OBIT: Unknown infant, 1887, Blair County, PA

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WHAT SOME BOYS FOUND. 
A Dead Baby Found in Hickory Nut Bottom Saturday Afternoon.

About 4 o'clock on Saturday afternoon three boys - Howard Hook, Frank
Feeny and Chas. Evans - all of this city were skirmishing through the
woods at Hickory Nut Bottom as boys are wont to do, and they were near
the outskirts of the woods when the dog belonging to young Hook
started from the main road and began scratching about a pile of rails
which were about twenty feet from the fence.  The boys didn't pay much
attention to him at first, thinking he was after field mice, but
finally they became curious, crossed the fence and went to the rails. 
Here they found that the dog had become excited over something which
was in a box and young Feeny pulled it out from among the rails, and
upon opening it the boys were horrified to see that it contained the
dead body of a baby.  After informing a member of a family living near
by the lads came back to Altoona and notified the police authorities
and these informed Coroner Glenn. 

The coroner procured a buggy and went after the body, which was
brought to this city and taken to the undertaking rooms of Noel &
Arthur.  The box in which it had been placed was a pasteboard shoe
box, about fifteen inches long, nine inches wide and four and one half
inches deep.  The body was in an advanced stage of decomposition.  It
had been wrapped first in a red flannel petticoat, and around this had
been placed a part of a copy of the New York Star of Thursday,
February 24, 1887.  There had evidently been some trouble in getting
it into the box, because of the latter's smallness, and the legs were
drawn up upon its stomach and its one hand had been pressed down
against its little face.  The box had evidently been used for men's
shoes.  The following jury was empannelled:  John P. Kahle, foreman;
William R. Ward, Newton Crum, J. Arthur, James McFeely and William G.
Murray.

The jury met yesterday morning and heard the testimony of the boys who
had found the body and of Dr. J. W. Allen.  Before the date on the
paper in which it was wrapped was found, the doctor, in reply to a
question, stated the child had been in the box some eight or ten
weeks.  This opinion was borne out by the finding of the date.  While
it was impossible to make a thorough examination of the remains to
tell whether the child was born alive, the doctor was of the opinion
that it was a full term female child weighing 10 or 11 pounds.  The
advanced stage of decomposition also rendered it impossible to tell
whether if born alive in what manner it had been killed.  After
listening to the evidence the following verdict was rendered: "That
the child was a full term female child, but cause of death unknown to
the jury."  The little one was buried Sunday at the poor house.  Who
the heartless mother was will probably remain a mystery.

Altoona Tribune, Altoona, Pa., Thursday, May 5, 1887, page 3