Connecticut western news., 1877-05-25
The Suicide Movement.


 A recent telegram from the Orient says the Chinese in some districts are so despe- rate in their want that they commit sui eide by scores. Readers shuddered at the statement, but, after all, if they had jour nalistic enterprise enough in China to be interested in the fact, could not very sim liar report be sent to the people there as true of America ? The exchanges of one day have brought reports of eighteen diff ferent cases of suicide in this country, and if eighteen be reported it is safe to believe the actual number to be at least double that.
 Twelve of them were of men and only six of women. A young girl of nineteen years in Springfield threw herself off a bridge, Sunday night. and was drowned in the pond of her fathers mill No cause is assigned. A Miss Henry, of p years, at Sturgis, Mich, made rope out of the luf- fling of her night dress, Sunday night. and hung herself with it in her closet. A Mrs. Garst, of Westerville, Ohio, an old lady, drowned herself Sunday night in 8 creek. Mrs. Endres, of Springfield. Wis.,, cut her throat last Friday. These three are called insane. On Sunday, in the East River at New York, was found the body of Hannah Roach, who drowned herself in January, because her husband in marrying her com mitted bigamy. She swore him into prison and took herself out of the world. Paris gives us this Frenchy one A widow lady Mime. de P---. endowed with wealth, beauty and spotless fame, was engaged to l lately received anonymous revelations as to his brides character. Therefore he return ed her presents and letters. She implored an interview-explanation. He sent back a verbal reply that he had none to give. The poor lady roamed about his portals, and returned home broken hearted and shot herself through the head. The falsehood of the malevolent allegations has since been proven.
 Hanging, shooting, the razor, each made one case, drowning-which is woman's fla vorite mode of exit. because the cleanest | and neatest-took the other three, and half of all of them.
 All sorts of causes led the men to suicide. Business troubles, of course. are partlcula, | ly prominent, and the methods of killing show more determination and greater re- sources than the women showed. Nelson Brown, of Harrodsburg, Ky., in financial embarrassment. went to his loft last Wed. nesday and was found there hanging by a halter. which was wound around a rafter. Merritt Taylor. of Watertown, N. Y., g year ago bought farm, paying $l,050. and agreeing to pay $s, 725 in installments, As these came due he grew Respondent. and the other day he hanged himself to g beam in barn, and, curling up his legs, choked to death. Stephen Burdick, a fac. tory owner of Hopkinton, R. l., owing to business despondency, got up at two \ o'clock Friday morning and drowned him. self in two feet of water. Henry Buck stone, of Joliet, Ills, hanged himself in a stable, Saturday evening, because, having sold COW he had mortgaged. he was threatened with prison by the mortgagee. At Muskegsn, Mich, Monday. Thomas Da wis, clerk in shoe store, cut his arm three times to sever an artery, and then blew his brains out with a revolver. Solomon Will bur, dying of consumption, grew tired of dying so alowly, and shot himself dead last Sunday. A German named Rumple shot himself dead, on Sunday with gun. Sun day morning Charles Zulusky of Sandusky O., was found dead in the bay; he was { machinist and out of work. Eugen' Morgan of Battle Creek, Mich., who hac been drunk, took morphene and died, Sun day. A Chicago saloon keeper took arse nic, Friday, with the same result.
 A strange affair was that of the suicid of J. M. Howard. at the Vanderbilt hote in New York. He was a drummer, ant lost his place. Tuesday night he wa robbed of his last asset-s watch wortt $l5o. This upset his mind and he killet himself with revolver in his room tha night. The strange part of it is that th' watch was recovered almost immediately by the police, and when the fellow killed | ntmSelt It was a"altluS oA o"noA os noou quarters. The officers captured the thie when in another affair, and was seen tt throw the watch into the gutter.
 The most of these suicides were on Sun day, but that is probably due rather to thu time the clippings happened to be mad' than to any predisposition to die on tha day. It is noticeable that the women wh' killed themselves, so far as appears, had n' one dependent upon them, while the mel nearly all fled from the burden of support ing families they could not support.