The Tattooed Stranger in Fifteen Inches of Water
A man is found drowned in a shallow slough near the Little Spokane River. No wallet, no name—only tattoos, a pocket comb, and an old razor blade.
Monday afternoon word was received from Scotia that the body of a man had been discovered lying in a slough near the Little Spokane River, about a mile and a half west of town. Justice Long, as acting coroner, and Undertaker Miller drove to the scene after the body, returning late that evening.
It was learned that the man had been seen by several people sitting on a small log at the edge of the slough several times during the day. During the afternoon a small boy reported that a man was taking a swim in the slough, which started an investigation, and the body was discovered in about 15 inches of water, having evidently been in the water about an hour. His coat and hat were about a hundred feet away on the banks of the slough.
Dr. Phillips held a post-mortem Tuesday, at which it was determined that the man had come to his death by drowning. It was not deemed necessary to hold an inquest, as it was evidently a case of suicide. Search of his clothes failed to reveal anything that would throw light on his identity, as there was nothing found except a small pocket comb and an old razor blade. Evidently the unfortunate man was without money or friends and undertook to end a discouraged life.
The body was that of a man about 40 years of age, rather dark complexioned, with a two weeks' growth of beard, height about 5 feet 8 inches and weight about 135 pounds. On his right arm is tattooed a clover leaf, with the figures 11103; on the back of the right hand an anchor and a five-pointed star. On the left hand are the letters "F. C.," with anchor on the thumb and a cross on the back of the middle finger.
Quite a number of people have viewed the body at Miller's undertaking parlors, but have not been able to identify it. He will be buried in the potter's field in a day or two unless some information is obtained regarding him.
“Evidently the unfortunate man was without money or friends and undertook to end a discouraged life.”
An unidentified man with no money or friends was buried in a potter's field—a reminder that public records and family networks determine who is remembered. The tattoos were the only clues to a life, and the item still reads as an indictment of how easily the poor disappeared.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.