The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-05-12
A HUMAN SKELETON UNEARTHED.
Theories as to Its Identity-A Belief that 1t
Is Evidence of a Murder

While digging into the side of hill at the cor
ner of Louisiana and Benton streets, yesterday
afternoon, party of boys unearthed a human
skeleton. The grade of the street is about fifteen
feet below the natural level of the land. and at
the corner of Benton and Louisiana there is va
cant and aninclosed lot on which the boys in the
neighborhood usually congregate for their sport.
Close to the Benton street bank of the HILL stands
an elm tree, evidently twenty-five years old The
earth had fallen away from the bank from time
to time until the roots of this tree left ex-
posed. Acting upon the impulse of Tom Saw
yer-like curiosity, couple of the boys yester-
day afternoon, began digging under the tree. and
soon struck wooden box. The wood was badly
decayed, and single stroke with a
shovel was sufficient to break it in, when
human skeleton was Exposed to their
view. The box and skeleton were torn out in
pieces and the l. res were distributed among the
crowd which had gathered about during the ex-
cavation. The discovery was reported to police
headquarters and the superintendent, with two
members of the force and an able corps of re-
porters, visited the place. A part of the skull
and a few bones were all of the skeleton that
had not been carried away. 1t evident,
however, that the bones were those of q man
probably between twenty-five and thirty years
OIu a JuIt OF req na1r, tOund IN the DOX lnul-
Gated the complexion of the unlamented de-
ceased.
From all evidences the skeleton had probably
been buried twenty-five or thirty years. The
tree which had grown over the box is apparently
nearly twenty-five years old. The discovery re-
wives some family remembered stories of long
ago, with a dark and bloody hue. 1t is said that
many years ago. when indianapolis was only
good-sized town and the territory east of Pogue's
run was beyond the corporate limits,
man of very unsavory reputation, who was
suspected of many crimes of which no one had
ever been convicted, lived alone short distance
south of the National road. A stranger, travel
ing on horseback, returning from the West to
his home in the East after having accumulated
a, considerable fortune, stopped in Indianapolis
for few days rest, before proceeding further
on his journey During his stay he was
about town the most of the time, and
a story of some of his adventures while trading
with the Indians having gotten in circulation,
from being told in a crowd in public place one
evening, he became pretty generally known as
the rich trader" 1t was supposed that he car
ing he walked out from his hotel and never re-
turned. No trace of what had become
of him was ever obtained. On the
night of his disappearance, however,
strange noises were heard from a spot near
where the Panhandle shops now stand, by
man riding along the National road, Coupled
with the disappearance of the wealthy stranger,
it gave rise to suspicion that he had been
robbed and murdered, but there was never any
conclusive evidence of the crime, 1t is said that
he had red hair and it is something of a CO.
incidence that the hair found in the coffin with
the skeleton yesterday is of the same color.