The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-05-02
A Melancholy End.


Nturbed on Saturday morning LASTLY the infor-
nation that the dead body of man had been
found ina we'll situated upon the Waverly
House lot. Efforts were made soon after dis
covery to get the body from. the well, and when
this was accomplished, the remains were iden-
titled asSthose of stranger in this vicinity,
named P. w. Morris, who had been stopping
at the Waver1y House for five or six days pre-,
viousiy. The appearance of severe wounds, as
if inflicted by a knife, upon the throat and left
arm of deceased, indicated foul play; but the
testimony adduced at the Coroner's Inquest,
(which was held during the day before John G.
4White6eld, Esq, Trial Justice and acting Cor
Oner, thoroughly disproved this assumption,
and clearly demonstrated that the deceased
committed suicide The verdict of the jury
was to the effect that the deceased came to his
death by his own act, to Wit, by drowning him
self in the well aforesaid on the night of the
18th of April, after having first made several
attempts to destroy his life by stabhing himself
upon the neck and. left side under temporary
insanity.
1t appears that the deceased came to this
town on Sunday previous to his death, and for
several days was under the influence of liquor
On Thursday, when it was ascertained by the
landlord, Mr.. Mays, that the condition of de-
ceased called for treatment, in consequence OF
excessive drinking, an attempt was made to re-
strict him in the use of stimulants. He re-
ceived every attention from Mr.. Mays, and was
allowed only such stimulating medicines as
seemed proper under the circumstances. He
remained in the house nearly all of Thursday
and Friday, and expressed the belief that he
was constantly improving. In the afternoon
of Friday, deceased walked about town; went
to supper at the regular hour; said he felt
much better afterwards and was rapidly i'm
proving. He was seen by several persons du.
ring the evening, late as nine o'clock, when he
was shown to his room by servant, who Lit the
candle and left it burning. Shortly afterwards
deceased went down the stairs leading into the
back yard, without any shoes and bareheaded
walking in the direction of the well. He was
not seen again by any person connected with
the Hotel, and the probability is that he made
the attempts upon his life and jumped into the
| we'll within short time afterwards The dis
covery of hat, pair of boots and pocket
knife in the fowl house next morning led to q
search of the premises, when blood was found
in the fowl house and on the steps leading into
the hotel, and also upon the top of the well,
The hat, boots and knife were recognized as the
property of deceased. The we'll box had been
covered with an old writing desk, which was
found pushed away and the well open. This
led to an examition of the well, with the result
as before stated. DR.. w. FL. Nardin, who held
post mortem examination upon the body OF
deceased, testified as follows before the jury Of
inquest: Externally, the body presented sew
eral wounds on the left side of the neck; one
about three inches long, dividing the skin and
fascia down to the muscle, but not dividing any
important vessels, and in my judgment not a
fatal would The other marks orwounds were
only through the skin at intervals leaving un-
divided spaces, and all of them being in the
same direction. There was also punctured
wound on the left side, between the sixth and
seventh ribs, and which probed to the depth
of two inches or little more, and which cor
responded in depth with the length of the
knife blade before u.s. also, in width. Upon
opening the chest, found that the wound in the
side had extended to the lung, wounding very
slightly the thin edge, about one inch below
the heart, and in my opinion was an insufficient
cause of death. l found the veins of the heart
distended with blood, and the cavities also,
judging from its size and appearance external
". am of opinion that deceased came to his
death by drowning. Had either the jugular
vein or carotid artery been severed, he would
have died instantly, The wounds were of such
nature that he could have walked to the well,
and deceased had every appearance OF being
drowned"
The examination by the acting Coroner and
the jury summoned to his assistance YVES most
carefully conducted, and every fact brought
out tending to throw light upon this tragic oc.
currence. The deceased claimed to hail from
North Carolina, and had been known to one OF
two-of our citizens as tobacconist and cattle
dealer for number of years. He was quite
dissipated in his habits, but was an inofensive
quiet man. His remains were buried on Satur.
day afternoon in the Presbyterian churchyard
Our Next Governor.
Under this caption, we find an article in the
Carolina New Erc, published at Spartanburg