Evening journal., 1904-08-24
OLD SKELETON
SENT TO M0RGUE
Police Looking Up History
OF Former Occupants of
Philadelphia House
WAS CHAINED TO THE WALL

Philadelphia, Aug. 24.-The bones Of
a human skeleton that were found In
an attic crevice OF the long-abandoned
house at AIS n. sixth street. have been
sent to the morgue and the police are
trying to find out whether a long-con-
cealed murder has finally come to light
or whether the gruesome find is mere
ly the lost treasure OF some careless
physician. They are inclined TO be-
lieve the latter although they do not
explain why one Of the legs should have
been clasped with a large iron ring, to
which a heavy chain was attached.
Two special policemen, Niedenthal
and Ellender, Of the Eighth district. are
working on the case. They have care
fully inspected the bones and gone over
the attic OF the house in the hope OF
/ finding clues They are also looking up
the history OF former occupants Of the
place.
The skeleton which was found by
Squire Dean, Of Camden, who has a
contract to put a new roof on the
house, Is supposed to be that Of wo-
man. The Squire had gone to the
house yesterday 10 look over the pro-
iected Improvement and entered the
attic through a trap door. IL was dark
land low and he had to crawl through a.
As he came to one end, he touched a
chain that dangled from hole In the
brick wall. He gave the chain a pull
II fell to the floor, dragging with II the
bones Of a human foot and lower leg
1T scared me-" he said. in describing
the incident but after "a while my
nerve came back and 7 maze an eN-
lamination of the hole. II opened into
"a sort Of chimney which seemed {,
have been closed a few feet down.
Il stuck my arm in and pulled GU
lanother foot and then leg bone, an,
lby and by I had the skeleton complete
up TO the nth rib.
There is no doubt that It had beei
there a long time, for the bones wer
soft and crumbly. and readily pulle
{ out from the joints / could not Sc
the bones OF the upper part of IN
skeleton. Il will be necessary to tea
! down a part Of the wall to get at then
4 Il could feel with the tips of m
f fingers that there We're more bones
the hole. and | am positive that n
e remainder of the skeleton is there ir
s tact.
u put what bones I had IN a pile q
G the third floor. and threw the chain an
: ring out into the back yard"
Il The house at AIS North Sixth stree
d has long been regarded by the neigl
bors as mysterious place. It is
f large FOUR story red brick. For man
!. years il has not been occupied An IN
e surance company recently purchased
e and is starting in to make II habitabl
T once more.
old residents in the neghborhood re
K member that in the dim past No. Al
was occupied by a doctor, about whoi
r little was known by the few familie
i'm the vicinity who were on speakln
terms with him. Later the dwellin
and its occupants had a bad nam
Doctors often have skeletons in the
., houses but they are not in the hab
Z of walling them up In the attic with
a chain around the feet. II is not like
that the skeleton would have been pl
h there for joke first, because skel'
! tons are rather expensive and, Sc,
- ond. because there was not one chan,
in a hundred that It would ever be dis
covered.