Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1904-11-10
TRAGIC DEATH.
Leon Tyler Shot Himself Through the
Heart Monday.

Leon Tyler, a young man % years o
age and the second son of Mr.. and Mrs
w. w. Tyler, shot himself through tn,
heart at a quarter past ten O'Clock Mon.
day morning in his room at the home o.
his parents on School street.
No reason for the deed, il Intentionally
committed. Is known. and the only con-
lecture is that dependency resulting
from illness may have prompted the act
He had been out of health for year and
during the summer had seemed TO make
little progress toward recovery. A week
ago Saturday he came home from the
III. V. Fletcher farm, where be had been
working, and had been up but very little
since, sleeping until 10 or II O'Clock in
the morning and then getting up for
dinner, after which he would 90 back to
bed and sleep part of the afternoon as
We'll as all night.
Monday morning be had been left un-
disturbed as usual. A bout twenty minutes
before the shooting his mother sent the
youngest son, William, to his brothers
room after soiled linen for the wash, and
Leon was found on the bed apparently
sound asleep. The noise OF his brother s
entrance possibly woke him, for in few
minutes, his parents in a room below
heard sound as OF something heavy
dropping. Mrs. Tyler said to her hus-
band that Leon must have fallen out of
bed, and Mr.. Tyler ran upstairs to see
what was the matter. As be opened the
door Of the chamber he saw his son
partially dressed, lying over hack on the
bed with his feet on the floor and his
eyes staring open.
Thinking the boy might be in a fit,
the father fastened to lift him up and,
To his horror, covered his hands with
his sons blood. Then be noticed the
gaping wound in the chest directly over
the heart, the smoke and smell OF powder
in the room, and the gun, whose fall had
been what they had heard downstairs,
lying on The floor close by.
With his hands still dipping with
blood, Mr.. Tyler rushed out OF the house
and called neighbor. John Msnney, to
his assistance. Together they ran to the
chamber and lifted the body up, but
nothing could be done, the only sign OF
life being faint twitching OF the face
that stopped almost instantly.
No one appears TO have heard the dis
charge Of the gun, which may have been
due TO the rooms being tightly closed
and muffiing the sound. Leaning against
the head of the bed was a fish pole and in
a box a BIB cartridge loaded with buck
shot that had been tried bat failed to 20
Off The BIB cartridge used in the gun
carried bullet.
the body was facing the head board,
tBhinhl Nuicn lut Dull OF the gun may
have been braced, while the fish pole,
which was also bloody, was perhaps used
to touch it of. After the discharge,
which was not heard, the gun ratified TO
the floor, g wing the alarm.
Leon Tyler was sober, industrious
young man, well liked by all who knew
him. He was always quiet in manner and
very reserved, little given to conversation
and, in fact, rather taciturn by nature.
His employers found him faithful and
reliable, and many expressions of regret
have been heard at his untimely end.
Besides his father and mother he left two
brothers and sister, Crosby Tyler, who
,ame that night from Loon Lake. n. ",
where he had been working in hotel
William j., who lives at home, and Mrs.
George Carpenter OF Braintree.
AS soon as the body was found Judge
Nichols, Judge Hutchinson and DR.. {. |
L. Stewart, the physician who had been
attending the deceased, went to the |
house but the evidence was so plain as TO /
now the death had occurred that no
inquest was held.
The funeral service was at o'clock |
afternoon at the house, Rev. |
samuel Knowles, pastor OF the Baptist |
,hurch, officiating, and interment was
made in Southyiew cemetery.