The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-04-01
IT IS WELL CLAIMED
The Body in the Mysterious Box Is
PrOfuSe.y Identified.
MAYBE IT'S JOANES CHAZAL
Then Again Friends Assert That II
Is the Remains of oliver Pike.
and the Coroner's Jury Agrees
With the Orleans.

Chicago, March 31-The mysterious
body in the box has been positively
identified as that of Prosper Chazal,
the identification being made possible
by a phenomenon so rare in medical
annals that its occurrence under the
present circumstances is looked upon
by physicians as almost a miracle. The
phenomenon referred to is the forma-
ton of adipocre, a corpse wax which,
in this instance. has formed in large
quantities and has partially preserved
the body to such an extent that, what
under ordinary circumstances would
have been a formless mass of decay.
can be recognized by well-known
marks as the body OF Joanes Prosper
Chazal. murdered in Salt Lake three
years ago, II is claimed, by a man
known to the French population of that
city as Jules L'Assassin.
The formation of corpse wax is rare
under any circumstances, and science
affords little or no explanation of its
cause. In the case of the body in the
trunk, natures forces have operated
under conditions which seemed to make
its occurrence impossible. The body
was enclosed in a zinc box, placed in
trunk and the trunk In turn packed
in a drg goods case. being completely
surrounded by sawdust, which must
have absorbed any moisture which
came near IL. The case with its con-
tents after arriving in Chicago was de-
posted in a dry and airy warehouse,
where 1t has remained undisturbed for
three years.
Nevertheless there is. no longer any
room for much doubt as to the manner
in which Ohazal met his death. Henry
Devere and Bas Mariol, two of his Salt
Lake friends, now in this city. told this
afternoon what they believe is the
whole story. According to them Cha
zal was the victim of a cold-blooded.
deliberate plot to rob and murder him.
He was decoyed and murdered by
Jules L'Assassin and his mistress.
jules was Frenchman and had earn
ed his title before he came to America.
He and his paramour disappeared
shortly after Chazars disappearance,
and the last heard of them they were
in Caracas, Venezeula~ Chazal disap-
peared in February, 1898. He left the
house to go to the safety deposit vault
and get his diamonds. These were
quite valuable and he remarked as he
went out that he had Unexpectedly
learned of a purchaser who would ray
him a good price for the gems. He
never returned. A friend of Mariol
was sent a few days ago to Salt Lake.
andNthe safety deposit vault where the
diamonds were known to have been
kept was opened. The jewels were
gone but there remained a Louis Dor
souvenir piece, which had been pre-
sented to Chazal by Mariol. Apparently
the Frenchman had gone TO the vault
and secured his diamonds. He went to
the address of his prospective purchas-
er He fell into the trap which had
been carefully laid and was added 10
the victims Of Jules L'Assassin.
When the fatal trunk was once dis
patched, the murderer and his mistress
Lot 4 A
try. NO trace OF them was found, ex-
cept the far-away report from Caracas,
Venezuela Gradually the details and
circumstantial evidence has been piec-
ing out the story. The last step in
completing the chain was taken yes
terday, when a cablegram was sent to
the mother OF Joanes Chazal in Paris,
inquiring on which side of the body
the hernia for which the truss was
worn was located. This information is
In the hands of the physicians here and
all that is needed is the corroboration
of the mother
BY the wonderful preservation of the
muscular integuments. made possible
by the formation of the adipocere, the
location of the rupture has been deter
mined with an exactness extending to
the smallest anatomical detail, not
withstanding the body had lain dead
for three years. In addition there are
the small, regular, perfect teeth. the
unusually long legs. the long arms, the
noticeably large hands and feet, and
over the whole body the symmetrical
muscular development of Chazal,
whom his friends now here had first
known In France and later I'm Salt Lake
city.
Now the police are asking themselves
II the second box addressed to c.. NJ
Morgan at 166 Jefferson court also con-
tained the body of a murdered man.
and II the assassin returned from Cara
cas- to add another to his list of vic
Tins.