The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-09-22
MANY DAYS DEAD.
Body of Lester Middaugh, a
Volunteer, is Sent Home.

body so badly decomposed that I'm
dertakers DeMoss & PenweII feared to
open the rough hewn army casket be-
fore buried today, was that of Lester
Middaugh, a soldier of the goth United
States infantry, company E. The moth
er of Lester Middaugh, now expresses
serious doubts as to the body being that
of her son. The mother of Afiddaugh
is married to her second husband, Mr.
Small and lives near Shorey postoffice.
Lester Middaugh enlisted with the
goth infantry last spring in Topeka and
was sent to st. Louis for service and
was through the fight at Santiago.
For long period Mrs. Niddaugh has
failed to hear from her son. About two
weeks ago one of the soldiers who had
just returned from St. Louis told Mrs.
Small that he had seen her son Lester
in St. Louis before leaving there and
that he was well and hearty. The man
who told Mrs. Small this was acquaint-
ed with her son from childhood up and
this statement comforted her greatly.
Just after this another returned SOL
der from Montauk Point, N. Y, to
Topeka sent word to the family that
Lester was at Montauk Point in the
hospital where he had just passed
through an attack of typhoid fever
the road to recovery and would be out
in a few days. Naturally enough this
greatly puzzled Middaugh's Relatives
as they had not heard from him for
weeks and really were ignorant of his
whereabouts. Three days ago Mrs.
Small received the following telegram:
Camp WikOff Montauk Point N Y
September Is.
Body of Lester Middaugh leaves here
today by express. s. B. HORTON,
Undertake
A telegram of inquiry to the under
takers brought out the fact that the
body enclosed died ten days ago of
typhoid fever and was that of a soldier
supposed to be Lester Middaugh.
Today by express the body reached
Topeka. 1t was enclosed in a rough
army box with a wooden lid minus
glass case usually in collins for the
purpose of viewing the dead.
The remains were in an awful state of
decomposition and the odOr from the
casket made it almost impossible to
handle the body.
DeMoss & Penwell took charge of the
casket and prepared the rough box for
burial.
Mrs. Small was frantic to see the
body and declared that the corpse
should not be buried unless she could
be given a sight of the remains Her
sorrow was pitiful in the extreme. Be
tween sObs she kept exclaiming How
do I know it is my poor boy; how do
I know
She insisted that the man VINO Salo ne
saw her son alive and well in st. Louis
was an old friend of the family and
was so we'll acquainted with Lester
that he could not possibly have been
mistaken.
The undertakers remained firm, how
ever, knowing that the body must have
been in such a state of putrefaction that
it would have been impossible to have
recognized the remains Besides 1t was
feared that the germs of the awful dis
ease might have been disseminated in
the little crowd of mOurners had the
request been complied with.
Why the body was not better prepar-
ed for burial at Montauk Point and why
the shipment of the remains was so
long delayed and whether the remains
are those of young Middaugh will be
settled some day perhaps. But just
now the grieving relatives have these
three questions to solve.