Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-09-14
Carving srr A CONTACT.
The suicide and Remarkable state.
Dess 81 a. uaknewa Yeaag Man In

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The suicide and RemarkaSle STATE
Dess 81 a. uaknewa Xeang Man In
DsWa
The st. Loais Post Dispatch of Jun
9Th Publishes the account Of the suicide
| OF young man who gave bis name as
Rufus h. Eaton. He blew ont his
brains at Delhi, Iowa, the night before.
There Vas nothing on the body to iden-
| tify it save the following remarkable
letter, without date or signature:
Il am going to take my own life, hav-
ing made mp my mind to do so more
than year ago. Although / do not
think that anybody cares q pin about
my reasons, yet il will be some satisfao-
ton TO state them, and anybody who
mn DIS this paper need not read il If he
does not wish TO do 50. am u years
OF age, lawyer by profession. but not
very much 80 as far as practice is con-
cerned. was born in Baltimore. and
suppose that Is more my home than any
where else, although l have trav-
eled all the way from Denver TO New
Orleans | have always been an
unlucky devil, and the only thing that
has kept me from suicide long ago was
the lingering fesr that there might be a
hereafter. l have arrived at the con-
clusion, however, that there is not any
thing worse than what / have gone
through, and I'll chance the future state.
But III not preach. Two years ago /
met Young lady. Il doesn't matter
where, nor what her name Was. She
was pretty. l was, as usual, fool. |
had the education OF gentleman, but
not the means to live up to my desires.
had run through considerable money,
and had not the industry to make a
livelihood at my calling. Well, of
course. l fell over head and ears in love
with this girl. She liked me. l think;
but she had sense, and she never let her
sentiment run away with her prospects.
l drank some, ard gambled some, and
was as wild as a young fellow usually ia.
Though l generally wore good clothes,
my POcketbeok WAS usually very fat.
When her parents saw that nay visits
to the daughter were growing frequent,
they immediately interfered. You know
my child has been tsnderly raised said
her father, and she cannot marry
man who cannot properly support her.
like You, but you see how il Is. A man
should not marry unless he Can proper
~ support his wife, The mother was
Just as stern, and the daughter was per-
suaded to fall in with their plans /
have laughed many a time at fellow
who was fool enough to kill himself for
a girl. But that vas before / was in
love myself. / see il all now. But love
stories have been told SO often that
there Is little interest in them. The girl
Tilted me. The last time / saw her she |
cried little, and even let me put nv
arm around her waist. She loved me, |
she said, but her parents wanted her to
marry middle-aged gentleman. and
she could not disobey.' II she had told |
the truth she would have said she loved |
the middle-aged gentleman's carriage
and pair and his bank accounts better |
than she did me, and much better than |
she did him. l begged and pleaded, |
and got the same answer all the time. |
You know what did then.
II went to drinking harder than ever. |
became a nuisance, il had not been |
before. One day / was talking over |
matters with friend of mine named |
Jim Anderson, who always had more |
money and sense than / had. | told |
Jim was going to kill myself. He |
laughed and sneered. 'Pll tell you what |
I'll do said, I'll insure my life for |
$4,000 in different companies and make |
the policies over to You. You pay me |
$25O0 year for two years, let me have |
a little hurrah for that time, and when |
it's over I'll agree to kill myself and you |
will get the money, In that way you |
make $4,000. aud l have some fun
Jim laughed, but insisted, and finally |
We drew mp an agreement to that effect. |
/ got out policies in the different insur- |
ance companies. He holds them and |
the agreement. He paid me 500 a |
month during the last fifteen months, |
although don't believe he ever thought
Of holding me to the agreement. But |
he was of a speculative turn of mind |
anyhow. and although he hardly boz
lieved l would kill myself, he knew that
# l had the money l would drink my
self to death, and he was willing to take
the chances. The time is not up vet, |
but guess I'll let him take the extra
money. He'll be surprised aud not at all |
sorry. Nobody else cares, for the girl |
mentioned has since married the bank |
account, the carriage and the middle |
aged gentleman. This. ia no case of |
temporary insanity. @fAave as much
sense as anybody. made a contract,
and I'm carrying it ont. Bury me
VT erever you like. There is $35 in nv
vest pocket, and that will pay expenses
and nv bill so far