The Savannah morning news., 1901-07-03
A M0THER-IN-LAW'S WORK.
Ont with Husband She Drives
Daughter to Suicide.


griffin. Ca. July 2-To-night at the
home of Mrs. N. j. Huckaby, in West
Griffin, Mrs. S. NJ. Mcdowell lies in a
comatose state with no chance to live I'M
til morning, having taken morphine with
suicidal intent. 1t is a sad case, and al
though the parties are not prominent So
ciaily, the circumstances that surround it
and the causes that probably led to the
rash act here arouses interest. Yesterday
she bought three grains of morphine.
II is known that her husband has re-
peatedly bought the drug, which is not
at all strange, considering the fact that
he suffers from physical nflrmities and
may have 10 seek relief in that man
ner.
The interest in the matter lies in the
fact that about eighteen months ago Miss
Alice Snider was married to S. NJ. Nc
Cowel who, though a cripple was at
that time a respected merchant of this
city. IL while he was prosperous that
he wooed and won Miss Snider No one
thought that the couple were anything
but happy until the failure of Mcdowell
last December when it began TO be said
that home affairs were not so pleasant
and the mother-in-law came down rather
severely on the son-in-law, who, IL is said,
borrowed considera BILE money and placed
ii in his business. The motherAn-law,
from being a warm admiTer of her daugh-
ters husband, became a bitter enemy and
has sought to prejudice her friends
against him. How well she succeeded
cannot now be learned. The family moved
to Macon early in the spring. and 1t was
then that the climax was reached. Nc
Cowen and his wife were separated.
She was in condition that
needed the tenderest care of a husband
but for some reason, 1t was denied her.
In April she gave birth to a baby that
the father was destined never to see
alive. for two weeks ago it was buried
here, and for the first time he gazed up
on the face OF his child in its coffin.
Whether or not reconciliation was nee
essary is a matter of conjecture, but they
agreed to live together and Mrs. Nc
Cowell left her mother to again share
the lot OF her husband. 1t is said by
those who were intimately associated
with them that they were happy and
that the husband had a prospect of a
good Job in the mills here. Now comes
the sad part Of the story:
Last night, Mrs. Snder, the mother OF
Mrs. Mcdowell, came up from Smarra
station and at once went to the Huck-
abys. where Mrs. Mcdowell was board
ing, and had a stormy interview with
both husband and wife, hurting down up
on them the most direful maledictons.
This she is said to have repeated twice.
The poor woman, probably tired of the
struggle, at last gave up and decided
to end her life. Since early this morning
she has not spoken, though soon after
taking the fatal dose, she told her hus-
band to see to her burial, describing just
what arrangements she wanted made for
her funeral. That the step was premed-
dtated would appear from the fact that
about ten days ago, Mcdowell went to
a prominent official to borrow So and
stated to him that he needed money.
that both he and his wife were prepared
to die and would end their Hives to-
gether. Mcdowell was tax receiver of
Spalding county in 1896, and until his
failure here in December last bore a
splendid reputation. Some harsh things
have been said against him and he has
had some trouble with the courts, but
to-day and tonight he is the seemingly
devoted husband and has created SYM
patty for himself