St. Paul daily globe., 1892-09-28
Thus Came the Climax to a
! Dream of Riches From
3 Speculation.
Sensational Preliminaries
J Lead Up to the Self-In-
flicted Death.
When Discovered the Body of
the Suicide Was Bathed
as in Blood.

" diedli vi VIII adventurous Specu-
latlon in projects of hazardous kind
came some time between $50 and Z
o'clock this morning in the suicide of
William z. Canaday, of North Caro-
Ina, formerly sergeant-at-arms of the
United States senate, and known to
politicians throughout the country for
years as one of the leading Republic
ans in the South.
The suicide was as full of sensational
prellminarles as any story or alleged
novel. There was about it just enough
OF the element of uncertainty to sug-
gest theory quickly dispelled on ex-
animation OF the commission of the
deed by some other person than the
dead man, or another theory that dis
belief in his story of having been robbed
had driven him to kill himself.
Prior TO the suicide there was a scene
about daylight of the dead man bound
by slight cord fastenings to a door,
which fastenings he told the gentlemen
VINO had been alarmed by his outcries
had been bound on him by burglars,
who, at
The Point of a Knife.
had forced him to open safe and had
then distracted therefrOm most of the
contents. Following this scene was
another in which j. @. A. Houghton, a
captain on Hancock's staff during the
war, and partner OF Canaday. told his
partner that he did not believe the
story, and would have it investigated bv
the police. Capt. Hougnton accused
Canaday of an attempt TO defraud him
tHoughton). Subsequently Capt. Hough-
ton said that yesterday evening he had
put s., COO i'll bills in the safe, the CON-
binatlon to which was known only to
himself and Col. Canaday.
The third scene was that which was
visible almost an hour later, when
Capt. HoughtOn returned with Police
man Gilbert, who broke open a window.
the doors having been locked bv Col.
Canaday on the inside. and found the
former sergeant-at-arms of the senate
lying in bath of blood, dead from the
effects of pistol wound through the
mead, extending from ear to ear.
The House
in which the tragedy occurred was one
or the Wo three-story and basement
narrow brick houses. The two houses
iiaG been thrown into one and, being
down town near the government de-
partment and other offices, the lower
floor was used for office rooms. and the
floors above were rented out for lodg-
ings. Their numbers are 712 ana TIA
Tenth street. Col. Canaday had the
entire first floor of both houses, and used
it for office rooms. He also had cot in
one of the rooms in which he slept at
night. A sign at the window read:
Law Office. w. 7. Canaday;" TEN
porary Office United States Patent
Guaranty Company" was another sign,
and in the window card read: "M0n
ey toIioan."
Capt. J. Q. A. Houghton says that he
was a partner of Col. Canaday in the
business conducted. but his name does
not appear on the signs visible from the
outside. He seems to have been the
man who furnished last year the money
for enterprises of which Col Canadav
was the promoter. The business car
ried on, beside launching various enter
prises, was that of general pension
claim agency. to loan money and the
insurance of patents-thiS last being
done under the name OF the Patent
Guaranty company.
Canasaay's Partner.
Capt. Houghton was known to the
people of the house as associated in the
business. The two men were together
every day about 6 O'clock, and Mr..
Huughton says he deposited $4,000 in
the safe last evening. This safe was
in the rear of the second room from the
front OF the house No. 712. In the front
room most Of the general business was
conducted.
After the partners separated on the
street the dead man spent half an hour
with Miss Moore, young woman.
About quarter of an hour after this S.
NJ. Stevenson, an employe of the fish
commission who roomed on the second
floor just above Col. Canadav's rear
Office room, came down stairs, having
been alarmed by outcries He found
Col. Canaday bound to a closed door in
the room i'll which the safe stood, and
across the hallway from his sleeping
quarters. The safe was open. Strewed
over the floor was a great litter of pa
pers of one kind Or another, and in the
fireplace was charred mass of burnt
papers. Col. Canaday was bound to
the door with