Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-12-17
FOUND DEAD in BED
CHARLES r. GARTHWAlT, HOTEL
COOK, PASSES AWAY IN
LAcLEDE HOTEL.
Empty carboIIc Acid Bottle Found Be-
tween Springs and Mattress But the
Body Shows No Trace Of Use Of the
Acid.

From Fridays Daily
With two ounce bottle of carbolic
acid drained almost to the last drop
tucked between the mattress and the
spring Of the bed near his head
Charles F. Garthwait, of Frederic, a
hotel cook well known In Ottumwa for
several years past, was found dead IN
room No. 9 by porter at the LaClede
hotel this morning about 10a30 o'clock.
While no post rnortem examination has
as vet been held there are no sxterpal
burns and no other evidences that
death was due to the swallowing OF
the acid.
Garthwait has been in the city for
about two weeks at the present time,
and it Is said that he had
been drinking constantly His
shops of the city and he has been
practically without money for several
days. Tuesday night he was without
money and he slept in seat at the
Milwaukee Jefferson street depot.
| Wednesday night he was given an or
der for a bed at the LaClede by VIM.
Galley.
Was Without Money.
| Last night Garthwait was again
day he had pawned some articles with
James Gray and received one dollar.
He was seen by acquaintances about
I 10 o'clock last night in search of Mr..
| Galley, who had again promised to see
| that he had a place to sleep oyer night.
! He failed to find Mr.. Galley and after
midnight applied at the Laclede for a
bed but was told that he could not
| have 1t without paying the price. He
/ left the place and was gone for time
returning about o'clock with twenty
five cents. He was shown to room No
by Night Clerk ]. j. Buedell.
He was intoxicated but not in very
bad condition and did not appear to be
under the influence of any drug, al
though it is said he was accustomed to
| the use Of dope" of some kind.
! Dead in His Bed.
1 This morning about 10:30 o'clock
Pack Faulkerson, porter at the room
ing house, entered the room and found
the almost nude body of Garthwai,
/ stretched out across the bed with head
4 toward the opposite side of the bed an6
4 his feet resting upon the floor. Garth.
wait had evidently been sitting on ths
edge Of the bed and simply had faller
over backward. Death must have
come quickly and without struggl,
1 of any kind. The bed clothing wai
but slightly disarranged and there wa.
4 no expression of pain or torture on the
/ face. The body was comparatively
!! warm when discovered and death coult
not have taken place a very long time
before.
The alarm was at once given and
| Chief of Police Gray notified Coroner
F. w. Mills. DR.. L. e. Sleeper, wht
CHANGED to be passong, was called II
and pronounced the man dead. Scot
4 & McIntire, the undertakers, were no.
i titled and the remains were removed tt
their parlors on West Second stree
j where they now lie.
4 Careful examinations have failed t,
! reveal any trace of the use Of the car,
bolic acid by Garthwait. The druggis
who sold the acid cannot recall havint
sold the acid to anyone answering th
i description. While MIR. Beudell Of th
Laclede declares that the bottle mus
have been taken into the room b,
II Garthwait, as the room was cleaned b,
himself, and the wrapping paper whtcl
!. was around the bottle would have Ger
, tainly been noticed and removed fron
, the room.
j The coroner's inquest was begun b,
Coroner F. w. Mills at $3.50 this after
noon and it is possible that a partia
post mortem examination will be or
4 dered.
Garthwait was well known about tn
city. Years ago he worked at the Bal
!, lingall as cook and last spring worke
at the Bee Hive on East Second stree
in the same capacity. He was perhap
, 35 years of age.
Mrs. Nellie Garthwait. his wife, live
at Frederick. where she Is said to b
the owner of little farm Garthwai
, is also survived by two sisters, livin
! at Peoria, H., one of them is though
to be Mrs. Whiting wife of DIR. Whit
Ing.