New-York tribune., 1905-07-14
GENERAL PORTER HERE.
Says Jones's Body Vas Packed as il
for Shipment to America.

General Horace Porter ex-Ambassador to
France, who was successful in finding the body
or John Paul Jones. arrived here yesterday
the steamship Deutschland The general had
hardly walked down the gangpIank when he
was greeted by crowd of friends one of whom
asked; General, you confident that the
body you discovered in France Is really that of
John Paul Jones?"
General Porter smiled at first and then in all
| seriousness said:
Il am as positive that the body of John Paul
Jones is it's way here across the Atlantic
as am that the body of General Grant lies
In the tomb in Riverside Drive, or that the body
or Washington is at Mount Vernon There is
absolutely no room for doubt. The identity of
the body was confirmed by dozens Of French
scientists, who studied it and compared 1t with
the medallions, portraits and historical records
one of the striking points OF the discovery
was the we'll preserved condition of the body
Iouhd the coffin containing the body of Jones
among four others. There were names on those
collins which identified the persons buried in
them There was none on the Jones coffin but
lor that matter it did not need a name as the
! body was sufficient proof in itself The coffin
IN which Joness body was incased was a lead
ooA OF splendid workmanship. When l opened
the lid found the body was preserved in alcohol
and wrapped in linen CLOTH which was also well
preserved
The face was compared with the Houdon
pust OF Jones in point Of size and shape The
an5hropologists who made comparison of the
measurements of the body with those taken
from history and from the various medaIlions
ana pusts found that they did not disagree
! more than a millimetre. The face was a coun-
terpart of the Houdon bust The hair on the
mead was dark brown. streaked with gray,
which compares exactly with the descriptions of
Jones given of him just previous to his death
one Of the anthropoOgists discovered a pc
culiar curl on the lobe of the left ear which
tailed exactly with a similar curl on the Houdon
bust.
The most interesting fact connected with the
Identification of the body was that Dr. Captain.
the well known French physician, was able to
make perfect autopsy of the body. He found
the viscera were in perfect condition notwith-
standing the fact that the man had been dead
for 1l3 years. When the abdomen was opened
the alcohol in which it was preserved poured out
quite freely. The autopsy revealed all the physi-
cal disorders that Jones known to have
had. Dr. Captain found ffbrous spot in the
lobe of the left lung which was caused by an
attack of bronchial pneumonia, which Jones con-
tracted in Russia The autopsy also showed
that Jones died from dropsy and nephrtis
Il discovered on the linen shirt which covered
the pooy the initial j, which COinctded in it's
curves with the letter Jones used in marking
his clothes. He wont TO wear stylish ap-
parel, and the front of the shirt found in the
coffin was made of frils and lace.
THE coffin was mummy shaped, and from the
way the body was packed in it was obvious that
1t was the intention of those who had charge OF
the burial to ship the coffin TO America Tba
body was carefully swathed in linen, and be-
tween the linen and the coffin sides was straw
packing. The hands wrapped in tin foil
nf fhE
convey IT to America would not bruise or scar
the flesh"
General Porter said that the great funeral
procession in which the body of Jones was car
ried along the Champs Elysees was the most
Impressive spectacle that Paris has seen in
many years. Continuing he said;
''It a beautiful day and the French nao
pie turned out by thousands TO attend the cere-
monies. The French cavalry, artillery and in
fantry passed by, and their silent salute TO the
dead American hero was soul stirring | tell
you l was proud OF the men from our own
fleet They made noble picture as they passed
by the tent Of purple velvet. in which the body
lay"
A committee of the Sons of the American
Revolution, of which General Porter was for
merly president general, went down the bay
in the revenue cutter to meet him. The COM
mittee was composed of w S Logan William
A Marble and Edward Hagaman Hall
General Porter will remain with his SON
Clarence for several months. at No SIS 5th-
ave. in this city.