Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-11-22
ROMANTIC SUICIDES.
UnfOrtunates Who Have Sought
Death at Niagara Falls.
A Moonlight Leap to Death from Pros
pect Polnt-Many other Cases of Self
Destruction, Most of Which Are
Shrouded in Mystery.

Among the many visitors who have
watched the foaming waters of
Niagara since the erection in 1860 of
the British stockade, Fort Schlosser,
whose chimney-the first civilized one
in this part of the country-is still
standing there, have every year been
some for whom that great cataract
seems to have had u strange, indeiina-
Bile attraction, and who, while gazing
upon it, have been irresistibly drawn
to their death in its seething torrent.
If there had been carefully kept, from
the days of Fort Schlosser down to the
present time, a record of all who have
voluntarily met the king of terrors at
Niagara 1t would fill many volumes of
deepest, most romantic interest.
One of the earliest as we'll as one of
the most mysterious of the many cases
of suicide which / have gathered from
the recollections of old residents here
is that of an unknown lady and gentle
man who leaped together over the
American fall from Prospect point in
July. 1881. The gentleman was tall,
handsome young fellow of about
twenty-five years, who had registered
at hotel in the vicinity under the
name of William Claridge. He told
nothing of himself to those about
him, except that he resided in West
ern city and had come here to meet
his wife-a Spanish lady who had re-
Gently landed at at New York cn route
from Cuba He had been here several
days. anxiously watching the arrival
of every stage-coach from the East
Niagara boasted no railroads in those
days-when one night the last passen-
ger to alight from one of those vehicles
was beautiful young woman, whose
complexion betrayed her Spanish
origin and whose great, dark eyes
fairly danced with anticipated pleas
ure. In her neatly-gloved little hand
she carried small sachel, and, though
plainly dressed, her face and general
bearing gave evidence of culture and
refinement. She no sooner caught
sight of the gentleman who had been
so long waiting for her than she
rushed toward him and threw herself
into his arms, utterly regardless of the
bystanders. 1t was noticed by some
of the latter that Mr.. Claridge re-
turned the lady's greeting rather cold
ly and that his face wore dark,
scowling look as they walked away
arm-in-arm. while the eyes of the
Spanish beauty had suddenly become
dimmed with tears. What passed be-
tween them on reaching their hotel will
never be known. A servant heard
loud and angry words in mans
voice mingled with feminine sobs and
pleadings issuing from their apart
ment but as they spoke in the
Spanish tongue she was unable to
recognize the purport of their con-
versation. Soon afterward they
strolled out of the hotel arm-in-arm,
and Mr.. Claridge informed the pro-
prietor that they were going to OBJ
tain view of the falls by moonlight.
Half an hour later a pedestrian on
the Canada side distinctly saw, as he
afterward testified, the figures of q
man and woman leap over the Amer
lean fall from Prospect point the
moon being at the full and rendering
all objects plainly visible. The
bodies of Claridge and his alleged
wife we're found few days after
near the whirlpool. Nothing further
concerning them was ever learned
Their effects contained no letters OF
other papers by which their relatives
or friends could be ascertained. and
the name of Claridge was probably