The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1919-03-29
Mrs. T. A. Bascom Passes Away
at Residence After Drinking
Carbolic Acid; Grief Be-
lieved Cause.
SON RUNS AWAY FROM
HOME; REASON UNKNOWN
Phones Neighbor Give Good Ad-
vice to Son; Found Lying
Unconscious on Bed; Body
Shipped to Texas.

Mrs. T. A. Bascom, aged 40, wife
of T. A. Bascom, Rock Island ma
chinist, died at the family residence,
GIT South Fourth street, last night
about 1890 as the result of having
taken a dose Of carbolic acid earlier
in the evening. The loss of two chill
dren seven years ago and grief expe-
rienced yesterday when her son,
Tom, aged Is, ran away from home.
IS believed to have been the cause
Of Mrs. Bascom's rash act.
Circumstances, pieced together by
friends and neighbors who rushed in
when Mrs Bascom's condition was
discovered, lead to the belief that it
was a plain case of suicide. For
some reason, unknown to the family,
the son Tom left home yesterday and
up to 10 O'Clock this morning no
trace of him had been received. Yes
terday afternoon, Mrs Bascom Wis
tied all the depots in the city in an
effort to locate some trace of her
sen.
Failing, she returned home in the
evening After supper, her son Ar
thur, young man employed as ma
chinist at the Rock Island shops,
went to practice with the Chickasha
band. Mrs. Bascom insisted that her
husband go to the police station and
see if he could find trace Of the
boy who had run away. Mrs. Bas-
com was left alone in the house.
About $3.50 Mrs Powers, neigh
Dor, received telephone call from
Mrs. Bascom, who was crying. She
stated to Mrs. Powers that IL she
ever saw Tommy again, to give him
good advice. After delivering this
message, she hung up the receiver
Mrs. Powers, believing that some
thing was wrong, Immediately got in
touch with Mrs. Alvin Kyle and the
two went at once TO the Bascom
residence. 1t was dark
They entered the house and were
confronted with the odor of carbolic
acid. Turning on lights, they found
Mrs. Bascom lying on Tommy's bed.
She was unconscious and beside the
bed was a cup that from the odor
had contained carbolic acid. They
Immediately called DR.. w. II. Cook
who did everything in his power to
revive the woman, but without avail.
The husband was notified at the
police station where he had gone to
help search for his son. Also, Ar
thur was notified at the city hail
where he was attending band prac-
tice. Both rushed home and were
present when Mrs. Bascom died at
about 1O:SO. She did not regain con-
sciousness.
Although a rigid search was made,
no note or message of any kind was
left by Mrs. Bascom. The husband,
however, stated that in his belief
the cause could he traced directly
to the departure of their son yester-
day, and dating back to the death of
two of their children when their
home in Palestine, Tex, burned
about seven years ago. In this fire,
Mr.. Bascom stated, the entire house
and contents were lost and he him
self was badly burned, it being i'm
possible to. rescue the two children.
Mrs. Bascom grieved for years over
this occurrence.
The family moved to Chickasha
about four or five years ago, since
which time the father, T. A. Bascom,
and the son, Arthur, were employed
at the Rock Island shops. Tom, the
boy who ran away has the reputa-
ton of being a fine lad, having held
several positions here and having
given entire satisfaction, according
to his employers His act of yester-
day is unaccounted for.
The body will be shipped tonight
to Palestine, Tex, for burial and will
be accompanied by the husband and
son. Another son, who lives in Ar.