The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-02
TRUNK OF A BODY IN RIVER.
POSSIBILITY, BUT NOT PROBA'
BILITY, OLA MURDERMYSTERY.
A Study Of the Injuries Affords Convincing
Evidence That They We're Caused
by Propeller Blades. but This Does
Not Preclude the Idea OF Murder.

A part of human body was taken out Of
the North River about 0 O'Clock yesterday
morning, just of the piers at the foot OF
Ferry street, Hoboken. There was no
clothing on it, 1t was that Of man nifty,
who in his lifetime must have measured
| 9 feet, or nearly so, and weighed more than
200 pounds.
The upper part of the head had been
cut of, and both legs, including the hip
bones, were missing. The left arm was
crushed and broken in four places. The
flesh Of the left hand had been scraped
on. leaving the bones bare. The breast
bone and all OF the rits were fractured.
The body was first seen by one OF the
Ellis Island physicians, who was going
up the river on the Government tug Moore
to inspect the immigrants just arrived on
the Hamburg American liner Patricia. He
spied it about 200 feet north Of the ferry
piers. 1t was then ebb tide and the body
was being carried down the river AS
soon as the physician reached his destina-
ton he notified Policeman Gerken. who
made straight for the ferry piers, got
boat and hauled the body ashore. II was
taken to Volk's morgue. Chief Of Police
Hayes said that the fact Of the body being
nude need not be taken as a necessary in
dication of foul play, because 1t was so
Gust omary for men employed on the piers
or the craft tied up there to 90 bathing
in the river naked that he had had to STA
ton policemen along the river front to
break up the practice.
County Physician Converse made super
fetal examination OF the body, postponing
the autopsy till to-day. He thought the
body might have been in the water from
two to five days and that the mutilation
was the result of contact with propeller
Undertaken Vok, who is regarded as an
expert, held that the body could not have
been in the water much more than twenty
four hours.
A study Of the injuries and the condition
of the BODY leads to no certain conclusions
The man may have come to his death by
murder, by suicide or by accidental drown
ing. If ever the cause OF his death is
learned, this knowledge will be reached
from the other end, that is by the identi-
fication of tho body and the tracing of its
owners movements from the time ne was
last seen. The autopsy, by revealing
perhaps, the presence OF water in the lungs,
may establish drowning as the most proba-
BILE cause OF death. but that is about all IL
can do. The injuries, however, offered
u strong probability that they were caused
by propeller blades The edges Of the part
OF the Uranium which remains as well as OF
its covering of flesh are Jagged and irreg-
uar The ears appear to have been torn
off, rather than cut off. The injuries OF
the left arm are especially characteristic
of those inflicted by the blow of propeller
blade The elbow has been cut clear Oh,
and tho blow splintered the bones above
and below An evidence Of the force of
the impact is furnished by the fact that
the stroke which took OFF the upper third
of the head was forcible enough to break
the bottom of the skull into pieces only
little larger than silver dollars 1t probably
came from behind. the cut on that side
ess was one of tearing Thus large piece
OF bone has been left above the right eye,
preserving this organ while on the left side
the eye and part OF the cheek bone are
gone. The blow that cut of the legs may,
In similar way, be inferred to have come
from behind.
The face is 80 well preserved that any
body who knew the man In his lifetime
will have little difficulty in recognizing
him, and this seems 10 prove that the body
was not mutilnted TO prevent Identification.
The man had black hair streaked with gray
throughout and turned wholly gray at the
temples. His heavy gray mustache was
trimmed short at tho upper lip. His eyes
were gray.
lie might have been either an Irishman
or q German, but more likely the former,
inasmuch AZ Germans are prone not to
trim their mustaches closely His hands
were those of q man who worked hard, but
had got away from the necessity OF doing
so. One little detail might give a clue
to his occupation while alive The nails
are we'll trimmed aad there il no dirt be-
meath them But each nail is framed
by a narrow black line along its base and
sides This is almost invariably the case
with men who have to handle engines and
other machinery. The black comes from
the oil drsnched cotton, waste and 1t cannot
easily bs washed out. This makes II seem
likely that tho man was . hsndlsg Of
machinery.