Evening star., 1898-11-14
DEATH BY SUICIDE
Abial Frost, Riggs House BOokkeeper,
Takes His Own Life.
JUMPS FROM TIE AQUEDUCT BRIDGE
Skull Crushed and Arms Broken b,
the Fall.
THE CORONER NOTIFIED

| ApIal FROST, apparently nfty years o.
| age, and a hotel bookkeeper, committed
suicide this morning by jumping from the
| Aqueduct bridge. which crosses the pu:o-
mac between Georgetown and Rosslyn
| The jump was made about five minutes ne
| fore o'clock, and was witnessed by a few
l people who happened to be on the s;ruct-
| gre at the time. Within few hours alter
ward the body was recovered. The remains
| were taken to the seventh precinct station
| whera they were held pending the appeal
ance OF the coroner.
| AT the hour of the suicide there was
limited number Of people on the bridge
| most of them being colored women via
| live in Rosslyn and the surrounding coun-
| try, and in setvice I'm Georgetown and
| Washington He Gid not attract any spe-
| cial attention while crossing the bridge
| and only two PEOPLE We're behind him. n
| colored woman and her daughter. Police
| man VIII Hess happened to be standing or
| the bridge, just across the canal. at ;he
| site where the old tou house of the form'I
| aqueduct stood
| CoIorcd Women Witness.
| The man, who was afterwards identified
as Frost wore a light weight. dark over
coat. closely buttoned around him, and
black derby. When at pier No. of the
bridge the one exactly north Of the dam
| aged pier which is now being repaired. he
stopped. Up to this time, so far as can be
| learned, he walked perfectly straight, and
| did not once look over the rail which is
| about three and q half feet high, hgt he
| stopped at the pier above mentioned and
| drew off his overcoat The colored women
| were within fifty sixty yards of him
| when he threw the coat to the wooden
| footwalk, climbed the rail of the bridge
| and jumped off.
! For an instant the spectators We're
/ speechless, but their yells soon after at
] tracted the attention of Policeman Hess.
who quickly ran to the scene. The man
| had by this time disappeared in the water
| and only small circle of ripples marked
| the spot where he went down. by This
| time all of the pedestrians on the bridge
| had gathered at the spot on the bridge
| where the man went over AS soon as the
| news spread the crowd was largely in
| creased.
| The cclored woman mentioned, who with
her daughter, was behind Frost, was Kate
| Smith. She works in the family of a
| Georgetown plumber a servant. Her
| daughter, Marceline. was with her, intend
| ing to visit some friends in the city. They
| live at Queens Station, Arlington district.
| Va. They looked over the rail as the man
| jumped, and saw the body sail through the
| air Before striking the water he struck
| the projecting edge of the stone pier, ard
| this DETECTED the original course, and the
| body seemed to slide down the side OF the
| pier and sink into the water. Policeman
Hess less than seVenty-five yards from
| the place where the jump was made.
In very short time small boat man
| ned by Bob Golden and Harry Magruder
was at the scene. Shortly after y o'clock
| the body was caught and brought to the
| surface. 1t was expected that the current
would have carried il little distance dOUa
| the stream but instead il was caught al
most at the same spot where IL went down.
The Clothing Searched.
The overcoat was taken in charge by the
| police and searched, but there was nothing
h,>1, lrrl,+
| large white silk handkerchief and a pair
| of kid gloves being the only articles found
H had kept his hat when the jump was
made, and this was picked up shortly after
| ward, several hundred yards below the
bridge. 1t was an ordinary black derby
from local halter, but did not have the
name of the owner in it,
When the body taken to the station
it was searched by Precinct Detective Bur
rows. pair of gold-rimmed spectacles in
a leather case We're found, while in vest
pocket there was a fountain pen and LEAD
pencil. The force of the collision of the
body with the pier, with the water. Lad
snapped the pencil in half. From the
trousers pockets a bunch of keys WAS
taken, and also two penkniyes. The sum
of $1.65 in quarters and nickels was found.
In the vest rocket there was n handsome
gold watch and chain, with heavy locket
as charm. The watch was an onen-face
one, and the crystal was smashed into
small pieces. The hands of the watch had
stopped at exactly 6:55, probably the time
the suicide struck the water. The locket,
used a charm, contained a small portrait
of a middle-aged woman, whose identity
could not be learned.
The name of the suicide was secured from
q number of papers found in ths clothes.
A letter from Chicago, with no date bat
postmarked November Z, was signed 10y
Gertrude" evidently a daughter of The
deceased. The letter was of an affection
ate nature, and spoke of the birth of son.
1t contained no clue which would serve to
show cause for the rash act. Another
paper was a bill from the ice company,
made out to Mr.. Frost of 1913 14th street,
for 50; another note, made out 10 o. G Sta.
pies, and signed by w. w. Widdcombe, for
81 100 dated July 2S, and Cancelled. 1t was
indorsed by o. G. Staples and A. Frost. A
receipt from L. X Devendorf, as il was
deciphered, for $50 was also found; also
freight bill from an express company, and
a complimentary ticket to Russian bath
establishment on street. The latter
ticket was made out to A. Frost, clerk of
Riggs House. Finding the same name on
all of the papers, the police came 10 the
conclusion that the name of the suicide was
Frost
Appearance of the Body.
The body when recovered and taken to the
station presented a bad appearance The
left side of the head from the temple TO
the top of the head slightly caved in,
due, it is believed, to the head striking the
edge of the pier in the descent. Both of
the wrists. also caused, 1t was thought, by
striking the pier. 1t is the opinion of the po-
lice that the contact with the pier caused
death, and that the man was dead before
he struck the water.
few minutes after IL O'Clock Mr.. o. G.
Staples appeared at the police station and
identified the remains as those of Frost
According 10 Mr.. Staples, Frost left the
hotel at o o'clock this morning with his
overcoat, number of people seeing him
depart. He knew nothing of his wherea-
bouts until telephone message was re-
celved announcing the suicide. He had been
looking for Frost, for he had the keys 10
the safe of the hotel, and IT was impossible
to open the same, there being occasion TO
open 1t for some material. From this il is
inferred that Frost had boarded car and
went Immediately to Georgetown. No one
remembers seeing him go across the bridge
and the Idea at first prevailed that he had
been stopping at Rosslyn over night. Count
ing the time required to make the trip on
the street cars and the walk across the
bridge, Frost did not lose many minutes be-
fore making the leap.
Mr.. Staples was unable TO ASSIGN any