The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-10-13
"lNXSTERY AUTOMOBILE"
PRESENTED IN PICTURES
IN LONG MURDER TRIAL
PETER SMITHS BODY
HANGING FROM LIMB
Man Who Had Several Times Tried to
Injure Himself with Razor and Re-
volver Committed Suicide Near
Montpelier.

A body that has been identified as
that of Peter Smith, recently OF Barre,
was found about 3 o'clock Saturday
afternoon hanging from the limb of a
tree in the Langdon woods, so called,
south Of Montpelier about one e-half mile.
The body apparently had been hanging
about two months and the flesh, instead
of deeayng, had dried up excepting
about the abdomen, neck and feet. The
feet rested on the ground. The body
was found by Napoleon Fraser, age
about % years, who was hunting. The
body was removed to the undertaking
rooms of H. j. Volholm until advice
could be received from Smiths father,
who is living in Lancaster, N. H., it is
understood.
He had been employed at different
times by Clayton Caustic, who was one
of the first at the scene and who thought
| he recognized the man by the fact that
| the hanging was done with belt lacings
which Mr.. Smith always carried in his
pockets.
Mr.. Fraser had been hunting for squir-
rels and thought he heard one in beech
tree. He was standing looking at it
when he finally dropped his eyes and
looked towards the ground and his at
tention was attracted to some clothes
beside the tree He looked around the
other side of the tree and there hung
kSmith's body He was given quite a
| fright and then, taking a second look,
decided to go to Montpelier to inform
the authorities about the matter. He
! reported it to the police, Chief Connolly,
Grand Juror John Stone, Mayor II. G.
| Shurtleif and Alderman Kelly going to
| the spot. They viewed the remains. In
| the meantime Oyerseer G. f. Lackey ar
rived After he had viewed the remains
he came back TO the city and notified
relatives of the man, then gave orders
to have the body removed to the under
| taking rooms of III. ]. Volholm to be
prepared for burial
| Mr.. Smith was at Caustics about two
months ago. He then told Mr.. Caustic
he was going back TO New Hampshire to
work and had not been seen since that
time. He had been teamster. He at
/ tracted attention TO himself quite a lit
| tie in recent years by three attempts. it
is claimed, to injure himself, twice with
/ razor and once with a revolver. The
| last time he shot himself in the foot.
/ Smiths body was nude. He had re-
moved his clothing and, excepting the
underwear, the clothes were piled up
with the mackinaw covering the rest SO
| that the pieces were not damaged by the
weather conditions. In the hip pocket
of the pants was wallet in which was
! rs cents, while there was also tax re-
ceipt for SO, which was signed by Ralph
Howard of Grantham, n H., last April
and paid BY Peter Smith, which, with
the description which Mr.. Caustic could
give, furnished the identification of the
body. There were also tobacco, pipe
handkerchief and bunch of keys in the
pockets. The clothes were made by
! Charles Cans of Groveton, n. H.
| Apparently Smith had undressed him
self, then climbed into the tree, the limb
Of which was about 10 feet from the
ground. Taking two strands of belt lac.
/ ing, he had tied one end of these around
| his neck and the other around the limb
4 the tree These are COW hide and
had stretched quite little.
Besides his father the man leaves a
sister, Mrs. Guy Smith, in Montpelier
also sister and brothers living in New
Hampshire, Mr. Smith visited his sister
at Montpelier in June and they had not
heard from him since that time.