The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-05-13

He Is Found in Dying Condition in His Of
fice-A Suspicion Of Suicide.

The death Of the well-known dentist DR.. VIM.
H. Sutherland, at his Office, at 2 o'clock yester-
day morning, has features about il which, his
friends claim destroy the suppostion of its being
suicide. Although for some time he was
mentally disturbed, 1T is asserted that
this would not have driven him to
self destruction. During the past two
weeks he also suffered from physical ailment,
there occurring marked incident of it on last
Friday evening At that time he was with his
intimate friend, DR.. Woodward, in the drug
store the corner of Illinois and Market streets
He complained OF feeling badly, when Dr.
Woodward called a carriage and took him home
As they were leaving the carriage at DR.. Suther-
lands residence, No 235 Blake street, he fell in
a fainting fit to the sidewalk, hurting his side
severely, but not sufficiently to detain him from
business.
Monday morning DR.. Sutherland left home,
after bidding his wife good bye, with the pur-
pose, he said, of taking the o'clock train that
night for Pittsburg whence he would 60 on a
visit to his mother who lives in Beaver, Pa.
During the day he told DR.. Woodward and others
Of the trip he intended to take. In the after
tents and appeared to be no worse physically
than he had been for sometime
past He and DR.. Woodward were
afterwards at the drug store mentioned, on leav-
Ing which Dr. Sutherland asked his friend if the
eighth of grain of morphine would be too much
for dose. Being answered that it was not, he
returned to the store, got granue of that kind,
took it and went to his Office. About an hour
afterwards his colored serving man, Will White.
says he was sent to buy five cents worth of the
granules Of one eighth of grain, and that of
these the Doctor took one granule, and
lay. down to rest telling White
if he (Sutherland) failed to wake in time
for the o'clock train east to arouse him. The
Doctor appeared to White to be in condition
for travel, and he let him remain in his rests
About quarter to o'clock White went to Dr.
Woodward and told him that he was going to
church. and that it would be well il he could
find time to call on the Doctor. An hour later DR..
Woodward left his Office with two friends, and
passing DR.. Sutherlands, asked his companions
to wait moment while he ran
upstairs to see how he was He found his
hanging forward, towel in one hand and his
hat in the other. The pupils of his eyes were
contracted, and his pulse very low He called
to his friends waiting below, and they coming to
the Doctor But little satisfactory result was OBJ
tanned, wi en- Dr. Woodward administered an in
lection of thirty of a grain of atropine.
There was every evidence of opium
poisoning At proper intervals two
IN all three thirty seconds of grain. DR.. Wood
ward and others state the morphine DR.. Suther-
land took could not have been more than a
quarter of grain, as five of the granues were
found in his pocket. The atropne had some
effect but from the time the Doctor was found,
as described, until his death, no sign of
seriousness appeared. At II o'clock, midnight,
Mrs. Sutherland came, in answer to DR.. Wood
wards summons.
Dr. Pettijohn, well acquainted with the phys
ical condition Of the deceased, says that DR..
Suth erland suffered with neuralgia affections of
the heart, and that this caused his death
Dr. Woodward states that quarter of grain
Of morphine would not ordinarily cause death;
that when the drug is administered hypodermc-
ally quarter of grain is used, and when
given to the stomach it many times requires
three times that amount DR.. Sutherland, as
far as there is any evidence, took but quarter
of a grain; hence it is claimed by physicians
that there was a contributing cause of death
more powerful than the drug.
Dr. Sutherands age was forty four years,
and he had been married for the second time
since December last. His wife was Miss Emma
Davis. The Doctors financial troubles began
lis and dropped So, 500 in wheat speculation. He
remained there but three months, when
he returned to Indianapolis and resumed his
profession as proprietor of the Indiana Dental
College. He had the highest esteem of a large
circle of friends. was open-hearted and always
ready to answer the calls of others for assist
ance. He belonged to several societies and
orders, among them the Masonic ORDER Knights
of Pyth;as, knights of Honor and the Grand
Army of the Republic. He carried Masonic
insurance and policies in two or three companies
to-day.