The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-04-24
GHOSTS PURSUE
MAN TO GRAVE
George Wiley, Former Warsaw Man.
Had Visitors From the Other
World and Drank Car
bollo Acid.
ACID PROVES FATAL
"a Was Never so Drunk In All MY
Life," He Tells Acquaintance
And ThenTips Two Ounce
Bottle to His Lips.

Wiley. of 1903 Exchange, to end his
life, 1t is quite generally believed by
those with whom he was closely asso-
ciated that imaginary calls Of visitors
from the other world terrified him to
such an extent that he resolved on
self destruction to escape the unwel-
come and canny visitors. Wiley drank
two ounces of carbolic acid yesterday
evening at o'clock at Seventh and
Main streets and then walked to
Cameron's barn short distance down
the street on Seventh and expired on
the sidewalk few moments after he
had reached the spot where he sank
helpless and in great agony.
For the past three months Wiley
has been employed at the Pond plant
in the butter department. Yesterday
he quit work at noon. He told w. G..
Fader, the buttermaker under whom
he worked that his wife had received
$500 from an uncle in Warsaw, and
that he and his wife were going west.
When Fader was on his way to sup
per last evening he was accosted by
Wiley at Seventh and Main streets.
He told Fader he wanted to speak to
him and when the later stopped, Wiley
said: II was never 80 drunk In all my
life. / am going to take one more
drink and then quit Fader told him
he was glad to hear it and then started
to walk away He noticed Wiley draw
a bottle from his pocket and noticed
I it had a poison label On it. He
shouted a warning to Wiley not to
drink it, but Wiley replied that moth
ing could prevent it and then drained
the bottle of it's contents.
Faced Death Unconcernedly.
Wiley tossed the empty bottle to
the street unconcernedly and started
down the street, while Fader started
for help. Wiley walked to Cameron's
barn and sank on the sidewalk, where
he died few moments after a crowd
had collected. The remains were re-
moved by the police to an undertaking
parlor to await the arrival Of Warsaw
relatives today.
Wiley often complained to his fell
low workers that he was frequently dis
turbed at his Exchange street residence
by unwelcome visits of ghosts. They
prowled around the place continuously
4 he said, and were especially annoying
during the night, when the white
robed callers would prevent his sleep
ing. Wiley formerly worked at the
4 Powder works, but gave up his work
! there. His reason for quitting the
/ Powder plant was that the place was
4 infested with ghosts and that they
were continually nagging him.
While it is not known that the
imaginary visitors forced Wiley tc
end his life, 1t is very probable that
his Authorizations preyed on his mind
to such an extent that his mental
faculties were somewhat impaired. II
a story told by Wiley to his fellow
workers Is to be believed, continual
worry over an act committed years
ago very probably induced the hallu
cinations that he was being pursued
by ghosts bent on his destruction.
4 Wiley told his acquaintance thai
several years ago he had an alterca
I ton with another man and that he
/ beat the man to death with a cuspidor
! He claimed to have been sent to the
penitentiary for the killing and sale
he served his sentence. Wiley was
often gloomy and Respondent ant
usually became more so after referring
to the killing which he claimed to
have served term in the penitentiary
for. Whether his story of the killing
I is true, or whether It is the sordid
conception Of a disordered mind
could not be learned today, but there
| is a thread of mystery through his
hfe's narrative that is out of the
ordinary and indicates that his life
has not been one that comes to the
ordinary man with Wiley's ability tt
cope with the world.
/ He was married several years ago
Only he and his wife composed thu
family here. although it is said tina
there was large family Of children
born to them. Three of them are in al
institution maintained by the Catholi,
church in Peoria.
A sister OF the dead man, Mrs
vena Hilters, lives in warsaw and ;
brother, Benjamin Wiley, lives il
Russell, Kansas, while several distan
relatives are scattered about TIL,
country Mrs. Wiley, his wife. is bed
fast at her home and the shock 0
her husbands suicide did not tend t,
improve her condition.
Corners Inquest Held.
Coroner Korschgen conducted an IN
quest this morning at the court house
The testimony of Officers Conn. La
febre and Park was taken, as wa
that of w. C. Fader, under whom h
worked until yesterday noon, and DR.
i Dorsey. The verdict was that OF sui
eide.