, women and children had gathered in the vicinity. Three policemen now came up and it took all their strength to arrest the crazy man.”