Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1907-09-23
TIRE SUICIDES IN
/ Fl. WORTH YESTERDAY
ONE SELECTS MORPHINE, ONE A
PISTOL AND THE THIRD
BROWNS IN THE TRIM
ITY RIVER.
One Man and TWOWOIRGR
Brakeman Is Dependent, a Young
Wife Wanted to Return to Ar
kansas, and Bad Health and
Low Spirits Cause Of
the Other.


day was a black Sunday in Fort
Worth in a suicide way, and tonight
one man and two women slept their
dreamless sleep as a result of their
own acts.
The dead are:
B. F. Steward.
Mrs. Bessie Brown.
Mrs. Retta Saunders.
There was no connection in life be.
tween any of the victims of the three
tragedies, each of which was separate
and distinct 1t was only the coinci.
dence of time that linked them to,
gether in a trinity of tragedy which
shocked the several neighborhoods
where the victims resided and were
known.
B. F. Steward chose the morphine
to his quietus make, and when Judge
Maben was called to the home of Mrs.
George Wells, 1901 East weatherford
street, this morning about o'clock he
found the swollen and disfigured re.
mains lying on a bed and decomposi-
ton well under way. From state
ments made at the inquest 1t would
seem that Steward had been i'll and
Respondent for some time. although
the positive cause of his determine
ton to take his own life was not re-
yealed. He was about 35 years old
And had been employed as 2 brake.
gErnE--Ss snYlay VI &c. isI....,.
Ills father and mother reside at Dial.
hart, where he was formerly employ.
ed. and he was a member of the
Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen,
Dalhart Lodge No. 633. and also an
Elk in good standing, Amarillo Lodge
No. 1892 From the appearance of the
body Steward must have been dead
for at least twenty-four hours He
retired to his room Friday night and
from that time was not again seen
alive.
A small single shot derringer pistol
was the instrument of death by which
Mrs. Bessie Brown ushered herself
into the great unknown. Mrs. Brown,
who was only a little over Is years of
age, worked with her husband, c. II.
Brown. at the Lawson Brothers
creamery on the north side. The cOu-
pie had only been married about
eight months, the young woman for
merly living at Ashdown. Ark. where
her parents, Mr.. and Mrs. Tom AdOck,
now reside. She was said to have been
Respondent to return to Arkansas.
Her husband promised that this would
be done when their month was up at
the creamery. For several days she
had threatened to kill herself. but
would afterwards laugh It off and de
clare that she was joking. About
1870 Sunday afternoon she left the
room in which her husband was seat
ed and went out into the yard. She
soon returned. went into another
room and a few moments later the re-
port of a pistol was hear. When mem
bers Of the household rushed into the
room they found her quite dead on the
floor. having sent the bullet through
her head just above the right ear, the
bullet stopping before entirely pene-
tratinE the outside of the skull.
A peculiar feature in connection
with the case developed after her
death. Her husband. who was pros
trated with grief, made the voluntary
admission to officers that he was a de-
serter from the United States army:
that his wife had been unaware Of
this fact until quite recently. and that
he feared this intelligence had done
much toward causing the desperate
act.
The third of the trio of unfOrtunates
was Mrs. Retta Saunders. whose bad
~ decomposed body was taken from
the west fork OF the Trinity river this
morning. The woman lived on the
bank Of the river with her mother
near the White settlement road. She
had been in bad health and low spirits
for some time and Friday disappeared
as II the earth had opened and swal-
lowed her. Search was made and sew
eral parties had been at work drag
ging the river for her body. After an
search all day Saturday
the body was found floating in the
west fork Of the river