, 1896-04-30
HE BURIED HIMSELF.
TIE UNCLE SUICIDE OF A MEXICAN
iND!SI IN CALIFORNIA.

Dishexrtened by an Accident Which I'm
fitted HIu, For Active Life. jose Mendei
Resolved to End ,iis Existence withou,
Causing His Friends Trouble.
Jose Mepdez was II Mexican IrdiaI
who killed himself i'll 1862 in San Jose,
SO years of age. He had all his life beer
all exceedingly active man.
Among the daring characters then
residing in San Jose none coulL excel
him us a rider of wild horses. He was
also very ingenious and coald not only
make the finest kinds Of l~Gria:s, bat
could also use them in many original
ways.
One day the daring rider came tc
grief. ly some means he WAS thrown
from IA wild mustang, and, being stun.
ned aud made helpless by the fall, he
was dragged for some distance III The
stirreps. When finally rcscued. he Was
i'll a condition that would have been
sure and almost instant death 70 any
but q man of wonderful nerve aud te-
nacity of life.
Injured and helpless, lie recovered sut-
ficient!y TO realize that he could never
engage in active pursuits again, and he
became very moody and Respondent. A
life i'll which he was precluded from
daring riding on unframed mustangs
had no charms for him, and in The
midst of his sufferings from internal i'll
juries he made frequent threats of sni-
pisln I,,ro "a, ypa,liur nf tIn >,,tta,. T.,
IN intimate friend, who tried to dis
suade him from the idea, he said that
when he killed himself it would be
done in such a manner tina: no one
would aver have any more trouble about
him. 1t was thought at tho time that he
intended to drown himself in the SEA,
where his body would never be ecover-
ed.
Every morning for several weeks
thereafter Jose crawled away from the
adobe hut in which he and u number of
others lived aud came back quite late
every evening. On these trips he took a
pick and shovel and occasionally a
piece of lumber, no one knew for what
purpose. Some supposed that he was
mining somewhere. By this time lie
had grown so Respondent us to be en-
tirely communicative, and no expla-
nation of his conduct could be obtained
from him. One evening, US was expect,
cd, the invalid did not return to the
adobe, and the next day n search was
made i'll the direction in which he went.
Something like a mile from the adobe
house the searching party found a small
clearing i'll the glass and weeds. To the
surprise of every one of the party IL rude
board box about 8 feet wide and 6 feet
long and about IS inches in depth was
found lying upside down in the middle
of the open place. The box was imuue-
diately 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 u number
of pieces of lariat. The explanation OF
all this WIS IA mystery. aud at first it
ance of the Mexican.
An intimate friend Of the missing
man then nude an explanation which
was pronounced entirely plausible anG
cleared the mystery. The mar said that
III, Meviron aftar. srsto;nipo his in,
inv had hoen ent;relv dononde,t uro,
stronoers for bis sn,nc,, .,,d snsta,,oncs
and he vac determ;ned If nossihla ,ft
or be was deod NOT to Owe then, an,
n,ora trorbla n. tbo-.f,,o d.y;seI =.
snt,o,,a II, ,vh;,,, Lo could No. nnIr Ii
but also, ut the same time. bury him"
.olf How III. ,L;rn w,s m,roced wa,
ea.ilv enon,b detormineI nv M ;nsnac.
t;on ~ tho oronnd THO doco,sod lad
dnn a a,n,e y ,,,lor shallow ono j,
,rh;oL FL staIoron was fourd sn,ro
,o,rs lotcr
Af,ar Tho ,r,vs ,yos d,, which re-
,ri,od soma tive owing tn ,be feeblc
rondit;on - ,ha deceased he nluccJ thn
lonse earth in y box that Ind hren made
for th,t nnrnose This e,,th WAS n,cl,
cd in no solid ms nossihla nv ho;nr war
and than allowed 70 drv ny,in. 50 ,hot
when the box was carefully stood IN il.
aide with the earth toward the gronrd
none NJ II feI, ont several ]l,r;,,s yero
thon scratched .c,oss f,om ,ho ,nnor
side NJ the hoy IA il Law ocross tbe orave
ro stakes on the other side
h hox was then carefnllv In lanced
10 TINT nnv object that mivbt fall on
tt,a vnNtnt1 xuvOvpIl ~, st o. Gall ~,oN