Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-07-27
DRAMATIC DEATH.

DRAMATIC DEATH.
an Adcentnres.'s Suicide n, Illinois---He
4drertises HIS End and Delivers a Leo
t'tre to a Grounded House Jtlsttfyt,ag Sat-
ctde---Assd at the Close BI0,Us Hts Brains
Out II. tho Presence of HIS Horyffed
auditors.
lOapron (Ill.) Special (24th) to Chicago Times
On the I'd day of last May there arrived at
our village rather distinguished looking
young man, who gave his name as George W.
Burleigh, and who said he was prospecting for
location to open tonsorial establishments
After looking our town over for day or two
Burleigh concluded to remain here, and he ac-
cordingly rented small room suitable for his
purposes IN an upper story of one our business
buildings and fitted it up with some decided
| ments and appurtenances. Though we'll
dressed, and having the appearance Of man
who had known the Injuries of wealth and re-
fnement. Burleigh seemed to be the posscssor
OF decidedly attenuated pocket book. During
a ten weeks acquaintance with him, some Of
our more inquisitive townsmen have elected
the following facts-if facts they are of his
tory: He stated that he was born in Cincin-
natl in the year 1849. and that he resided in
divers parts of Ohio until his 21st year. At
| that age he had acuired
AN EXCELLENT EDUCATION.
| and an extensive fund of general knowledge.
To use his own words, ''From his fourteenth to
his twenty-frst year, medical metaphysical,
and scientific works were his food, and poetry
| and standard fiction were his drink An ac-
qualntance of two months duration has given
tn HOnh
the truth of this statement. In the spring of
1871 he left his native State for the far West,
being possessed with an uncomfortable desire
to explore and roam that vast and inter
estlng region. For six years he followed the
bent of his nomadic inclinations, visiting, dur
ing that time, California, Oregon, Utah, the
Black Hills, Nebraska and Kansas. In the
course of these ramblings his occupations were
various. he mined, wrote for the newspapers,
taught school, practiced medicine, and exam
| ined craniums phrenologically, in considera-
ton of fees. He seems to have been one of
| t hose versatile and brilliant, but unstable
characters. one occasionally comes in contact
| with in this sublunary life. During the brief
| space of the Tines correspondents acquaint-
ance with him, he has frequently remarked
| that 'he was one of those rolling stones that
gather no MOSS" that ''the organ Of continuity
| in his Uranium was represented by cavity;
consequently, it was impossible for him to
stick to one pursuit long enough to perfect
himself in it and accumulate property by it. -
| By reason of the limited extent and population
Of municipality
BURLEIGH's REVENUES
| from his business have not been on a Wander
| biltian scale. And he seems to have been very
susceptible to depressing influences. He would
walk the streets for days together with his head
| bowed, his hands clasped behind him, and APP
parently buried in gloomy meditation. ANY
interruption of these deep self-communings he
| would answer in the crustiest monosyllables.
After his gloomy spells passed off there would
be a reaction and he would be as unnaturally
vivacious and efervescent as he had been de-
| pressed and morose before Since his advent
into our somewhat fossilized village he has
caused a decided Juror among our marriage
able young ladies' and, as he was a man of un-
common personal beauty, gallantry, vivacity,
wit, and intelligence, this was but natural Sc
quence of his coming. It is hardly necessary
| to say that his success among the pretty girls
did not tend to commend him very strongly to
the favor of certain class of our young
men. They looked upon him as
| AN INTERLopER
| whose rights of conquest should not be recog-
nized. Burleigh's talent for debate has been
| the means OF stirring up our fossils of the
medical and legal profession, and, Also our
cronlc political controversialists; and he has
| frequently experienced the pleasure of van
gushing these various disputants. His un-
timely self-destruction last night has given rise
to an unusual sentiment of sorrow and regr ct
at this sad ending of one who certainly was a
gifted young man; but the manner in which he
accomplished his taking off is what gives a
peculiar interest to the occurrence. Last Sat
urdaY morning Burleigh went to the proprietor
of the only entertainment hall in our town and
engaged the hall for the following Tuesday
evening, saying to the proprietor that he in
| tended to give dramatic entertainment on the
evening named. Having completed this pre-
hminary, he returned to his room, locked him
self in, and was seen by no one for the next
| forty-eight hours except
| TWO CLERICAL GENTLEMEN.
During Saturday number of his patrons
raped on his door, wishing to gain admittance
| for tonsorial treatment, but they were an
| swered from within that ssa work Of greater i'm
portance would preclude the possibility of his
doing any tOnsorial work that day. AS the
| curtains We're all drawn one of the disap-
pointed applicants could discover what s'work''
it was that engrossed Burleigh's attention so
entirely, and many conjectures were INDUCED
in by the patrons as to the nature of it. The
| sequel, however, proves that Burleigh was far
| from being idle during those long hours of Sc
clusion. On Sunday morning
THE FOLLOWING STARTLING NOTICE
was found posted in various public places of
our hamlet, and also on the outer side of Bur
| leigh's room door:
| To THE WORTHY CITIZENS OF CApRoN AND VI
o1N1TX:-Having since the great sensation In Chca-
go-the hanging of Sherry and Connolly-heard
suudry citizens of Capron and vicinity express a
| strong desire to witness some such tragedy have
concluded to crafty their lust for the horrible by
forehead the evening of the 23d inst at Thornton
hall The price of admission to this real tragedy will
be 81, and the fund that will be realized thus shall be
first applied to my burial expenses, and, should any
surplus remain, it shall be invested in the works Of
Darwin, Tyndal, and Huxley, and the same shall be
presented to the town library in my My reason
dured the manifold miseries of existence long as
desire to, and my only wish is to plunge into the
eternal soundess, ifeless gulf of acknowledgements
The death of the body is the humiliation of the man
and annihilaon is eternal peace. Before destroying
myself shall read my auditors and death witnes ses
an a., original lecture, in which shall justify suicide.
| IN al seriousness, 6. W. BURLEIGH.
1 1t may be we'll surmised that this remarkable
notice awakened degree of
INTEREST AND EXCITEMENT
in our quiet town not often felt here. Soon it
was the theme of every tongue and ere night
fall every villager and every oountryman who
| had come to town to attend church, was in
formed eft this amazing announcement. Many
set the author OF 1T down as suddenly devel-
oped lunatic. Others believed it was merely
his intention to create a sensation and perpe-
| trate huge joke on the community. But the
few whose insight into human nature was
deeper entertained but little doubt of the
seriousness of the author of this strange and
blood-curdllng announcement. They had no.
ticed the peculiarly Of the man-his seasons
OF gloomy and morose meditation. They recol-
lected his arguments against the immortality
Of the soul-his lefutation Of the idea of a
hereafter, and they shook their heads grayely.
Notwithstanding Bnrleigh's announcement Of
his bloody intentions upon himself, a deter1ni-
nation was soon manifested among onr citizens
to prevent his crime. However, strong and
very general desire prevailed to see how far he
| really would carry out his announced intention