A Fatal Cocktail on Pike Street
A railroad foreman, suffering from heavy drinking and paranoid delusions about his son, takes his own life in a downtown boarding house.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Samuel Long, lately employed as a foreman on the Great Northern, committed suicide yesterday morning at the boarding house of Allan McLean, 316 Pike street, by drinking a cocktail made of strychnine and other ingredients. Long had been drinking heavily and was obsessed with the idea that his son was conspiring to deprive him of his property. On the morning of his death, he went into the Eclipse saloon at 510 Pike street to purchase whiskey. Returning to his room, he told his host, 'I guess I've done it this time,' referring to having taken strychnine. When police arrived, he remained defiant, stating, 'A thousand policemen couldn't arrest me.' He was found dead shortly after, the strychnine having taken effect. No inquest will be held.
“Nothing but whisky and trouble.”
This tragedy highlights the historical intersection of mental health crises, substance abuse, and the lack of social safety nets for isolated workers in a growing city. The description of 'imaginary trouble' and 'delirium tremens' underscores how little support existed for those struggling with trauma or addiction in the 1890s.
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