The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-28
SUICIDE AT SIXTEEN
ARCHER CRAWFORD ENDED HIS
LIFE WITH CHLOROFORM.
TIED HIS HANDS TOGETHER.
AND THEN PUT POISON-WET
CLOTH OVER HIS FACE,

Thought to RecreRtiOn--Was Read
ing Mrs. Heman'S Poems at
O'Clock Yesterday MorIiing-FOunI
Dead by His Mother at NOon-Left
n Note Saying That He Did Not De-
neve in the Bible and Asking That
His Remains he Cremated.
Archer Rowland Crawford, Is years old,
committed suicide at his home. No. 5l4
Charlton street. west yesterday with
chloroform.
The boy had no playmates
or companions and spent the most of his
time in studying and reading. Too much
reading affected his brain and he deter
mined to end his life and placed hand
lSerchief sa turated with chlooform, over
his face and went to sleep.
For fear that he might remove
the cloth from his face, with
all the ingenuity of an insane per-
son he tied his hands together with
stout piece OF Irvine. His plans had evil
IDENTIFY been formulated for some time. for
he obtained the cord from his mother Sat
urday morning. He made two slip knots
and putting them on his wrists turned
his hands around until they were bound
together. The cord cut into the flesh and
the marks were visible when the body
was examined by Coroner j. G. Keller.
The suicide was discovered at noon
when Mrs. Rowland Crawford went to
call her son. He was unconscious and the
odor of chloroform, and the presence of
an empty bottle, told her what had hap
pened more vividly than words could
have expressed. A mess enger was hur-
riedly sent for DIR. M. l. Currie, but the
Lad had already passed into the great
beyond, the existence Of which he doubt
ed No skill could have saved him and
his determine ton to take his own life
was carried out.
Mrs. Crawford was the last person who
saw the boy alive. At l o'clock yester-
day morning he was reading Mrs. He
mans Poems," and asked his mother not
to call him until o'clock the next day,
because he expected to read short
while longer. He appeared to be in his
usual spirits, which were moody and
gloomy. lie had taken a walk to the
Park, and returned home about 10 o'clock
at which time he had begun reading.
Before undressing and paking prepar
atoms to go to sleep for eternity young
Crawford penciled on the back of
stenogra piers pad:
please have my shell cremated."
81 am not crazy.
Il have good reasons for doing it.
a. i,,
thing else with regard to the spiritual
world"
These four sentences were found
by Mrs Crawford, who endeavoured to
keep them a secret. Her husband is re-
ligious man and she did not wish him to
know that their son had died by his own
hand an unbeliever. Only when Coroner
Keller pressed her on this subject did the
mother admit that her son had left mes
sage, and then for the first time, did Mr..
Crawford read the last expressions of his
eldest boy. The old man seemed more
panied, If this were possible, and shaking
his head said: My poor son. His brain
was wrong"
An invesuga ton showed that the chloro-
fern had been purchased Saturday night
by the lad from the Union Drug Company.
Drug Clerk Sweat sold him 20 cents
it for his father. 1t is believed that he
purchased additional quantities of the
chloroform from other druggists, but
where, could not be ascertaihed. He had
emptied all of the liquid in an eight
ounce bottle. and must have destroyed
the other walls. The larger bottle was
found by his side in the bed, and con-
tanned only small amount of the poison.
The remainder had been placed the
handkerchief and had already evaporated.
After learning these facts in the case Or.
Keller decided that an inquest was I'm
necessary, and gave a permit for the
burial of the body.
Crawford was l6 years of age and was
born in New Brunswick, Canada. He was
the eldest of six child en-. having had
four sisters and a brother years old.
AS a child his parents say he was gar
rulous, but in recent years he Sc don
had anything to say and devoted his time
to reading. He was melancholy and APP
peared to be trying to solve some prob
lem that seemed to weigh upon his bra n.
From his last words and from the class
of books he read he carefully studied the
question of hereafter He had just fin
ished readir g Milton's Paradise Los and
Dante's Inferno and both of these books
were in the house. Danes descrip ion
of Hell received his attention for quite
awhile and he would burn the midnight
oil bordering over the description OF e
abode of lost souls. These works made
strong impression on his young m n /
and probably caused it to be1ome =
balanced. The lad attended Drargh N 5
Commercial School and was a close Etu-
dent Of stonography. II he Nas 40 d
ing he was at sis short hand books and
no thought was given to any form Of
amusement or sport
The young mans parents say that mis-
confinement over his books and the lack
of proper exercise had begun to tell on
his nerves, and he had not been In good
health for some time. He was a sufferer
from indiges lion. and had been attended
by DR.. Wall. He kept to himself and
not only refrained from keeping company
with outsiders, but had little to say or
do with those in his own household. Both
of his parents said they felt sure that the
boy had been suffering with dementia
for several days. His father was a strict
churchman. and was greatly surprised at
the belief Of his boy in the Bible and re.
ligion. He was sure that Dante's dream
end works of a similar sort had caused
him to lose his mind Mrs. era wford said
her reason for thinking the boy crazy was
his request that his remains be cremated
IT is almost an unheard of thing for a
boy of Crawford's age to take his own
life and for this reason Coroner Keller
made careful and lengthy investigation
Of the facts and circum stances that led
70 the tragedy. The explanation Of the
boys hands being tied together was sim
nile when the dplth cha m bar xvae ,stgl+aJ