Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1877-08-14
NO. 19l
Mistella,leous.
THE SKELETON IN THE SHAFT.
WHAT A PAIR OF HUNTERS FOUND IN TIIr
NORTH WOODS OF MICHIGAN.

DETROIT, July 90, 1877. One of the
saddest mysteries brought to light for
years was almost literally unearthed in
Crawford county, in this State, few DAYS
ago. and in the most singular manner DOS
sible. William H. French, Pittsburg dry
goods clerk, and Falrweather Martin, of
Chicago, old schoolmates, were hunting
and exploring though that part OF the
State, and taking summer vacation. On
the evening of the 7th inst. French shot at
turkey which came near their camp.
The bird was wounded. and could not fy
| away, but half flew and half ran along on
| the ground before inn. He had not fol-
| lowed it over two hundred feet from camp
when he suddenly found himself going in
| to the bowels OF the earth. In the uncer-
tain light of evening he had fallen into an
| old shaft or pit, having mouth only three
| or four feet across, and almost concealed
by weeds and bushes, and being, as was
| aiterward ascertained by tape line mease-
ment, y feet deep. When French went
down he bumped from side to side. and
landed all in a heap at the bottom, elbow
skinned, knees battered, and the rest of
his body pretty well shaken up. The bot
| tom of the pit was much larger than the
| mouth, being almost 10 feet from side to
| side. 1t had been dug out as If men had
| sunk shaft down that far and then start
ed out to dig drifts. The soil was very
hard, and in some places the shaft had
been cut through rock.
1t may be imagined that the clerk was
not long in raising an alarm, but the depth
OF the pit so muzzled his voice that his
| companion had long search to locate
him. While this hunt was going on
French discovered that he had company
| down there. 1t was so dark that he could
| see nothing, and he was prevented from
knowing the size of the pit. After find
| ing that he had no broken bones, he felt
| about him little and laid his hand on
what he soon knew must be human skel-
| eton, and a musty odor at once filled his
nostrils. His yells for assistance were no
| doubt considerably increased by this dis
| covery, and when assisted out of the pit by
means of the stout line carried with the
camp equippage he was in no mood for
Joking. 1t was decided to make an exam
alton of the place by daylight, and when
morning came Martin was lowered down
the shaft. The bushes were cut away
from around the mouth to give him light.
and enough of it filtered down to enable
him to see everything.
There was skeleton there, sure enough
and sight it must have presented in the
gloom down there. The figure of man
sat with his back to the wall, one knee
drawn up. and the other leg extended.
| The hands rested on the ground on either
side, and the head had fallen over on the
left shoulder. 1t was not corpse, not "A
skeleton, but mummy. Most of the
hair had fallen off the skull, and the cloth
ing had mouldered until breath would
| blow it to dust. There was boot on the
| right foot, the other one lying on the
ground some distance away. The soles
| could be torn off as easily as one tears u
blotting-pad. The flesh on body and limbs
had greatly decayed, leaving knees. ell
bows and other joints entirely bare, but
where any flesh remained 1t had shriv-
eled down and turned the color of sheet
iron. Martin and his friend were, of
course, considerably excited over the dis
covery, but they took all pains and pre-
caution to find clue to the mystery. On
the ground was a small heap OF dust which
had once been a hat. Against the wall
within, reach OF the mummy, was bum
die OF clothing.
While Martin was making these discov-
cries below, French was scouting around
the mouth of the shaft. Lying almost at
the edge of it were the rusted barrel of
rifle and the head of light axe. The
stock had rotted from the gun, and the
handle had decayed from the axe, while
the metal itself was nearly eaten with
rust. When the unfortunate hunter or ex-
plorer fell into the pit, as he doubtless did,
he might have been carrying these articles
in his hands, or the sudden stumble might
/ b.x- Il; -, IL a.,
still further, he might have hung to the
bushes at the edge of the pit for few
seconds before falling, and sought to
of camp fire near By, though the lone
man might have had one there.
| Feeling quite certain that clue to the
mystery would be found in the pack or
about the skeleton, Martin proceeded very
carefully in his search. The clothing over
the bundle of bones pulled to pieces as
handled. There was large Russia leath-
er wallet lying between the shriveled left
arm and the bare ribs, and this was so far
gone that it required the most delicate
handling. Some portions OF it were lost
before it reached sunlight above. and the
odor from it was almost suffocating. In
the mass OF dust and bones Martin made
a still more important discovery. He
found a memorandum book, having an
almanac in it and the days OF the week
printed on alternate pages. The book
was well bound, and, owing to its thick
ness. had stood the ravages of time much
better than even the thick-soled boots.
The almanac was for the year 1866. and
must be taken as proof that the stranger
fell into the pit in that year. He coui
not of course, have an almanac later than
the year in which he lived, aud would not
| be likely to carry one over year old at
The most. Many of the leaves fell out
and crumbled away, and portions of many
| others were lost, but enough were left and
enough of the writing could be made out
| to form one Of the saddest chapters in the
history of the wild forests of Michigan.
Written with ink were the following words
| found here and there through the book:
Thence Vest" shipments; "acre
| tract y Government; u ''trade Tor a.; -
"shall have for -" Thence by lake
to -" "Grand Haven Is for.
"Johp NJ, A. -; - .sdemand for about -