The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-04-23
a CRIPPLE'S SUICIDE.
Dependency Sends An Unfcr-
tunate to His Death.
NEITHER MONEY NOR FRIENDS


mitted suicide last evening st 8 O'Clock in
Mrs. Esiora Deieosta's lodging house on
West street absve Union street. by taking .
dose of morphine Dependency caused
by failure to obtain employment was the
cause.
Williams came to the house to room yes
terday morning in company with r. d.
Sp-ague, . friend He had been complain
ing OF feeling badly for several days and
about noon went to bed. His room mate
spent some time with him, but left the
house about O'Clock.
At IL O'Clock Mrs. De Costa happened to
enter the room. Williams was then breath
ing heavily. and the noise attracted her at
tention. Going over to the bed she dis
covered that he was unconscious and
apparently in the throes of death. from
poisoning. She Immediately summoned
assistance and , messenger was dispatched
for . physician. Several were called for.
and DR.. Newlands was the first to arrive.
He pronounced the case paraly-
sis OF the brain. DR.. James
Shannon reached the dying mans bed
side shortly afterwards. He readily
pronounced the case one of morphine
poisoning and Immediately applied restora-
lives. All efforts to restore the
man were unavailing, and at
1925 he expired. A messenger
was Immediately dispatched for the coro-
ner, and at an early hour this morning the
body was removed to Benny & Stewards.
The case was one of deliberate premedi-
tated suicide, as the following letters found
in note hook In Williams's coat pocket
win show:
Mr.. 8. c. williams-Ny Brother: will write .
few words to you to tell you why l did this
deed, and this 10 it. / had no money and no
friends and thought that 1t would be the best
thing for me, and then would be out OF the
way. when am gone please send this to 8. c.
williams, Hudson. Fremont county, Ohio.
From
BUXTON A. WILLIAMS.
Mrs Lucretia Harmon. win write q few
words to you 70 ask your forgiveness for being
so bad 70 you. and you never viii be misused by
me anymore I want TO die and be out Of
your way, and not bother any one. You
know there was . time / though1
good deal Of you, but I thought you had gone
back on me, and want you to remember me in
your prayers Nell. hope you may have q
bye to you forever and ever. Forgive me.
b. A. WILLIAMS
Outside of the note book and an empty
purse nothing was found on the body or in
the room where the man suicided. No
trace of anything from which the poison
was taken could be found.
Williams was q native of Ohio, unmar-
ried and 80 years of age. He came here
two weeks after the fire from Edmonds,
Kan. He went to work shortly after his
arrival in . small fruit stand on Schwa-
bacher's wharf. and later obtained en-
ployment in the Dew Drop Inn lodging
house on Railroad avenue near Union street.
This place he lost two months ago and
since then has been out of employment.
He roomed and boarded since his arrival
here with Mrs. Harmon, referred to in this
note.
Williams was . cripple. having partly
lost the use of his leg from paralysis aris-
ing from typhoid fever. when 16 years of
age. His arms were also affected. As will
be seen he was unable to perform manual
labor and was fitted for nothing else. This
preyed upon his mind with the result de-
tailed above.
A telegram announcing the death will be
sent to his brother S. C. Williams. Of Hud-
son. Summit county, Ohio, today and the
body will be held to await word from him.
Miss Lucretia Harmon, to whom Will
lam . dd-asss 4 one of his letters, in which
he ashod forgiveness for ill-treating her,
was seer " OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES reporter
ct her loU, near by, at 1:30
o'clock thi3 morning. When askeo il
she would explain why Williams
had referred to her in so touching . man
ner, she replied that there had been moth
ing more than mere friendship between
them. She said she met, Williams first at
Edmund. Kan, several years ago,
where he was employed in . livery
stable, but did not know him in
timately. Shortly after arriving
here, abodt one year ago, she.
said. she met him on the street, and soon
afterwards he came to her house to board.
He was taken sick with typhoid fever
during the winter and afterwards
had considerable trouble about getting
employment and grew discouraged. In
referring to the statement in Williams let
ter that ne had treated her shamefully,
Mrs. Harmon said that he came
home in an intoxicated condition several
DAYS ago and she scolded him.
He seemed greatly offended and gave her
several sharp answers, which she supposes
is what he refers TO. He was good boy.
said Mr.. Harmon. land never harmed
person in his life. and I am sure
that he would not have committed
suicide could he have secured work. He
used to say TO me. however, quite often
that b. thought he would be better off
dead than alive. owing to his crippled con-