Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-11-19
WOMAN'S IDENTITY
SOLVED At LAST
Body of Woman Who Died Sud
denly in Rich's Store Identi-
fled as Miss VIII
lano Cotton.

Identification was made wednesday
morning about $50 o'clock by z. o.
Price, a friend Of her family, of the mys-
terious woman in black who died in
Richs department store Tuesday after
noon of commissions caused by strychnine
poisoning. She was Miss Willano Cotton,
aged 80 years. and resided at 2SS Simpson
street, with her mother, Mrs. Rebecca d.
Cotton, and her married sister. Mrs. E. o.
Price. 1t is thought she took the poison
with suicidal intent, as she had been
in i'll health for long time.
The young woman left home Tuesday
about 1880 O'Clock. She was not missed
until o'clock. For an hour or more the
family had felt alarmed at her prolonged
absence. and when she did not return by
that time J. E. Price. one of her brothers
in-law. went out to find her. He called at
the homes of the different members of
the family. and failing to get any trace
or her whereabouts, searched elsewhere.
But at a late hour Tuesday night he had
learned nothing, and returned home.
wednesday morning word was received
at the Cotton home that the unidentified
body OF young woman lay at Patterson's
undertaking chapel. and in fearful ap.
iprehension e. Q. Price proceeded to the
place In post haste. A glance at the
young woman's face satisfied him that Il
was his sister-in-law but the heartrend-
ing knowledge was withheld from Mrs
Cotton and her other daughters until J.
z. Price. another brother-in-law of the
deceased, arrived at the chapel and con-
firmed the identification.
TRAGIC AND MYSTERIOUS
Miss Cotton's death was both tragic
and mysterious. Shortly after 2 o'clock
Tuesday afternoon she went hurriedly
| into the ladies' rest room at Rich's. and
a moment later D. H. Strauss. secretary
/ OF the firm, passing the door, heard
woman scream. He rushed inside and
! found Miss Cotton lying on the floor,
with woman bending over her, and an
old negro nurse very much frightened.
Mr.. Strauss helped to place the sick
woman on sofa, and asked her IL she
| lived in Atlanta. She nodded her head.
He asked her name. but got no answer.
Then the patient swooned, and after suf-
fering horribly for ten minutes with con-
vulsions, was dead.
In answer to Mr.. Strauss summons for
somebody to telephone for a physician. DIR.
j. V. P. Oglesby, who happened to be
standing nearby, proftered his services.
and In moment had taken charge of the
patient. The young woman whom Mr..
Strauss had found administering to her
when he came in, turned out to be a
trained nurse Thus, by an unusual CO.
science was done for the sufferer from
the moment she was taken sick.
HER EYES DILATED.
DR.. Oglesby was about to give the
patient strychnine hypodernic, when
the nurse declared that in her oninfon
! strychnine poisoning was the causa ~
the commissions; and, lifting her eyeIIds.
the doctor found the woman's eyes fright
fully dilated, which is one of the surest
Indications OF strychnine. So he put
aside the hypodermic and resorted 70
other measures. But to no avail. +be
woman had lost consciousness a very fa,,,
| moments after being placed on the sofs
| and was soon dead.
Meanwhile DR.. Oglesby. bendiper oto..
to her ear, had asked the woman 40 80
lived in Atlanta. She nodded In the AZ.
nrmative. When asked her name she de-
clined to give ii. Asked If she had taken
poison, she shook her head several times
In emphatic denial.
THE CORONER NOTIFIED
Coroner Donehoo was notified of the
woman's death, and instructed that the
body be taken to Patterson's By q
O'Clock hundreds had heard news of the
death Of a mysterious woman in black
at Rich's department store, and far into
the night an almost continuous line of
men and women-some fearful that they
death, others attracted by morbid curl
osity-passed in and out at the little
chapel in Patterson's undertaking estab-
| lishment on North Forsyth street But IL
was not until Wednesday morning that
the body was identified. Up to that time
nobody had come who could even recall
having seen the face before.
A careful search was made In the rest
room at Rich's, but no clue could be
found that would point to the woman's
identity. In a waste paper basket half
| filled with papers, Mr.. Lucien York, man
ager of the store. discovered an empty
package marked strychnine. Suisse
ouently it was learned, according to
statement from the detective department.
that a woman dressed in black bought
strychnine at drug store Tuesday after
noon.
CAME FROM CARTERSVILLE.
The deceased was a daughter Of Mrs.
Rebecca D. Cotton. They moved to At
| Ianta from Gainesville about four months
ago. Miss Willano Cotton and her mother
made their home at the residence of Mrs.
! E. o. Price, 2SS Simpson street, who is a
sister of the deceased. Two more sisters
live in Atlanta: Mrs. ]. E. Price, of How
| ellis Station, and Mrs Pittman Wood, Of
| 21O South Pryor street.
Members of the family state that pro-
| longed i'll health had frequently caused
/ Miss Cotton to brood despondently for
hours at a time, and on more than one
occasion she was heard to say that life
to her had ceased to be worth living.
An inquest was held over Miss Cotton's
body at 1890 o'clock, the jury returning
a verdict to the effect that death re-
suited from strychnine poisoning, presum-
ably administered by the hand of the de-