, 1886-06-08


The we,,,p r,o, MYSTERY
Special correspondence of The LrAprn.
FORT LARAMIE, Wyo., June c.
On May 20, 1886, John Yelling
ton, an employe on Mr.. Newcomb's sheep
ranch, turned up missing. 1t appears he
lett Fort Laramie for the ranch with some
provisions, on or about the 10Th of May,
and was never seen alive again. His
body was discovered on June ], some
eleven miles from here and in the direc-
ton Of Warm Springs. The body was
viewed after discovery by several intelli-
gent residents of this vicinity, and there
seemed to be no doubt in their minds that
the deceased met his death by a gunshot
wound. The coroner arrived here in due
course of time and went to view the body,
probcd a hole existing in the side of de-
ceased head with a stick, threw him into
a hole on the spot and returned to Fort
Laramie, where the cause of death was
investigated" Before burial everyone
was satisfied that the deceased was shot
through the head. Afterwards a doubt
remained as to whether he was shot or
not. In the face of all this the coroner
neglected to procure the necessary medical
advice, which was at hand, and decide be-
You'd all doubt whether the deceased met
his death by a gun shot wound or not.
From the bungling name in which the
investigation was conducted throurhout
it shows a lack of competency ON the part
of the county officials or a thorough disre.
gard of the laws that govern a case of
this description. As an instance of how
this kind of business is managed in Lara
ME county. permit me to 20 back AS far
as June, 1882. where a man named Camp
bell was found dead on Lance Greek. The
body was discovered by four men of more
than ordinary intelligence, who examined
the body and found four gun shot wounds,
two in the head, one leading d~iagonally
across the upper part of the skull. the
other taking a downward course two in
the body in the region of the heart. one
entering that organ. They also found the
weapon with the hammer resting on an
uncxploded cartridge these four men
swore to the four wounds mentioned, hay
ing probcd them with a spike. The doe
tor on the case would not swear to the two
in the head, but said he was positive as to
one wound, still he admitted there might
be a second.
The body had been inferred by this
time, and the only way to determine be
yond a doubt whether there was one or
two wounds in the head, would be to dis
inter the body and have another examina-
ton, but the doctor said it would be an
expense to the county and at the same
time a great inconvenience to himself and
the coroner. So there was a verdict re-
turned of death in a manner unknown to
jury The doctor and coroner in this
case, acted ike men who were doing the
business by contract, and not like trusted
officials who were sent to hold al inquest.
The question will Tor ought toy arise in the
mind of any ordinary thinking individual,
are.thcse officials sent out from the county
seat with instructions to incur only a GER
tain amount of expense and then return ?
or are they instructed as they should be,
to make a thorough investigation. | say,
as a resident OF this county, that if this is
the stvle that is 10 maintain there il M
safety for a Law abiding citizen in Lara
mic county, especially in the northern
portion, for if a man has, say from fifty to
A hundred dollars On his person, and it
becomes known to some d%lsreputable char
acter, he can simply cntice the said manio
discovered for two or three DAYS and there
shoe, and rob him and who, H., L.J. :.
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