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Finding Of The Body

by Edgar Lee Masters

Elenor Murray, daughter of Henry Murray,

The druggist at LeRoy, a village near

The shadow of Starved Rock, this Elenor

But recently returned from France, a heart

Who gave her service in the world at war,

Was found along the river's shore, a mile

Above Starved Rock, on August 7th, the day

Year 1679, LaSalle set sail

For Michilmackinac to reach Green Bay

In the Griffin, in the winter snow and sleet,

Reaching "Lone Cliff," Starved Rock its later name,

Also La Vantum, village of the tribe

Called Illini.

This may be taken to speak

The symbol of her life and fate. For first

This Elenor Murray comes into this life,

And lives her youth where the Rock's shadow falls,

As if to say her life should starve and lie

Beneath a shadow, wandering in the world,

As Cavalier LaSalle did, born at Rouen,

Shot down on Trinity River, Texas. She

Searches for life and conquest of herself

With the same sleepless spirit of LaSalle;

And comes back to the shadow of the Rock,

And dies beneath its shadow. Cause of death?

Was she like Sieur LaSalle shot down, or choked,

Struck, poisoned? Let the coroner decide.

Who, hearing of the matter, takes the body

And brings it to LeRoy, is taking proofs;

Lets doctors cut the body, probe and peer

To find the cause of death.

And so this morning

Of August 7th, as a hunter walks -

Looking for rabbits maybe, aimless hunting -

Over the meadow where the Illini's

La Vantum stood two hundred years before,

Gun over arm in readiness for game,

Sees some two hundred paces to the south

Bright colors, red and blue; thinks off the bat

A human body lies there, hurries on

And finds the girl's dead body, hatless head,

The hat some paces off, as if she fell

In such way that the hat dashed off. Her arms

Lying outstretched, the body half on side,

The face upturned to heaven, open eyes

That might have seen Starved Rock until the eyes

Sank down in darkness where no image comes.

This hunter knew the body, bent and looked;

Gave forth a gasp of horror, leaned and touched

The cold hand of the dead: saw in her pocket,

Sticking above the pocket's edge a banner,

And took it forth, saw it was Joan of Arc

In helmet and cuirass, kneeling in prayer.

And in the banner a paper with these words:

"To be brave, and not to flinch." And standing there

This hunter knew that Elenor Murray came

Some days before from France, was visiting

An aunt, named Irma Leese beyond LeRoy.

What was she doing by the river's shore?

He saw no mark upon her, and no blood;

No pistol by her, nothing disarranged

Of hair or clothing, showing struggle - nothing

To indicate the death she met. Who saw her

Before or when she died? How long had death

Been on her eyes? Some hours, or over-night.

The hunter touched her hand, already stiff;

And saw the dew upon her hair and brow,

And a blue deadness in her eyes, like pebbles.

The lips were black, and bottle flies had come

To feed upon her tongue. 'Tis ten o'clock,

The coolness of the August night unchanged

By this spent sun of August. And the moon

Lies dead and wasted there beyond Starved Rock.

The moon was beautiful last night! To walk

Beside the river under the August moon

Took Elenor Murray's fancy, as he thinks.

Then thinking of the aunt of Elenor Murray,

Who should be notified, the hunter runs

To tell the aunt - but there's the coroner -

Is there not law the coroner should know?

Should not the body lie, as it was found,

Until the coroner takes charge of it?

Should not he stand on guard? And so he runs,

And from a farmer's house by telephone

Sends word to Coroner Merival. Then returns

And guards the body.

Here is riffle first:

The coroner sat with his traveling bags,

Was closing up his desk, had planned a trip

With boon companions, they were with him there;

The auto waited at the door to take them

To catch the train for northern Michigan.

He closed the desk and they arose to go.

Just then the telephone began to ring,

The hunter at the other end was talking,

And told of Elenor Murray. Merival

Turned to his friends and said: "The jig is up.

Here is an inquest, and of moment too.

I cannot go, but you jump in the car,

And go - you'll catch the train if you speed up."

They begged him to permit his deputy

To hold the inquest. Merival said "no,"

And waived them off. They left. He got a car

And hurried to the place where Eleanor lay....

Now who was Merival the Coroner?

For we shall know of Elenor through him,

And know her better, knowing Merival.