Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-03-01


MS own life must necessarily DO con-
sidered as having been deranged Is n
question over which nllenists differ,
hut there are many cases OF suicide
recorded in which there Is no doubt
INIT insanity led TO wanton selfde-
ntrnctlon. Yet even when the mind
IS 70 nn extent unbalanced, Il may net
With such deiiberateness as to later
: puzzle those who seek motive for
tho act committed.
9tudents of the human mind will
Nnd n perplexng case In the recent
suicide OF Mrs. Samuel Dukes. AZ
Frankfort. so unusual were several
features of tho suicide that at first
s8iss police of Frankfort had no thought
but that murder had been commit
ted, Now that Coroner q. w. Brown
haas returned u verdict Of suicide Mrs.
I9ukea' taking OF her own life must
~ 50 on record ns an unusual cxamp, ,
ssof the "freakishness" OF 4 derangcd
mind. Mrs. Dukes body was found
tglng on the porch OF house which
she owned. but witch She had been
renting for nome tine, with y bullet
wound at the odge of the heart Her
19et We're bound with Il strip OF blue
calico aud another strip OF the same
material around her head h.ld n
handkerchief in place over each u
\ lter eyes. Her clothiug was in no w 4?
Y sisnirhnged and her hands were fold =
I'd across her breast. The body had
ne Appearance OF having been care
fuliy arranged by some one.
TO end nor life, Mrs. Dukea had
leIf The home OF her sister, II mile
distant. ut 8 o'clock In tho morning,
atter dressing In her best clothing.
= Tha coroner finally discovered Tint
MRS. Dukes had brooded much over
itrpnplcs, had threatened TO end he,
HE ut the place where che did. and
IN the abBence of any possible mo-
two Tor murder. he decided that tho
woman Ind shot hersclf.
Why she bound her feet together
X ard blindfolled herself does not APP
pear, cxcept ns the fancy OF n dsor-
aered mind 1t may be supposed
1 however that tho woman had de-
sire to take away from tho grew
someness of the deed by making prep
arations which would give her bod,
AN appearance of repoae In death. She
Z had even hidden the wound by firms
the revolver after pushing It undo,
the lapel of her Jacket The coroner.
superstition is that the folding OF heI
hands on her breast was merely acci-
dental, or death came slowly enough
TO permit her TO complete this tlna
preparation of her body.
Another Remarkable Case.
On January 90, 1906. the discovery
OF the, charred bones of John A
Thompson, an aged rccluse, neai
Hammond, Ind, brought to light n re.
markable case OF suicide. Thompson
Who waa said to have been soldier
OF fortune In many lands, had lived o,
= q small farm In Lake County for som,
time. bnt had fallen In arrears Will
the owner of the place. Miss Heller
SSritache. n spinster. Miss Fritsch,
finally sought to obtain possession o
her property. and officers were sen
10 Thompson's house to forciby ejec
him, IL rsceSsary. Knowing the oil,
nann's eccentrlclty, they thought /
best to proceed carefully. Conse-
4 sinently, when he failed to answer
4 knock at the door. they gained en-
trance by q window. This saved thci
4 lives, for running from the door to
pile OF dynamite on the floor was
wire which would have touched of
/ the explosive, and there was enough
OF IL to have blown the house to spin
h tsrs. The barn and other building
hsd been similarly converted int,
death traps. Thompson was mlssin,
& and IL was supposed that he ha,
{ committed suicide Tho countr,
about wac searched for his body. bu
b 80 trace of the man was found.
Two months later fire destroye,
the barn on the Frltsche place
L. - Co.. -