The Ouachita Telegraph - J. C. Smith Suicide

Date: Aug. 2000
Submitted by: Lora Peppers <lpeppers@ouachita.lib.la.us>

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The Ouachita Telegraph
Friday, August 23, 1878
Page 1, Column 5

SUICIDE.
Sixty Grains of Morphine Taken at a Dose.
[Shreveport Daily Times.]
        Yesterday morning between 10 and 11 o’clock Mr. J.C. Smith, who lives on
the opposite side of the river near the ferry landing, committed suicide by
taking sixty grains of morphine – enough to destroy sixty lives.  The
deceased at the time he swallowed the fatal dose was under the influence of
liquor and had been for several days.  Yesterday morning between 9 and 10 he
went to Mr. Brauer’s bakery, on Travis street, and took a seat near the door
where he engaged in conversation, talking very incoherently, however, for
sometime, when he left, going to Morris’ drug store, where he purchased a
drachm of morphine and returned to the bakery, when he again seated himself
and called for a glass of water which ws handed him by Mrs. Brauer, and into
which he emptied the entire contents of the bottle, and immediately
swallowed it.  He then walked some thirty or fory feet below the bakery,
threw the phial into a bunch of weeds, and returned, taking a seat in a
rocking chair on the inside, where he dropped off into a deep sleep and
remained until the attention of Mrs. Brauer was attracted by his heavy and
rapid breathing and the discoloration of his face.  She then remembered
seeing him swallow the powder, which she supposed at the time to be quinine,
and examined the wrapper of the bottle, which had been torn in several
pieces, and calling to her husband, who was in the rear part of the
building, they soon discovered what was the matter.  Without a moment’s
delay word was sent to his family over the river, and soon several of them
were at his side.  Dr. Lyon was also notified and hastened to do all in his
power by the application of emetics and the most powerful restoratives, but
all to no avail, as the effects of the drug virtually destroyed every spark
of vitality very soon after it was taken into the stomach.  The effort of
the physician, friends and relatives to restore the unfortunate man never
relaxed until he breathed his last – at 3:30 p.m., about four and a half
hours after taking the deadly opiate.
        The deceased, we learn, while not addicted to the use of opiates, came near
destroying himself on two different occasions – once in Houston, Texas, by
the use of some powerful narcotic, unknown to the family, and some three or
four years ago in this city, by taking about two ounces of laudanum.  On
both occasions he had been under the influence of liquor for several days
previous.  It seems also that he was fond of any kind of anodyne, so much
that Mrs. Smith always kept the paregoric or laudanum under lock and key.
        Deceased was a fine mechanic, and ordinarily a clever and agreeable man.
He leaves a most estimable family, consisting of a wife and four children –
two sons and two daughters.  They have the prefound (sic) sympathy of the
entire community in their sore affliction.
        We would remark in conclusion that no blame can attach to the salesman of
Mr. Morris who sold the morphine.  Deceased was very quiet in manner and to
a casual observer appeared entirely rational.  Had he called for a unusually
large dose of morphine some suspicions might have been aroused, but no one
would have supposed that a man would purchase a drachm of the narcotic for
the purpose of self-destruction.

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