The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1871-06-29
A Horrible New York Mystery Solved

The New York papers of yesterday
present Il first class sensation. In Octo-
Der, 1864. five different packages, CON
tanning the mutiated remains OF Il human
body. were found floating in the East RiV-
cr and the bay ut different times and in
different places the first having been
found on the 81 of October and the last
on the 18th All these fragments were
wrapped in heavy brown manila paper,
enclosed in cnamelled cloth used in the
construction of furniture and carriages,
the whole having been tied together with
strong cord. technically known As cod
line" These discoveries created a great
deal OF excitement at the time, not only
hcrauar OF the horrible nature OF the muir
der. but also on account Of the story of
the carriage stolen on Mercer street on
the night OF the murder, and of the
certainty in the public mind that the
thieves were the murderers, and the mys
terry which subsequently surrounded the
case. detying the utmost eXertions of the
police to unravel it. The dsmembered
limbs were carefully put together by sur
eeons and were found to correspond i'll
every particular, nothing being wanting.
save the arms, which were never found.
The murdered man had evidently been
healthy and vigorous, and about thirty
five years old. but no clue whatever could
be discovered to his identity. That hor
rible murder had been committed was
certain. first because the body had been
/ cut up by inexperienced hands, thus prov
! ING that the dismemberment was not
/ freak on the part of medical students;
/ and secondly, because two bullet wounds,
| evidently inflicted by Smith d Wesson
| revolver. were found in the skull The
! Police, both of New York and Brooklyn,
/ left no plan untried by which the perpe-
traitor of this terrible crime might be de-
/ tected; but their labors were in VAN.
The head was photographed. and copies
were sent to all police stations through
ont the country.
On the night preceding the finding OF
the first package Patrick Flood,a Brooklyn
/ harknan, drove three soldiers to No. 81
| Mercer St. in New York, and entered
with them to drink. While he was in
| the house two men came up, leaped on
the box of his carriage and drove furious
| " away Several hours later, rs n Sc
we're storm was abating, the carriage
was driven into Il livery stable on Fulton
Avenue near Navy St. in Brooklyn, by
man who was closely wrapped in a
thick grey shawl, under which he wore
u velvet coat, broadcloth pantaloons. pat
ent leather boots, white linen, all new,
and a large diamond pin. The horses
were reeking with perspiration, and had
evidently been driven furiously, one Of
them having been famed. The stranger
left the carriage at the stable and went
away, saying he would return. From
that day he was not seen.
After seven years this horrible mystery
has been apparently solved thus: Accord
INC to a letter recently received by Il friend
of the murdered man, in March last three
men quarrcled at Sydney, in Australia.
A fight cnsued. in which one man was
fatally stabbed. the second shot and
dangerously wounded, and the third ter
ribly beaten The rutfians were arrested,
and the third man in prison made Il con
fession, duplicating himself and his com
panions in many crimes, and among others
in the murder Of one Joseph Smith, de-
serter from the Twentieth Connecticut
regiment in New York, in October, 1864
From his story it appears that he, with
his two companions and Smith, on the
night of the end of October, were cngag-
ed in Il debauch, they having made large
sum of money in "bounty jumping"
| Smltn nau pow Ill MS pOSScSsloIi, anu Ills
villainous companions, resolved to get it
at all hazards, induced him TO leave the
saloon where they were drinking, in
Prince street, where Smith lay down on
bench, and soon fell into drunken sleep.
One of the men then shot him through the
head, after which they cut up the body
with the tools in the place, and tied up
the fragments in the manner described
above. Two of the men then went to
look Tor wagon, leaving, it is supposed,
the third to clear away the traces Of their
crime. Then followed the theft of Floods
carriage, in which the CHASTITY parcels
were driven to a lonely wharf in Williams
burg and then thrown into the river
The murderers Immediately shipped for
Australia, and have since remained it that
country, leading riotous and vicious lives,
until their arrest in March. The photo
graph of the murdered man has been
Shown to the widow Of Joseph Smith, who
is still living at Danbury, Conn, and has
been partly identified by her, although the
features were terribly distorted. Other
persons, however, who knew Smith init
mately, are convinced of his identity with
the murdered man, and that this dark rid
die has at last been solved.