The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-07-16
Tragic Death of x-Lieutenant
Gov. C. V. Eskridge.
Suffering From Cancer He Twice
Shoots Himself.
DIES IN TWO HOURS.
Says He Was Tired of TOrtures
of Disease.
Was One of the Founders Of
Emporia.

Ex-Lieutenant Governor Charles v.
Eskridge, editor of the Emporia Repub-
lican, and one of the pioneers of Kan
sas, rather than longer suffer. the tor
lures of a cancer, committed suicide
Sunday morning at $3.50 o'clock while
laboring under mental alteration.
Mr.. Eskridge shot himself twice with
a revolver of large caliber. The weapon
was in a box which contained private
papers which the governor had brought
to him a few days ago. The members of
the family knew nothing of the presence
or the revolver among the papers and
no one suspected that the venerable
editor contemplated such action. The
house was aroused by a shot Sunday
morning. The members of the family,
the first being his only son, Edward w.
Eskridge, entered the room. The window
which opened out on porch roof was
| open. Mr.. Eskridge was writhing in
pain. The son concluded that some one
had assassinated his father and he
leaped through the window in quest of
the supposed murderer. While a ply
sician and officer were being summoned
another shot sounded from the room.
The bed clothing was removed and the
story was revealed Mr.. Eskridge had
| concealed the weapon under the cloth
ing and had taken his own life.
He fingered two hours, portion OF
which he was entirely rational and
stated that he had taken his own life
rather than endure the tortures of the
disease which has kept him in his room
| for many months. The governor spent
| the last short period of his existence
calmly discussing the tragedy and CIV
ing instructions as to his business in
| tereStS.
| The death of Mr. Eskridge will be a
personal shock to thousands of people
| in Kansas. No man in the state was
more generally acquainted with the peo-
YaIn h
ner there was a warmth of friendship
and a hearty hand-clasp which was
never forgotten. He quit without notice
| q job as cabin boy on leaky steamship
| which was plying the Mississippi river
out of St. Louis to come west He had
run away from home in Lewiston, ILL.,,
with 81 an old shirt, a pair of trousers
and pair OF boots, and taken the place
| on the steamer. While knocking about
| the country after leaving the boat he
| picked up the printing trade and was
| student of the art preServative" This
| developed a scientific knowledge of the
business and made him methodical and
careful. He drifted west and landed at
Lawrence in 1855 and worked for a
while on the Herald of Freedom A year
later he went to Emporia and was ap-
pointed secretary of the town company.
| EmpOria at that time consisted of a
series of illuminated diagrams and out
| lines on blue paper. But Mr. Eskridge
| started in with true Kansas spirit to de-
| velop the place and attract emigra-
| ton. His first appearance in public life
was to make a speech at a printers
festival in Lawrence in 1856. He lost no
| opportunity to advertise his new town
| and 1t was but a short time until people,
| located there. He was one of three men
| who were running Emporia. He was
| secretary for the town company and
| had the only store there was in the
vicinity. He preceded the railroads, the
| pony express mail but he kept the little
store and took prominent part in saw
| ing the country, the meetings all being
| 6aId i11h n hi= Gfn he l<n~ a nd al n
| tors sitting on the counterS-rOugh
board structures-on the heads of bar
! rels and on boxes.
But in that atmosphere some of the
| best men Kansas has had were reared
Along with Eskridge were Senator
| Plumb and H. G. Cross, the first presi-
| dent of the First National bank and
| later receiver of the NJ K. & T. railroad.
| There were others less known to fame
but the good fellowship of the great and
| bounding west made them one man
| when the subject of Emporia and her
| future were under consideration.
| Mr.. Eskridge was the leader in the
| movement to have a mail route eStab-
! lished between Lawrence and Emporia.
| The mails were intermittent and the
promoter of the enterprise made a COM
plant which astonished the struggling
| state when he discovered that three or
four bushels of mail destined for EN-
| poria, reposed in the office at Osawat-
omie. Mr.. Eskridge aroused the Off
| cialS and the pony express became a
| feature of Importance and regularity.
A striking coincidence is connected
| with the pony express, and it had an
| important bearing upon the attitude of
| Mr.. Eskridge in later years. Lawrence
| was the first point of communication
| on the east when Emporia was estab-
liShed. When the time for railroads ar
| rived, Eskridge agitated the construc-
ton of a line from Lawrence direct to
| Emporia. He kept it up and the Law
| renee and Carbondale branch was pro-
| jected 1t is but a land mark today,
| but when A. E. Stillwell projected the
| Mexican & Orient line some months
| ago, the old time enthusiasm returned
| to Mr.. Eskridge. He saw in that a re-
| alization of his early hopes and at once
| became an earnest supporter of the pro-
| position. A week prior to the national
| Democratic convention at Kansas City,
| the directors of this proposed line held
a meeting in Kansas City. Mr.. Esl<ridge
| wanted to be present and made an eff
fort to arrange to CO. but his health was
| shattered and his strength was gone.
| But he was not deferred in his purpose
| to communicate with the official meet
ing He summoned some of his conf
Dental friends in Emporia and talked
| to them of the Importance of this pro-
iect He furnished a long list of sta
| tistics and caused an EmpOria man to
go to Kansas City, see the directors and
tell them of the Importance of building
through Emporia and establishing there
a division point. This was practically
the last act of the governors busy life.
Mr. Eskridge came to Kansas wearing
boots and he never abandoned them IN
til his last Illness compelled him to re-
main constantly in bed He was an
| earnest Sympathizer with the Union
cause participating in the early strug-
| giles for freedom. Somewhere there is a
| history of the governors deeds which
| gave him the title of captain But he
| never used this mark OF distinction and
| would never write his name other than