The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1885-04-29
styles in Suicide.

Suicides said a well-known rhy-
stefan az Boston. recently, -arc getting
very fashionable OF late. and TIE
strtpae parr of it is shat the people
- r., commit them are those whom no-
body would suspect of having any KIND
OF trouble. for the zeal cause q sell
murder j. usually some sort oT wofTi-
ment. either real or IMAGINARY
at i something That hss leEeioped
inside Of the past fifty years In old
times people didn have MALT as many
comforts as they do now. and suicides
were very rare Many different means
OF extinptIishinr the vital spark are
ad3pted. just now taking poison and
shooting appear 10 be the favorites-
MANY u the attempts prove unsuceess-
ful. The stomach-pump saves some
and unsteady aim or lack OF knowl-
edo-e As to where the vital places are
causes a good deal Of suffering 70 an
ateurs with the revolver. Love-sIch
Young women have a fondness for
drowning. but they generally cry out for
help as soon as they get into the Wa
ter. and about one-half Of them are res
cued. That j. a queer thing about SUI
cides: if they don't succeed IN Killing
themselves or becoming unconscious at
once thew get over the mania and want
to 1--we as badly IS any OF US. On the
whole. | think hanging the most reiia-
bic Unless a person is discovered
and cut down inside five minutes
he is pretty sure to do the job himself.
Il Is strange how little pressure on
the windpipe affects people. Of course
it ehokes them. but that is no reason
why they shouldn't be able TO move
their limbs. They seem to lose all con-
troll over their muscles. and give right
in. remember a case shat occurred
in Brookville, Ne. when I was young
man 4 woman, the vie Of a wealthy
/ sea captain. threw 2 sSciu Of yarn over
| the ton of an open door one day, and
/ sticking her head thror q the blight
/ that hung down, doubled ap her knee:
/ so her feet could not touch, aud re
NAMED in that position until she
/ choked TO death One would naturally
/ think that when she became uncon
scious her muscles would relax and al
! low her feet 70 drop TO the floor, bu
such was not the case. Hanging d
| choking seems to make every muscll
| as rigid rs iron.
Another case remember, very vel
| was that Of BOY at Frankfort. WheI
/ he was about II years Of ace he wen
TO q circus and became stage struck
He used 20 be practicing all the tim
at acrobatic feats. One day his folk
| went out TO the barn and found hin
| dead. hanging in a scatfold with hi
head in moose. The ends Of the lin
We're not tied to the scaHold, but jus
doubled over a pole. A weight G
twenty-five pounds would pull it down
Both of his hands were clasped to tn
pole as If lie were holding himself U
by them.
Young Carriers strange death wa
a seven day gossip of the community
One day short time after it OccUTre
some carpenters ut work in ship var
in an adjoining town We're talkin
| about IL. and one of them said he ha
heard that if 2 man were to lie dow
with his throat pressed closely agan>
any hard substance, like a rope or tn
edge of a board. he would choke
death without having the power
E'help himself The men pooh-pooe
the idea, and one of them became S
excited that he sad:
II QOn DGlleN0 worn OF IL. ~ Ae
I 90 home to dinner FL try it al
come back asd let you know. Yc
can't stuff an old woman's whim Ill
that down my throat.
.'When the bell rang for the men
90 to work ct l O'clock the carpent
who had expressed so much conteml
for the idea was not present. An hol
passed and he did not come ! be OF
er men, remembering what he had san
grew anxious. and went to look hi
up. Between the ship yard and h
home was an old vessel hauled up
the beach to be ealked She was pr
vented from going out at high water
two long ropes leading from her dec
to posts driven into the shore. Wi
his face down, lying with his neck c
one of these lines, with his feet restt
on the sand, was their skeptical cor
panion. He was rigid like log
wood. The theory had been demo
strated at the expense Of man life
Boston Globe.