The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-05

A second tragedy was enacted in
Ogden Saturday night. About day
light the body of a man was found
lying in the water of the Twenty
eighth street canal, down by the
bridge, near the Union Pacific track
The man was first observed by the
night crew of the Union Pacific switch
engine. Coroner Hall had the body
rel owed to the morgue at G. W. Lar
kin's place.
When found the body was lying
partly in the water, which was quite
shallow. The hair was full of mud
and was completely filled with dog
burrs. which had matted into the very
long locks.
on the left arm were tattoed the
letters "E. ]. F.
He was later recognized as Ed
ward j. Farnes, an old gentlemen,
who had been staying with family
named White for a few days.
At the White home a Herald re-
porter learned that his home
had been in Logan; that he
had a brother or son in
Bountiful. The old gentleman had re-
Gently been working on the steel gang
Of the Union Pacific near Wasatch.
He came to town Wednesday, having
been out for about six weeks. After
cashing his checks he knocked about
town a good deal, went to the the
alter Thursday, and did not come back
to the White home that night. On
Friday he drank considerable.
On Saturday he expressed his inten-
ton of going to conference AS ne
missed the evening train he said he
would take the one early Sunday morn
ing. That was the last time he was
seen alive by any of the White fam
lily
There are two theories of how he
met his death. One makes it the re-
suit of an accident, the other that of
foul play.
WAS 1T ACCIDENTAL?
Did he fall from the bridge while in
a semi-intoxicated state and stun
himself SO that he afterward drowned?
Against this view was urged that there
was too great a wound in his head
for that. This wound was a fearful
one-a great Jagged hole on the left
side Of the head. 1t was nearly two
inches long and clear through to the
brain. 1t appeared to have been made
by sharp instrument
AS before stated, his hair was mat
ted with dog burrs. In the place
where he was lying there were no
burrs. His hat was found down the
stream rod or two. There were no
burrs in it; neither was there in it a
hole corresponding to the one in the
mans head-nor any hole at ALL The
bridge by which he was found was
about six feet high. Tt was less than
a block from the White home.
Undertaken George W. Larkin very
kindly visited the scene with a Herald
man and pointed out the position of
the body. The head was slightly down
hill. There was no blood on the
ground about there. However, there
is blood on the shirt front: but the
body was lying with the head down
f'll ~ - wound or bruise was
the one which
LET LIFE OUT
at the crown of the head.
All questions could be solved by the
theory that the man had been foully
dealt with elsewhere, in spot say
where burrs were thick, and had been
put in the position in which the body
was found to divert suspicion by i'm
plying that the death wound was from
a train or from a fall from the bridge.
But why should anyone deal foully
with a peaceable old gentleman
peaceable even when drinking heavily?
If robbery was the motive, he was not
robbed. In the pocket of his new
clothes were found s12.55 and a flask
filled with whisky The flask bore the
label of THE Senate" of which W. A.
Scudder is the proprietor.
A reporter also called at Mr.. Scud-
der's place. Both he and the night
bartender remembered a man answer
IL of a ho6
been about their place for a day or
two He kept much by himself and
drank for the most part alone. Mr..
Scudder remembered selling such a
man flask of whisky Saturday even
ing about o'clock. Mr.. Scudder Wis
tied the morgue and positively identi
fed the dead man as the one he sold
the liquor to.
Mr.. Scudder also remembered that
just before Farnes bought the liquor
preparatory to starting home, a
into conversation with the old
mar. This stranger was rather
tall, wore a brown duck coat
and a white derby hat, consider
ably soiled In spite of the old gen
tleman's evident dislike of sociability.
the man grew very familiar, treated
three times and was finally treated
once.
One young gentleman who called at
the morgue yesterday said he had
seen Farnes about 10 o'clock Saturday
night on the way up to the White
home. However, he was not so posi-
lively certain about the man or the
time as was Mr. Scudder.
SUCH ARE THE FACTS
of the case so far as learned yesterday.
Coroner Hall and a jury will investi-
gate further today.
a message was sent from The Herald
bureau to Logan to Mr.. Farnes, who
is a tinsmith in that city, and who was
thought to be a brother of the dead
man. 1t turned out that the two were
not brothers but cousins, yet the Lo-
gan Farnes knew about the dead man
and he appraised the relatives of his
death. It seems the old gentleman had
been parted from his wife for number
of years. He was considerably addicted
to drink at times but was always peace
able. SO far as known, there were no
enmities which might be the cause OF
death by four play.
1t is a mysterious case. All the cir
cumstances indicative of foul play seem
to be present except the motive. # it
was foul play, and the motive robbery,
then the thug must have been frighten-
ed away before he completed the work.
AT any rate, there are hundreds of Og
den citizens who will refuse to believe
that the big gaping cleft in the skull
was caused by fail from a bridge to
the bed of a muddy, shallow stream.