Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-07-07
arrrMi,TpD SIENIDE.

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE.
Remarkable Career os The sigamis,,
james King.
! .aes King who vas convicted in The
Superior Court last week Of bigemy and
sentenced to three years IN The State Prison
at Folsom, came near ending his Life III the
County Jail yesterday morning. He was
confined in the same cell with Charles
Barry, who is serving term for receiving
stolen property, and procured the silence of |
the latter in regard to his movements by |
threatening to Kill him If he informed the |
Jailer what he was doing For two days |
past he has been engaged in sharpening ar !
ole spoon upon the stone ilcor Of the cell !
and with this he made an incision 10 his |
left wrist severing the artery. and another |
IN mis- right forearm.
Yesterday morning when jailer Newbert !
releved night jailer Bennett, and started |
to make his usual rounds, he saw Barry |
standing at the wicket of the cell, his face |
pale as death. The frightened prisoner |
made slight motion of his hand TO indi-
cate that something was wrong in the cell |
aHd Ne~beTt quickly opened 1t. He found |
kiTE bleeding freely from the wound IN |
his left arm and holding it in bucket of
water evidently supposing the flow would |
b. INCREASED thereby. 4 moment later the |
would BE suicide tainted away from loss OF
blood II was carried Out into the yard, |
wAefe restoTatiVes were applied. Dr.. Park
iEs4n was summoned at once, took up the
arery, sewed ny ard bandaeed the wound
King was then placed l.; g separate cell
ssa II, lta flA-y Igf Z f.-fn 81
p. .er called, and found him very Wesk,
bu inclined TO talk about his past life epd
fG-uce prospects. He said that he had got
tel over his desire TO die, and meant 10
serve out his time ike q mau, and when
he got OUT If prison again 10 live a blame
L. life. His rash act of The morning bad
besa caused 10y dependency and remorse,
I'D by the feeling that everything was 20
irg against him. He had been n victim Of
circumstances, and although he had tried
to i've an honest life he he'd Desu continu-
ally followed by illfurtune. The verdict
against him in the 5igamy case was no
doubt just one, from The evidence intro
icsd, bat if be had been allowed to nut ia
evidence certain letters in his possession,
b. would not have been found guilty.
King then proceeded TO give the following
account of
bis REMARKABLE CAREER.
Was DOIl eitilST III 1901 OF lodi, am
10 sure which-my sisters say in 1857,
gaicn would make me thirty years old the
Is IA of last June Ny name was James
c lion, my tather being brother of Ben
Cotton, the well-known comedian | was
adopted in 1867 by William King, at that
time Superintendent of the Oregon Rail
road, running TO the Cascades.
was married on the 9Th OF jan
uery, 1878. to Miss Mcliie e Curiey. in
| cot IN
thai lime and afterwards was sentenced to
Il peniteniIlry for life as you have al
Ifaiy published. / Was arrested on the
% n CT March, 1879. was sentenced on Oc-
tober (, 1879, and was pardoned January
~ sS7, the man who committed the muir
der for which l was sentenced having con-
fessed the crime. Ny pardon was secured
b. Hon. 4. 7. Ehrhardt, Secretary of State
o. Oregon | intended 10 20 to Montana
e work for him, but about the time was
going TO leave there was o letter sent to
Governor u. +. Moody, Of Oregon. from
my first wife, asking for my release stating
that was innocent of the crime that she
had a child to support and had been sup
porting it for years. When arrived at the
Capitol 10 get my instructions for the work
IL Montana, which was to be in the railroad
business for Mr. Ehrhardt, was shown
this letter, and he gave me passes to go to
San francisco to look after my wife The
letter gave the address, Mrs J. W. King,
No 2 Vallejo Terrace, San Francisco
When got to San Francisco / went to
that address, ard was astonished to find
that no one of that name ever lived there
| was told, however, that there was lady
from Oregon who answered the descrip-
ton living at III Post street. was ac-
compsnled by a sister of the lady who
lived at No. 2 Vallejo Terrace. and when
We got there L found that il was the woman
had once been married to- She said she
had been divorced from me, and had been
legally married to a NAH named A j. ST.
velle. She asked me if would do right and
just by Eer, and said she would get di-
vorce from him and we would commence
life over again. She told me che had lit
tie boy by him, who WIS kept at 954 Mis-
sion street by Mrs. LaFrance She asked
me 20 go down and see il, which did
they knowing her and her husband, and
She introduced me as her brother from
Oregon. Just arrived on the steamer. That
nlght We took rooms at the Northorpe
House, and remained there a short time. |
asked her again, for positive fact, if she
was legally divorced from me, and if she
was legally married to Sivelle and she
told me that she was | never thought TO
ask her where or when she got The divorce.
Alter we had been there q short time
he husband returned from Lower Caifor-
MIA. and was very much surprised. At
the time he returned there were a number
OF my friends, actresses, who were rooming
the-r aud they found out all the circum-
stalicrs aud advised me to keep out Of the
way and not have anything more TO do
with Ter. | saw that | was liable to get
into trouble. He warned me that he
wanted me never to go with his wife again;
II ] did there would be trouble. She
went out with him that evening snd
H.F md md
FlEh. | went 10 another part of the CITY
where they would not see me any more
We met several umes afterwards on the
street. stopped with eX-Judge Smiths
wife. One evening there was q lady called
and told me there was q letter waiting for
n.s on Market street. [ went and got II
aCd found it WIS from Mrs Sivelle, as she
s.w1ys STYLED herself She WAS stopping a.
Bsr1al Villa. | went out that evening and
she said again that she had some trouble
with Al her husband. She did not know
what 70 do. l told her TO get divorce from
him. aud she said she would She asked
me TO come out in the middle of The week
and l did. When l got there | found
she had been taken very sick and
bad been removed to ST. Mary's Hospital
That was in May, 1887.
Il went and visited her She asked NE
TO go down to the Office of the White
Cooks and Walters Union, and see if |
could find out what had become of her hus-
band. He belonged TO that Order, and
afterwards joined it. | went down and in
quired his whereabouts but they said they
were instructed not to reveal his where.
abou;s to any one. Finally ! told them
his wife was lying at the point of death
and they gave me his address as Tulare
City, Tulare county. They also returned
me letter she had addressed to him.
returned to the hospital with the letter
anu she asked me then if she would leave
him and get divorce If would take her
back. / told her that | would, because
thsushti il was through me that she had
heeT compelled to work for living.
went south ard worked for brother of
the Sheriff of Monterey county, Thomas
Graves, of Gonzales, and every week sent
her money by Wells. Fargo & Co.
- left Southern California the last day Of
July, 1887, and came back to San Fran
cisco. She was then at Byron Springs,
employed there. | left SSH Francisco and
went 70 lake Tahoe, and worked until No.
vember, when l returned to San Francisco
!. l.