Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-12-10
INVENTOR MORSE.S DAUG HTEH.
Some Unhappy Incidents Connected
with Her Life i'm Porto Rico.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
The suicide of a lady supposed TO be Susan
Morse, a daughter OF :. r. Il. Morse inventor of
the telegraph, by jumping from the Spanish
mail steamer between Porto Rico and Havana,
has brought TO light some interesting facts
relating TO Mr.. Morse. Susan Morse was a
daughter of Mr.. Morse by his first wife. and
about 1889 married Mr.. Lind. Prof Antonio
NJ. Moiia, q native of Porto Rico, who now
lives at 1O4 East 124th street. said i'm substance
last night:
.."Mr Lind came to the little town OF Arroyo.
Porto Rico and became the superintendent of
n large sugar plantation. In due time ne be-
came owner of the plantation. through his
business thrift, though popular tradition,
amazed at his success, declared he found "A
fortune i'm an old tree where early Spanish
buccaneers had secreted il. Arroyo is the
seaport of the larger town of Guayama. and
is almost made up of English and American
business men. Almost all of them came with
the intention of making money and then quit
ting the country. Mr.. Lind, however, lad
come to stay and he built a magnificent house
on his plantation, about two miles out i'm the
country, and surrounded il with beautiful
grounds, full OF flowers, fountains and stat
uary.
..fIere Mr. Morse came while yet the electric
telegraph was ticking only in his own imas ina
ton. In the quiet of Mr.. Lind palatial resi-
dence he thought out his invention. Mr.. Lind
had an office in the town of Arroyo Mr.. Morse
had a wire strung from the plantation to this
office and over that wire, in the little Spanish
colony of Porto Rico. the first message ever
sent by electricity flashed its way. The Porto
Ricans are very proud OF this, and say that the
Yankees are clever fellows, but they had to
come to Porto Rico to invent the telegraph.
And yet. strangely enough, tie country in
which the Iirst telegram was sent was among
the last countries to adopt this Geographic sys-
tem
1.-The history of the Lind family is a sad one.
Mr.. Lind had great wealth, and his only child.
a boy, was sent to Europe to be educated. All
the plantations in Porto Rico prior 10 1878
We're worked by slave labor. Mr.. Lind owned
many slaves, and when in 1873 the Spanish re-
public was proclaimed, the slaves We're AT the
same time emancipated. The planters thought
they could not make sugar without slaves Mr.
Lind among them, SO the cane fields lay idle.
Just before the emancipation one OF the droughts
with other capitalists, secured an engineer from
London and set about turning one OF the
mountain streams from its course for irriga-
tion
when great deal of money had thus been
spent the Spanish government forbade the
work to go on, except under Spanish engi-
neer. The company refused TO employ one.
The drought and the emancipation ruined Mr..
Lind. About this time his son came home from
family fortune. His father by this time, from
his losses, was half insane. The young man
was high tempered, and believed i'm the new
order OF things, while his father was welded to
the old regime.
Zone day after dinner q discussion arose, and
the father in passion struck the SON. The
young man said nothing, but at once left the
garden, where the quarrel occurred. A moment
later pistol shot was heard from his room, and
he was found dead upon his bed. Within a year
Mr.. Lind died of softening Of the BRAIN and
when the creditors came 20 settle the estate
they found il hopelessly involved. There was
nothing left for the widow.
"They agreed, however, out Of consideration
for her and her distinguished father, TO allow
her TO remain in undisturbed possession of the
plantation where the tragedy had occurred.
There she had lived in the utmost secluson,
seeing no one, though the plantation. celebrated
for It's beauty, is still a resort OF visitors The
son who shot himself was an artist OF merit.
and LETT many valuable paintings.
"Mr. Morse's daughter Lena married Franz
Rummel four years ago, and is living in Eng
land or Scotland"