Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-01-18
BODY OF WOMAN
IN MAN'S$GARB
MYSTERIOUS VICTIM OF FIRE
HORROR WAS A MAsQUERADER
TOTAL NUMBER OF DEAD Is
PLACED AT 17s.

bOyeTLOWn, Pa., an. IL, - Th0 u1-
common sight of gang of Italian la
borers digging graves by the light of
the moon for the burial of the dead
OF the Rhoades opera house disaster,
was witnessed in the cemetery here
last night. So many funerals are to
be held today, tomorrow and Sunday
that the borough authorities found It
necessary to keep the men at work all
night.
The coroner today placed the num-
Der Of dead at 173 The unidentified
dead will be buried in trench. go
feet long. 40 feet wide and 9 feet
deep. Each Of the thirty unidentified
bodies will be placed in separate !
coffin and each coffin will be separat.
ed from the others. by a brick wall.
After all the bodies have been buried
memorial services will be held
Body of Woman in Mans Clothes.
The discovery that the half burned
body of one of the victims of the
opera house disaster, clad in mans
clothing, is that Of a woman, has ads
1ded a touch of mystery to the horror
of Boyertown's calamity.
Investigation thus far has failed To
shed any light on the identity OF the
woman, and efforts to find someone
who could recognize the clothing in
which the body was dressed have like.
wise proved unayailing. The convic.
| tion has been forced on the local au-
thorities that the disaster has ended
the career of a woman who during
life had concealed the secret Of her
sex under male attire.
Mans Suit Of Good Material.
The upper portion Of the body is al
most completely burned away. Not
sufficient Of the head and face remain
for recognition. The trunk, however,
is dressed in mans coat, and vest Of
good material. The lower part Of the
body escaped the flames. The legs
we're covered by pair Of trousers.
matching the material in the coat and
west and a pair of mans shoes were
on the feet. The most remarkable of
all. however, is the incongruous fact
that next to the skin was a suit OF
woman's underwear of fine texture.
1t was thought at first that's the
woman might have been one of the
actors in 'The Scottish Reformation
but an investigation among the COM
pany disclosed the fact that thero
was no woman in the cast who wore
male attire. At any rate, the actors
all wore costumes of the period and
there would have been no occasion
for the wearing Of suit Of twentieth
century cut.
No Hope Of Identification.
The police also thought 1t possible
that some rescuers might have placed
the clothing on the woman's body aft
er it had been taken from the ruins,
but this theory was upset when q
careful examination of the body show
!. ed the clothes had been burned and
undoubtedly had been on the woman
before the fire.
/ Several Injured at School Panic.
/ Bedford Ind. Jan. II. - The public
school building here caught fire yes.
1 lterday while all TIE pupils were at
/ their classes. and teachers and pupils
|alike became panic-stricken and tried
to rush down a stairway leading to
the exits.
i Many pupils, especially the smaller
ones, were trampled upon in the rush
and were seriously hurt. Four or Eve
! pupils threw themselves from the SEQ
ond story windows and were baiiy
bruised and suffered broken bones.
The teachers lost self control as
soon as smoke issued from the roof
and penetrated the recitation rooms.
. and the children were without ans
guidance in their wild scramble to
y get out OF the building.