The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-08-15
A HORRIBLE MYSTERY.
An Unknown Mans Skeleton Found In
Lonely Patch Of Brush.
From the Peoria Democrat

The farm of George Stills lies in Lime.
stone township, about eight miles from
Peoria city, on the Fairview road. Ad.
joining it is the farm of man named
Burns On the Burns place near the
Sills farm, about mile from the public
road, is a lonely patch of timber and
brush. Here, in a clump of bushes, a
little off from a private road which is
scarcely ever used, James Sills deaf
and dumb boy, son of George Stills,
made CHASTITY find Sunday afternoon
about O'Clock.
He was on his way home, and parting
the bushes to make his way to the private
road, when his eyes fell on what appear
ed to be the PROSTATE figure of a man.
1t proved to be a skeleton in suit of
clothes, the latter in fair stale of pre-
servation. Coroner Thomson, who visited
the spot yesterday morning and held
an inquest is of the opinion that the
man had been dead a year, and that he
was about 80 years of age. He was
nicely dressed, wore a neat Scotch suit
and black soft hat, and had on white
shirt, collar and red scarf, a set of pretty
but inexpensive studs in the shirt bosom,
his attire indicating that he had been
quite genteel sort of person. he had
been about feet 8 inches, tall He was
lying on his back, and at his left side
lay Smith & Wesson revolver Of 50 inch
calibre, two chambers of which had been
discharged A bullet had entered on the
left side of his skull an inch above the
Hrl,+ .
carat gold ring hung loosely on the bones
of the little finger of his right hand In
his clothes were found police whistle
some silk hankerchiefs, 80 cents in change
and some little trinkets When the cor
oner examined the skeleton he found it
inhabited by about million black ants
who sailed forth in armies when their
stronghold was asssiled. John W:Chap-
man, foreman, Henry HUM, Thomas
Huxtable, W r. Myers, W J. Van
Norman and Jewry Sills were impaneled
as a jury, and they found that deceased
came to his death from wound from a
revolver in the hand of some party I'M
known. There were no papers or marks
in the clothing to disclose the name of
the dead man, no one in the neighbor-
hood knew of any one who had disap
peared or could shed any light on the
affair, and the whole thing is mystery.
Who is he, did he commit suicide, or was
he murdered, and if SO who was the
assassin these are questions to which
there was no answers, and which will re-
main unanswered forever. Either the
man took his own life in that lonely
patch of brush and timber, so lonely that
his corps remained there for over a year
before it was discovered. or he was most
foully murdered and some terrible crime
has been committed the ! erpetrator of
which has escaped human vengeance
There was a report that about year ago
stranger had stopped at farmers
house in the neighborhood and gone away
and never called for the wagon and horses
he had left there, and the inquest was
adjourned tor short time to inquire into
the matter: 1t was found that the man
was sewing machine man from Peoria;
that he had called for bis team and paid
for their board, and that the farmer had
seen him only three months ago He
was not the man.