The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-09-01
KILLS HIMSELF
. BY 25-FOOT JUMP
B. K. BOrtree, SO Years
Old, Leaps from Barn
Window
HAS BEEN MENTALLY UNSOUND
AND THOUGHT HIMSELF
WRONGED; PR Il VIOUS
HISTORY.

'
HISTORY.
Monday morning about 8 o'clock
Benjamin X. Bortree, aged eighty
nine years, committed suicide in Sa-
lem township, where he made his
home with his daughter, Mrs. Sarah
Cobb, by jumping from the window
of barn twenty-five feet to the
ground below. No bones were brok-
en- and Mr.. Bortree died of shock. He
had made several previous attempts
at self-destruction, once with knife
and once with firearms. He was not
of sound mentality, and imagined
that he was in the way and that he
was being wrongly treated.
Last Fall Mr.. Bortree came to
Honesdale filled with imaginary
grievances and was in the Jail for a
few days, but the judge pitied the
old man and told him to go home
with his daughter, who was doing all
she could for him. He went home,
but there are none who can minister
to mind diseased, and after a few
more months of struggling against
imaginary evils the poor old man on
Monday morning took a leap in the
dark and ended all his earthly
troubles and sorrows.
1t was in 1880 that all Wayne
county was startled with the news
that Henry Shouse, of the firm of
Shouse Bros, had been shot to death
in the law office of Hon. W. H. Dim
mick, in Honesdale. Mr.. Shouse was
the brother-in-law of Mr.. Bortree,
the latter having married a sister of
the lumbermen.
Mr.. Bortree was a man of quiet
IicnAci+;ao ho, 60
out from the little tannery village of
Ledgedale. His house was the CEN
ter of hospitality and friendliness,
and his family was all specially gift
ed, teaching in the common schools
of the county.
But a feud existed between the
Shouse brothers. Both Mr.. and Mrs.
Bortree thought that the Shouses had
wronged their sister in the division
of some inherited property. All Mrs.
Bortree received was Wayne county
farm of inconsiderable value, while
they were worth, some said, $780,
900.
On the day of the tragedy the firm
of Collingwood e Co., represented by
one of the Collingwoods, and the
Shouse brothers represented by
Henry Shouse, met at the law office
of Hon. w. H. Dimmick to compute
balance due on a mortgage from Col
lingwood & Co. in favor of the
Shouses. In making the computa-
tion there was a discrepancy of $500
in the account as figured by w. H.
Dimmick, who represented the Col
lingwoods, and George S. Purdy, who
represented the Shouses. All par
ties agreed to go over the matter to
discover where the error was and to
meet in Mr.. Dimmick's Office at z
O'Clock in the evening.
During the interval Mr.. Dimmick
discovered where 5000 had been paid
but not credited on account. He took
the receipt and went up into Mr..
Purdy's office, over the postoffice, to
talk over the matter, leaving in his
office Henry Shouse and James B. Ell
dred. AS Mr.. Dimmick and Mr..
Purdy were coming down the stairs
and Purdy was saying, "I'll be right
over in a few minutes" they heard a
pistol shot.
Mr.. Bortree had walked into the
office and pointed his pistol at Mr..
| Shouse and shot him dead. Mr.. Ed
red seized Bortree, disarmed him and
with the assistance of those who
/ came on the scene removed the one
who did the shooting to the county
Jail.
The trial came on in December,
Hon. c. P. Waller was the presiding
! judge and P. p. Smith, Scranton, was
the district attorney. The prosecu-
tion of Bortree was conducted by Mr..
Dimmick. The trial attracted much
/ attention and dragged it's length
along for several days. The defense
set up plea of insanity, which later
events prove was not unreasonable.
Expert witnesses were there in
abundance and both sides contested
the case with great vigor.
Mr.. Bortree was sent to the peni-
tentiary for a term of years, but has
been at liberty for a long time, as he
won a shortening of his term by ex-
emplary conduct.
And now, almost with the clock of
time measuring the stroke of ninety
years, he passes out of the world to
appear before another judge who
judges righteous judgment, and
whose word is always right.