The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-21
OF SUICIDES
Three Attempt the Path to the
Great Unknown.
TWO WERE SUCCESSFUL
James McNulty and Enoch West Used
the Rope-Both Had Been Drink
ing-Despondency Was
the Cause.

yesterday. resulting in the death of
two men and a third attempt was &c
ported, although no confirmation of The
latter could be obtained. The two who
succeeded In ending their earthly exist
ence were James McNulty. a young
man who had become quite well o
both in Butte and Anaconda. and
Enoch West, an old man who earned a
p%recarious living by saving wood about
town. Each adopted the method CT
hanging, and both suicides occurred in
South Main street, the scene of n be-
ing but a short distance from the 9TH
err. Whether or not the one suicide in
nuenced the other, or whether or not
the ~singularly coincident circumstances
were purely accidental. is not known.
but from the fact that West hanged
himself within an hour and a half or
two hours after the dead body of Nc
Nulty was discovered, IL is thought
West may have heard of McNulty's act
and have been Influenced by IL. Both
men had been drinking heavily of late
and IL Is supposed dependency was the
~actuating motive I'm a case.
McNulty ended his life In a room In
the Fitchen lodging house at IL South
Main street. Proprietor Gus Fftchen Is
having new plumbing lone in all the
rooms, and yesterday afternoon about
4 o'clock he went through the house
with the plumbers to show them where
he desired them to work to-day. Room
IL being a transient room. he intended
to include that in the work he was lay
ing out. Going to the door, he tried II
and found il locked. Turning to the
maid, Mr.. Fitchen inquired IL the room
yyaS nccuniQd She rRnlipH "a man WAS
sleeping there. but II was time he was
getting up. Mr. itchen took a pass
key from her and inserted 1t in the
lock. A key fell out on the inside
when he pushed the key in, and he
then knew the room was still occu-
pied, but he decided to look in anyway.
and unlocking the door, he pushed II
open. He saw a strange sight. The
room was a small one with two single
bed in 1t, standing against each wall
to the right and left. leaving an alley
between straight ahead from the door.
Between the two beds a gas pipe with
the common carved hood and jet at
tached depended from the ceiling. Inn
mediately underneath the gas Jet Mr..
Fitchen saw a man ndin straight
up with his back to the door and his
head thrown far back, as though he
were gazing intently at the ceiling. At
first glance Mr.. Fitchen thought the
man was merely standing there in a
very unusual attitude. and he inquired:
What are you doing there?' The
word had scarcely left his mouth be-
fore he realized the truth. The man
had hanged himself and was dead.
Mr.. Fftchen waited only long enough
to look at the dead man and see that
he was an old acquaintance. James Nc
Nulty, and then notified Chief Of Police
Mulholland. Detective Murphy and
Officer Torpey were hurriedly sent to
the lodging house. where Coroner
Tremblay arrived a few minutes later,
and after viewing the situation. ordered
the body cut down. The body was laid
on one of the beds and an examination
of the Don and the dead mans effects
made. No note was found to tell why
the deed had been done. Only 20 cents
and a few papers We're found i'm the
clothes. 1t was difficult to tell what
time the suicide had occurred. but the
man had evidently been dead some
time as the body was rigid. IL would
seem that he had first gone to bed and
then had been taken by the suicidal
mania, or else that the self-murderer
had been exceedingly methodical, as the
suicide a taken of everything except
his undershirt and drawers, ven to
his socks, and his other clothes had
been laid in a pile on one Of the beds.
Two silk handkerchiefs tied together
around the neck and over the hook of
the gas jet was the manner i'm which
the hanging had been accomplished.
1t would appear that McNulty had
stood on N of the e to arrange the
moose n had then dropped off. The
weight of his body bent the slender gas
pipe till, by the time death ensued, he
was left standing on his feet on the
floor. The body was sent to Sherman's
undertaking rooms, where an inquest
will be held to-day.
There was nc means of learning the
exact reason for McNulty's rash deed.
but his friends. i'm theorizing as to the
motive, said he had been burdened
with considerable trouble of late
through which he had taken to drink
ing heavily. This had lost him one po-
sition and was likely to lose him an
other. n IL was supposed he was ac-
tuated by dependency.
The fact Of McNulty being found in
the lodging house at first occasioned
some surprise, rs he was known to
have a wife n family with whom he
lived in West Granite street, but Pro-
prietor Fitchen stated that for some
years McNulty had been in the habit
Of coming there occasionally and taxi
ing a room for a night. The night bar
tender at Kitchens saloon Under the
lodging house supplied the facts rela-
tive to McNulty engaging the room.
He stated that s o'clock yester-
day morning McNulty came into the
saloon and asked for a room. He was
considerably intoxicated. but could
manage himself. He paid so cents for
a room n the bartender gave him the
key to room IL n asked him IL he
should show him up. but McNulty re-
piled that he Knew the house and could
find the room. That was the last that
he was seen alive. Whether he had sui
cid i'm mind when he went to the room
and at once proceeded to execute a
premeditated design or whether the
thought OF self-destruction came To
him later. cannot be told.
The deceased was an all-round cleri-
cal man and was regarded as good In
his Line. He had been a long time in
Montana and had held numerous good
positions. He was at one time city