Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1900-12-13
Another suicide.

Another Suicide.
The number OF violent deaths that
have occurred In Reno county during
the year 1900 IS something extravagant
and almost phenomenal. Tney must
number somewhere from fifteen TO
twenty, or possibly more, One has
been added to tho list each OF the last
two weeks,
The one last week was more plainly
u suicide than my that have yet occur
red, Luther A Brown who had been
IN inmate OF the soldiers home at
Leavenworth for u Nupher of years
aad was n kroEH hr,e committed
suicide In lu5 Easlside cemetnry prob
ably on Monday night Of last week
though his body WAS not found till late
in the day Wednesday.
While attending TO the burial OF q
little child the sexton, Mr.. Rogers,
noticed q man lying IN an out Of the
way place on the east side of the bury
Ing ground, Thinking tito be some
ooe drunk he at the earliest convenient
time went over there to get him up and
tell him to move on. Instead Of find.
ing drunken man he was horrlaed to
find corpse and apparently suicide.
lie then notified undertaken Johnson
hastily, though quietly, and stood
guard over the corpse until the coroner
could be notified,
BY the side of the corpse was found
q thirty-eight calibre revolver with one
chamber empty. On opening the
clothes Of the corpse 1t was found that
he had apparently opened his coat and
vest and placed the muzzle of the PTS
tol against his heart before firing.
Death had been instantaneous. The
clothes worn we're good and in the
pocket Of his coat was his card grant
ing him a furlough from the soldiers
home for thirty days ending December
30th, On the back Of the card in a
firm hand was written the following
note: Farewell Dear Sarah: loved
you to the last, 1t is better that l die.
Love to my good sister and all the
family. Forgive me all the wrong
have done you in the past
LUTHER A. BROWN"
Below this note was written in the
same hand.
"Will some one kindly mail this to
Mrs. Sarah M, Buck of SedRwick, Kan
sas."
Besides these papers the dead mans
clothes contained good watch, a pair
Of gold nose glasses, return ticket to
Leavenworth and S69 25 in money.
Brown was probably over sixty years
Of age and Of heavy build, At the
coroner's inquest it was developed that
he had registered at Streeters hotel
sunday morning, Early Monday
morning he went to the Reno house
and arranged for a warm room for a
week, Nothing unusual was noticed
In his dem9anor After dark Monday
evening he inquired his way to the
postollice, but probably found 1t closed,
This was the last trace Of him alive,
From the even writing it Is concluded
that he wrote the note at the hotel and
deliberately planned the deed of self
destruction.
Telephone connections with the
Buck family at Sedgwick were made
and from young man by that name 1t
was learned that he was a distant rela-
tive of the family, also that he had no
home in Kansas.
Mr. Buck who is cashier of the bank
az Sedgwick afterwards came here.
He said that none of his family had
ever had any intimate acquaintance
with Brown, in fact not much more
than a passing acquaintance, and it
SEE med evident that he must have been
out of his mind. The body was bur
rled in the cemetary here.