The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-11-08
q
OGDEN DEPT.
hERHLp sRaNcH OFFICE.
513 UTAH LOAN g. TRUST BUILDING.
Ogden, November Z.
A MYSTERIOUS DEATH.


ing duly irnpanelled and sworn by Jo-
Utah, to inquire into the cause of the
death Of James NJ. Hubbell. whose
dead body was found lying on the
railroad track near the Union freight
house in Ogden City, Utah, this date,
after carefully and thoroughly exam
lining witnesses on the subject, the
said jurors, on their oath, do say that
said James NJ. Hubbell came to his
death by being run over by railroad
freight cars near the Union freight
house in Ogden City, Utah, on the night
of. November 6, 1895, but how the body
Of the deceased came to be placed on
the said rails the jury know not. The
jury further say that no blame or re-
sponsibility for the death of said de-
ceased attaches to the Union Pacific
Railroad company or its employees.
In witness whereof, we hereunto set
our hands the day and date above writ
ten. VIM. MOVES,
CHARLES WEIGH.
JOHN j. COLLETT,
Attest: JOSEPH HALL, Coroner.
The above are the conclusions ar
rived at by the coroner's jury yester-
day in a case that seems to have a good
deal of mystery about it. 1t appears
that yesterday morning at 1885, c. H.
Packer, messenger boy in the Union
Pacific freight office, in coming to work
saw mangled body on track No. J.,
about thirty feet north from the south
end of the freight depot. The boy
soon recognized the body as that of
James NJ. Hubbell, clerk in the Union
Pacific office. He promptly reported to
the Office up stairs and the fellow clerks
came down and removed the body. The
coroner was summoned and the re-
mains were taken to Richey'S under
taking parlors, where later in the day
the inquest was held. The verdict It
self does not pretend to account 1or
many things, and in view of the mys-
terry surrounding the case Herald
reporter went out to collect all pos
sible information about the case.
1t was learned that the deceased had
been missing since Tuesday night. AT
the Union Pacific freil>~lt office 1t was
learned that the man was employed at
day work, but came back Tuesday
night to do some extra work. certain
of the freight handlers about the place,
among them being e H DoXey and
another man named Price, saw Hup,
bell Tuesday night near the south END
of the freight building on the plat
form, not far from where the body
was found. He complained of being
sick. One of them suggested that ne
get a little liquor and see II 1t Woulo
not straighten' him UP. He said ne
wished he had some. but did not have
time to go for Il. This fact is men
toned merely as corroboratlve Oh the
statement that the man was not under
the influence of liquor Later In the
oh Price
Hubbell again near the same place.
Hubbell did not return home that night
and did not appear for work that day.
His absence caused much alarm 10 MS
wife and search for him on Wednes-
day was prosecuted. Nothing could be
heard of him, though one man was
quite sure that he saw him at the pas
senger depot on Tuesday night at
about - o'clock. The Herald reporter
learned that all day Tuesday some
cars stood on the track over the place
where the body was found. These cars
were Switched there after Hubbell was
seen near the southwest corner OF the
freight she'd One very suspicious cir
cumstance is that little or no blood
was found about the body though the
latter had been cut in two and dragged
about thirty feet along the track. Fur,
thermore. a stiff hat which the deceased
I :
was not in the least soiled. If he mao
j had the hat on when the car wheels
passed over him, would not the hat
| have fallen off at once or at least beer
! soiled in common with every otnel
| shred of clothing? And besides all day
Wednesday, a force of about twenty
men were at work loading and unload
| ing cars around the Se)ot where the
body was found. 1t is true that boz
| ~ lncrP6l
/ BILE that the body could have lain there
/ all dav until yesterday morning With
ont being observed. These box cars
were removed Wednesday night by the
switch engine, 1909, run by Engineer
William H. Jones. Other cars were pu
there between AID 9 o'clock some
persons frankly avow that they tnlnt
the body was put there after Hunpel
was dead and they think 1t was pu
there Wednesday night. Where the MAJ
was all day Tuesday is a problem they
csnnot answer. 1t is mentioned merely
as an incident and not as in any way
aiding to solve the problem that the
only strong hatreds the man had en-
gendered so far as known were some
| from the A. R. U. members. He has
held his position with the Union Pa
! cific company for four years-a perloc
it will be observed which covers the
great strike crisis. The suicide theory
was preached by some but there
seemed to be little or no motive fol
such a deed. He had a plea
home and one child. His wife is 6
daughter of Philip Rank, and is al
most distracted with grief
One gentleman was almost certain
so he stated to The Herald man-tha-
| he saw Hubbell in the st. Louis bee
! hall at about 1890 Thursday morning
| The deceased was a mason in goot
! standing. belonging in Potsdam, N. Y
I He is also recognized as an Odd Eel
low, but to what lodge was not learn
! ed yesterday. Further development
of the case are looked for.
u SOME REASONS.