The morning call., 1894-10-20
SET UPON DEATH.
A Mysterious Suicide at
Haywards.
Deliberate Preparations of an Un-
known Determined to Die-fiiS
Gold and Silver.

The good citizens Of Haywards are much
wrought up over the finding of the body
! of an unknown stranger on the banks of
Sulphur Creek. about one mile southeast
of the town. All the known circumstances
| surrounding the case point to suicide. but
withal it is most mysterious affair
Late on Thursday afternoon Antoine
Diaz and his son, Joseph. were gathering
dry wood along the banks Of Sulphur
Creek. Joseph was slightly in advance of
his father. and in most secluded spot,
which is rarely visited, saw the body of a
creek. He called TO his father. and slow
ly they approached the man, whom they at
first supposed to be sleeping.
This supposition they soon abandoned,
however, when they viewed The horribly
decompOsed face, and experienced the
horrible stencil which arises from body
from which life has long been gone. The
| dead man lay face downward. and partly
on his right side. His feet projected be-
yond the bank, and by his side. with its
butt braced against stump and the mnZ-
! Zle pressed into his right ear. lay a rife.
| The head of the corpse was still sur
mounted by black hat. and tho fingers of
the right hand tightly clenched stick OF
| wood, in the end OF which had been cut
|
| OF the rifle.
| This illustrated how the unknown had
| committed suicide. He had Goolly selec ed
the most secluded spot in the immediate
vicinity of Haywards. He then fashioned
| a stick so that he could fit the end OF il on
the trigger of his rifle and be certain That
no matter how hard he pushed ii the stick
would not slip off. Then he aid down on
the bank in exactly the position he was
found. placed the butt of his rife against
an old stump, raised the trigger full cock,
fitted the stick TO the trigger and pressed
the muzZle OF the iihe into his right ear.
Then muscular shove on the stick with
| the right arm pressed back the trigger.
! down came the hammer and a bullet As
of an inch in diameter, with the force of
20 grains of powder behind II, plOwed its
way through bis brain and all was over.
SO secluded was the spot that had not
| Antoine DiaZ and his son Joseph needed
! dry wood, perhaps ten days after the sui
eide, the unknown's bones might have
whitened and crumbled into dust under
the leaves of many autumns.
AItone DiaZ hastened into Haywards
and informed Deputy Coroner John f.
Geary and Town Marshal Ramage both
! of whom Immediately proceeded TO the
scene. and the former took charge of the
remains and conveyed them back TO town.
Tne suicida had been dead some Ten
days ln life the man dressed neatly. He
wore a dark coat and vest and steel-blue
trousers. In the breast pocket of his
shirt Deputy Coroner Geary found $65 in
gold. In the pockets of the vest ana trou-
sers he found $5 in silver. In one of the
pockets Of the coat was box containing
nineteen cartridges. There were. five SINH
lar ones in the magazine of the rifle and
in the breech was an empty shell.
Coroner Evers held the Inquest in Hay
wards yesterday afternoon, but he failed
to secure the slightest clew to the dead
mans identity. Nobody could be found
in town WHO remembered ever having
seen him. and when The inquisiton was
concluded toward evening the body of tt G
unknown " as lowered into grave equal ly
| unknown.