The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-03-28
PICKED UP DEAD infant
BRAKEMAN WARD FOUND LIFE
LESS BABY IN COACH
WRAPPED IN NEWSPAPER
Had Evidently Been Poisoned;
Well Developed Male; No
CIeM To Mother

Well covered with wrapping and
newspaper and chucKed down under the
small seat next. to the toilet, the body
of well formed baby boy was dis
covered late Saturday night by Brake
man Ward of the Omaha road as he
was going through the passenger train
at Gilmore. The body of the dead child
was found in the rear coach. car No. Z.
on the Minneapolis Gilmore train
which passed through this city at
$40 o'clockin the evening. The car
is switched onto the Gilmore line at
Lake Crystal,
It is through car from Mime
apolis to Elmore.
Ward Immediately notified Deputy
Sheriff A. X. Anderson. Elmore, who
summoned Coroner Wilson tof Blue
Earth and County Attorney Frundt.
Doctors A. c.. Jacobs and Henry
Blong were also summoned to inspect
the body. The baby was apparently
born about nine or ten hours before
being found, and the evidences were.
that the child had been given no
medical attention whatever at birth.
The body was well formed, strong
and healthy
Burned About the Mouth.
About the mouth of the child burn
ed spots were visible and the corr
oner's verdict which was reached
last night was that the baby came
to it's death by poisoning. One of the
papers that the infant was clothed
in was a piece of wrapping. paper
from a store in Mankato and the
other was copy of The St Paul Dis
patch.
The superstition of the railway Of
ficials and officers who are inyesti-
eating the case is that the baby's
dead body was struggled on board
the train at Mankato and deposited
under the seat. It was the opinion
of physicians that the baby had been
dead about six hours when first dis
covered and it had apparently been
born about ten hours. earlier. Fol-
lowing this superstition it would ap-
pear that the child was born Satur-
day morning, was poisoned soon after
birth and placed aboard the train as
it went through this city.
The body was taken to Blue Earth
Immediately after it was discovered
and the corpner's jury sat on the
case yesterday, returning a verdict
that the child came to its death by
poisoning The baby wa nn2o6
sitter all the passengers had 16ff II
train at Elmore.
Telegram Received Here.
Following is the telegram which
Passenger Agent William Spornitz re
ceived from Elmore:
Newly born body of a male child
found under seat of coach COZ, train
81 after arrival at Elmore last D. m.
Wrapped in newspaper with outside
covering of heavy paper from some
Mankato store, name not yet stated.
This car was on, rear of No. z, and it
is thought the package was taken
on the train at your station"
Sheriff Anton Osten, County At
torney c. E, Phillips and the officials
at Blue Earth are working on the
case, but as yet have secured no clue
as to where the child came from or
who put it on the train.
Conductor Scott was in charge of
the train.
Running Down clews.
County Attorney Frundt of Faribault
county told The Free Press over the
long distance telephone from Blue
Earth city this afternoon that he was
convinced ythat the person who left
the dead infant in the coach must
have boarded the train at Mankato as
the paper in which the body was SO
carefully wrapped could have come
out of the store but short time be-
fore it was used as garment for the
child. The paper was new and had
not been creased, Indicating that itS
had not been handled great deal. tt
is quite evident that the guilty per-
son boarded the train at Mankato.
County Attorney Frundt has run
down every clew in his possession,
and is still working ON the case. 1t
is understood that County Attorney C.
E. Phillips of Blue Earth county lin
vestigated clews which had, their orr
gin in Lake Crystal