Evening star., 1896-12-07
SUFFOCATED BY GAS
Mr.. John q. HALEY Found in Room in
Anacostia.
Suicide or an Accident-Was an Old
Soldier With q Good
Record.

at the Aracostia Inn, corner of Fillmore
and Harrison streets, Anacostia, about noon
yesterday. Coroner Hammett, who was
notified, decided after an investigation that
the sad affair was the result of accident,
and declined to hold an inquest.
Mr.. ]. c. Leonard. one of the proprie-
tors of the Anacostia Inn, who was the
last person who saw Mr.. Haley alive. told
a Star reporter that Mr. HALEY came to the
inn Saturday evening between and y
o'clock. and after registering his name,
was furnished his supper. Almost as soon
marked to Mr.. Leonard that he was very
tired and believed he would retire. Mr..
Leonard assigned Mr.. HALEY to room,
and about o'clock he went to the room,
shut the door, but did not, as Was after
ward ascertained, lock it, and retired to
bed.
No furt 1er attention was paid to the man,
and as there was no occasion to rouse
him no ore went to the room until Il noon
Sunday, when an employe of the house
started to go to the room for the purpose
of making the bed.
On reaching the second floor the man
detected the smell Of escaping gas ahd
he at once notified Mr.. Leonard. The lat
ter hastened to the place from where II
was evident the leak proceeded and OPEN
ing the door Mr.. Leonard saw the pros
trate form of Mr.. HALEY lying upon 'ne
bed. Mr.. Leonard was himself almost over
come by the gas, but he managed to get
to a window, the sash Of which ne tnre"
up. thus allowing the gas to escape INTO
the open air.
Mr.. Leonard then turned his attention
to the inanimate form on the bed, and at
once discovered that Mr.. HALEY was cead.
He hurried to the Anacostia ponce SUD
station, where he found Lieut.. McCatnIan
of the fifth precinct station, ana Iepot ,su
the facts to him, the latter al once 'eie
phoning for the coroner.
when Mr.. Haley" continued MT.
Leonard. talking to the reporter, came 10 .
the inn Saturday evening he seemed ~
be much worried and he Informed me that
his depression of spirits was caused by
the fact that his pension check, Whlcn' as
a pensioner of the government. ana ior
wounds received during the late war ne
was entitled to receive, and expected 10
get by mail Saturday at the Anacostia post
office did not arrive.
THE delay was, he said. owing 10 tne
fact that the notary who made out the
when he forwarded the paper to the pen
sion office. and the latter returned the
voucher for correction. This was done.
and the paper again forwarded. and
Mr.. HALEY expected to get the check Sat
urIay evening. but was disappointed.
Il assured him that there was. In my
Judgment, no cause to be alarmed and
that the check would probably turn up all
right Monday, whereupon he seemed to
be satisfied to wait until that time. and
retired to the room assigned him.
II am unable to determine whether Mr..
Haley blew out the lighted gas upon go
ing to bed whether he had occasion to
get up during the night and turned 1t on.
and tried to light it, but failed, having,
perhaps, but a single match, and then ne
elected to turn off the gas, which, from
the surrounding circumstances, would ap-
pear to have been the case.
Mr.. Leonard said. from an incident which
occurred during the night, and shortly after
he went to his own room, little after Il
o'clock, he was inclined to think that the
gas in Mr.. Haley's room was then escap-
ing although he, of course, knew nothing
about the matter until nearly twelve hours
later.
Ever since I have lived at the inn,''
continued Mr.. Leonard. "a pet dog of mine
has slept at night, after 1 myself went to
bed in the hallway at my door. Satur-
day night the dog laid down there. as
usual, but he had been there but a short
time until he began to scratch at the door
before.
'At first I paid 70 attention to the mat
ter, but as the dog continued his scratch
ing. / got up and let him In my room.
whereupon he laid down and went to sleep,
and 1 did the same in my bed. am now
inclined to think that the dog smelled the
escaping gas, and the experience being un-
usual for him, and not liking the smell, he
desired to avoid it by getting in my room. "
Another gentleman, who had seen Mr..
HALEY during two or three hours previous
to the latter going to his bed, and talked
with him on the subject of the missing
check. said to the reporter that Mr. HALEY
was very much exercised over the matter
of the non-arrival of the check, and ex-
pressed the opinion than some one had
buncoed him out of the money.
The gentleman told Mr.. Haley that he
thought the trouble would adjust itself in
the course of couple of days, and that he
would get his money. This seemed to sat
isfy Mr.. Haley, and he replied that he
guessed everything would be right by Mon
AS soon as Coroner Hammett gave the
deceased were turned over to Undertaken
William H. Scott, by whom they were pre-
pared fer burial, and later the body was
demoved to the residence of Mr.. James r.
HALEY, brother, living on Maple avenue,
from whose home the funeral will take
place, probably Tuesday afternoon. Mr..
Henry Haley was also a brother of the un-
fortunate man. He also left other rela-
tives.
The now dead man was we'll known and
highly respected, and was over seventy
years of age. He served in a Union regi-
ment during the struggle from 1851 to 1865,
and though he fought during his entire en-
listment in the ranks, was regarded as q
brave and gallant soldier. He was a mem
Der Of John A. Logan Post, G. A. R., of
Anacostia, which will, 1T Is understood, be
represented at the funeral and take part
in the services according to the provisions
of the ritual of the order.