The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-07-21
THE SEA GIVES
UP ITS DEAD
BODY OF CAPTAIN WARD OF THE
RIO JANEIRO is WASH
ED ASHORE.
IDENTIFIED BY A WATCH AND
4 TRUSS.
No Relative or Friend Has Yet Claim
ed the Remains and They May &C
To the Potter's Field.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 12.-The |
body of Captain William Ward of the |
Inflated Pacihc Mail steamship, Rio |
de Janeiro, is believed to have been lib |
Grated from the wreck of the vssel
that lies sunken somewhere in the sec
ret depths of the waters between the
upper bay and the Golden Gate en-
trance. Yesterday the badly decom-
posed corpse of a man supposed to
have been an officer OF the RIO fioatea
ashore at Fort Baker, near Sausalito,
and was picked up by soldiers. The
head of the corpse was entirely eaten
away by the action of the water and
decomposition. Only a few strips OF
flesh chung to the bones of the legs and
arms. The trunk remained practically
intact, but from the appearance of the
body, it is believed by those who view
ed it that it had been in the water for
more than year without being eX-
posed to air.
There are a number of things that
go toward fixing the identity of the
corpse as that OF an officer of the sun
ken ship. On the trousers was sewed a
button such as officers of the Pacific
Mail Steamship Company have on
their clothing. 1t was of brass, and
3 Vi. =.
c., the initials of the corporation. The
trousers were apparently a part of an
officers blue uniform, of good texture
| and bearing the mark of "A. Ping,
Hongkong. China" The corpse was
clad only in a shirt and trousers, and
pair of rubbers were over the shoes.
Chained to the shirt was a very valu
able 19-karat gold watch, worth prob
ably $3.50. 1t was open faced, the back
being of plain gold, without initials or
! distinguishing marks. The watch was
! from Shreves jewelry store, in San
/ Francisco. The number of the works
was 7425252 and of the case 95043. At
tached to the plain gold chain was a
gold fob in the form of an anchor hold
! ing a small compass.
There were no papers or initials
! found that would give a clew to the
name, but the button, the chain, with
| anchor fob and compass the stripes of
an officers uniform. the length of time
| the body had been in the water and the
hurriedly dressed appearance all tend
toward the theory that the man was
once an officer of the Rio de Janeiro.
Added to this is the fact that very
recently large pieces of timber, APP
parently from the hulk of some YES
sci breaking up, have come ashore
with the tide near Fort Baker. Coro-
ner Eden of Marin county will hold an
inquest over the remains, at which the
officials of the steamship company
have been invited to be present, and il
! is very probable that the identity OF
the corpse will be positively fixed.
SA Nt'RANCISCO, July LIT was
the body Of Captain William Ward OF
the steamer Rio de Janeiro that wash,
ed NJ on the sands OF the Sau5alit,
beach on Friday. For more than {
year his corpse must have been impris.
oned in the wreck, before finally it be.
came disentangled and the sea gave VI
its dead.
, This bears out the story of the eye
witnesses who said that Captain Ware
stood by his ship to the last. ana ther
went into his cabin and closed thu
: door.
Shreve & Co.'S men found the mum
5 Der of the watch and case in their rec
ords. The watch found on the bod.
was sold to Captain Ward by this firm
a month before the Rio sailed on he
last trip, w. f. Harms, salesman 70
j. H. .. Foulkes & Bro, sold Captain
Ward the truss found with the body.
SAN FRANCISCO, July 14.-Unles
the relatives or friends of Captain viii
liam Ward, late master of the Rio d
Janeiro, put in some claim for hi
DOuyy coroner Euen Oh MARIN count
says that he will be obliged to la
away the remains in the Potter's field
AS yet no person has put forward an
claim for the body, although it ha
been IN the possession of the Coro
ner since Friday afternoon. Decompo
sitiOn has set in to such an extent tina
it is impossible to keep the remain
much longer, and the burial must tax
place inside of two days at the limit
1t is hoped by the Coroner that a
the inquest today some representative
of the Ward family or some of the de
ceased Captains friends will appea
and give some directions for the inter
ment of the remainA Otherwise, o.
Tuesday, in pursuance of his ofIicia
duty Eden will be obliged to lay tn
body away on public grounds. Up t
the present time, with the exception o
one woman, not a single person ha
called at San Rafael either to identif.
the remains or lay claim to them. l
is thought, however, that friends or re
latives of the deceased will be presen
az the inquest,