The Miner and Workman's Advocate. — 1865-06-03 (London, England)

BODY. A *case of singu.ar interest has recently occurred at Alta, in Califernia, in which the process of Dr. Richardson for rew,oring the features of a dead body.. that has undergone putrefaction' described in the Lancet two years ago, was applied with the most satisfactory result. It appears that on Tuesday evening, the 14th of March of the present year, a dad body was disCoYered 'buried a little way hderground. The earth over the body was only six inchei deep at the head and twenty inches at the feet of the cbrpse ; and, as the ground had been disturbed by dogs, or by boys passing over it, .por.ions of the dress of the dead were exposed. A person named 111.`Glone first made the discovery, and communicated it to the police, who shortly afterwards disinterred and conveyed to the deadhouse a dchd man, who, from the marks of injury inflicted on him, had evidently been murdered. The skull was crushed, and the Tope by which he had been dragged to the grave was left round the body. At this time the process of decomposition was so far advanced that recognition or identification was impossible. In the difficulty that arose, Dr. J. L. Henry suggested to the coroner that he should use the meth'od of restoration Which* had been previously carried out by Dr. Richardson. The suggestion was assented to. The body was placed in water, in a water-tight shell; 201bs. of common salt and 11b. of hydrochloric acid was added to the water, and the immersion was sustained three hours. The body kvas then removed ' • the face was washed with simple w.,ter, and afterwards with chlorine water; and finaily a current of chtorine gas was pass _d freely over the face. The resteration of the features was thus rendered so perfect that the body was positively identified as that of Charles T. Hill, a man 27 years of age, and a native of the State of New York. The report before us from the Alta California says that as soon as the body had been changed in appearance by the chemicals it was recognised by a young gentleman connected with the press, who was cognisant of the fact that severel weeks before-the deceas& had arrived at Alta in company with a female whose acquaintance he had made in New York, and who was then residing in the town. The girl was soon found, and deposed that she had not seen Hill for some time. but that she knew he had been residing at what was called the Mansion House. Inquiries at the Mansion House (evidently an inn or boarding house) .ed to the statement by the landlady that Hill had left on the 24th of February, and had never since returned ; but that on the 25th a young man came for the trunks of Hill, saying he had been deputed by their owner to remove them ; the landlady, however; refused to let them go. Further search proved that this man was a person called Byrne, a man of very bad character, and who had already been tried for burglary. He was at once arrested; his lodgings was examined, and some keys and an imitation diamond pin, with other articles belonging to the murdered man Hill, were discovered. Pressed on all sides by the evidence against him,,and brought face to face with the murdered man, Byrne confessed that he had been out for a driv.• with Hill on the 20th, and accounted for his possession of tho property in a manner that only tended to implic, to himself the more seriously. He was forthwith committed for trial on the charge of murder. Whether r not the true murderer has been detected, the case is one which shows in a remarkable manner the important aid which science may render to justice by this procedure, for it is clear that without it the man who was murdered would never have been known and that all inquiry would have been stopped at the oaten. Our readers will remember that Dr. Richardson, in his original de . eription of hisprocess in these c Aumns, stated het his plan admitted of much improvement; it may be so, but in the case related the process was nevertheless so effective that the object for which it was performed Was fully real' se J.—Lewd.