Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1922-09-29
BRAKEMAN'S DEATH
REMAINS MYSTERY
Body of Nottingham Dam EN-
ploye Found Beside Brook
HAD Been Missing Several Days and
May Have Met with Foul Play or May
Have Fallen on Bridge.

ftad seen Missing Several Days and
May Have Met with Foul Play or May
Have Fallen on Bridge.
One of the most puzzling cases TINT
has ever been brought to the attention
OF county and state authorities has re-
suited from the finding of the body of
John Creamy, about 40, of APO Chester
avenue Philadelphia, Pa, an employee of
tne w. r. carey Co. of New York city,
builders of the great earth dam at Whit
lngham for the New England Power Co.
me body was found Thursday, Sept. 81.
ut $40 by Sell Aldo, Polish employe
OF the Power Co., who was cutting
brush near the. Mason farm on the road
leading from Nottingham to Whiting.
ham station. 1t was lying in the bed of
a brook which passes under the road
through stone archway, the brook be-
ing about 10 feet below the surface of
the road and well concealed by weeds
underbrush and small trees. When
found, the body was partially in the
water, including the right half of the
head. The body was lying on its back
and, slightly turned to the right, the left
leg being thrown over the right knee. An
examination revealed the fact that the
body apparently had lain in the brook
since week ago last Friday when
Creamy was last seen in that locality.
Ihere are various hypothesis as to
how Creamy met his DEATH A deep cut.
which penetrated to the brain, was found
on the head back of the right ear. The
cut Is four and one-quarter inches long
and extends from a little below the top
OF the skull down the back of the head
two inches to the rear of the ear. The
cut is comparatively clean one al
though in two or three spots it is slightly
ragged and it may have resulted from
the impact with stone, which suggests
that Creamy made a misstep from the
highway and fell into the brook, or it
may have been caused by heavy edged
weapon in the hands of someone who
may have gotten into a fight with
Creamy. No motive has as yet been
found which might lead definitely to the
case being classed as one of foul play,
although the injury to the head is in
such location as would result if some
one crept up on Creamy from the rear
and slew him unawares.
AS soon as the body was found, word
was sent to Attorney General Frank G.,
Archibald of Manchester, who yesterday
morning communicated with States At
torney Harold e. Whitney of Brattle-
boro, who was at county court in New
fame. Attorney General Archibald also
communicated Immediately with Dr. G.
F. Whitney of Burlington, director of
the state laboratory of hygiene and he
with his assistant, DR.. c. ii. Ravey of
the attorney general Friday morning,
where the latter made an investigation
and where the doctors performed an au-
tOpsy. AS soon as States Attorney
Whitney was notified he Immediately left
for Nottingham with Sheriff Frank H.
Wellman, Mrs. Katharine A. Nichols,
the county court stenographer, and a
representative of The Phoenix.
AT Jacksonville Constable II. G. Read
the home of W. DssStSfiedy, the town
clerk and undertaken who had charge of
the body, and Mr.. Canedy communicated
to the states attorney the first details
of the tragedy. Mr.. Canedy then con-
Quoted the states attorney to the place
where the body was found.
The brook where Creamy met his
death is scarcely more than four feet
wide at its widest point, and in places
it is six or eight inches deep. Heretofore
it has been concealed from sight by the
growth of underbrush. The Polish Ia
borer who found the body had been cut
| ting brush along the brook on the north
| side of the road and on Thursday after
noon had completed the work up to the
point where the brook runs through the
sluice under the highway. He espied a
gray and black checkered cap on the
branches of a tree close to the highway
and back of log which guards the side
of the road where it crosses the brook.
Upon looking further, he saw 10 feet be-
meath him the body of man lying on
| its back in n reclining position. He
called a companion laborer, and together
they notified their foreman who was
about one eighth of a mile away, and he
notified Selectmen ii. A. Wheeler and
| James Harrington of Nottingham, who
J in turn called DIR. Frank Walsh of
| Readsboro. DR.. Walsh found that the
man had met his death from the injury
to his head, and he thought the body had
been in the brook four or five days. The
body was taken to the undertaking rooms
of Mr.. Canedy at Jacksonville, where the
autopsy was performed by DIR. Whitney
on Friday morning. The brook where
the body was found joins the main
stream from Sadawga lake, about one
quarter of mile away, this main stream
running into the Deerfeld river al
Nottingham: The Oscar Mason farm !,
about 400 feet away from the spot
where the body was discovered. The
/ scene of the tragedy or accident will b,
several feet under water when the eartl
dam is completed, and had the under
brush not been cut down the body per
haps never would have been found.
. The body was clothed in dark blut
! trousers OF hOOu mhtpTldl, HtuN! uui
shoes, and Il blue shirt with the sleeves
rolled up. A partially used package, OF
| Piedmont cigarettes, a box of matche!
and a dime were found in the pockets.
Creamy was brakeman on one of tho
dirt trains handling dirt for the new
earth dam. He had been working for thu
Carey Co. since June 30 and he boarded
at the home of Mrs. Alton Langlois
about one third of a mile from the brook
Mrs. Langlois said Creamy was of !
very quiet disposition, spending most o
his time after supper by reading in hi
room. On the Wednesday previous t.
his disappearance, she said, Creamy ha'
been drinking. The following day hi
worked on the dirt train, but FRIDAY
morning he did not arise as usual. Abou
. o'clock that afternoon he was seen II
! Spencer's general store, near Whiting
ham station, where he is thought L
have bought bottle of soda, rendering
a dollar bill in payment. II. ii. Muir
dock, the storekeeper, said Creamy LEI
the store in the middle of the afternoon
a little before the heavy thunder SHOVE
which visited Nottingham between
and 6 o'clock that afternoon. MIR. Muir
dock also said Creamy had been in thu
habit of coming to the store several time
n day.
Later that afternoon man was seel
lying on his face in depression III