The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-28
Young Woman Took Carbolic Acid
Under Sensational Cir
cumStanceS.
SAID TO HAVE LIVED HERE.
Cav. Her Name as Nellie Blair
Left Note for Hospital Pa
tirui Whom She Addressed
aS Husband"

REP st-I" SPECIAL.
New York. July 27.-'Haud this 10 Mr..
Dcdu'' said d woman VIII" walked intu the
Presbyterian Hospital this afternoon aud
threw a letter upon the desk of the chief
clerk. Then she stepped back quickly. took
a phiaI from her pocket. drank its con-
l,i,ts and f-il heavily TO the floor The mix
ture in the ph!ai WAS caFb0!ic acid and the
woman was dead In twenty minutes.
The suicide gave her name 4, tn" hospital
as Nellie Blair and said tina. she had come
from rhilld.II.hia to see v. II. Dudd. who
j. a patient Ia one of the wards. Nj bnad.
however. says that she j. Elijah, tn Blair
81 No ,--o Caroline street. 81 Louis \
memoran.ium found in The womans pocket
gives the same address, only her name ~
pears a. Nellie instead Of Elizabeth
TIE. surface evidence indicates ;hat TIM
patient in III. Presbyterian Hospital has
told oai> half the truth and that ~ w''~
under obligations - the suicide which m
,oysht an! j. >-ehins to escape.
Miss Blair had called a. the hosptdi
.a,lI-r i'm tn. day 10 80, Dudd and had been
,,k.u 10 his bedside. where the Two were
.ngassd i'm conversation for some Time
When she frs; made her appearance Miss
m. ,a,ient. she WAS told that woman
who described herself as Dodd udhce~ Ia"
been there some time before.
..yyhy that's funny" said Miss Bidn'
..Tor YOU see. | am his Hancee. 500
Th. nurses were within earshOt Of Doid
and Miss Blair during the time They w,t.
together. All state solem?ly that they dld
MOI observe any excitement and tina, there
WIS nothing like a quarrel Miss Blair rad
with her bUudi. ~ papers and among
these a return: ticket 10 Philadelphia. which
she showed ia the clerk to prove that she
had come from that city
She returned 70 the hospital al half past
8 o'clock this afternoon. On this Secon!
visit she carried nothing except an envelope
addressed 10 Mr.. Dodd. There was not a
trannor Of excitement IN her voice she
told the clerk Ia hand this TO :He patient,
and nothing TO indicate her purpose Of sui
eide until she drained the contents Of the
phiaI.
Doctor SicarJ. tn. house physician was
ia >ling BIZ as she fen. He rushed in.
picked up the woman in his arms and car
Iied her into the operating room. Efforts
ware made Immediately to save her II
was found. however. that the poison had
caused construction OF the dsscphagu Iai
it was not possible to force the stomach
pump into her throat. Although she was
surrounded by every appliance of modern
surgery and medicine and several physi-
clans worked over her ceaselessly. her case
Was hopeless. and death caruN quickly.
Miss Blair was about 81 years old aud an
exceedingly pretty girl. She had reddish
brown hair. was dressed in handsome silk
skirt and waist and wore fine straw hat
Her undertaking and stockings were Of
the finest silk and she wore a ring set with
diamonds sapphires and pearls In her
purse was found SIC in money and some
loose coins.
Lot IN
after her death. II read:
MY Dear Husaand-I have taken poison.
Have my body cremated Get my things
from Morgan's and my trunk and bag AZ
Forty fifth street and send them home.
Your loving wife -
There WAS no signature A long daSh end
ed the letter
The phial bore the label Of a Sixth avenue
druggist who explained TO the police that
he sold the stuff to the woman on her repre-
sentation that she wanted the carbolic acid
I, clean some basins and skins.
William H. Dodd Is assistant manager of
the American Express Office at Madison
avenue and Forty-seventh street. He
boards at No. ls East Forty-seventh street.
AT the house Tonight il was said that he
is about s. years old and had no family. a.
far az any one knew, and no one ever
called to see him except on business He
has lived at this house, il was said. for
more than year. He was taken Ill last
week and went to the Presbyterian Hospi-
tai on Tuesday.
The janitor of the house said tonight
that a woman who gave her name as Miss
Nellie Blair called at the house Tues
day or Wednesday and asked how Mr..
Dodd WAS. She knew that he was ill. but
did not know that he had gone TO a hospi-
tai. When she learned he had gone TO one
she inquired very particularly which one
and left. No one at the house knew this
woman or had seen her before.
Mr.. Dodd himself later in the day. after
being told that the woman had addressed
him in letter as, My Dear Husband
said that she had been infatuated with him.
but that ne was not married to her. Dodd
has not been told that Miss Blair killed
h~rss'f az he is vSIv III with typhoid fever.