Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-23
MYSTERY CLEARED Up:
Death of Peter Fletcher Due to Ac-
cident.

| The body of a colored man. subsequently
| identified as that OF Peter Fletcher was
! fished from the canal Saturday morning in
| what is known as log water level "A short
| distance above the Anglers club house. and
| about mile below Great Falls. The body
| was in badly deCOmposed state, and had
evidently been in the water for some time.
! The identity was made later by some young
| cOlOred men, who recognized the person not
| from the features, but from the clothing Of
: the corpse.
| The sensational story that the hands and
! feet of the drowned man were tied grows
| out of the fact that the man who discover
ed the body tied it to the bank to detain it
while he was hunting the county officers.
| 1t is supposed that in order to keep it from
washing to and fro he tied the legs. When
! the body examined by DR.. Pratt there
| We're no marks of violence that could be
| detected.
Fletcher was regarded as very steady
| man. He was about twenty-three years Of
| age, and resided most OF his life around
| that section of the county. Lately he had
been working at the Lydecker tunnel in
Georgetown, and was the support of his
mother. The latter asked that an inquest
be held to definitely determine whether or
not her son met with an accidental death.
The body was first discovered by a col
Ored man named Fisher who works on one
of the repair scowS OF the canal company.
He caught the floating body, tied il to the
shore and then notified the county officers.
The remains were examined by DIT. W. I.
Pratt and Justice of the Peace Davidson Of
Potomac, Md, who decided that an inquest
was not necessary. The examination was
made by DR.. Pratt Saturday about noon,
and only d short time after the body had
been discovered
Since the decision of Squire Davidson not
to hold an inquest was made known the
mother of the drowned man visited Rock
NliIe and filed COMPLAINT This
complaint d number or sensational rumOrS
have grown. 1t was reported that the body
was found with The feet and hands tied,
Whlcn, II true, would have been a sure in
dlcauon of foul play. II Was also rumored
that there We're two bullet holes in the
head of the drowned man, but tins has been
uelied.
The case was investigated by Deputy
Sheriff William Embrey, and the evidence
that ne has secured leads 10 the belief that
Death was accidental, and acting on this II
hardly likely that the county officials
will take any further steps in the matter.
The last time Fletcher was seen alive was
Sunday night, May IA He was with Il
number OF Their young c0lOred men,
who Were at The Great Falls, and all
had been drinking. His companions lived
around the LOCALITY, Fletcher living at
CrOpleys brick yards, and he started on the
way home with some of the crowd. lie
dropped behind, and when called he yelled
for them to keep on, that he would catch
up to them. They did not see INN again,
had gone to Washington to work, and
thought nothing more of the matter. When
the body of the drowned man was found
they Identified il tletcher's from the
fact that ii had on the same new suit he
Wore when last seen, for which he had paid
ST.. Some money and d watch Were also
found in the clothing.
Fletcher was seen after he parted with
the young men mentioned by Charles Ber-
dine, white man, who uves near the
Anglers club house. He was then walking
down on the north side of the canal, below
the last lock, between the falls and log
water level. 1t was evident that he had
been drinking, Deputy Embrey stated to
Star reporter, and il is supposed that
While waking along the road which follows
the canal he lost his balance and slid down
the incline into the water and was drowned
the body remaining in the water until il
tioated through the operation of the gases
he place where Fletcher is supposed to
have slipped into the water is on a road cut
in the side OF hill, which is used by cy-
cilSts when going to the Virginia side of the
Great Falls. This road is bad enough in
daytime, and dangerous on dark night to
one acquainted with the lay of the land