The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-09-11
Locked Up For Being Drunk, He Took
Cyanide Of Potash.
Supposed To Be Boston
Telegraph Operator.
Gave His Name As Jack Cum
ningham When Arrested.

n uAEu kUHDtttH 10 lt IaCk OuuU1uk-
ham of Boston, telegraph operator at
the Old Colony station In that city, as he
said when arrested, committed suicide
yesterday afternoon in cell at the police
station.
The man was found by Officers Frank
and Greeley at the corner of Commercial
and India streets at half past eleven
O'Clock yesterday morning. He was sit
ting on the steps of house there and
when the officers noticsd him he was try
ing to rink IN cigars TIE Paper from the
Sidewalk. After making three or four
attempts to pick up the paper the officers
concluded that the man was drunk and
went over to talk with him. He told
Officer Frank that he was telegraph
operator and that he had come down
from Boston on the toat. do said bis
name was Jack Cunningham and that he
worked at the Old Colony depot. The
man acted very strangely as IL he had been
ON a prolonged spree. He insisted that
be was still in Boston and that the Grand
Trunk station was the Old Colony depot.
The police concluded that 1t would do
the man no harm to get him into the
police station for short time and sober
OF, so they sent him in.
II was twenty-five minutes past eleven
O'clock when tho man was looked up by
Turnkey John Massure. The OH Ger
searched the man and as ia the custom
when prisoner is about to be locked up.
He took from him quick punch, used
hv frot, xuorIvara ord falt A.. Nc ,,ocl,a4s
for bottles or a knife. In one OF the pocK-
cts of his coat thare seemed TO bs quite
package and this the officer pushed up
in the pocket to examine. On top Of
green. Innocent looking box was bag of
tobacco and some cigarette papers. There
was nothing about the box to lead one
to believe 1t contained enough poison to
kill regiment Of men as afterwards
proved to be the case.
The prisoner was locked up In cell No
l. at the end Of the first tier OF cells 10
was very drunk and at once laid down
On the bench and apparently went TO
sleep. 1t was about 345 O'Clock when
Turnkey MasssHe, who had been passing
in and out Of the cell room many times
during this time, saw that the prisoner
in cell No. / was very quiet and did not
appear to be breathing. The turnkey
watched him ninute through the bars
of the door and then unlocked the cell
and entered. He found the moment he
got near the man that he was dead. On
the bench behind him was lying a green
box with the cover eff, filled with some
white powder. The box was half full Of
this material which resembIsd surgaF
or salt. Fortunately the turnkey did
not test it to see what 1t was for even a
particle of this innocent appearing pow
der would have killed him On the floor
beside the bench was the cover of the
box. 1t was marked "Poison, cyanide
of potassium" There was no druggist
mark on the box and nothing to show
where it had teen purchased.
The county attorney, Mr. Libby. was
present when the dead man was discov-
cred In the call room, and Coroner Perry,
Undertaken Rich and DIR. King were sent
for. DR.. King said that the man had
been dead over an hour when found. The
prisoners in the cells neighboring the
one which was occupied by the man who
committed suicide, say that they hear
the man grooming and thrashing around
a little about half-past twelve o'clock,
and this was the time when he probably