The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1906-04-10
TOOK HIS OWN LIFE
81 IA a u M
LIVED MANY YEARS AS RECLUSE
AND DIED ALONE.
Member of Noted Family. Once an
Indiana Official, but Had n
"Story."

aged recluse is dead by his own hand
in his cabin near Griffith's Station.
in this county. Howard Martin. as
he called himself. lived for more than
a decade in his solitary way in that
neighborhood, but not a man of his
acquaintance knew for certain what
his name was. II developed, after
the finding of the body. that his rea'
name was Martin Van Buren, How
ard. formerly sheriff OF Clark coun.
ty, Ind.
The grewsome discovery was made
by Tom Gibson AMI Frank Hill,
whose suspicious were aroused by a
statement from Frank Brady. saw
mill man at whose place the old re-
cluse sometimes worked. that he had
not been seen for more than a week.
They went to the cabin and pushed
open the door. A glance was sufil
cient. The body of the old man lay
on the bed at full length. carefully
covered and with the hands crossed
An empty laudanum bottle was in the
window. Evidently the old man
after swallowing the deadly dose had
gone to bed. pulled the covers closely
around him and crossed his hands
as his friends would have done for
him after death, II he had had any
Messrs. Gibson and Hin closed the
door and left the cabin.
They told the story to some OF
their neighbors- and in a short time
half a dozen men went to the cabin
to make an examination. Ii was
found that the old man had been
dead for several days. probably for
more than a week The body was
very much discolored and decompo-
sition had set in.
Ten or twelve years ago Howard
came to the Griffith neighborhood.
Nobody knew exactly when, how or
whence he came. He took up his
abode in a little cabin on the farm
of Frank HILL, and there he lived
the remainder of his days.
He had not been in the neighbor-
hood many days before II became
known that he was a man OF intel
lect. culture and sound scholarship.
He knew everything apparently. No
one remembers ever to have asked
him a question which he did not an
syer correctly He was particularly
well posted on political subjects. He
wrote as well as he talked and sew
eral articles Of unusual force were
written by him and published in the
leading papers of The state during
the first Roosevelt administration.
on one subject the mysterious old
man was silent. He never talked
about himself and the inquisihve
knew quite as little after a course OF
questioning as they did at the be-
ginning. In no way did he ever, give
the slightest Information concerning
the past.
dog was the old mans only
companion. II stayed with him in
his cabin and Travelled with him
wherever he went. The old man
worked pretty constantly, but he APP
peared not to care for more pay than
barely enough to buy bread and
meat. For some time past he had
been employed at the sawmill Of
James Brady, his task being to cart
sawdust away from the mill. A week
ago last Thursday he drew his pay
and told Mr.. Brady that he was going
to Stanley to buy provisions and
that he might not return to work for
two or three days. He went TO STAN
ley that afternoon, but bought no
provisions. No one remembers hav-
ing seen him after he left Stanley.
and 1t is believed that he ended his
life Immediately after reaching his
cabin. The laudanum used was
bought at the drug store in Stanley