The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-12-01
The WOMAN In BLACK.
She Ends Her Sad Life With A
Revolver Bullet.
DESERTED ey HER HUSBAND.


II.
y shooting herself through the loser end
o. the heart with . chean ss-csiIber buil-
cog revolver. So far - has been discov-
efeo she left no letter Of explanation. and
she also took the precantion 10 nd her
person OF means OF Identification, sx-
ceptiEg ring marked "W. w" After il
vas discovered last night who the suicide
vas, Der life vas investigated, and the
story OF desertion by her husband. nom
support and divorce came out. She xas
s.ckiy, her handsome husband tired Of
her and poverty seems 10 have led 10
despair.
twas only . few minutes past II O'Clock
yesterday when Isaac b. Rockenheld. who
runs store AZ the terminus OF the Madl-
son street cable, LakeW ashington,u noticed q
middis-aged woman. clad in g black dress.
black sack with fur trimmings and q
brown felt hat, alight from a car and
hurry down the plank walk that leads to
Laurel Shade. She acted tribe nervously
and Kept looking back over her~houlder.
circumstance thai aGfrscted Mr. Roeken-
he.d's attention and made subsequent
Identification positive. When she woman
IN black reached Laurel Shade she passed
close 20 Kate Tucker. who lives with Mr.
and Mrs. Patrick Sculiin, sud who, al
that moment, was in front OF the house
calling to young Fred Scullin TO come
home away from the cows aud horses
that were browsing . short distance south.
Miss Tucker says the woman walked
along briskly and, so far as she could see,
acted naturally. She paid no attention TO
her, and. after capturing young Fred, a
biue-eyed. ight-hairsd yonngster of the
type that make mothers go into raptures,
returned to the house.
The strange woman stepped of from the
plank walk and continued her journey
along an old road that. af er leaving Laurel
Shade. bends down from the brow OF the
bank and runs along the shore in q south
eriy direction. She did not have To 90
more than ten rods before reaching q
small clubhouse. beyond which Is big
laurel tree. Sac stopped at the south side
o. the little house and sat down on the
sloping bank. She was screened from
the house at Laurel Shade. A moment
later the report OF pistol was heard, but
Miss Tucker and Mrs Scull3n gave the
matter no especial attention. shooting
along the shore being an ordinary occur
renee.
A few minutes later Mrs. scuiiin was 1T
the front door when man who had come
down after his cows walked back to where
she stood and said that there was woman
lying under the laurel tree and he was
afraid she was iii. Mrs. SculIin called Mr..
Scuslin. who was working IN a field near
John ]. McGilvra's house and the investi-
CATION was begun. Mr.. Scullin took one
lock at the woman Is she lay CURED up on
the ground. partly on her right side with
her head thrown back and mouth open and
q revolver near her right hand, and said
suicide"
Coroner Horton and Chief of Police
Rogers arrived as soon as possible after
having been notified and made q close
inspection of the body and surroundings
There was nothing aboas the revolver TO
give any clue except tina: IL was of inferior
quality, such as would be owned by q per-
son who knew little of firearms and their
uses. IL MAS of 38-caliber and had been
held close to the body when iirei. The
dress was scorched by the powder and the
small hole made by the leaden pill was
we'll dowa on the lett side, just in line
with the bottom of the heart. There was
not a sign OF blood on her clothes and one
had to look closely to find the place where
the shooting had been done. Her clothes
were OF good material and clean, her
sack was also of good material
and her shoes told plainly that
she was naturally neat In her
pocket was purse containing 50 cents.
She Also had cheap earrings and . gold
watch and chain. The watch was old
fashioned but of good quality. At first
glance the woman looked to be about Is
or 30 years old, but a closer look showed
that she was over 81. Her heavy black
hair was sprinkled with white. and her
cheeks had a sunken, care-worn look
Her complexion was sallow, even to the
point of indicating illness. There vas
not q scrap of paper on her person TO
indicate who she was or tell why she had
taken her life. 1t was evident. however,
that she was q seamstress, for Ia her
dress were three needles and also needle
fuI Of black thread. Her thimble Was
stn on her finger, and the marks OF
the needles point could be seen on her
fingers ends. A clue to her
identity vas obtained through the
fo!iowi ing inscription found on the inside
OF a ring on one of her fingers; "W. W,
IL. 10, rs" IL sas not much 10 work on.
however. and the body lag al Bonnsy &
evening before a man. who did not give
his name. looked 81 the body and said he
knew the woman 20 be Mrs, WeiSsmaa,
who lived az his house. corner Of Tssler
avenue and Fifth street No trace of the
man or Mrs. Weissmaa could be found in
that locality, bus il was subsequently,
learned that she occupied room IN the
building known as the Old city hall. The
man said that she lived a. his house sew
eral months and had her orn furniture,
She moved out, and hs did not know
where she went, but remembered having
nAssed her on the street last Thursday
evening.
BY consulting an old city directory II
va. found that ". Wsissnsan. q tailor.
ala business a. loe Washington street,
and by comparing tAis name with the
Initials in she ring the Identification, for
sli practical purposes. vas complete. No
one was 81 he tailor shop and tie name
Of Wesssnan had gone long ago. George
D-l.~.. who has barrier shop next door.
however. remembered the man, and spoke
Of Ms. Wesssman getting 8 divorce re-
Gently. lie did not thinx Ia possible that
the woman had Killed herself unssi he saw
her fsse AZ the norgue.