Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1885-10-22
DYrxe ron noYp.
Stranger Takes "a Fatal Dose OF
m"rphin, M the Clayton House
Az Evidence Of ITis identity Dc-

A Stranger Takes a. Fatal Dose O
Motlhin" AZ the CiayfoD Fnouse-
All Evidcnve Of Eris identity DE
sLroyasi.
From Every Evpning Of yesterday.
On Monday afternoon strange man
rather past the middle age, alighted iron
the New York and Washington expires
train at the p, W. & b. railroad station
and taking the hotel bus was driven I,
the Clayton House. On the register h
signed IN. Hoyt, New York" which
subsequent events give rise TO the sus
picion that the name is assumed.
After registering, MS the clerk was as
signing the strange guest room he re
marked, mot too high up" lie wni
given room No. 7G on the first sleeping
floor, which faces Fifth street. After be
ing shown his room, and the porter bad
deposited his small leather grip on the
burenu the man remained in the apart.
mont n short time. and came down stairs
| going outside for few minutes.
About $50 o'clock he returned and
went TO his room, aud nothing was seen
of him after that time until he was found
| lying upon the bed in a dying condition
about 8 o'clock this morning.
The chambermaid yesterday tried the
| door several times and, discovering it was
locked from the inside, thought the occu-
pant of the room had been out late the
night before and desired to sleep through
the dry. No peculiar noise was henrd in
the room and the woman did not give the
matter second thought. This morning
she again tried to open the door and,
finding il fastened, her suspicious were
oNtra hawai- nj ,,nff,s, st,krs nvA
ment, she looked through the key
hole of the door communicating,
which was directly opposite the
man was lying beneath the covers with
his head resting on the pillows. His
eyes were wide open, o death pallor over
spread his face and she thought he was
dead. The proprietor was at once mott
fed, who summoned an officer, but before
the messenger returned the porter climbed
to transon above the door and seeing
the man was breathing lowered himself
into the room and opened the door.
Everything was in the best of order
about the room, and the stranger as he
lay on his back was breathing difficulty
and seemingly struggling for breath. DR..
L. II. bravo was shortly in attendance in
response to o summons, and immediately
upon seeing the patient expressed the
fear that the man bud taken morphine.
Efforts to introduce any antidotes into
the stomach were fruitless, and il
was necessary TO resort to the
hypodermic injection of stinnilnnts
and the application of II strong electric
battery. Under the treatment tue man
showed slight temporary improvement,
but never regained consciousness. having
been insensible at the time he was dis
covered. A careful search for the poison
was made and after some search il was
found in an alligator leather cigar case.
The small dark colored phial containing
10 small pellets was pronounced by the
physician as the vessel from which the
poisonous potion had been taken. There
was a glass partly filed with water and
emitting peculiar odor found in the
same room. A search made for papers
or something to identify the man was
fruitless. There was not the smallest
scrap of paper about his clothing nor in
his bag that would serve to give the
dying mans name or residence. Upon
examining his clothing it was discovered
that the straps bearing the makers names
had been ripped off his coats, and three
lOuR bbIlllb Gub lIOll lllt ltulutT OI
his slough hat destroyed probable clue.
There were two cigars in the case beside
the morphine and $1.95 were found in
his pockets, with match safe and pen
knife.
On the bureau n paper-backed novel,
"For Percival," by Margaret Veley, was
laying, folded half open. The rocker
stood Just near the gas bracket, and gave
&l.nA
reading the book in the evening. The
page where the book was opened shows
much more finger marking than any other
part of it, and near the top of the page is
the following quotation;
If she loves me, this believe.
will die ere she shall griove.
The couplet, under the circumstances,
| gives rise to the theory that the dying
man had been unfortunate in some affairs
of the heart, and came to this city, where
he is unknown, to end his existence.
| In the open fire CRATE were found the
| pieces of n blank draft on John L. Henry
4 Co., "a College Place, New York, and n
price list of drugs from the same firm.
/ Whether or not these 'wera deposited on
the CRATE by the stranger is not known.
The man is apparently about 60 years
of age, with gray stubby beard and gray
hair; be is about feet inches in hight
with an old scar on right temple and
abdomen. He was faultlessly attired in
a black diagonal coat and vest, light
pants, brown overcoat, and wore dark
| blue slouch hat. The clerk is of the
opinion that he has slight German
accent when speaking, and his features
have n slight Teutonic cast.
The amount of morphine taken is not
| known, the bottle was labelled 400 Gel
atine coated pills sulphGte of morphine
1-G grains, prepared by McKesson & Rob-
bins, manufacturing chemists, New York. T"
But ten of the pills remained in the lhial,
as stated. 1t is probable that the dose
was large one, and was either taken late
| on Monday night or yesterday.
That the suicide was we'll planned and
deliberate is shown by the preparations
made for the rash act. As much of a
| mystery rs the cause of the self-destruc-
ton is the strangers thus far successful
effort to destroy everything that would
lend to his identity or residence.
1t is the physicians opinion that the
man took some of the pills on Monday
| and repeated the dose yesterday until he
lost consciousness or was sure they would
accomplish his death.
At o'clock he was still living but the
doctor has abandoned all hope of his re-
covery, and death is but a question of a
| few hours.
/ This is the first incident of the kind
that has occurred at the Clayton House
since its opening.
I