The Unidentified Man in the Brush
A decomposing body found in the northern woods of Seattle leaves behind only a silver watch and a curious note.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On Sunday last, the decomposed remains of a man were found in the brush in the northern part of town. A revolver lay near the body, and a bullet hole was plainly visible on the left side of the head. A coroner's jury was empaneled and rendered the following verdict: 'We find that the man came to his death from a pistol shot wound in the head, and are of the opinion that he suicided about four or five weeks ago. We found on the body $1.40, a silver watch, one gold cuff button with Masonic emblem, a white-handled pocket-knife, and an empty cigar case. The body was dressed in a brown woolen suit with small checks, low shoes, and white shirt. A small scrap of paper was found on his person, on which was written: 'Leo B. Gardner, B. B. Coony, Eng. fight switch engine.' There was also found beside the body a black, low-crowned hat and a five-chambered, nickel-plated revolver, marked 'Hood F.A. Co.' No one seems to have known the person thus described; but, now that the verdict of the jury has gone forth, someone will doubtless be able to throw some light on the subject. The remains were so decomposed when found, the head being entirely separated from the body.
“The remains were so decomposed when found, the head being entirely separated from the body.”
This somber discovery reminds us that Seattle was a much wilder, less mapped place in 1883, where a person could disappear into the 'brush' of the city's northern outskirts and remain lost for weeks. Today, that same ground is part of the dense urban fabric, yet the mystery of the unidentified man with the 'fight switch engine' note remains a ghost story of the city's frontier era.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.