Evening star., 1902-08-21
w 0 M EN- SUICIDES
PREFER POISON OR DROWNING
TO KNIFE OR PISTOL.
A Detective Sergeant Talks About
Cases That Have Come Under
His Observation.

THE recent suicide of a woman by shoot
ing herself In the head at her home near
the District line" said an old headquarters
detective sergeant this morning, "cals up
the fact that this instance is the only one
l can recollect in service of over twenty
years on the force Of where a woman took
her life by blowing out her brains.
Suicide by means other than by swal-
lowing poison, or by drowning, by women
is extremely rare all over. the country. 1
recall but three cases in Washington dur
ing my service, and they were all by cut
ting the throat. On Capitol Hill some years
ago a woman murdered her husband in this
manner and then turned the blade upon
herself There was another similar case
of suicide in South Washington, and the
remaining case was in the northeast.
women do not like to die by drawing
blood. Women Of all classes and degrees
cannot bear the sight of blood nor endure
the thought of ending their lives by shoot
ing themselves or by slashing their arteries.
Usually in these very rare instances Of the
suicides of females the victims are Of un-
sound mind. A woman will freely talk of
dying by poison or by drowning without a
CULVER, but will shudder when the sugges-
ton be. made that she cut her throat or
sever the arteries in her wrist. The first
thought Of the average man is to put
pistol to his head Such Is the marked and
interesting difference in the sexes.
"a woman who, from whatever cause,
believes her future life and the world as
dry and barren as she feels her heart to be,
sentimentally fees to the river and throws
herself complacently and willingly into the
dark, gurgling waters, or calmly opens her
lips and swallow a poison potion as readily
as she drinks an Ice cream soda upon hot
But knife or a revolver. Ough! The
wound hurts SO, too, and they are so dread
fully bloody and disfguring.
There have been many suicides and at
tempts at suicide OF women here since
have worn the star, and at times among
certain classes as high az three or four
month. In many of these instances we
haste to the Emergency Hospital. where
the ever-ready but terribly wrenching
stomach pump is Brought into requisition.
Sometimes there ts0almosf an epidemic of
attempted suicides in the section to which
1 refer, and then 1t subsidies for weeks.
AT any rate, from the time of Cleopatra,
dying by the poison Of the asp, to the pres
ent day women abhor the % idea Of dying
chloral, opium, bichloride Of mercury and
carbolic acid are the favor1te poisons used,
the last named mainly because it is easily
and cheaply obtained. 1t burns the mouth
throat and stomach terribly, however, and
while the subject lives she suffers intense
physical pain.
"Chlorai is the prize poison used by fe-
males with suicidal intent as it puts the
patient into quick, deadly, paralyzing
Sleep from which they are never aroused
unless the serviceable stomach pump is
brought into speedy use, Opium and NOR
phine are overpowering, sfeep-of-death pro-
ducing poisons though sometimes the
despondent women take too much and their
systems are in such condition that
nausea is produced, which saves their lives
with prompt attention. Strychnine is the
poison that hurts as 1t produces highly
painful muscular and organic convulsions,
and the patient suffers much before death
relieves her Of her agony, or she is saved
by antidotes.
Upon the whole, however, Washington
may be said to have less than the usual
number OF suicides of both male and fe-