The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1861-07-06

4 foucnixa uCDIxfia noM1uED q wr1R TH1
IOWA fDooRAs=R ba nleslg 1s,e

UNnneUl1ED sxey6.l i Is. a. xasnjll
foucHMa ucDRxrt .cosx,c1Ep WEB 1HI
IOWA flooeAssE baa nlesis ,1ssl
James Francis Rhoad4. ~ FsM HAlieh ,ecun. Z
,, Iowa, private In Colnnny Bot the dRsg.
mont here, departed thii ~. 81 liuicide. last |;
hight, the cause bssg disappointed affection.
From bis most intimate friend, Mr. VA
Stuart, also member Of COMPANY B, ~ eaiu I
he most Of the fo)lowing particulars: '7Sal
M. Rhoads veS . young man Of about ~ |
Iears . msmbserswe believe, Of the Baptist |
Church and . naeivs aof New Yosk. BE. REL
moved TO MichiQek, aaltefward TO the northern
part Of this Stats Ind then % Pella, Marion Co,
where, with the enesPsiea Of : year or 90 at
Central University, I'll enliStine II 06mpsny b
Of the I'd Regt His only near relatives are bel
lieved to be mother end Eve brothers reaae@g |
Domew here in xisooasi. ? f1Kf ginGa2 /
For some time s. had bssa eaga4ed 20 Ayoung
ladv of PeIla, Mo- Mary Bartlets Lately be |
had written TO hSf ssveral lettep, and, on Mon
day last received from her one in which, infu.
snced, a. il beloved, by her family, che broke
her engagement with him. He possessed q great
power Of concealing his motives, and his friends
and companions had not noticed anything peeu.
liar about him till yesterday at about p. M,
when, or parting with Mrs. Stuart and Mrs.,
Wh,tny and some others Of his friends, he seem.
ed, they said, entirely broken down. They sup.
posed his parting 70 be but to 70 With his Reei-
ment TO Missouri. Sometime after. 3 o'clock, i
being excused from camp, he came down aineo
town and wrote for some unexpectedly the
letters appendsd--in Haiskamp 4. Bros store i
afterward he wrote some more in Mr.. Ross store.
Next, at about dark lsst evening, aman saw him
sitting for a long time, first on she railroad
track Just above ths pAekesslandlnG and after.
wards on pile of kigs near, iooking intently in.
to the river A. this was 20 uncopmon occur.
renee, of course the man suspected nothing
This was the last sesn Of Mr.. RhoadA i1oq sas;lil
This morningst shout q o'ciooky Mr.. Bethany
8. Hue was passing up the, rack on business,
and happened To- notice q bundle Of clothes on
the first SWITCH His curiosity being aroused
he took them out aud looked IL them. The bun
die contained one white and cle red shirt, An oil
cloth blanket, and two letters which, being un.
sealed, Mr. hine read in the hope Of finding the
owner. Then, Immediately taking them up to
the Defining House TO be sent 10 Company b,
NJ. Hlne met NJ, Stuart, who bad just happened
to 60 in there o. business, and who Immediately
took charge Of The effects Da3o b9s 1890 ls1 2
From the originals now before ~, we copy
below the letters found with the clothes this
morning. One, il An unsealed envelope al
dressed 70 Mr.. Stuart above mentioned, reads rs
follows: a5a
81 90 40 KIokuK, Last Day. a=
Dear Friend Addison, in this hour, when
am preparing - fast a. possible to put mysel.
in situation where hope, perhsps really. to
forget my troubles, it is only proper that I
should turn aside and say goodbye to you.s All
day have been thinking Of our past scquain-
tan;e. How many and how great are the changes
both have realised hut how different the Issue
to-day. You are comparatively happy, while l
am incomparatisely wretched. Addison, hard.
" know how to address you on this subject
Tis indeed hafd thing 70 say, that have de-
sermined-determine to what! This IL what I
last twenty -four hours. We'll, 4 may % well an
swer, am tired Of life's disappoinsments, and 7
have determined to leave this world Of. trouble,
Yes, Addison, Ihave calculated coolly and care
fully for some days (since received that strange
heartless letter Of Harys) and zee plainly that
life has no pleasures for me. Day and night
had almost said constantly--her voice is in my,
ear and her form before my face, reminding me
that all had hoped for in life is lost; and the
burning, torturing desire to be revenged of those
who have tried BY all means, honorable and dis
honorable, to blacken my reputation, consumes
me day by day. Addison, il seems to be a sol
emn thing to die, and perhaps it Is quite as sol
emn as it seems to be-; yet death, with all its
terrors, appears pleasant, compared With the
terrible fortunes have endured-I will not say
endured-which have killed me for the last fe v
days. spssg "a .fs.s7a--ya 81 ia : zii5 q
Addison, the GOODNESS with which approach
this matter surprises me- Yesterday / ordered
q garment which is to be worn as shroud. It
is finished and plesses me we'll have great
pockets, which shall fill with sand and rocks
thought at first Of poison; but then must be
buried, and some friend, in coming days, might
steal unnoticed to my grave and weep; and
then must trouble my friends to bury me and
after all, poisoning is somewhat uncertain; so
have bought me nice shroud and have selected
a good skif, and tonight, when all is quiet,
shall paddle out to the middle Of the river and
burr myself, and the waters Of the noble river
shall be tears for met shall sing my last, long
requiem. If it should happen that cannot get
my sklff, shall go down something more than
q mile, and bid adeu to world which, thus far,
has brought me little else than sorrow.
Addison, should any of my comrades ask why
l have taken 80 strangea course, please tell them
something OF the cause. Addison, l know that
many, perhaps yourself, will accuse me Of folly
and rashness, but have no desire to see the
rising Of another sun. Eli has my watch, but
he must let you and Sylvester carry it sometimes,
when you need it. If there is anything of miic
you can use, use it, and leave the rest. Add
son. Mary has murdered me. Goodbye forever.
~ asH JAMES FRANCIS RHoADs. So
Tell Barbara to write to mother only that L
died-not that l drowned myself. To the boys
in the mess would say, good bye; take good
care of each other; fight bravely when the da
Of battle comes. Ny own troubles have van
pushed. My own sweetheart has murdered me.
/ can write no more. Goodbye, for shall soon
be gone. James F. Rhoads. The mess account
is enclosed L want Barbara TO carry my letter
IN IL ha A inf ina 80 Rruo
Now you will know why desired to be alone.
All that has been written or said is public prop
erty. Tell it all to Mary. Addison, know /
know am crazed do not blame me; cannot
help it. She has murdered me. Goodbye for
ever. gu .l. ]. 7. RHOADs.
In the above letter, all that follows the first
signature is given as we find it, scattered around
in interlinings and postscripts. The other let
ter, also in an unsealed envelope, directed to
Miss Mary Bartlett, Pella, Iowa, is as follows:-
- Keokuk, Iowa, June 81, 8l.
Darling Mary: have seated myself to say
goodbye. 1t seems hard to speak 90 kindly to
one who has ruined all my hopes in life-who
has so often broken her vows-and now, altho'
have begged you upon my knees, with fearful
eyes, that she would spare me, still persists in
numbering me. oh Mary, dearest Mary how
could you treat one thus who has been all thpt |
he professed to be to. you !? But, dear girl, i |
have but little to say. i shall very soon be in !
the Eternal world. shall wait patiently for |
your coming, and shall.greet you as I have ever
done, with all the love a pure.meaniug soul can
cherish. 1t gives me pleasure, even in this
dreadful hour, to know that when we meet again
you shall see my thoughts and know that they
have been pure. Mary, all who know me will
wonder; but you know what have thought OF
my hopes in life have beep-and now
they are all gone. Why, in the name of reason,
should desire to live? But the bright waters
arc waiting to bury my sorrow, n se9 Il.
Mary, 1 forgive you Here follow, scratched
out, the words But the sentence shall"l CHI!
Mary, you have murdered me. Mary, will soon
forget my trouble, but shall still remember you.
Do net mourn, dear girl. cannot write. Iloye
you STILL Goodbye, Mary. A., ..s..e,
JAMES F. RHODES.
I know am crazed. What sane man would
DO this. - s.. - s 81 rs Z
The letters are written in pencil. with marks
Of great agitation. The rest Of the sad tale is
brief. I. -,,.- ,-..t .,.,...,
skiff is this morning missing from its &C.
customed place near where the clothes were
he k,I~ csL- r. =. % |