The Topeka state journal., 1898-10-19
lis IT ONE
OF THE TRIO?
DR.. Dickinson Takes 60 Grains
of Morphine
And Dies MiserabIy After a
Long Debauch.
a. DRUG WRECKED MAN
His Fourteen Year Old Son
Asleep Beside Him.
Is 1t the Second of a New Trio
of Suicides2
A DRUG WRECKED MAJ

When Lark Dickinson awol<e yester-
day morning he found his father, DR..
d. H. Dickinson, cold in death in the
bed beside him.
Lark Dickinson is but IA years old
but he was not frightened He reached
over and felt Of his father. The body
was cold. He then called the neighbors
and asked that the coroner be notified.
He had been on a drunk for two
weeks said Lark, "and he took
morphine and bromidia to quiet him.
He had some other kind of drug but
do not know what it was. He COM
planned early Monday morning about 4
o'clock that he was suffering with ter
rible pains.
II can not stand this any longer he
said to me and he took a bottle from
his pocket and took a dose. From 4
o'clock till noon he kept on complaining
about the terrible pain he was in and
every now and then he would take a
dose from the bottle. After he had
taken all that was in the bottle he COM
menced taking bromidia- 1t was half
pound bottle and he took it all before
3 o'clock in the afternoon. When that
was gone he commenced taking some
thing from another bottle but I do not
know what it was. The drugs seemed
to have no effect on him for he did not
go to bed until after supper. The eX-
citement brought on by his drunk must
have kept him awake. He went to bed
before I did and for a long time after
I went to sleep he was awake and rest
less. In the morning found him dead.
He must have been dead for some time
for he was cold.''
Lark explained of finding his father
dead in the most matter of fact way
without so much as a quaver IN ms
voice. The continued debauches of his
father had long ago hardened his sensi-
bilities.
s'He had been drunk for two weeks. -
continued Lark, and had been drink
ing whisky and alcohol. never knew
of his taking morphine or drugs of any
kind before and would have known II
if he had"
Four years ago Mrs. Dickinson died
and since then Lark and his father
have been living together in the house
at 404 Locust street. The two have
been doing their own cooking and mouse
keeping. The neighbors have known
little about DR.. Dickinson since the
death of his wife as none of them cared
to enter the house and were in constant
fear of the doctor during his drunken
sprees.
Il do not think he meant to commit
suicide said Mrs. D. ]. Seymore, the
daughter of the dead man. He took
the drugs to quiet him but 1 do not
think for an instant that it was with
suicidal intent. I am sure it was not
He never used anything before but
whisky and alcohol
After the body had been taken from
the house an empty bottle marked Is
ounce morphine was found together
with a bottle marked bromidia- The
third bottle was not marked.
1.-The bottle marked morphine was full
when he started taking it, said Lark.
He must have taken 10 or II doses
from it before he finished it."
While Mrs. Seymore stoutly asserts
that the drugs were not taken with sui
cidal intent yet it certainly looks as if
Dr. Dickinson had become despondent
from his long debauch and intended
making way with himself. He was
physician and at one time held large
practice in Topeka. He certainly knew
that 60 grains of morphine were more
than any one could take without fatal
results.
When asked If person could take go
grains of morphine and survive, DR..
Roby said: st know of no record of the
kind. dose of so grains is certainly
fatal. No one no matter if he were in
the habit of taking the drug, could take
that much and live. Half of that would
be sufficient to bring fatal results
Coroner J. NJ. Westerfield was sum-
moned and after viewing the body and
making few inquiries he decided that
an inquest was not necessary. The time
of the funeral has not been set.