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THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, JUNE 13, 1920
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That Has Made the Mystery of the Young
Woman, Erroneously Identified and Buried
Twenty Years Ago as Carrie Selvage, More
Inscrutable Than Ever.
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BT JOHN SHELIXDN.
TARLT or the morning: of Sunday,
fi i March
11. 1900. Carrie T. Sel
vagre, a pretty young: scnooi
teacher, disappeared most myste
riously from the Indianapolis Union
States hospital at No. 1333 North Cap
itol avenue. She was a hospital pa
tient, under treatment for a severe
nervous breakdown, the result of
overwork. At the time of her disap
pearance she was wearing a long
flannelette wrapper and felt house
elippers.
Late that same night Eufus Can
trell. head of a notorious gang of
grrave robbers, all colored, known as
the Marion county body-snatchers,
sent several of his men to a nearby
cemetery where they opened a new
grave from which , they stole the
corpse. Their object, of course, was
to sell the body to a medical college
for dissecting purposes.
After robbing the grave and care
fully replacing the earth to hide the
traces of their crime, one of CantrelVs
men went ahead of the others to the
aide entrance to the cemetery to make
cure that the coast was clear before
they carried out the body,
Creeping cautiously through the
fcushes to the' cemetery gate which
onens into a dark alley, the ghoul
peeped around the-corner and then
screamed in terror, for directly in
front of him and stealthily advancing
in the shadow of the wall was a young
woman. She was hatless and her ais
beveled hair hung around her shoul
riers. She wore a long, loose gown
btiH aoft-snled shoes.
From confessions made wheni ttuf us
Cantrell and some of the grave rob
bers were caught later and sent to
the penitentiary at Michigan City, it
appeared evident that as soon as they
had recovered from their first fright at
the unexpected appearance of the
woman at the gate, they had overpow
ered her to prevent her from giving
an alarm, and had taken her to the
basement of a building on Indiana
avenue, where three days later, she
died. Her body, they confessed, was
eold for J50 and eventually turned
over to a west side medical clinic for
dissection.
Meanwhile police, private detectives
and friends of the missing Carrie T.
Selvage had been conducting a most
systematic search for her. Every pos
ible clue was traced to Its end. Ponds
nd lakes. Fall creek and White river
were dragged. Copies of her pho
tographs together with descriptive
personal details were sent broadcast
without success. The young school
teacher had vanished.
Saved From the Dissecting Table.
Then a strange thing happened.
Medical students attending a clinic
in a west side collegiate institution
were assembled in the operating the
ater for a practical demonstration in
dissecting. On the operating table was
the body of a woman, apparently
young and well-formed, covered with
a white sheet.
When, the face of the dead woman
was uncovered one of the medical stu
dents casually remarked that it bore
a somewhat vague resemblance to the
published photographs of the missing
Carrie Selvage. Other students agreed
with him and during the discussion
that foUftwed. one. student suggested
calling tip a dentist friend of his who,
he remembered, had done some dental
work for Miss Selvage, and asking
him to come at once to the college.
It was thought that possibly he could
decide whether or not It was Miss
Selvage by an examination of her
teeth, which showed evidence of care
ful dentistry.
The dentist arrived presently, but
was undecided. He advised sending
for Joseph Selvage, a well known real
estate dealer, brother of the missing
girl. When he reached the college Mr.
Selvage agreed with the dentist that
the body on the operating table might
be that of his sister, making all due
allowances for changes, In facial ap
pearance due to her nervous break
down .exposure and death. The clothes
in which the body had been delivered
to the medical authorities were not
those which Miss Selvage had worn
at the time of her disappearance from
the hospital. The dentist recognized
the gold filling in her teeth as being
much similar to some which he had
done for Miss Selvage several months
previous. And there the Identification
ceased.
The body was removed from the op
erating table and given decent burial
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under the belief that the mystery of
the schoolteacher's disappearance had
been, to a certain extent, solved.
Investigation of the circumstances
under which tbe body had been turned
over to the medical college led to the
arrest of Rufus Cantrell by several
of the men that they had been impli
cated in many thefts of newly-interred
bodies from cemeteries in and around
Indianapolis. Two of these gangs had
operated, the Marion county ghouls
under the leadership of Rufus Can
trell. and the Hamilton county gang,
which confined its depredations prin
cipally to suburban cemeteries.
The two gangs. It appeared, met
one night by accident in the Ebe
neier cemetery, both bent upon grave
robbery. A fight followed, during
which one man was killed. The vic
tors sold his body to a middleman for
the usual $50. And the go-between
redisposed of it to a medical college
for purposes of dissection. The col
leges, it Is only fair to etate. were
under the impression that the bodies
obtained in this manner were those of
unclaimed derelicts who had died in
almshouses and other Institutions and
which, otherwise, would have been
burled In the potter's field at the ex
pense of the county. In death thej
were of more value than in life and
the surgical clinics for which such
bodies were always in demand, were
made in the Interests of medical sci
ence. Shortly after the disappearance of
Miss Selvage from the Union States
hospital the institution was closed.
Since then the building, originally the
Indianapolis orphan asylum, has been
used as a rooming house, but a few
weeks ago a contract was given out
for a complete remodeling of the
SARGENT AND PARRISH NOW .
IN HOUSE PAINTING BUSINESS
Old Masters Never Got the Huge Sums Taken in by Mechanics Who
Labor on Dwellings in This Age.
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BT JAMES J. MONTAGUE.
T Is gratifying to know that the
cost of things Is falling. All the
newspapers tell about the tumble.
Professor Irving Fisher of Tale ex
plains the reasons. The subject Is
discussed joyfully at the best clubs
and in the smoking compartments of
Pulman cars. It has temporarily
superseded the Chicago convention
as a topic of conversation.-
There is. It is true, one tiny cloud
on this golden sunrise, which, to leave
off metaphor, is the fact that the
people who sell things haven't heard
about the drop yet. ,
We found that out the other day
when a carpenter and builder in
whom we have implicit confidence
told us that If we didn't get the house
painted this spring it would fall to
pieces before another year had passed.
Paint Holds Hook Together.
We didn't understand how paint
could hold a house together, but he
explained. Paint, it seems, to a house
is like the cuticle to a human being.
It keep3 out germs that would other
wise enter and cause decay. Also It
would act as a protector of the nails
from rust. Permitted to rust, the
heads of the nails would fall off, and
they would cease to function. Then
the first gale that blew would re
move the clapboards one by one and
leave us exposed to the deadly chill of
winter.
We were'naturally averse to having
the house fall down over our heads.
It is the only house we have, and we
would not know where to turn to get
another. Besides, we planned and
built It ourselves, and had all the
neighbors In to help celebrate- when
we paid off the mortgage.
So we called in the local painters
and asked them for estimates. They
did a little measuring, asked us about
color schemes and whether the job
included the blinds and went away.
The next week we got the estimates.
I opened them, gave them a hasty
glance and observed to the head of
the family:
"Do you know who those painters
were?"
"No," she said, being naturally
Quick at repartaa "who wars they J"
"John S. Sargent and Maxfield Par
rlsh." "What makes you think eoT
"Look at these estimates!"
She looked, and agreed with us.
Patntinx Pay These Day.
Of course, we could readily under
stand, after a glance at the figures
why Messrs. Sargent and Parrlsh had
j gone into the house painting business.
Even In the days of J. P. Morgan and
Henry Clay Fiek they never could
have hoped tq get so much money for
mere portraits and landscapes. But
they were far beyond our means so
we decided to do the job ourselves.
The price of the paint, when the
paint man apologized for it, staggered
us, but he agreed to a partial pay
ment plan and we had It sent up.
Then we fell to work. The head of
te family gets dizzy on a ladder, so
she painted up as far as she could
reach, and I undertook with the aid of
the ladder to paint the rest of the
way.
The difficulty was the lack of day
light. She painted merily away all
afternoon, but I didn't get home till
dark. Painting in the dark is trouble
some. Tou paint yourself considerably
more than you would otherwise. Fur
thermore you are unable to distin
guish the color labels. When I had
painted all I could and quit along to
ward two In the morning I retired
happily.
"Anyway," I thought, 'It will be
cheaper than having thoso old masters
do It for us."
Color Scheme la TJnlqne-
I changed my mind the next morn
ing. I had used tbe gray trim paint
on the body of the house, which
should have been white. Furthermore
I hadn't painted evenly. The effect was
very much that of a poorly camou
flaged battleship a battleship so
camouflaged that it would attract the
attention of all the enemy battleships
at a range of 20 miles, no matter bow
low the visibility.
'' Of course I had to paint it all over
the next day, absenting myself from
business for the purpose. But paint
ing white over gray must be done
many, many times, if you are to get
any shade but gray.
We sold a little furniture and
bought more paint. Then we sold the
flivver and some other things and
bought more. Ten coats did the trick,
but we could have laid them on with
our heart's blood with less strain on
our finances.
And no sooner had we got them on
than along came a rain and striped
them nicely, adding an effect which
was bizarre enough to suit a futurist.
but which the neighbors derided.
The house Is painted now. If you
live anywhere near us you know
about it. The trolley companies run
excursions to see it. And the crowds
that patronize these excursions get
the worth of their money.
Some time we hope to be able to
build a high fence around the house
and charge admission. Then we will
be able to make enough to hire Sar
gent & Parrlsh to paint the house
properly, which is what we should
bave done in the first place.
America's Future Forecast.
New Tork Evening Mail.
Vice-President Fletcher of the Fort
Dearborn bank of Chicago reveals
our national strength, and in so doing
gives us a true forecast of our future.
In these statistics of America's pos
sessions: "Twenty-four per cent of
the world's agricultural production
achieved by 5 per cent of the world's
population; 40 per cent of the world's
mineral production; manufacturing 35
per cent of all the world's goods: a
foreign trade balance of 15,000.000,000;
half of all the world's gold is in the
United States; our bank deposits are
billions in excess of all banks in all
the world. Americans own today a
billion of American securities owned
abroad before the war; our allies, as
nation, owe us $10,000,000,000 and
almost as much more In other ways."
So one could go on calling the endless
roll of America's resources, America's
sound reason for optimism, America's
vision of a Tuture in which peril is
a bad second to pluck, in which Mr.
Timidity is the only person likely to
find the door of opportunity and
achievement closed.
Indian Campflre Jfever Quenched
MIAMI, Okla. Another stomp dance
has been held by the Cherokee Indians
near the hamlet of Murphy, around
the Indian campflre which has not
been quenched for two-score years.
This ic a watchfire of the Cherokees
and is kept burning as a memorial to
the "great eplrlt." Not even Chief
Charlie Tee Hee knows how - many
years ago the fire waa started. Bf. G
Abernathy, a white man, says the fire
was burning when he took up his
FAXYTIAG AFTER DARK HAS CHARMS,
12 -Pound Gold Augget Found.
LONDON. A lump of pure gold
weighing just over 13 pounds, one of
the largest nuggets ever found, has
been discovered in the Kilo state
mines in the northeastern district of
the Belgian Congo, according to the
African World. It is now in the pos
session of the London branch of the
Banquo du Congo Beige and will be
sold on behalf of the Belgian gov-
xnment.
Irate Woman Scores Rail
road Over Attack on Dog.
Scathing Remarks Also Made About
Stxe of Sandwiches on Diner.
THE following letter was received
by the claim agent of oae of thr
big western railroads not long ago:
"For some weeks past my dog has
been in the habit of sicking himself
onto the cars as they sped past my
place, and he never harmed no one by
so doing, nor never would, as I have
known him from a child, very peace
ful and fond of young children, and
awful fond of the butcher's shop, be
fore where he would sit up on his
hind legs and beg with a voice of Joy
for anything he requested. When he
would run at the ca,rs. he would act
savage, but still would never injure
the train by word or deed if you had
a hundred trains whizzing past by day
or night.
"But what does the fireman on the
Stick In. the Mud Express do but
entices my dog to close quarters and
throw chunks of coal and squirts hot
water upon him, which he tells me in
a blithe and frlvlious tone is to take
the bark off my dog. That is what
makes me hait your railroad, and that
is not all by a long sight, for yester
day they misled my dog and got him
in front of the engine, when they
pulled her wide open and smashed my
dog in a way that hurts your rode
and causes it to be looked at askance
by every thinking taxpayer and
mother. I say fy on such a rode as
yours, with its sanwiches that have
a thin rim of ham around the edge,
so when you lock your teeth with it
you get left, and the rode has got
your money in Dennis. Fy on the
whole thing Is what I say."
Hawaii Buying Xltrate.
HONOLULU. T. H. Within ten
days $1,000,060 worth of Chilean ni
trate has been laid down in Honolulu
by five ships, according to port fig
urea. The nitrate is used in manufac
turing fertilizer for the sugar planta
tions. Further shipments of 6000 tons
are expected within the next 60 days.
Greece Buys Meats.
EDMONTON". Alta. Direct business
trading with Greece is being trans
acted by local merchants. Last week
an Investment company here con
signed $10,000 worth of hams, bacon
and other cured meats and will re
ceive in return currants, figs, walnuts,
otA. , .
building, which is henceforth to be
used as a garage.
The brick front of the building was
to be torn -out anl a girder set in
place to carry the weight over the
new garage doorway. This necessi
tated the tearing down of some in
terior walls and partitions, upstairs
and down as well as in the attic. The
contract also called for the removal
of a tiny and almost inaccessible
cupola which perched above the main
attic.
Dan Jones, a structural Iron worker.
had charge of this part of the work.
Probably he was the first man to
enter that little cubby-hole above the
attic since the day the building was
completed over half a century ago.
Nobody ever went In there because of
its Inaccessibility. Viewed from the
avenue it was simply an ornamental
cupola placed there by an architect
who was aiming for effect. As far
as usefulness was concerned it might
as well never have existed.
Jones got into the cupola by en
larging the opening between it and
the attic. Inside he found himself
face to face with a headless standing
skeleton clothed In the remnants of
a long, blue, flannelette wrapper and
felt house slippers. The 6kull had
fallen to the floor and rolled off to
one side. The remainder of the skele
ton was leaning against the wall.
Joseph and Edward Selvage, bro
thers of the school teacher who had
disappeared 20 years previous. Identi
fied the slippers as a pair which they
had given to their sister a short time
before she vanished. The wrapper,
too, was hers. Dr. Paul E. Robinson,
coroner, said the skeleton was that
of a young woman. This time there
was no question of the accuracy of
the identification. The mystery of
Miss Selvage's disappearance had been
solved.
Frozen to Death.
Instead of leaving the hospital
grounds on the morning she vanished
so completely, Miss Selvage had crept
upstairs Into the attic and from there
through the tiny aperture Into the
cupola, where, in her dazed condition,
she must have stood helplessly wait
ing until she died. The assumption
Is that she froze to death, standing
there in the dark corner of the attic.
March 11. 1900, was a bitterly cold
day In Indianapolis and with the tem
perature below freezing point in the
draughty attic the young woman,
scantily clothed as she was, must
have succumbed quickly.
With the mystery of her disappear
ance solved a new one had arisen.
Who was the other young woman who
died in the hands of the grave rob
bers and whose body was saved from
dissection simply through mistaken
identification?
Rufus Cantrell cannot offer any so
lution. With callous apologies he has
explained that so many bodies were
handled by the gangs of grave rob
bers that It would be impossible to
remember each one.