St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-09-24
A HORRIBLE AFFAIR
Revealed to the Officers Who
Unearthed the West Side
Suicide.
A Starved Cat Crazed by Re-
peated Meals Of Human
Flesh.
Poison Supposed to Have Made
Away With a Missing Ma
chinist.
Yesterdays Incidents and
Events Among the Police
Stations.

Samuel SeigeSmund came to his death
by suicide. That fact was established
at the pOst-mortem examination of the
remains hela yesterday by DR.. Darling.
AT the time the body was discovered,
shortly after midnight ON Saturday, by
Sergeant Sullivan, OF the Ducas street
police detail, the indications were that
death had resulted from heart disease.
1t was. however, an extremely difficult
matter TO decide from external evil
dences, the man having been evidently
dead for nearly week. When the
police broke In the door of the
shanty up by the high bridge, a
horrible sight met their gaze. Con-
fined i'll the little shanty with the
corpse were three dogs and cat.
Two of the dogs were loose, and as
soon as the door was burst in these
rushed by the officers like a flash and
have not been seen In the neighborhood
since. The other dog, a terrier, was
tied up, and seemed to be in rabid
condition from hunger and thirst 1t
was when the Light was thrown full
upon the half nude body of the man
that the full orror of the situation be-
came apparent. The tigerish traits in
herent in the usually docile cat had
been awakened in all their ferocity by
week of fasting. and the light from the
lanterns was reflected in the two fierce
ly staring eyes of the animal, which Law
across the shoulders of the dead man.
The cat was as wild as though bred in
the African jungle, its claws were
sunk deep into the almost putrid
flesh, and its jaws were smeared with
the gore of its former master A more
CHASTITY sight has seldom been witnessed.
The officers endeavored to remove the
cat, which Sprang at them fiercely, and
had to be beaten off with clubs. Just
as the body was about to be placed in
the wagon the awful feline reappeared
in the doorway, and with one spring
landed again on the corpse and began
gnawing at the flesh. An officer dealt
the cat blow which knocked it sense.
less, and the remains were placed in a
wagon and covered with cloth. Half
the distance to the morgue had been
covered before one of those pres
ent noticed movement of the
cloth covering the corpse. The COW
erlng was pulled away, and
to the horror of every one the cat was
found busily continuing the frightfuI
meal in which it had been Interrupted.
Lib ulillC Guc dillLidl WAS klll6u De-
You'd the possibility of reSuScitatiOn.
The result of the examination held
yesterday was decision that the man
had come to his death by poisoning.
What poison had been used could not
be determined, as too much time had
elapsed prior to the autopsy. Deeds to
two farms in Washington territory were
found in the shanty, and letters show
ing that SeIgeSmund has a brother, a
farmer, on the slope. The latter has
been communicated with, and, it is be-
| lieved, will arrive in the city in a few
days. Seigesmund was over seventy
years old, and made his living by self
ing eggs. He had about hundred hens,
which still pick about the now deserted
cabin. DIR. Darling stated last night to
GLOBE reporter that he regarded the
case as one of undoubted suicide, and
would hold no inquest. The remains
will be inferred to-day.