The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-04-17

Oliver pike. The nsn who disappeared
from Seattle July 3. isg, ard whose bocy
has been supposed 20 be resting 10 the
cemetery az Fayefte. O.. has bobbcd up
very much alive. at Rediands. Cal. and Is
uox frylng % convince friends and rela-
tives tast his supposed murder was al 8
mistake.
just q year ago the story Of the corpse
found At Chicago ia an unclaimed eN-
press package. was going the rounds OF
Gle press and the details are again re-
vlvee IL the dispatch OF yesterday.
pixies residence In Seattle was very
Brief After reslgning his position In the
StelIac0on insane asylum ne came 20 tnis
city and engaged room and board with
Er and Ars- o. IL zones. who lived or
Yesler way. That was about july !. lsss-
On the afternoon OF the third he left the
Jones residence and went down town 70
meet. as he said. some friends from Port
Bgakeley. From that moment be dropped
from sight.
When. In March, 1896. the body - tho
express boz was Identified Is that Of Pike.
an attempt ssas ses1e 10 connect the mar-
der with previous scandals in the insane
asylum. A Post IntelIig encer reporter in-
terViewed Mr.. ard Mr.. Jones at the time
and they proved that the events could
have no possible connection. Neither o.
them believed the body 10 De Pixies, but
could give no reason for his cisappeaFanee.
The renarkabie feature OF the new
:has. OF the case Is that the vide p8biici-
Is given his supposed murder and burial
ELECTED no denial from Pike. His letter
TO the Fayette Record. given In the dis
patch. furnishes no information ot ;h>
cause Of his disappearance. IL IL strange
that he should permit another TO be bu-
rled and Faourned BY hts mother and rcia-
tives and his silence must have been ac-
taatea by grave reasons. The mystery
Is not yet entirely solved. Following Is
rne dispatch:
CHICAGO April n.--Oliyer Pike. the
supposed victim Of the Rat Lake Utah,
trunk mystery, has turned up. lie has
written to bis mother and friends al Fay
cite, o. where his body Was supposed 10
be reposlng In "A grave In the Fayette
cemetery. To the Fayeite Record he has
written letter in which he says:
II wish TO inform my friends through
your paper that | am living, notwith-
standing contrary reports. When ! wrote
home a short time since / found some
trouble I'm proving that ! was myself for
a strange combination OF CIRCUMSTANCES
seemed TO prove that 1 was dead.
II lived In Fresno. Cal, two years; In
Hanf0Fd two years, and the past year
IN Los Angeles and Kedlands- Since leav-
Ing Puget sound have lived under an as
Eumed name. and any one wishing TO in
qulre win learn nothing dlscreditable by
writing TO the places | have mentioned
and asking for Harry Price. by which
name am known.
sOf the cause which led me to take the
course l did, | will say nothing, for | do
not think | could Do IL satisfactorily. |
am a laundryman By occupation. which
business ! have followed for nearly i've
OLIVER PIKE"
The letters 10 the Ohio newspapers and
thentic and they no longer doubt his iden-
tlty As explained In Pixies letter. he had
some difficulty I'm establishing the fact OF
his existence to his relatives. as they had
identified his body. they thought. beyond
the shadow of doubt. Pixies appearance
opens up the entire case again and makes
IL a greater mystery than ever.
March q. 1895. Philip Cries and Charles
Haas OF Austin. purchased large box
az auction from auctioneers who were
selling a large quantity of unclaimed
freight for the Chicago q Northwestern
railway. Two days after the box was
opened az Austin and found TO contain a
inediHm-sized green trunk. bound with
iron strips The space between the trunk
and the sides of the box was packed with
sawdust Several layers Of white oiicloth
were wrapped around the trunk. Within
the trunk was a zinc box. the cover
n oilcioth. Within the inner box WAS
found the decomposed body of a man. II
Ind beer hound with light rope. so as
60 az conpactiy In the bow and some
chemicals had been placed around Il TO dc
siroy the flesh.
The box was shipped from Salt Lake.
Utah on the morning Of February 9, 1909.
- wns left AT the freight Office Of the
Union Pacific. az that place. the day be-
- IL.
Horssn and was billed 70 O. " Morgan
20. is8 Jefferson street, Chicago Tho
freight was prepaid and tho shipper took
n train ostensibly for this city the same
cay. II was shipped as household goods
sud weighed so pounds Tho box ar
rived In caesgo February Is. and re-
isalned in the Chicago & Northwestern
Z. eight depot untE July *. ls93. n was
rncsaimed. and notices sent 10 the ad-
stess on the box s!citcd no reply on
that date IL was seiivered 20 The wa-c-
house belonging to the auotioneers where
= remained fer nearly three years.
February . II was decided 90 sell he
haN az aust.on TO get hack the storage
charges \ notice was then sent to the
eors'gne- az Salt Lake tat he would DO
given untll February = to pay the charre~
ana redeem a. No reply Aeinr rccei, q.
the box was cold and the discovery OF tho
lsoay followed
Tho address at ief South Jefferson stree.
T. tho home ~ Mrs, Frederick 4 Mueller
She knew nothing ~ the man MORGAN
svno shfeped the aox -Ncept that IN OK
prcsssrnn called q few weeks before the
box was sold and asked for O NJ MORAN
An examination ~ tho taav disclosed
the fact tsot the skuii haa hecn fractured
- two places, plainly Indicating n murder
The blows were supposed 10 have been
struck with a hatchet
Two ciew- were followed by the polI>e
1Ienry Devere and Ras Marcel two
Tsonchmen living here to1t n story 81
che disappearance cf a friend ~ theirs
named 1oaro= Prosper Charal. at SAT-
lake during February % fSgs No trace
% hirs has ever bcen found. Charsi IVES
q native % Lyons France AMI was v.i,
60 60. The two men iaeutifes1 the body an
fessE that - their friend and etron-Iv
n maintained that everything pointed 10 tns
csrcctneSs ~ their suspicious that ne naa
been murdered Tor hiss Jewels. Of Nhtch no
sfeavs we're = collection Of great value
The second theory VAS hat TIE BODY
VS. that ~ Oliver Pike and that De haa
been murdered in Seattle HIS relatives
identified the body and had q takes %
Taycttr for burial he disappeared rs,srs
Seattle July S. tN9 and was never BEARD
rem untl @ few DAYS $50. when hc wrote
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