The Portland daily press., 1896-05-19
WAS IT ARCHIBALD?
COrpse of Man Found in Back Cove
Yesterday.

cite Tobaoeo-Flosh Eaten Clean from
skull by Fishes.
Yesterday noon, near the marginal
way at the foot of Franklin street, some
trainmen saw the body of man floatin G
in the waters of Back Cove, at q point
between the two sideways. They i'm
mediatoly telephoneG for Rich's ambul-
ance. The body was shat of apparently
a young man. He was dressed in dark
REFER with striped plaid lining. coat,
vest and trousers of dark blue, dag
onal striped material, laced flannel
.irt, silk undershirt and laced shoes.
The articles of clothing were in good Or
der and Of good material. The shoes
were but little worn. Several teeth were
missing, but they might have been
knocked ont by contact with the bottom
of the sea. In one of the pockets OF the
coat were found box OF tine-cut tobacco
and Ii package of cigarette papers, show
ing that the man was in the habit OF
making his own cigarettes as he smoked
them. Nothing was found in the pockets
which would seem to Indicate that the
body had been robbed.
1t was five feet, six inches in length
and in its normal condition won1d have
weighed $50 or 100 pounds. The flesh
was entirely eaten from tho bead by fishes
so that only the hare skull was left. The
flesh was also eaten from the bands.
The flesh of the body WAS in fairly firm
condition, although SO much decomposed
as to be very offensive.
OF course there was no means of identi-
fication Undertaken Rich thought that
the body had been in the water for
several months It is hardly probable
that the man was drowned in Back Cove
and that the body has been there all this
time for it could hardly have failed Of
discovery. Undoubtedly the body foated
in with the tide from the harbor.
The body WAS taken to the Forest City
morgue where it will remain two days for
purposes of Identification. Coroner Rich
said that there will be no Inquest, as there
is no means as yet of investigation. If,
during the two days, any person appears
and recognizes the clothes, that might of
course put different aspect on the case.
The only missing man in this vicinity,
SO far as known, that could by any posi-
bility be identified in this fearful corpse
is the missing man John Archibald of
Cape Elizabeth. who as employed on the
Boston & Maine tracks and who, last
October, disappeared. Hewas last seen on
the B. &. M. railroad bridge and after
his disappearance, his dinner pail was
found OIL the bridge. Being drinking
man it was thought that he had fallen
into the harbor and been carried out by
She tide.
1t was considered yesterday that it was
not at all improbable that the corpse
found yesterday was that of John Arch
ibald. The sprobable age of the man
was about right.
A PRESS reporter interviewed the
younger brother of Archibald, who is
employed in the Grand Trunk yard, ID
said that he thought it was his bTotl o.
E He knew that he owned a REFER, Tut
be couldn't be sure abo 1t the clothing.
He remembered that his brother smoked
3. L. tobacco in q pipe 1t would not be
at all impossible for the body to float
around the city from the B. & M. bridge
to Back Cove. Those who know say that
it'could be carried down the harbor by
the tide anu catch in an eddy and per-
haps remain there for days and weeks
and then be carried uD the inner harbor
by the incoming tide and SO finally be
swept into Back Cove.
The brother of Archibald said that his
lost brother was six foot feet tall. Since
tie corpse was but five feet six inches, it
Doesn't seem probable that they could be
one and the same. However the family
will look at the corpse today so as to
make sure.
Others thought from the popularity OF
the dress of the corpse that it might have
been that of mate of some vessel,
washed overheard outside in the ocean
aud finally by the strange process of the
waves and the currents carried into
Back Cove.
A mate Of a vessel, SO say those who
know, would ba more likely TO wear silk
underwear and Feefer than would a
section hand of u railroad yard, such as
Archibald was.
1t would indeed be interesting to trace
the history OF this CHASTITY spectacle of
the sea and its journey through the
waters
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