Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-25
He BURIED HIMSELF.
The Unique Suicide of n Mexican In.
dian in California,

ul0n IN California.
From the Photographic Times
Jose Mendez was a Mexican Indian who
killed himself in 1862 in San Jose. Cal. At
the time of his death Jose was thirty-six
years of age. He had all his life been an
exceedingly active man. Among the daring
characters then residing in San Jose none
could excel him a rider of wild horses
He was also very ingenious, and could not
only make the finest kinds Of lariats, but
could also them in many original WAYS.
One day the daring rider came to grief.
BY some means he was thrown from wild
mustang. and being stunned and made
helpless by the fall, he was dragged for
some distance in the stirrups. When final
ly rescued he was in condition that would
have been sure and almost instant death to
any but man of wonderful nerve and
tenacity of life
Injured and helpless, he recovered sufti-
clently to realize that he could never en-
gage in active pursuits again, and he be-
came very moody and Respondent A life
In which he was precluded from daring rid
ing on unframed mustangs had no charms
for him, and in the midst of his sufferings
from internal injuries he made FRAGMENT
threats of suicide. Once in speaking of the
matt to an intimate friend, who tried to
dissuade him from the idea he said that
when he killed himself it would be done in
such manner that no one would ever have
any more trouble about him. 1t was
thought at the time that he intended to
drown himself in the sea, where his body
would never be recovered.
Every morning for several weeks there
after Jose crawled away from the adobe
hut in which he and number of others
lived, and came back quite late every even
ing. On these trips he took a pick and
shovel, and occasionally a piece of lumber
no one knew for what purpose Some sup
posed that he was mining somewhere BY
TINS time he had grown so respondent to
be entirely uncommnnicative, and no ex-
planatlon OF his conduct could be obtained
from him. One evening, as was expected
the invalid did not return to the adobe
and the next day search was made in the
direction in which he'went
Something like a mile from the adobe
mouse the searching party found a small
clearing in the gras and weeds To the
surprise OF every one of the party, rude
board box about three feet wide and six
leet long and about eighteen inches in
depth was found lying upside down in the
middle or the open place. The box was i'm
mediately overturned. but nothing but a
heap of loose earth was found under it. A
closer examination revealed the fact that
attached to the box were a number of
pieces of lariat. The explanation of all this
was mystery, and at first 1t was not con-
nected with the disappearance OF the
Mexican.
An intimate friend of the missing man
then made an explanation which was pro-
nounced entirely plausible and cleared the
mystery. The man said that the Mexican,
after sustaining his injury, had been en-
tirely dependent upon strangers for his
support and sustenance and he was deter
mined, II possible, after he was dead hot
to give them any more trouble. He, there
fore, devised a scheme by which he could
not only kill. but also, at the same time,
bury himself. How the thing was man.
aged was easily enough determined by an
inspection of the ground. The deceased
had dug a grave, rather shallow one, in
which his skeleton was found some years
later.
After the grave was dug, which required
some time, owing to the feeble condition of
the deceased, he placed the loose earth in
box that had been made for that purpose.
This earth was packed in as solid as Dos
sible by being wet and then allowed to dry
again, SO that when the box was carefully
stood on it's side with the earth toward the
ground none of it fell out. Several Iariats
were then stretched across from the upper
side of the box, as it lay across the grave
to stakes on the other side.
The box was then carefully balanced, so
that any object that might fall the
lariats would cause it to fall over the grave
and empty the earth 1T contained on top Of
the body. In this manner the unfortunate
man not only killed, but also buried him
self almost in the same instant of time.
So well satisfied were those who made the
surprising discovery that their theory vas
correct that they did not take the trouble
to dig in order to ascertain that the body
was underneath. The theory, however, was
further strengthened by the finding of the
pistol with which the shooting had been
done in some loose earth near the edge of
the grave. 1t had evidently dropped there
from the suicides hand after he fired the
fatal shot. This fact convinced the searcn-
ers, and they returned without making fur
ther Investigations so that the desire of
the unfortunate that no one should be
troubled with burying him was realized.
Some years later the skeleton OF Jose
Mendez was accidentally discovered and the
theory Of his friends fully corroborated.