Daily Republican., 1881-07-21
FOUL PLAY FEARED.
NOW DID WIN. WISE CONE TO
HIS DEATH?
A Suspicious Case of Alleged
Drowning, now nearly
Month Old, which needs
Investigalion.

An item appeared in these columns
on last Saturday about the supposed
Il. wning Of a sailor named Wise from
the lIshing schooner Sarah Franci.
while lying at the wharf of the kenne
be, Ice Company. 1t was supposed Al
that time that the man had been drown
ed on the 18th instant. This now appears
| to have been a mistake, due to the fac,
that the men on the Sarah Francis wert
disposed to give but few circumstances
, of the loss of the man. Their reticenct
has ocCasiOnet suspicion and led the
Coroner to look into the case more fully
yesterday, when several Of the relatives
of Wise were in this city.
1t now appears that Wise was not
drowned on July Eth, at all, bat near
ly two weeks earlier. He was not miss.
ed by his friends until about the 18th =,
and they, not knowing any fact relative
to the case, supposed that he had been
lost about that time.
The Sarah Francis is fishing smack
trading between points on the Delaware
and Philadelphia. She often comes
into the wharf OF the kenI"bec Ice Com
pany to get ice. She was last Lere on
July lst, and at that time was on her
way down the bay.
Wise, his first name is William, and
he resides at No. 1882 South Fourth
street, Philadelphia, was employed on
the vessel. On July 3rd a body was
picked up in the Delaware near New
Castle. 1t was floating opposite the
gas house. The coroner was notified,
and fin company with undertaken
Palmer went to the place and held an
inquest. Decomposition had just set in.
There was nothing on the body by
which it could be recognized, and the
verdict was found floating on the
Delaware died from unknown causes. "
The body was Inferred in Potter's
Field.
The Coroner particularly noticed at
the time that the corpse had crucitix
worked in india ink on one arm and the
initials "W. w" on the other; that it
was dressed in blue pantaluoAs, and
only had one shoe on. Now comes in.
formation tending to establish the iden-
tity Of the drowned man as that of Will
liam Wise. His relations who were
here yesterday said that he might have
been lost at aS early day as July 1St,
that he had Il crucitiX and the initials,
mentioned above, on his arm, and that
he only had one shoe on when he last
left home to 90 aboard the Sarah
Francis. When these people we're here
before making inquiries Tor the man,
they did not mention these facts, by
which the identity has at last been cs-
tablished.
The Sarah Francis came into port
Yesterday Tor ice, and as the fact that
her crew had not reported the loss Of
Wise sooner was very suspicious, there
was at once talk Of having her detained.
Coroner Weldin and Chief OF Police
Maxwell boarded the boat last evening
and questioned the men on board Of her.
They were unable to get any satistac-
lion as to the dead man fate The
captain stated that lie had last seen
Wise at o'clock, on the morning of
July 1st, and that the boat left at 3
O'Clock in the afternoon, and he was not
aboard then, and was not seen again.
The question that now arises is, did
Wise drown IN Wilmington and float
to New Castle, or was he in the Sarah
Francis after all and was Knocked over
board? The case is likely 10 remain in
doubt as the suspicious do not warrant
an arrest.