The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-11-02
CHLOROFORN IS FATAL
FARM DEMONSTRATION ROUN-
TREE OF LEE COUNTY DIES.
Was Found in Hotel Room In Macon.
Used Drug to Alleviate Pain, and
Death Pronounced Accident.

Was Found in Hotel Room In Macon.
Used Drug to Alleviate Pain, and
Death Pronounced Accident.
Farm Demonstration Agent Ridge
Rountree, of Lee county, was found
dead in a room in a Macon hotel
Sunday afternoon, and the following
account of his tragic death is taken
from the Macon Telegraph:
Lying PROSTATE in death, and with
his face covered with a towel and
pocket handkerchief saturated with
chloroform, the still warm body of
Ridge Rountree, farm demonstration
agent of Lee county, was found yes
terday afternoon at O'Clock in a
room at a local hotel when the maid
forced her way into the room.
From the warmth of the body it
was evident that Rountree had been
dead no longer than an hour when
his corpse was discovered. DR.. Nc
Clure was summoned and pronounc-
ed the man dead from the use of
poison.
On the dresser in the room was a
half-filled bottle of chloroform and
in his open suit case, on top OF MS
clothes, was a bottle of bichlorlde OF
mercury tablets, some of which had
been removed. The young man S
mouth was coated blush green and
in the cuspidor was water of the same
tint 1t is thought he had used the
bichIoride simply as a mouth wash.
Rountree is said to have had stom-
ach trouble, there being scars of
three operations in the vicinity OF his
stomach, where he had been operated
upon. An acquaintance of the young
man who has known him about a
year stated that he had been under
the constant care of a physician, as
he was subject to acute pains.
Rountree had been in Macon since
October "a. He had charge of the
Lee county exhibit at the Georgia
State Fair, and had been on the
grounds since Monday morning ex-
planning his exhibit to the visitors to
the building.
The young mans bride of six
months at Leesburg was notified and
arrived during the early morning
hours, together with the father and
brother of Rountree, the former OF
whom resides at Cobbville and the
latter at Sylvania.
The last the hotel attendants saw
of Rountree was when he called for
his room key at 1870 Saturday
night. After he had gotten the key
he walked into the Terminal Pharma-
cy and remained for a minute OF
two and then caught the elevator
and went to his room.
Shortly before noon Sunday a ne
gro maid knocked on the door, but
received no response, then walked
away, thinking Mr.. Rountree was
asleep. About 8 o'clock she knocked
on the door again, and again receiv-
ed no response. This was repeated
about o'clock, when she decided to
enter the room from the connecting
bath. This she did and found Mr..
Rountree's body.
T. j. R. Johnson of Atlanta testi-
fed before the corOner's jury that Mr..
Rountree had been a constant suffer
er from stomach trouble for more
than a year. Once before, said Mr..
Johnson, Rountree was found in a
serious condition by his brother as
result of the use of chloroform to
alleviate the pain he was suffering.
After hearing the evidence the cor
oner's jury returned the following
verdict: I'VE find that Ridge Roun-
tree came to his death through the
overusage of chloroform, the same
being accidental"
Mr.. Rountree had been married
about six months. He was young
man of excellent habits.