The San Francisco call., 1896-04-01

Wandering about the City, begging his
watchful friends to leave him alone but a
few moments, H. O. Deuss is yearning for
merciful death that might bring him OBJ
livion. His sorrow is so overwhelming
and has crowded IN upon him so suddenly
that in his distracted condition he sees no
way out of it but suicide, since his piteous
appeals to God TO call for him are un-
needed.
All the dear ones he cherished and
loyed-his honest and true wife who had
been his comfort for eleven years, his
three little babes, whose bright and pretty
faces gave sunlight to his home, and whose
chatter as they climbed over him in the
evening when he returned from his tedi-
Gus labor, and their merry laughter at
early morn before he again went forth to
battle with the world made him forget all
his cares-all were taken away from him
in one fell swoop.
1t is hardly to be wondered at that the
unfortunate husband and father weeps,
sobs and at times utters groans terminal
ing in painful hysterical laugh.
He regards the friends who have has
tened to his side TO give him consolation
which is out tame in such a heartbreaking
case as merciless because they will not
permit him 10 do away with himself and
join the darlings who have left him here
alone in his misery.
This tragedy of the little home at S091I
Guerrero street, where II. o. Deuss sud-
denly and so unexpectedly came across
the dead bodies of his entire family at 3:15
o'clock yesterday morning, is probably
the sad0est that has ever befallen an indi-
vidual IN this City. AT least, the hard
ened employees OF the public Morgue dc
not remember case so touching. Deputy
Smith, who for the past twenty years has
gathered in the dead when official investi.
CATION has been necessary, does not recol.
lect case that approaches it, and the
tender care he has taken in laying out the
mother with her little babies on either
side-the four resting on three contiguous
slabs covered by one wide, immaculate
sheet-atIests to the feelings which caused
the old veteran to shed a tear.
Smith was not alone among strangers
to weep yesterday while viewing these
dead. Women. neighbors of the Deuss
family, crowded 10 the Morgue. Men
big. strong men, callous to the shocks and
hardships of the world, who nave not
known for decades what it is to have a
moist eye-cried with the weaker sex, and
had TO turn away.
The details of the tragedy, owing to the
craZed condition OF the husband and
father, who alone is in possession of the
facts connected with the immediate find
ing of the bodies, can be but surmised
He left his prattling young ones afte,
the evening meal Monday about 7:3C
O'Clock.
The babies had had glorious day OF il
with their toys and little girl neigh bors
with whom they had iomped from early
morning. That bed time was drawing near
was eyinced by their dropping eyelids,
and their fond mothers lullaby needed
but to be short before the three darlings
would be in the restful land of nod.
Mrs. Olga Deuss saw her husband to the
door. She, too, was tired, and with hel
parting kiss asked him to return early
There was nothing in her demeanor TO in
dicate the awful deed she afterward com
mitted. True, she had been ailing for
week past, but she was apparently mend.
ing and was looking forward to Thursday
when she expected to give children:
party in honor of her elder daughter
Gretchen's eighth birthday.
At what time she locked the doors O
the house, tucked her little ones in thei
cots, turned on all the gas jets in the
house and lay down to die no one can eve
know. She left couple of messages writ
ten in German and scribbled off in a rathe
disconnected manner. But these give n,
details to enlighten one on the case.
One slip OF paper has an incompletet
sentence which reads:
You are going to
What else the woman intended to writ
cannot be surmised, unless she was abou
to address her husband, who had told he
he was going to the monthly meeting O
the Mission Turn Verein, and then de
sisted.
Then came another note, saying:
AS have loved you in life, shall be witt
you in death all the time.
On the same slip of paper was written
All the things in the trunk and the beds ar
to be sent 10 George; they belong to him.
These messages were found by the depu
ties from the Coroner's Office when the,
arrived at the house at o'clock in tn
morning. They had been completely over
looked by Deuss in the agonizing moment
that followed his frightful discovery.
AT the close of the Mission Turn Vereir
meeting, about midnight. Deuss sat aronnt
the saloon in the building chatting witt
some OF his fellow-member and drinkin,
beer.
AT 2:3o o'clock in the morning the part,
broke up, and Deuss, accompanied by An
ton Messersmith, who is neighbor of hi.
slowly walked fovar ri THAR boroae IT, :.
conversed, and frequently stopped on thei
journey to enter in debate. They spen
fifteen minutes in this way right in from
OF Deuss' house, where his entire famil
was being slowly asphyxiated or else wa
already dead.
With light heart and the proverbia
excuse on his lips for being so late, Deus
ran up the front steps of his home an
with bis latch key opened the door.