The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1877-08-31

p na h teft arm and the bare ribs,
t 50 far gone that it required
m A@elicate handling Some
N were lost before it reached
O and the odor from it was
1c>g. In.the mass of dust
~ tin made a still more
,coyery. He found a mem
= having. an almanac in it
# the week printed ON
- ! The book was well
). Pig TO its thickness, had
kb ses9 of time much better
ts4C -;Nae,k-soled boots. The
llas t311f'~ the year 1865, and
III as proof that the stranger
,lCiito the pit in that year. He could
a. of course have an almanac later than
;s~ssr in. wlich he lived; and would
zlgzlaly TO carry one over year
I'fSid at the most Many of the leaves
fsil out and crumbled away, and portions
Of many others @ere lost, but enough
we're left, and enough of the writing
Gould be made out to form one of the
ssddest chapters in the history of the
vild forests of Michigan. Written with
K were the following words, found here
Where through the book;
Thence west - q" shipments % acre
!" &" Governments; trade for a
a." shall have for---;" thence
x lake to. 3" 8" Grand Haven is for
;"'' John NJ. A.; " demand for
r,aSout - No. 1876 South c .-.."
The above parts OF sentences were
cleaned from perhaps the first twenty
leaves in the book. The rest seemed to
have been flledeRth writing in pencil,
and in one or two instances with red
lead pencil Words could be made out
now aud then, but the only complete
sentence found reads: d" Southwest
corner marked by X on lone pine
tree standing on knoll; stone pile at foot
oftpe."
The unfortunate man had written his
name on the inside of the first cover Of
the book. The presence of name
could be family seen, but not even a
single lettsG could certainly be made
out. thought the first name
IaeIs Gilliam," while French
feels d - that it was Charles"
There was evidently an initial, standing
for middle name, and the last name
was short enough for d" Wood, " Gregg
or Brown" As near as they could
make out, there were not over six letters
in the name
The bundle was lifted out with all
possible care, and in in it were found two
pairsof woollen socks, two woollen shirts,
a vest, the blade of a razor, buttons and
bits Of paper which resembIed greeubacks |
Not one of the articles of clothing was
-yauch more than dust, and the slightest
ss~4---tore tl,-un 20 pieces. No book
card D. ssssJ snIng 20 IaTnIsH q. rs..s. 49,
found in the bundle, nor in the boots,
nor about the pile of blackened bones
The skeleton was lifted out of its long
resting place in hopes that knife or
tobaco-box might be found, but the
search was in vain. After a half days .
hunt for a clue, the young men made .
another diseovey. The bones of the I
skeIt6hs lefG leg were broken. That
wasz.sG first discovery. From the /
bot for ten feet up, except /
in ides were full Of grit /
and =, ,esfe place, which was .
SIR Sfiy, the poor man had /
cut = - foot apart, evidently .
Boin :s9is mouth of the pit by .
tht me- Heshad cut inches to with /
IN thirteen feet of the surface, and in an
eli! momel~ bad lost his balance, fallen
Z the 0sZSnd rendered all hopes
ain by z-3tr. his leg. He could do
othin.. Sszs. s-t wait for death. He
hight ed a small supply Of food
esrhaps ,AIgh to last four or five days.
Near wlSe1 the skeleton was found were
nine plain marks on the wall, each one
for 4 figure T." He had made !
them to staa1to days. He could tell
when day 49, and night came, and,
suffering terrible mental and bodily pain,
be had made mark to indicate the
sassage of time, and hoped for release in
,ne way before he should be called
upon to make another. Worn out at
II, he had braced his back against the
n and died. No one can tell what he
Fs'sed--his hopes and fears and anguish.
u ten long years at least the dark
y las preserved its secret from the
wo,~$. Days and nights and weeks and
mon5fs have rolled away, and time has
the flesh and blolted out of
everything that might tell the
world who the unfortunate victim was.
Hunters, laoH-lookers and paid explorers
nave gone into the north woods to be
heard of no more. The newspapers have
;nrv s5led the mysterious disappearance
t.>some citizen or stranger almost
TeS6ly. This man was only one out of
,wo score who have strangely dis
lp1eared during the last ten years in the
Ia wforests of the lower Peninsula,
no clue to tell how or where
met their fate.
ETING- G-BULL IND HIS TRIBE.
d'he commission appointed by the Uni
E1 Cfofoa ,,ro,ooI 20 |