The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-08-08

misery still loves company, sulclu'
does not. Such ending OF misery j
mostly solitary.
Hereditary Influences st II continue
Whole families have died out recently
from suicide. Examples of repeated
suicides among relations are not IN
common, especially in France.
The recent general establishment o
careful observations dissipates the ole
prejudice about the relationship be
tween suicide and fog. SAursges
'melsncholia Angelica may or MAJ
no. be fact, but clouds and emcks
and fog and rain do no. induce sui
eide In the comparative catalogue
of nsuoual suicide, England stands
fellow the middle of the LIST. Norway
is high up, while Russia is low down
yet the climates OF those two eoun
tries present many anale2ies. Tit
Esquimaux and the Falkland Islaud
ers do not kill themselves at all, ye
their climate is worse than that o
England.
If climate has nothing to do witt
suicide, the seasons have. Instead o.
cold and wet encouraging suicide, i
is in fine weather that Europeans
kill themselves the most. Spring and
summer are everywhere the great
suicidal periods, while dull, dark
dresry November is one of the mos
innocent months of all the twelve, &C
that "the melEnchoIy days, the sad
dest in the year." are not near the
end Of the year, but near the middle.
Flowery May, rosy June and luxuri-
ant July are the worst months, twice
As many suicides happening in them
as in any winter month. The aver.
age rises from November 10 May, and
falls from July TO November. People
in the hottest countries OF Europe
themselves very little, but
heat in cooler climates is an incentive
to self murder. Ia Algeria many
French soldiers kill themselves from
homesickness, but the time ordinarily
chosen by them for the purpose is
when the south wind blows and
brings up from the desert its scorch-
ing, irritating dryness. just as in
this city OF Salt Lake the most annoy
ing OF all our weather Is when the hot
summer south wind willis and parches
everything and fills the air with
warm, binding, alkaline dust.
Though, owing to the large amount
of snow that fell in the winter and
the lateness of the spring, our south
winds this summer have not been hot
as usual, but rather comparatively
cool than hot, though drying enough.
So that Montesquien made q great
when he started the theory
that the English killed themselves
because OF English fog. For fog and
rain and darkness and dsmpness do
not stimulate suicide. On the other
hand, heat and sunlight are its best
friends and most active stimulsnts.
In northern and central Europe sui
cides at night are comparatively rare,
most people who kill themselves
preferring daylight as we'll as hot
so that the long, hot days OF
summer furnish the most temptations
Tor them.
The means and methods of suicide
are diverse, the old saying being true
enough that, though there is only one
way of coming into tbs world, there
are many ways of going out OF it. Yet
there is only one supremacy natural
and regular way OF going out of it,
and that is by old age and consequent
exhaustion. However the means
habitually employed for seli-killing
are few, and the regularity of their
from year to year is re-
One thing is notable in the
present revival of suicide, that people
evidently want to kill themselves
without pain. Women almost unani-
mously seek for a gentle agony.
Poisoning, formerly so prevalent. has
almost gone out of date. The action
Of poisons 10 rather uncertain, and
they are usually painful. Standings
Or any form of peTforation, is not 60
frequent as Ia times past. II hurts,
and may not kill. Throat-cut!ing,
though a comparatively modern in
resulting from the inven-
ton of rsEors. is relatively rare. Tho
razor ia responsible for about 2 per
cent. of suicides. Doctors are the
only persons who kill Themselves with
a scientifically placed prick. The
old piercing operations have been
by shooting with fire.
arms, which are used in about
one seventh of present suicides
though women seldom employ it,
and when they do. they prefer pistols,
while men use guns and pistols in
about equal proportions. Most self
killing shooters aim at their heads,
very lew at their hearts.
The main means employed is as
phyxia, which is as prevalent as ever,
banging aud drowning being still the
chief keys Of voluntary death, each
counting for about one-third of the
general total. The French, almost
alone, snd principally in Paris. suffo-
cate themselves with charcoal fumes.
In drowning, in she country district,
men jump into rivers and ponds,
while women appear to prefer throw
ing themselves down wells, probably
from the greater desire for secrecy,
bat nearly all keep their clothes on.
Leaping from cliffs, or out OF win
doWs, or of monuments. is employed
in 2 per cent. Of the cases. Smash
ing the skull against a wall is only
utilized by prisoners. Throwing ones
self under locomotive is new bu
decidedly growing fashion.
To recapitulste, hanging and drown
ing account for nearly 20 per cent o
the cases, shooting 10, while the
remainder are composed Of mixture
of cutting, siabbipg, poisoning, spring
ing from heights, and various unspe-
CITED modes, the heroic sword and ID,
baneiul cup of former times being
almost entirely suppressed, so that
the moderns have enlarged in tn
number of their suicides, they hav
become more considerste in regard I
the means.
The chief causes of the extrao;
binary increase OF suicide in thes
latter days, with the most inhuentis
deterreuts available, remain to b
considered, which must be done II
another paper. ASA,