End of story for Hunter Thompson

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Outlaw, druggie, Dunhill-smoking, Chivas Regal-drinking, anti-establishment literary icon Hunter S. Thompson committed suicide after becoming depressed about the United States' shift toward conservatism, said one longtime friend who spent the weekend at the Aspen, Colo., home of the late "gonzo" journalist.

"He was depressed about the state of society," said Loren Jenkins, foreign editor for National Public Radio in Washington.

A vehement opponent of President Bush, Mr. Thompson, 67, "was feeling maudlin about the current conservatism sweeping the country," Mr. Jenkins said. "He felt he'd had a long run, trying to create a freer society in the '60s and '70s and he felt it had all been closed down."

Mr. Thompson's body was discovered Sunday by Juan Thompson, his son by his first wife, Sandra Dawn Thompson. His second wife, Anita, was not home at the time. The family issued a statement asking for privacy.

In recent months, Mr. Thompson had suffered injuries and other health problems. While others expressed shock at Mr. Thompson's death, close friends " including Mr. Jenkins " did not.

"Everyone who knew Hunter knew that he lived by his own rules and that he would end his life by his own rules," Mr. Jenkins said.

But other friends said yesterday that Mr. Thompson seemed to be in good spirits during the past week.

"I was there Friday evening at his home and left him at midnight," said longtime friend and neighbor Michael Cleverly.

"We had a lovely evening. He was very upbeat. I'd have been less shocked if he had shot me rather than himself," said Mr. Cleverly. "He is the last person on the planet Earth I would expect of that."

Mr. Cleverly, who knew Mr. Thompson for 25 years, said the writer " who lived at a compound called Owl Farm " had several assignments in the works, including a book of his photography. "He was in the midst of a productive life. My only speculation was that [the suicide] had to be an impulse, not something he'd been dwelling on."