The Washington herald., 1911-10-14

below where Mrs. Scherger was seated
The woman opened the satchel and be-
held the face of the dead child, which
was the only portion left exposed by the
entwining shroud.
With a scream of fear Mrs. Scherger
dropped the satchel, and, hurrying to the
telephone, asked w. G. Platt, mayor of
Takoma, to come at once to her home
Within a few minutes after his arrival
Mayor Platt called upon Judge ]. w.
Reading and Sheriff w. e. Viett, OF
Montgomery County, to begin an investi-
cation Of the case. Mrs. Scherger was
completely unnerved by her experience.
and no attempt was made to question
her after it was learned how the dis
covery of the body was made.
Carried to Physicians.
When Judge Reading and Sheriff Viett
arrived the body was carried in its origi-
nal coffin to the Office OF DIR. A. V. Par
sons, and a careful examination was be-
gun. After the strange shroud had been
removed, the physician and the Judge be-
gan a series of tests with steel rods and
discovered that the torso was almost
completely petrified. stick of wood
! three-elghths of an inch thick was used
on the chest and 1t snapped without
making the slightest impression on the
body.
TT is impossible" said DR.. Parsons
after the tests had been concluded. to
tell how the body became petrifled. 1t
seems almost impossible that the child
could have died under ordinary circum-
stances and within few months could
have hardened as It Is now. 1t would
sl,at nfNh tpa1 no
used to preserve and harden the body
or by some extraordinary freak OF ma
ture the body hardened because Of the
bandages around It,"
Neither Dr. Parsons nor Sheriff Welt
could find any marks of violence on IN"
child. careful examination failed to
disclose cuts or Ccntusions-and this mys-
tifes the officers of the county. inasmuch
ss It IS hardly probable that II death
had been due to natural causes that the
body would have been placed in a satchel
and hidden away.
About Month Old.
Because OF the length Of time it re-
mained in the satchel the physician was
unable 10 determine the color of the
baby. II was about one month old.
Lacking better information. the county
officials are now following the suggestion
It was vacated by it's former tenants last
February. They cannot account for the
manner in which the satchel was brought
in. as the doors and windows were locked
and barred as soon as the old tenants
moved away.
In an effort to get some Clew to the
mystery. 1t was decided last night to get
in communication with Daniel Trimmer.
the former tenant The county authori-
ties expect. however. 20 learn little from
him.
The startling discovery has shocked
the whole town Of Takoma. None of the
neIghhOrs Of Mr.. Trimmer are able to Of
fer any explanation OF the manner IN
which the baby was smuggled into the
house.
Mummy Burial To-day.
The body OF the child has been turned
over to an undertaken in Rockville by
the county authorities and will be buried
to-day. Every effort will be made to OBJ
tain some Clew by which relatives OF the
child may he discovered
The people of this town." said Mayor
Platt last night. ARE convinced that II
the child was killed and placed in the
house. the murderer was some one un-
known in this section. Neither Mr.. Trim
IIltl lltI MI oIIici nave TIE SIlBilNeSl
knowledge Of the affair. l feel sure
Judge Reading expressed 1t as his be-
lief that the child had been wrapped in
its mummy-like bandages, placed in the
satchel. and left to die.
The fact that there are no marks OF
violence" said he. leaves this az the
most probable conclusion. Nothing can
be deduCed with certainty. however, be-
cause of the length of time elapslng be-
tween death and the discovery of the