Mystery Man Found Frozen in Freight Car
An unidentified man, dead for weeks, was discovered in a Northern Pacific freight car carrying poison and cash.
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.
Crawling into a boxcar of a Northern Pacific train at some way station east of Tacoma, an unknown man committed suicide by swallowing carbolic acid. His body, frozen solid and covered with a coating of ice, was found this morning when the car, which has stood in the local yards since January 1, was pulled to the freight sheds for loading. The man was about 45 years old, well dressed, and had $40 sewed to the lining of his vest, besides several dollars in his clothing. A Seattle newspaper and a check numbered A 57 of the Main Laundry, Seattle, were the only effects found. An autopsy was held at Buckley King's undertaking establishment, and marks of acid burning were found in the stomach. Dr. Kunz, who conducted the autopsy, stated he believed the man had been dead three weeks.
“His body, frozen solid and covered with a coating of ice, was found this morning.”
The 'hobo' lifestyle and the dangers of riding the rails were staples of regional papers in the 1900s. The presence of hidden money suggests a tragic struggle that left the man's identity a total mystery, echoing the transient nature of labor in the Pacific Northwest at the time.
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