What always catches me off guard with old death reports are the gruesome descriptions of the bodies. For example, the below description of a body found in an Alaskan river from 1906.
Corpse in the River
The coroner and jury yesterday made every possible effort to identify a corpse found floating in the river here the day before, but failed.
To aid in identification by others, the following particulars are wired:
The corpse was badly decomposed.
One leg was missing – probably torn away by the ice.
Two front teeth were gone.
The remaining foot had on a felt shoe, as if drowned in the winter time.
To carry out the idea that the man met his death in winter, is the ribbed underwear on the corpse.
Nothing else found which might lead to identification.
Source: Yukon Valley news. (Rampart, Alaska), 15 Aug. 1906.
