The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-07-18

AAG ASEG4 ~ ~ 11AAs@ -
quickly as possible to Mr.. Keith Oar
cans ofice. anne Immediately
and ran al the way TO the Office. When
| got N Florence street. where | turn
ed to my rignt.t saw Mr.. ". z. bar
gan and when | joined him ne old me
that Mr.. Robert Keith Dargan had TAX
en something Z he thought he was
dead We both vent in Sir. Keith Oar
CANS Office. MIR. Pegram Dargan IN
locked the Office and LET rs IN. We vent
On through the front ofice where We
found Mr.. Robert Keith Dargan sitting
in 4 chair. | made an examination
and found that he was dead Mr.. Peg
ram nargan me- Us at the front door
and went into the back Office with MS.
No n else was in the Office when We
entered"
Question BY TIE coroner: DO yoc
know what caused death."
There was no reason for mo TO
doubt the II / q the bottle and
his own brother told me that he lad
taken carbolic acid. | don't know that
| smelled carbo'ic acid xpn the body
while handling it There was no signs
OF violence and no reason for me 10
doubt hat he took carbolic acid"
The coroner. want you 10 make a
plain statement OF what his brother
said"
DR.. Edwards. Can | do thatg'-
(Meaning TO ask II it would not be
hearsay evidence
Continuing, he said: When We went
in the back ofiica Mr.. Pegram Darcan
asked me If he was dead and | told him
yes and he asked me what he should
&c first. told him 10 notify the cor3-
ner. He then asked that everything he
Gcne just as quietly as possible, g as
10 2Toid attracting 4 crowd. Mr.. w. +
DarSan offered ID 20 for the coroner
end did so. When he returned with
the c9roner Mir. Pegram Dargan asked
e. Is consent 20 remove The body and
aS%ed N-. ~. f. Dargan TO get a clos-
ed carriage. When the carriage arriv-
e., We took the body and sat 1t up on
the seat, | think uy the side of Mr.. W
+. uargan.
Il asked Mr.. :egram Dargan Ii he
was With his brother when he died AMI
he told me he TaS with him all the
time, was there when he took carhoiie
acid and wasthe~5 when he died. thar
he bought the carbolic acid, hand
ed it to his brother and he took IL. he
also said hehad 4 bottle o: whiskey
and that his brother took some 10 dead
en- the pain. He said the bottle con-
tanned whiskey, and the bowl also. !
was present when he showed them TO
you" addressing the coroner.)
BY the coroner: Did you ever see
this note?"
DR.. Edwards: MIR. Pegram Dargan
showed it to me-. | asked him II ne
could not do something 70 persuade his
brother not 10 take his life. He SAID
This is his statement. ! answer nc
questions DR.. Edwards read the .ote
and said: 1T looks like the same note
| saw in the Office that night"
Question by Juryman: Can 1t he
stated how long II takes for carboLc
acid to kill?"
d.. Edwards: 'In the average cases, d..
as stated in the books, from one to ten
DAYS. but as or so times less than he
took would have killed him. Carbolic
acid causes PARALYSIS OF the heart. Be
took four ounce an exceptionally large
lose and died quickly from heart fall
ure."
OTHER WITNESSES.
Mr.. 3. w. Sexton, the drug clerk who
sold the acid, tesZied to having dCne
so but did not n Mr.. Pegram Oar
gan and could not say that it was he
who bought ii. He also said that he
put the customary poison label on the
bottle and the bottle 10Y in the hands
of the coroner mas the label scratched
off. 1t was sold between 4:30 AMI u
o'clock Tuesday afternoon.
Mr. w. F. Dargan testified: Il don't
know anything about il except thai h
received a message by a negro from Mr..
Pegram Dargan ID come ID his father
Cni-a a. Cncr. went and found hlfn-
CR. K. DarGan) mead, and | went for
the doctor n then for the coroner.
MIR. w. +. Early testified that he
was the general travelling agent OF he
independent Oil Company, and was Ia
miliar with the handwriting OF Mr.
Robert r.eirh Dargan AMI hat he rec
o:r'zr' the entire statement as in Mr..
DarEan's writing.
Er. >. :. FLOYD runs 2 restaurant next
door TO he Office n which the suicide
oc2 .rred. His testimony in part was
as follows: Il 5Sw Mr.. Robert Keith
Dar"an PASS -3y door about 7:3o o'clock
hut i'd not see MIN 90 in the Office. Saw
hr. PegraEl DarIan going o AFTER
not cver FIVE miautes.'
There were no Other witnesses called
and the jury filed into the jury room
Cnl. a few feet away. While they were
in the room and ealing frequently Upon
the .rcne- for consultations, there was
much REGULATION as TO the cause of The
delay. The opinion Of those present
seemed to b. th&t they were unable tn
agree as to whstler or not any re.er-
ence should be made II the verdict to
the part taken in the affair by Mr.. Peg
ram Dargan. RE was not connected BY
them IN the verdict with the distress
ing affair and 1t is probable that what
t1anspired in the last hour the W.
brothers spent together in the little law
Cf8ce on Florence street will never be
known.
Mr.. and Mrs. -. Keith Dargan, the
age6 parents OF Mfr. Dargan. are so
-.nn..n4nI ~. nrirf that their condition !.