The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1869-09-01
Tsvo Dead f,wo.ne,. ]. cOass 10 Iasa. :


In the summer of 1861 newspaper
readers were told of the discovery In Che
North River Of the body OF q female
which had been tied toia barrel, of pitch
and rolled into the river from, a. Jersey
and the mystery is still 'unravsled. A
few days before the death of Inspector
James Leonard, in conversation with o
prominent writer, he told the following
remarkable story which we find in the
March number Of the GALAXY: -,
One spring morning. during the first
year of the war, q barrel of pitch was
found to have disappeared from Jersey
City pier, and the porter in charge when
reporting the fact to his employers, took
occasion to speak of tho river thieves in
no very complimentary terms. '"
On the same day, Ada Richard, q wo-
man of nomadic habits and dubious sta
( tus, but OF marvellous beauty, suddenly
left her hotel in New York, without tax
ing the trouble to announce her depart
ure or state her destination The clerks
of the house only remarked that some
women had queer ways.
A few days after these simultaneous
events, the same porter who had mourned
the lost pitch, happening to look down
from the end Of his pier when the tide
was out, saw o small and shapely human
foot protruding above the waters of the
North River. Il was singular circum-
stance, for the bodies of the drowned
never float in such fashion; but the por-
ter not stopping to speculate upon it,
procured the necessary assistance, and
proceeded to land the body. It came mp
unusually heavy, and when at last
brought to the surface, was found TO- be
made fast by ope around the waist to
the missing barrel of pitch. There was
gag securely fastened in the mouth,
and these two circumstances were posi-
tive evidences that murder had been
done. sR
When tbs bbody was landed upon the
pier, it was found to be in tolerable
state of preservation. although there
were conclusive signs that it had been in
the water for some time. It was the
body of female. entirely nude, with the
exception of an embroidered linen che
mise and one Isle thread stocking. two
sizes larger than the foot, but exactly
fitting the full rounded, limb. The face
and the contour of the form, were there
fore fully exposed to examination, and
proved to be those of woman who must
have been very handsome. There was the
cicatriee OF an old wound on lower
limb, but otherwise there was no spot or
blemish upon the body.
In due time the body was buried; bnt
the head was removed, and preserved 4
the Office Of the city physician, with the
hope that it might be the means of esta-
blishing the identity of the dead, and
leading to the detection of the mur-
derer.
The police on both sides of the river
were intensely interested in the case, but
they found themselves impotent before
that head of q woman, who seemed to
have never been seen upon earth in life.
They could do nothing, therefore, but
wait patiently for whatever developments
time might bring.
Chance finally led to the desired iden-
her intimately for two years, happening
to see the head, at once declared it to be
that of Ada Richard. The detectives
eagerly clutched at this thread, and were
soon in possession of the coincidence in
time of her disappearance and that Of
the barrel of pitch to which the body
was lashed. They further found that,
since that time she had not been seen
in the city, nor could any trace of her
be discovered in other sections of the
country through correspondence with
the police authorities of distant cities.
They had, thus, woman lost and a
body found. and the case was consi-
dered to be in g most promising condi-
tion.
The next step was to establish the
identity by the testimony of those who
had known the missing woman most in
timately. The detectives, therefore, in
stituted search, which was finally sue
cessful, for Charles Richard, her putative
husband. He had not lived with her for
some time, and had not even seen or
heard OF her for months, but his recol-
lection was perfect, and he gave very
minute statement of her distinguished
marks. He remembered that she had
persisted in wearing pair of very heavy
ear rings, until their weight had slit one
of her ears entirely, and the other nearly
SO, and that, as consequence, both ears
had been pierced second time, and un-
usually high up. He regretted that her
splendid array of teeth had been marred
by the loss of one upon the left side of
the mouth, and told how wound had
been received, whose cicatrice appeared
.roo ooo - ho, 1;,ol,o okot;,o ayook1r