The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-21
LITER TRIES TO
COMMIT SUICIDE
John Douglas, Wife Slayer,
SlaSheS Arm and
Throat in Pen.
CRAWLS AWAY to DIE
ACT HAS DRAMATIC SEQUEL IN
PRISON CHAPEL.
CRAWLS AWAY To DIE

Yielding TO despair after serving ten
years of life sentence. John Douglas.
a convicted murderer in the state pen
| itentiary. almost succeeded in ending
1 his life on Saturday morning, and is
! nov in serious condition in the prison
| hospital.
Douglas was an Ogden blacksmith
Ten years ago he killed his wife. ami
was sent to the penitentiary for life.
He was given work i'm the prison black
smith shop
AS year after year passed bahind tho
grim walls of the<Penitentiary despair
gripped at the heart OF the wife slay-
er. He must have made UP hts mind
! to kill himself long time ago, as the
weapon with which he attempted The
deed was made of a piece Of iron he
had picked up about the blacksmith
| shop and secreted about his person. 1t
must have taken an infinite amount Of
pains to fashion the crude wea pom in
the prison shop, under the constant
gaze of the guards. But the work was
completed on Saturday morning and
Douglas was ready for death.
Leaving the prison blacksmith shop
about 1890 o'clock, Douglas went tn
the barn and assembled to the haylofT,
knife, cutting the arteries of bis left
arm and inflicting a deep cash in his
| neck. He then crawled into thu hay
to die.
Found by a Trusty.
As the desperate man lay waiting for
death to come to him, another pris-
oner, known as a "trusty," assembled
to the loft to get some hay. In the
darkness, he stumbled across Douglas.
whats the matter?" he exclaimed.
What are you doing up here?"
Go away, leave me here gasped
Douglas.
Whats happened?" cried the trusty.
placing mis- hand upon the recumbent
man and drawing it back hastily,
stained with blood.
Go away" repeated Douglas. "E
want to die. If you are ATTEND. if you
can pity man who suffers. let me d.e
quietly here. Don't tell the guards
The Mortified "trusty" crept from the
loft and at once raised the alarm
Douglas was taken from the loft to the
prison hospital He was then faint
! from loss of blood, and seemed near
to death.
DR.. 4. G. Young was hastily sum-
moned and arrived just in time 10 take
measures which may save the convicC's
life, unless complications set in.
Douglas was unwilling to receive the
attention Of the physician. and is be-
ing watched night and day to prevent
his undoing DR.. Young's work TO keep
the spark of life in his body.
Crippled for Life.
If he RECEIVERS. he will be d cripple
for the remainder of his life, as the
knife cut the cords of his left arm and
he will never be able to use tine mem
Der again. The wound upon Ills neck
was also an ugly one. Had the blade
of the knife Renetrated a fraction Of
an inch deeper, Douglas would have
bled to death before the 'trusty" found
/ him in the loft.
! Douglas killed his wife with shotgun.
/ On the day of the killing he invited her
to go driving with him. While the two
were out in the buggy, they must have
| quarreled. for as soon as they got back
/ to their home, Douglas ran into the
/ house seized a shotgun and shot down
| his wife on the Threshold.
| Through the channels by which con-
victs are able to obtain the news of
prisons. the story Of the attempted sui
eide spread through the penitentiary
and made a deep impression upon the
men imprisoned there.
A Dramatic SequeIA
4 dramatic sequel TO Douglas act
| was the sermon OF Dean w. r. Harris
of the Kearns st. AIMS orphanags IL
the prison chapel yesterday. More than
200 convicts listened to the address in
a tense silence. during which the rustic
of a garment could have been heard.
Dean Harris spoke of the crime Of
suicide. He branded it as not only
cowardly, but criminal.
1.-The man who Stays himself Is a
murderer" he said. He is muir
derer because"
For a moment Dean Harris paused
with uplifted hand. The cOnvicts bert
forward, stirred by the elOquence of
the divine.
He is a murderer because he nur-
ders his mothers son." CONCLUDED thu
dean. and a slow sigh swept over the
crowd of convict listeners.
! Rev Father w. K. Ryan of st.
Mary's cathedral also addressed the
, prisoners.
AT the close of the hour allowed for
the Catholic services. Dean Harris re-
, marked that he would have to close.
} so as not to oversteD the allotted
J time. Warden Pratt. who was A wit
ness of the wonderful effect of Dean
Harris address upon the imprisoned