The times., 1898-11-15
leap TO SUDDEN DEATH
Abel Frost Driven TO Suicide
by Long Illness.
WELL-KNOWN HOTEL MAN
as Cashier and Book
keeper mt the Riggs House for
Many Years Had Suffered with
Insomnia-Jumped From Aqueduct
Bridge-Head Crushed on stone.

Abel Frost, chief cashier and bookkeep-
er of the Riggs House, committed suicide
yesterday morning at 6:55 o'clock by
jumping from the Aqueduct Bridge.
which spans the Potomac River at
Georgetown. In falling, the body turned
and struck the fourth pier OF the bridge
and the skull was crushed. Death was
supposed to have been instantaneous and
the body sank out of sight Immediately.
Frost's duties at the hotel require his
presence at an early hour in the morning
and his leaving his home, No. 1913 Four
teenth Street, before O'Clock did not
excite any suspicion as to his intentions
when he left the house. lie boarded n
car at the corner of Fifteenth Street and
PENNSYLVANIA Avenue northwest. and
proceeded Immediately to Georgetown
When he left the car at the terminus
of the railroad, near the Washington end
of the bridge he walked across the
bridge to the Virginia side, and, without
leaving the board walk, turned and came
back toward this city.
When he reached the center Of the
bridge he stopped, and, after taking off
his overcoat, which he deposited on the
board walk beside the guard rail, he
sprang over the rail and into the stream
below. There were several persons on the
structure at the time, and those nearest
the place where the suicide last stood
were two colored women, who were on
their way to work in this city.
They were much frightened at first, but
soon recovered sufficiently to scream and
thus attract the attention of Policeman
Hess. who was on the bridge at the time.
He rushed to the scene OF the occurrence
to find out the cause of the trouble When
he arrived, there were still two small
circles around the spot where the man
went down.
Hess took charge of the overcoat and an
umbrella which was found lying across il
and made all speed to the nearest tele-
phone station, where he informed Lieut..
Swindells of the Seventh Precinct sta
| ton, of what had occurred. Harbor-mas-
ter Sutton was also notified, and he sent
all the apparatus in his possession TO as
sist in the search for the body.
Two hours were spent in graphing with
out success when at last Robert Gordon
and Harry Magruder, who We're in a
small row boat, succeeded in getting theiI
! hooks on something yielding which, or
| being drawn to the surface, proved to be
the body of Frost. Gordon has quite d
record for recovering the bodies of per
sons who have been drowned and has
been of great assistance to the police OF
more than one occasion.
! The patrol wagon from the Seventh pre-.
cnt was Immediately summoned. and the
| body was removed to the dead house al
! the station. When the overcoat was taker
/ to the station house several letters anC
| papers were found in its pockets all ad
! dressed to A. Frost. Riggs House.
! Lieut.. Swindells Immediately notified the
! hotel and asked them to send some one
| to identify the clothing. As soon as Col
! o. G. Staples the lessee of the hotel, re
ceived the message he drove to the sta
! ton house and by the time he reached
! there the body had arrived.
There was no doubt as to the identity
/ of the man. Mrs. Frost was notified o
| what had occurred through the police ant
4 she hurried to the station. In her case
too the information containing the sus
4 picions of the police as to the identit,
of the man was sent before the recover!
and the wife was asked to identify th
! overcoat.
| When she arrived at the station TIL
body was in the morgue, and she was i'm
Mrs. Frost was very much affected an,
left the station Immediately.
As soon as the recovery of the body wa
made known Coroner Carr was notified
and early in the afternoon went TO TIL
station and viewed the remains. Afte
hearing the evidence of the witnesses t.
the affair he issued certificate of sui
eide The dead man was then removes
to the establishment of Undertake
Speare, who will prepare it for burial.
The friends of Frost are at a loss It
know the cause of the suicide, as it ha
! always been supposed that his life was
happy one. He was well known in tn
business circles of the city, having beel
connected with the Riggs Hotel for
number of years, and in his capacity a
cashier and bookkeeper was associates
with the most prominent men in the city
He had been suffering from insomni
for some time and Sunday morning calle
on the physician at whose house he re
| sides for some medicine which woul
quiet his nerves and allow him some resi-
1t is supposed that intense suffering whic
follows in the wake of this dread malad
-uuAnAWAY horse almost impossi.