Claims "Happy Jack" Was Poisoned

New York, 1895

John W. Hoffman, aged 24 years, died in the Flushing hospital Tuesday night after an illness of several weeks. Hoffman was a devout member of the local branch of the Salvation Army, and was known as "Happy Jack." Hoffman's mother went to Coroner Corey and declared that her son had been poisoned by his wife, and that the poison must have been put into food she had taken him. The Coroner says it is not true.


Shinnecocks in a Big Row

The Shinnecock Indians are having a row over the question of selling their reservation and dividing the proceeds among the members of the tribe now living on the land. It is feared that the trouble will cause a fight between the two factions. The agitation to sell the land has brought back a lot of Indians who left the reservation some time ago. Those who have remained on the land are fighting against the returned prodigals.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, April 12, 1895, p. 1.

Salmon and Ice Cream Cause Death

1920

BELLEFONTE, Pa. — Canned salmon and ice cream caused the death of Clarence Musser of Spring Mills. Musser and Eugene Slegel purchased some canned salmon; later they followed up the eating of the fish with some of the frozen cream. Both became very ill. Slegel recovered, but Musser died from the poisoning.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 3.

Mrs. Gilligan Indicted for Murder

1916

Hartford, Ct., Sept. 21. — Mrs. Amy E. Archer Gilligan, charged with poisoning five inmates of her home for elderly people at Windsor, was indicted for first degree murder on five counts by the grand jury late today.

Benedict M. Holden, counsel for Mrs. Gilligan, announced that he was not ready to proceed with the trial and Judge Shumway ordered the case continued to the December term of the superior court. Mrs. Gilligan pleaded not guilty and was remanded to the county jail without bonds.

Mrs. Gilligan was arrested on May 7 last, specially charged with the murder of Franklin R. Andrews, whose body had been secretly exhumed. Since that time four other bodies, including the second husband of the accused have been exhumed.

Most of the inmates were admitted to the home, the state claims, after contracts had been signed providing for life care upon payment of $1000.

Poisons Long In Use

1910

Some poisons have been known for ages. Prussic acid, then called "the poison of the peach," was used by the Egyptians before the pyramids were built. They were the first to distill the poison from peach pits.

Corrosive sublimate was one of the favorite poisons of Charles IX of France. He offered a large prize for any one who would find an antidote for it. A physician came to him one day to claim the reward. The king sent for his cook, who had burned the meat that day, and made him take a fatal dose of corrosive sublimate. The antidote was administered immediately, but the cook died, notwithstanding. The king had the doctor taken out and hanged, so his spirit followed the cook's in less than a quarter of an hour.

Where Pineapples Grow

1878

A letter from the island of Eleuthera, in the Bahama group, written to the New York Sun, thus describes the cultivation of the pineapple:

That the soil of Eleuthera should yield such an abundance of delicious pineapples, is a matter for wonder to a person who has been accustomed to the fertile lands of the United States. One who has never been on a coral island can form but the faintest notion of the exceeding roughness of the surface and the ungrateful aspect of the ground." The island of Eleuthera, which furnishes such vast numbers of pineapples, is indeed covered in the main by a wild vegetation, while the earth from which it springs is in great part of the roughest conceivable character of rock.

Holes of every size, form and description, some of them partly or wholly filled with dirt, the debris of decayed vegetation, loose fragments, large and small, round and angular, sharp and hard, everywhere abound. The rock sticks up its stinging points and cutting edges in the most irregular and provoking fashion. No plough, no spade, no hoe, can here be used. The only thing that can be done is to stick a sprout into one of the holes and let it take care of itself, which it almost invariably does right well; for it likes that kind of soil, and sips its sweet nourishment from the little dirt it may happen to find in the hollow of the rock.

The holes are very close together, the sprouts are placed scarcely a foot from each other, and as the plant grows up it spreads its long, sharp, hard leaf blades, with edges armed with little rasping, saw-like teeth, up from the ground and abroad in every direction. The plant has a thick supply of these outbending leaves, lapped closely one over the other near the ground, and out of the centre of which comes up the fruit, one pineapple only to each plant, which then perishes, but leaves behind a progeny of young sprouts, and these being stuck into the hollows insure a new crop for the succeeding year. This replenishing can be kept up for about six years, and then the whole field about exhausted, is left to itself, the plants die out, in the course of time the soil is renewed, and fresher fields now demand the care of the pine grower.

The only attention given to the plant is to keep the field clear of weeds, and that is almost daily work the year round. One negro man can attend to about two acres. The worst weeds to contend with are a species of bidens, a plant very well known in the United States, as Spanish needles, and a kind of crab grass. One object of placing the plants so close together is to give the pineapple possession of the soil, and the weeds little chance of usurping the ground. The first sight of a pine field is astonishing, for it presents a broad intricate jumble, of a vast mass of interlacing leafy sword blades, and the first impression is that such a jam of vegetation would be utterly incapable of producing any fruit whatever, whereas the fact is, the acre properly attended to yields the enormous number of ten to twelve thousand pineapples.

There is another enemy, no less formidable than the weeds that requires looking after very sharply, and that is the rat, which, attacks the fruit just as it is about to ripen. If no measures were taken to prevent the depredations of these troublesome creatures, very few pineapples indeed would escape their destructive jaws, The planter has a remedy. Sweet potatoes are cooked, and while they are yet hot, the sulphur ends of common matches are broken off and introduced into them. The phosphorus is diffused throughout the substance of the potatoes, and these being placed among the pineapple plants are eaten by the rats, which almost immediately fall dead from the effects of the poison.

Mystery of 'Poison Farm' Deepens As Two More Die

1915

Visit to Place Brings Out Peculiar Story

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Dec. 16. — "There y' be," said the guide. "Y' see that stretch o' woods? It's past them. Nobody's ever been in them woods. Y' can't get thru. Well, we go round 'em and then down the hill and then we come to the poison farm. Giddap. Beautiful day, ain't it?"

The rig jogged over the unfrequented road that ran away in loops to meet the sky.

"There ain't many people as comes out here," went on the guide. "It's only a mile and a half from Marseilles but the woods there ain't very hospitable, and the poison farm ain't the sort of place people gets too curious about.

Two More Just Died

"Y' know, two o' them died last week, both together. Everybody dies or gets sick. It's the most mysterious thing. Now, y' take the people as lived on it five or six years ago. I don't recall how many died, but I know they was durn sick, and it always comes on 'em at the same time of the year — almost a certain day. It's something to do with them woods there, I'll betcha, altho the doctor's been working down there for two weeks now, ever since the little girl took sick. Giddap.

"You wouldn't think on a beautiful day like this as there was a poison farm right around the bend, would y'?"

For a few minutes the rig rattled along without any obligato from its driver. The country which on leaving the village of Marseilles had become typical Illinois farm country was now assuming the aspect of a broken wilderness against which pioneers were still struggling. To the west stretched the "poison" wood in which, according to the gossip of the countryside, "no foot had ever trod."

"Poison House" Looms Up

"Now we're comin' to it," called the driver, flickering his whip. "There she is. Y'see that little house. That's the house. That's where the two died last week. Giddap! Come on, there!"

The veteran village charioteer was growing excited. He had straightened in his seat and was leaning forward.

The rig drew to a stop in front of a pretty farmhouse that lay in the shadow of the river hills around it.

"Hello Doc," called the guide, and a serious looking man approached. He introduced himself as Dr. A. J. Weirick of Marseilles.

"Let's not bother the folks," he said. "You can look over the place, and I'll tell you what little we have been able to find out about it."

A tour thru the farm revealed nothing unusual. Apparently the farm differed in no way from the farms which adjoined it. The same road cut thru it, the same pastures surrounded it, the same growths covered it. Only in the pretty farmhouse sat the lone figure of a man, the farmer, who had lost his wife and child a few days ago.

An hour later Dr. Weirick told the medical and scientific side of the strange story which has aroused superstition and fear in the neighborhood. The farm has been tenanted by various families. Before the present tenants lived on it two other families were the occupants.

It was many years ago that something strange about the farm became apparent. In October one or two of the people in the place would get sick. There were deaths but no attention was paid.

The next tenants came on the farm and again the strange fact was noticed that in October sickness came and death. One after another the family fell ill during that month of the years they were there and they finally moved.

Mother, Then Daughter, Stricken

The first year the present occupants were there the wife became ill — in October. She was saved by medical treatment. The second year the daughter became ill — in October. She, too, was saved. The third year the father was stricken and saved as the others had been.

A year passed, during which the peculiar illness was absent and then in October the daughter fell ill. The father also began to "feel bad," and doctors were summoned from Ottawa and Marseilles. While the doctor was caring for the girl and her father the wife began to complain of dizziness and nausea. A nurse was sent for. She had no sooner arrived than the older woman succumbed. Her death was followed in a few hours by the death of her daughter. The husband, who appeared to be also dying, was taken to the hospital.

"It's some form of poison," went on Dr. Weirick. "What it is we don't know. The State Board of Health has taken a hand. The coroner at LaSalle long ago gave up the case. He said there was nothing he could do.

"There is something strange and perhaps unknown to our science lurking in those dense woods or in the pastures. We're as far from a solution of the various deaths and illnesses as ever."

"Giddap," cried the guide, leaving the hospital, whither Dr. Weirick had gone. "I tell y' what, young fella. If y' want the real story o' this poison farm y' go ask Looie over t' Marseilles. He knows. It was he as came thru them woods one night after celebratin' in Ottawa, and while I ain't got no faith in what he says an' no belief in them kind o' things, y' just go and ask him if y' want the real story about why everybody dies in October sudden when they lives on that farm."

A Strange Bed Fellow

1896

A. B. Goodwyn tells of rather an amusing incident, but what might have proved a serious accident, which occurred near the Lincoln County line.

Aaron Woody, with his family, lives in a small dug-out near Barnard, and one night last week Sam White's cattle broke out and one of the steers weighing about sixteen hundred pounds wandered onto the roof of the dug-out and went directly over the bed occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Woody. He went, like McGinty, to the bottom, striking the bed, but fortunately he fell across the headboard and not directly on the sleeping occupants.

Mr. Woody finally got the steer off and looked after the injuries of his wife and child. The latter he at first thought had been killed, and a doctor was sent for, but it speedily recovered and no serious injury except a terrific scare resulted from the accident.

This is a great country, where cattle wander on top of the houses and fall in on people while they are asleep. — Minneapolis Messenger.


Oriental Secrets

The Orientals possess the secrets of certain poisons in which they dip their daggers; a scratch from one of these poisoned instruments causes death. It is compounded of certain herbs and berries unknown to Europeans. — Detroit Tribune.

Poisoning as a Profession

1916

Use of Deadly Gases Recalls Politics of the Dark Age Statemen and Diplomats

It is interesting today, when the opposing armies are "removing" their opponents en bloc by the use of poisonous vapors, to recall the horror evoked by the deeds of poisoners in the past. The names of the Borgias and the Medici are to this day held up to the detestation of mankind. Yet these and their like only poisoned individuals; the fighting forces today are compelled to endeavor to poison entire armies!

Their wholesale methods will doubtless go to enrich the annals of historical poisoning. For poison has played a great part in history. The employment of poison by the ancients is graphically and terribly illustrated in the deaths of Socrates, Demosthenes, Hannibal and Cleopatra, while in the reign of Artaxerxes II. (Memnon), B.C. 405-350, Phrysa poisoned the Queen Statira by cutting food with a knife poisoned on one side.

In the early part of the Christian era numberless professional poisoners arose, and for a long time exercised their trade with impunity. "Poisoning," says a well known authority, "was so much in use as a political engine that Agrippina (A.D. 26) refused to eat of some apples offered her at table by her father-in-law, Tiberius." It is a curious fact that Agrippina, while refusing to partake of these apples from her fear of being poisoned, was herself guilty of the poisoning of Claudius; but poetic justice was meted out to her in the death (by poison) of her son, Britannicus.

It was at this time, too, that the infamous Locusta flourished. She is said to have supplied, with suitable directions, the poison by which Agrippina got rid of Claudius; and she was also the principal agent in the preparation of the poison that was administered to Britannicus by order of his brother Nero.

"It was the custom of the Romans to drink hot water," says Mr. Wynter Blythe, "a draught nauseous enough to us, but, from fashion or habit, considered by them a luxury. And as no two men's tastes are alike, great skill was shown by the slaves in bringing the water to exactly that degree of heat which their respective masters found agreeable.

"A slave brings water to Britannicus; it is too hot; Britannicus refuses it. The slave adds cold water, and it is this cold water that is supposed to have been poisoned. In any case, Britannicus died, and extraordinary lividity spread over the corpse, which they attempted to conceal by painting the face."

There has come down to us a curious document, said to have been drawn out by Charles de Mauvais, King of Navarre, which shows how arsenic was much favored as a political weapon by crowned heads in the fourteenth century. It is a commission of murder given to a certain Wouderton.

"Go thou to Paris. Thou canst do great service if thou wilt. Do what I tell thee. I will reward thee well. Thou shall do thus: There is a thing which is called sublime arsenic. If a man eat a bit the size of a pea he will never survive. Thou wilt find it in Pampeluna, Bordeaux, Bayonne, and in all good towns through which thou will pass, at the apothecaries' shops.

"Take it and powder it; and when thou shalt be in the house of the king, and of Valois, his brother, the Dukes of Berry, Burgundy and Bourbon, draw near and betake this to the kitchen, to the larder, to the cellar, and in other places where thy point can be best gained. Put the powder in the soups, meats or wines, provided that thou canst do it secretly. Otherwise do it not."

Wouderton, failing to accomplish his task, was detected and executed in 1384.

No better example of this dread in which poisoners were held can be quoted than the fact that at so late a period as the reign of Henry VII extraordinary precautions were thought necessary for preserving the life of the infant heir. It was ordained that no person, of whatsoever rank, except the regular attendants in the nursery, were to approach the cradle, except with an order from the king's hand. Moreover, everything intended for the royal infant was boiled, to prevent all risk of poison as far as possible.

One of the more recent instances of political poisoning is that of the Sultan Abdul-Aziz, who died May 30, 1876. By reason of his advanced ideas he was forced to abdicate the throne, and four days later the unhappy sultan was found dead, it is almost certain by foul play. — From London Answers.

Woman from "Restricted District" Commits Suicide

Reno, 1912

YOUNG WOMAN TIRES OF LIFE

After Filing Suit for Divorce She Takes Poison and Passes Away

At Time of Death Was Leading Miserable Life in This City

Bertha Manhart, a young woman who for some months past has been in a house in the restricted district, died in a local hospital last night from the effects of bichloride of mercury poisoning taken Saturday evening in the house in which she lived, and yesterday afternoon a woman of the same name filed a suit for divorce in the district court against Elmer L. Manhart. The attorneys for the woman who filed the suit state that they do not know whether their client is the same person who died last night or not, but friends of the dead woman state that she is the woman who filed the suit and that her husband resides in Salt Lake City or Chicago. They also state that she had a little daughter in Chicago living with her mother and that her sister, who is said to be a vaudeville artist, is on her way from Salt Lake City to Reno to take charge of the remains and to attend to the administration of her estate.

The woman came to this city about eight months ago and entered a house in the restricted district and it is said that she had two bank accounts in the city and that she also sent considerable money to the east. It has been stated that she is a native of Florida, but acquaintances who claim to know something of her life, state that she came to Reno from Salt Lake city and that prior to that time she was a resident of Chicago.

One of her friends stated this morning that the woman took mercury tablets Saturday evening and was taken to a local hospital and last evening death claimed her.

This morning the county physicians performed an autopsy on the body and tomorrow morning Coroner Lee J. Davis will hold an inquest when more facts concerning the unfortunate woman's life may become known. She was known in the tenderloin district as Margaret.

—Reno Evening Gazette, Reno, June 19, 1912, p. 1.

2-Year-Old Child Declared Intoxicated, Also Parents

1909

Baby Drunk; Also Parents

CHICAGO — The 2-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Doyle was declared to be intoxicated when taken to the City Relief Hospital by the police. Doyle and his wife were arrested at Clark and Lake streets, Chicago. The woman, intoxicated, had fallen asleep on the sidewalk and her husband was on the curbing in the same condition, the child was clinging to his neck. The parents were locked up at the Harrison street station, and after the child was cared for at the hospital it was placed in the care of the police matron. Doyle gave his age as 26, but could not tell where he lived.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Oct. 9, 1909, p. 1.


Drinks Iodine for Cider

LOS ANGELES, Cal., Oct. 7 — The filing of a death notice disclosed a peculiar case of accidental poisoning. Mrs. Katherine F. Lynch of New York, a guest at a hotel, went to the pantry of her apartment last Sunday to take a drink of cider and in the darkness drank iodine. She died 24 hours later.


Had 4 Wives; 35 Children

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — A. Milton Musser, 70 years old, assistant historian of the Mormon Church and one of the early pioneers of Utah, died, following an operation for intestinal trouble. He had four wives and was the father of thirty-five children.

Your Nose Is Safest Guard Against Poison

1920

Impure Foods Can Be Detected by Sense of Smell

It may not be an elegant thing to do, but if people would smell their food before eating it there would be fewer cases of poisoning, scientists declare. One's nose can generally be depended upon to protect him from injurious foods, if only he would follow the dictates of his sense of smell.

In making an investigation in connection with a case of ptomaine poisoning recently, the experts stated that "in every case known the canned food that contained the dangerous bacilli had an abnormal and usually offensive odor." The ripe olives that have caused such disasters lately do not have an agreeable scent. Where meat causes the trouble, a tainted odor is easily perceptible. So it seems that all one need to is to follow his nose, or at least be guided by what it suggests to him.

"Nature knew what she was going when she gave us the sense of smell. It is more inherent than the sense of taste or of vision. It was the only way we had of telling what was good to eat, in the beginning, for neither the eyes nor the sense of taste is so precise in the matter of protecting us from harm. The so-called lower animals still depend upon the sense of small to protect them from noxious vegetation, and we have not gotten so far away from the animal that we can ignore Nature's greatest of all safeguards."

--The Saturday Blade, Chicago, March 27, 1920, page 7.

Father of Luikart Babies Sues Wife

1920

BRINGS DIVORCE ACTION IN A MICHIGAN COURT

Charges Mate, Who Poisoned Little Girls, Was Believer in "Sex Antagonism"

DETROIT, Mich. -- Roy E. Luikart, father of Shirley and Edna Luikart, whom the mother, Mrs. Hazel Luikart of Royal Oak, attempted to poison last September, has brought divorce action in the Circuit Court, it became known. Mrs. Luikart is held in the Ionia Hospital for Criminal Insane.

The bill of complaint says the mother was much in the company of a Royal Oakman, who had promised to take her to Europe just before she tried to end the lives of her daughters.

Thought "Women Were Toys"

According to the bill of complaint, Mrs. Luikart became a devotee of the philosophy of "sex antagonism." The husband says she told him "women were the toys and playthings of men, that men never suffered, and that she had made all the sacrifices and he had made none."

The bill reviews the poisoning case, and how Shirley and Edna were saved by being taken to Dr. Carter in Chicago, where they attracted the sympathy of the entire country. Luikart alleges that on the day of the poisoning Mrs. Luikart and the man he names had an appointment, which the man failed to keep.

Mother Named in Suit

The Royal Oak man is made a party to the court proceedings. Two other co-defendants are Alexander Zora, stepfather of Mrs. Luikart, and Mrs. Luikart's mother.

--The Saturday Blade, Chicago, March 27, 1920, page 3.

Boy Admits Guilt In Parents' Death

1920
----------
GIRL CONFESSES HER PART AS POISONER.

Says She Killed Pair for Objecting to Son's Marriage -- Youth's Sister Recovers

SALINA, Kan., May 20. -- A statement that he had taken part in the killing of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Bunch of Lincoln Center, Kan., who died from poisoning a year and a half ago, has been made to the county authorities by Lee Bunch, according to report.

During the day Miss Stella Hyman, 20, is said to have told the authorities she had killed the Bunches by putting fly poison in their food. Mrs. Bunch was Miss Hyman's sister. Miss Hyman told the authorities the alleged killing was actuated by the fact that the Bunches refused to permit their son to marry her.

She also said she had placed poison in the food of Miss Nancy Bunch, sister of Lee Bunch. Miss Nancy Bunch recovered, but, according to physicians, will be an invalid permanently.

The poison was administered to Mrs. Bunch some time between July 21 and 25, 1918, Miss Hyman said. She died Aug. 1. After his return from the funeral, Mr. Bunch continued his abuse, according to Miss Hyman.

"I thought I might as well kill him as to have him kill me," her statement says, after saying that he used a revolver in threatening her.

On Aug. 14 Mr. Bunch died. Because of the similarity of the symptoms preceding the two deaths, an inquest was held. Since then officers have been working quietly on the case, with the result that Miss Hyman and Lee Bunch were arrested and are being held on charges for investigation. Having confessed the poison plan, as alleged, a charge of murder will be placed against them.

--The Saturday Blade, Chicago, May 22, 1920, page 4.

Whole Family Arrested for Horsewhipping Youth

Richmond, Indiana, 1909
----------
LASHED BOY WITH BAD TONGUE.

Whole Family Arrested for Horsewhipping Youth.

Richmond, Ind., Sept. 6.—The entire family of William C. Bass will appear in the city court today to answer to charges of assault and battery on Arthur Englebert. The family includes Mr. and Mrs. Bass, Miss Isabelle Bass and Ellsworth Bass.

The charge of assault and battery grows out of a horsewhipping that Miss Bass administered to young Englebert when she says she learned that he was circulating stories detrimental to her.

The Bass and Englebert families reside close together and Englebert was caught in passing the Bass home and was lashed with a blackshake whip until he was scarcely able to walk.

It is said Englebert apologized before he was allowed to leave the Bass home. He meant to let the matter drop, but the affair became public and he then swore out warrants against the Bass family. At first he tried to obtain a revolver and revisit the Bass home for revenge, but he was dissuaded from this.

--Fort Wayne Weekly Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, September 8, 1909, page 2.


DIES REJOICING IN CRIME

New York Woman Who Slew Faithless Lover Expires Happily.

New York, Sept. 6.—Still unrepentant for her act, Elizabeth Clara Becker, the young woman who on Saturday killed John A. Gunther, Jr., the garage proprietor, with whom she lived, and then shot herself, died today at a Brooklyn hospital. Her last words expressed satisfaction that Gunther was dead. The woman said she shot him because he was untrue to her.

--Fort Wayne Weekly Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, September 8, 1909, page 2.



Chocolate quinine proved so toothsome to the five-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Byron Emley, of Huntington, that the little tot drank eight tablespoonsful of the medicine during the absence of her mother. The child will recover, but may be deaf as a result of the dose.

--Fort Wayne Weekly Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, September 8, 1909, page 2.

This Woman Planned Self-Destruction

----------
COOLLY

This Woman Planned Self-Destruction - Wholesale Poisoning.

Cincinnati, Dec. 17.-A woman calling herself Gladys Esmond committed suicide in a rooming house here. The suicide was most carefully planned. The bed upon which she was found dead had been dragged from the original position in order to bring it in close proximity to the gas jet. Over the face of the suicide was a miniature tent made from a piece of muslin upon which was stitched a quantity of cotton batting. Fitted upon the gas jet was a paper tube, the other end of which was under the face covering. The gas was turned on. Examination of the batting proved that it had been soaked with chloroform. On the bed within easy reach was a sharp knife. In a letter found in the room the woman said she hailed from Chicago, was an orphan, and tired of life.

--The Daily Herald, Delphos, Ohio, December 17, 1900, page 1.



STORY OF THE SUICIDE BY FOND DU LAC PAPER.

A.E. Krause Had Leased a Saloon and Was About to Engage In Business.

The patrol wagon was summoned to Lakeside park at 7:30 o'clock Wednesday evening to pick up the remains of an unknown suicide, who had taken his life by swallowing a small vial of carbolic acid.

The unfortunate proved to be an Oshkosh laboring man by the name of A. E. Krause, whom ill health and misfortune had driven to take his own life by desperate means. A note book found on his person bore the above name on the fly leaf and the address, 248 Thirteenth street, Oshkosh, Wis.

The body was discovered lying in the weeds east of the southern extremity of the "dredge cut" at seven o'clock, by some boys who had been fishing. The discovery was reported to Jarvais Jewson, who telephoned from his boat livery for the patrol. The man was still living at this time, but breathed his last just before the arrival of the wagon. A small vial which had contained carbolic acid was found within a few feet of the body, and the odor of the acid could also be detected on the dead man's lips, showing conclusively the road he had chosen.

The remains were taken to the police station, where Dr. Mayham made an examination and announced that death had taken place at least fifteen minutes before. The only valuables found on the person of the suicide were a pocketbook containing eight dollars, and a chased gold ring. In the pocketbook was found the following note, which appeared to have been hastily written, as the characters were irregular and indistinct:

"Dear Frances: Worry over poor health is the cause. Forgive and may God comfort you, a true and faithful wife."

The note bore no signature and was unaddressed. The note book in which the name of the suicide was found contained no other writing, every page being blank.

Several Oshkosh people viewed the remains at the police station, but none was able to identify them. The wife arrived on a late Northwestern train, in response to a telegram informing her of her husband's death.

Justice of the Peace Thomas Watson convened the following coroner's jury: Chief Schaefer, Officers Nolan and Ecke, Chief Fire Marshal Frank Parker, E. R. Paterick and H. L. McDonald. After an examination of the remains the inquest was adjourned until two o'clock, when a verdict of suicide by swallowing carbolic acid was rendered.

The remains of Mr. Krause were taken to Oshkosh, being accompanied by his wife, a sister-in-law and a nephew. It was learned that Mr. Krause had leased the saloon south of the No. 5 engine house and was planning to engage in the business with his nephew who, until recently, tended bar for the Rechaud Brewing company.--Fond du Lac Commonwealth.

--The Daily Northwestern, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, June 22, 1900, page 3.

The Razor Was Still Clutched in Her Hand

----------
MRS. BAILEY CUTS THROAT WITH RAZOR

Suicide of the Wife of a Young Morgan County Farmer.

SHE HAD BEEN DESPONDENT

And Her Suicide Is Attributed to Insanity.

HER BODY FOUND YESTERDAY MORNING

The Razor Was Still Clutched in the Hand -- Suicide Caused a Sensation.

Madison, Ga., January 13.-(Special.)- News was received over a private telephone wire from Moxeys, Ga., this morning concerning a sensational suicide which occurred there last night. Mrs. T. B. Bailey, wife of a prominent young farmer, who resided at Moxeys, cut her throat with a razor. When found about 9 o'clock her body was in a woodshed cold and stiff in death, the razor still in her hand. Her mind is supposed to have been unbalanced, as she was gloomy and despondent several days previous to her death. She leaves a little babe two months old. The affair created quite a sensation in that section.

--The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, January 14, 1900, page 4.



HER LOVE AFFAIR CAUSES SUICIDE

Miss Lena Mierson of Marinette, Takes a Dose of Corrosive Sublimate.

Marinett, Wis., Jan. 26-[Special Telegram] - Miss Lena Mierson, a domestic employed at the home of A. D. Curtis, committed suicide last night. She took corrosive sublimate. She refused to take antidotes. Disappointment over a love affair was the cause.

--The Daily Gazette, Janesville, Wisconsin, January 26, 1900, page 1.



Kills Baby and Self.

Mrs. Valentine Roullier, committed suicide at Two Rivers by drowning, taking with her her two-year-old daughter. The bodies were recovered. The cause of the deed is attributed to constant worrying because her husband intended to take up farming, to which she had a decided aversion.

--Monroe Weekly Times, Monroe, Wisconsin, October 18, 1900, page 3.

He Bought Strychnine Three Times: Looks Like Suicide

----------
Believe He Killed Himself.

Marshall, Mich., Feb. 15.-Harry Dickey, son of Col. F. W. Dickey, died at his home west of this city under circumstances that make the suicide theory plausible. He came to town as usual and told his employer he was ill and would go home. He bought strychnine in three places. His mother found him dying in convulsions. He died without regaining consciousness. Dickey was 21 years old and served through the Spanish war as a bugler for company K, Thirty-fifth Michigan regiment.

--The Daily Gazette, Janesville, Wisconsin, February 15, 1900, page 3.



HANGED HIMSELF.

Tolland Farmer Becoming Despondent Takes His Life.

Rockville, July 17.-Lemuel B. Joslyn, an old Tolland farmer, committed suicide Sunday afternoon at his home, about a mile from Tolland street.

He was last seen alive just before noon by his nearest neighbor, James Staples, who frequently called upon him. About 3 o'clock Mr. Staples again went over to the Joslyn house and not finding the old man there went to the barn, the doors of which stood open. He found Mr. Joslyn hanging to the stationary ladder leading to the haymow. He had tied a rope about his neck and then fastened the other end to a rung of the ladder. He evidently stood on his toes to tie the knot, for when found his knees almost touched the barn floor.

Despondency over ill health is supposed to have caused the old man to take his life. His health had been poor ever since he had the grip, which was followed by rheumatism. He lived alone, his second wife having died some months ago. For some time he had a housekeeper, but of late had been without one.

He cooked and ate dinner Sunday, as was evidenced by the dishes on the table. Mr. Joslyn was 77 years old and had been a farmer in this section for the last 25 or 30 years. He was a brother of Edmund Joslyn, first selectman of the town of Tolland.

Coroner Phelps investigated the case and found that it was a case of suicide. The funeral was held this afternoon at 2 o'clock at his late home.

--Naugatuck Daily News, Naugatuck, Connecticut, July 17, 1900, page 1.



Excitement Caused Suicide.

Frank Whitehead, aged 30, son of David Whitehead, a farmer living three miles north of Whitewater, committed suicide at the home of his father by shooting. He was to have been married the next day to Miss Lily Taylor, daughter of Henry Taylor, of Whitewater, and all preparations had been made for the wedding. Excitement over the coming wedding is supposed to have been the cause of the deed.

--Monroe Weekly Times, Monroe, Wisconsin, October 18, 1900, page 3.

A Thousand Veterans Poisoned By Food

LEAVENWORTH, Kan., March 22 -- More than 1,000 veterans at the national soldiers' home near here are suffering from ptomaine poisoning, the result of eating meat hash at breakfast this morning. No deaths were reported up to a late hour to-day.

--Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, March 24, 1907, page 5.