He Loved Her Too Much to Marry Her

Adam Gehm, a camp chopper from Carbonado, who is well known in Snohomish, committed suicide at a lodging house kept by C. G. W. Anderson, 726 Fifth Street, last night about 12 o'clock by shooting himself through the abdomen and brain from a point behind the right ear with a brand-new .38-calibre Colt's revolver. The shooting was done in a small single room, and in order to find out what had occurred the detectives were compelled to break in the door. The cause of this determined suicide is said to have been that Gehm was in love, had an opportunity to marry a girl, but owing to his physical condition had scruples about doing so.

Gehm attempted suicide at Snohomish about five years ago on account of disease that was wrecking his system. Gehm was a Bavarian, and had been in this state about eight years. He was an honorable fellow and very fortunate in securing work. He was well known at Stimson's logging camp and also at Everett, but for some time has lived at Carbonado. He came to this city from Tacoma, for he had the cards of the Rhein Hotel, corner of Jefferson and Twenty-fifth Streets. He had money and was liberal with it.

About 5 o'clock in the afternoon Joseph Becker, who works in the Port Blakely mill, on going to the wharf to go home, found Gehm on the edge of the wharf in an attitude of deep thought. They went up town and had a drink, with the result that Becker lost his boat, so they went back to the saloon and had several more drinks.

After supper the conversation turned to suicide, and Gehm asked: 'Did you see anything about the suicides at Tacoma?' Becker replied that he did not know much about them, but thought that a man was a fool who would do such a thing. Then Gehm told him about having tried to kill himself at Snohomish four or five years ago on account of a disease, but that his friends grabbed the revolver and took it away from him. From this he drifted to the matter that was evidently next to his heart, and said that he had a chance to marry a girl, but that he was incapacitated from maintaining the means of a wife and felt that he could not be so base as to deceive her. During all the talk, a considerable portion of which was about religion, Gehm being a Lutheran and Becker a Catholic, the former never said a word to indicate that he intended self-destruction.

Finally about 9:15 o'clock they took rooms at Mr. Anderson's lodging house, a very respectable place, Becker on the floor above. As Gehm went into his room Becker said: 'Good Adam, we will have plenty of time tomorrow to talk it over.' Gehm closed the door. Mr. Anderson then showed Becker to the closet prior to his room, and before he had got to his room downstairs heard two pistol reports in rapid succession from the room occupied by Gehm.

Mr. Anderson ran to the room and could smell burnt powder. He tried the door, but it was locked. Then he called but received no answer. Running downstairs, he asked some of the people in the office to go for a policeman, but they did not seem to relish the job. He then saw a police whistle and officers Philbrick, Williams and Davis on duty responded. Philbrick burst in the door and there on the floor before them lay the dead body of Adam Gehm, his head in a pool of blood and a new Colt's revolver close to his right hand. Two chambers were empty. Near his hand was a little paper sack in which the bullets had been held, and in another part of the room was another paper, showing plainly the imprint of the rim. On the commode was a large jack-knife, open but showing no signs of use.

Chief of Police Rogers was soon on the scene, followed later by Coroner Askam. Together they searched the body and examined the wounds. That in the head was just back of the right ear, and from this the blood had spurted so that it made the big pool on the floor. In his abdomen close to the navel, and a little above, was the other wound, which went clear through his body and came out below the left hip bone. Coroner Askam found the bullet between the undershirt and overshirt. It was evident from the powder-burnt condition of Gehm's shirt that he had held the muzzle of the gun close to his body. This shot, of course, would probably have caused death itself, but it was the one in the head that settled the matter instantly.

'This is a love affair, sure,' said Chief Rogers, and then he took from his back pocket three slips of paper on which were the songs 'We Never Spoke as We Passed By' and 'A Roadhouse Is Over,' and a silver [coin?] with 30 cents in silver. Coroner Askam [took charge]. The body was taken to Butterworth's undertaking rooms.

Joseph Becker later told the story of the afternoon and evening. Gehm was born in Bavaria about 30 years ago. His parents are dead. He has no other relatives in this country than an uncle and aunt, whose whereabouts are unknown.