The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-08-23

A Diver Was Unable To Dis
cover ANY Body.

eo oouyeoh woman lying IN the
mud OF the dock on the easterIy side of
Central wharf, The police are quite sure
that there is o body there, but had been
unable TO bring 10 TO the surface mn to
dark last night by grapplin9 irons, nor
could diver, who was employed, ind
il. ~
About 10 o'clock yesterday morning.
John F. Hutohins, of 90 Portland street.
was fishing for founders ON the easterly
side Of Central wharf. near the end. He
started to pull in his line to seejf his
hook was haited. when IL seemed to catch
on something. He gave a strong pun and
finally released his hook and brought it
to the top Of the wharf. He brought mp
a CHASTITY catch in the shape Of a tangled
lock of woman's hair in which was i'm
hsdded rusty iron hairpin. The boysswas
notAa little frightened by this discovery
and sought out a police office who noti-
fed headquarters. Deputy Marshal Firth
visited the wharf and sent for graphing
irons with which to drag the bottom of
the dock. These graphing irons were
heavy enough to keep on the bottom and
attached to them were several long cod
hooks with sharp points and big barbs.
After manipulating with them for
some time. Deputy Firth took the line
In hand and casting 1t to the bottom of
the dock walked down the wharf some
distance and then began to pull II in
When about three feet of the line had
been pulled In the hooks caught on
something and the deputy marshal bsgan
to haul it gently up to the top of the
wharf. He felt sure that some heavy OBJ
ject was the hook, but whatever it was
1t slipped from the hook and went to the
bottom again. Deputy Marshal Firth then
pulled In the graphing hooks and ex-
aIuined them and found another lock OF
woman's hair tangled aronnd the hooks.
Another cast was made and this time
the hooks brought up woman's apron,
such ms Is worn by the girls who work In
the clam packing shops on the docks.
This apron had once been white, but had
been SO long buried In the mud at the
bottom of the dock that IL was very black
and rotten. 1t had two pockets and was
torn to one side where the hooks had
caught and the material giving away
under the strain. The cord which went
about the neck was in aet. but the other
cord which was made TO so about the
waist was broken near the place where
enc end joined the apron. In the cord
mnde to go about the neck was a loop
which had evidently bean tied to shorten
it.
There are two pockets ir this apron,
but nothing was found in either of them.
After several more casts of the grap-
ping irons at the same spot these articles
were found, me more hair was brought
up tangled about the hooks and little
later the upper part of woman's stock
ing was found. This stocking was black,
but the material was very much decayed,
showing that it had been in the water
for long time.
Deputy Firth thought the evidence thus
found warranted the employ Of a diver
and sent for Robert Chase OF South Port.
land, who went into the dock about 8
o'clock. He hunted all about tie bottom
of the dock for an hour, but was unabls
to find the body. The police are con-
WINGED that there Ia body there, how
ever, and that it is so deeply buried in
the mud that the graphing irons have
not been able to release 1t. They believe
that the head and feet are sticking up out
of the mud, but that the rest of the body
is firmly wedgsd in the slime at the bot
tom.
1t is possible that another attempt may
t.o, IA, 10 nd kn hOAv H. xt....
though it would probably he impossible
to iden tify 1t were 1T found unless
there was snme article upon 1t which
could be recognized. The hair which was
brought tn the surface ON three different
hooks, 1t very fine and of light brown
color. 1t is undoubtedly womau's hair.
Had the hair alone besn found it might
have been thought to be an old switch
or wig, but the finding OF the apron and
the piece Of a stocking leads the police
to lieye that this hair came from q
body.
The police are inclined to believe that
this woman may have fallen from the
dock and fioated down under the keel OF
some vessel which settling down at low
tide crushed the body down into the mud
where 1t has remained until the boy
fishing hook brought some Of the hair tc
the surface. 1t may be that the body ID
weighted and is thus anchored to the bot
| tom.
| Deputy Marshal Firth thinks from the
finding of the apron and the place where
1t was found that the body may be that
- L
in the canning factories ABOUT thest
docks. He caused inquiry to be made iu
these factories yesterday, bat in none Of
them could 1t be found that any of the
employees had disappeared. There are nc