The Portland daily press., 1890-01-22
THE BRIDGE MYSTERY.
The Hair and Blood Stains Still I'm
accounted For.
Matte Dyke Apparently Eliminated
from the Case by Letter.

dences to be seen at the bridge. The plain
est marks of blood are not to be found on the
bridge, where they would be If horse had
been bled, but down on the draw pier and
under the draw. This blood under the draw
could not have come from the bridge above,
because the flooring of the bridge is caulBed
like the deck of ship. Neither could the
blood have been carried down by man
washing his hands; for the stain under the
draw is the dark stain of blood that has
soaked into the plank. The horse theory,
moreover, does not account for the lock of
hair which was found caught in the crack
between the rail and post at the little gate
way from the draw down onto the pier nor
for the animal matter found with the blood,
and supposed to be brains by the advocates
OF the murder theory. There seems to be
equal difficulty in applying the other theory
that some men came to the draw Thursday
night for fight, unless it be supposed that
one of them was terribly beaten. From such
fight there would have been likely to have
been some noise or cutlery; but the people at
the Marine Hospital heard nothing, though
they not long ago heard the cries of a sailor
who fell off this place, and rescued him. It
seems to be improbable also that an animal
was killed on the bridge or brought there
dead, though this may not be wholly impos-
sible. But the lock of hair caught in the
crack where the railing is nailed onto the
post resembles much more the hair of a
human being than the hair of horse or any
other OF the common animals that would be
likely to be disposed Of in such way. The
hair Is brown and silky and very near black.
The manner in which the lock was caught In
the crevice suggests at once that it was
caught and tern from the dishevelled tresses
OF woman who was being pushed through
the opening to the pier below. This is the
firm belief of Mr.. Houston, who tends the
draw. There was, he saws p
blood on the me-
disco- ,r;day
IL caught on the
"a the pier and under the
.-ser pool of blood and another
-nce, which he thinks was brains, and
..ulch the inferno at the Marine Hospital
says might have been brains, though he
could not be positive that 1t was. The draw
tender is convinced that some one, probably
woman, was struck on the bridge, thrust
through the opening, and from the pier
thrown into the water. The piece of "a but
ton found down on the pier came, he thinks,
from the coat or cloak of either the victim or
the murderer This must be a matter of
opinion, however, since the button might
have been there previous to Thursday. OF
the draw-tender's theory it must be said that
1t comes nearest to satisfying the conditions
both OF the original discovery and of all SUBJ
sequent discoveries, which are very meagre
indeed. For murder where the victim
could be disposed Of with little chance CT de-
lection for long time at least this
bridge affords a remarkable chance. The
current on falling tide runs rapidly out to
the harbor, and body thrown in there at
this season of the year would be very likely
to disappear forever
When the news of this mystery was first
published, there was another mystery which
mad not been solved. 1t will be remembered
that the day before Christmas Matte Dyke,
student of the Gorham Normal School, left
that town. The term closed on that day and
Gorham people who knew Miss Dyke sup
posed that she had gone home, while her
parents thought she was in Gorham. When
the next term of the school began, Matte
Dyke did not appear and then her parents
and friends became alarmed 1t was thought
that the missing girl might be in Portland
and the police OF this city searched for her
but did not succeed in finding her. 1t was
natural, therefore, that there should have
been conjecture in the minds of some per-
sons as to whether it was possible that
Matte Dyke could have been the victim of
Il tho 2nnnncQ6 an harh rtd
TACT that some Of the hair found under the
draw resembled in color that of Matte
Dyke, gave some foundation to the SUPPOSE
tion connecting her with the Martins Point
affair." But Miss Dykes brother, who is en-
ployed as a conductor by the Portland Horse
Railroad Company, yesterday declared that
the hair was not the color of his sisters
When Matte Dyke left Gorham she came
to Portland and applied at the intelligence
office of Mrs. Palmer on Federal street for
situation. Mrs. Palmer says that she I'M
derstood the young woman to say that her
name was Dyer. Matte told Mrs. Palmer
that she had never done homework and Mrs.
Palmer told her that she could find her
place to do table or chamber work In San
ford. The young woman had no money but
whom she could stay. One night she spent
with another girl who was also waiting
for situation. To-this girl Matte said she
was tired of life. Then she did not come to
the Office of Mrs. Palmer for several days
and so lost the opportunity of going to San
ford. Afterwards she called on Mrs. Palmer
several times and then Mrs. Palmer lost
sight of her.
Later. however, woman who had been
employed at the restaurant of Mr.. Andrew
Cross, on Middle street, told Mrs. Palmer
that she had seen Matte Dyke in the restau-
rant Mr.. Cross also saw young woman
whom he thought answered the description
of Miss Dyke and so notified the police, who
Investigated and satisfied themselves that
the young woman whom Mr.. Cross had seen
was not the girl missing from Gorhsm.
Yesterday Mrs. Palmer received call
from Mr.. and Mrs. Dyke, who have been in
the city looking for their daughter. Mrs.
Dyke had just received a letter from her
daughter. The letter had been mailed in
Portland and sent to the home of the DYKES
In Raymond, and from there remailed to
Portland. Mrs. Palmer understood that
this letter was written this week. OF course
II Matte Dyke wrote letter this week she
is not the person who was thrown from the
bridge. In the letter the writer said that
she was all right and was working in res
taurant but that she would not tell where
the restaurant was.
The above, In brief, is the story told by
Mrs. Palmer. Miss Dykes brother said last
night that he had not seen the letter received
by his mother but had been told about it
and its contents. He says the letter was
postmarked Portland, but he understood