Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-07-19
MAN OR BEAST ?
WHAT MYSTERY Is THIS THAT
vEXES BARTON HElGHTS1
Bones Found In n Ravine--supposed Tell
Tale Blood Spots and o Fire
Fed with Old Clothes.
Barton Heights has o mystery.

nv ithoN tiAS NOihu9 HtDpip Va hb'N b'N''S
little suburb think they have and that Is
almost as good. They have not allowed
themselves 20 get excited as yet, for, like
wilkins Micawber, they are waiting Tor
something TO turn up" but should any
thing transpire they propose to become
thoroughly aroused. In this practical
age mysteries, like sidc-show skeletons
and dwarfs. frequently grow to be very
ordinary affairs and so the Northslde iOlk
are determined TO awnit Developments.
The mystery OF Barton Heights - really
nothing more or less than pile OF bones,
but whether these bones are the osslned
remains of a man or the last earthly rem
nants OF some departed hog or sheep -
more than the HenricO county oihclais
can tell. Commonwealth 's-Attorney SANDS
and Magistrate w. J. TYLER have been
working upon the case for several days,
bat the results Of their Investigations
have been rather unsatisfactory. tyen
now they cannot tell 20 whom or TO what
those bones belong.
FOUND IN A RAvINE.
About week ago Mr.. Tylcr's little
daughter told him that in rayine about
seven hundred yards from the suburb she
had come across q lot OF bones covered by
an old bed-qu,lt. Mr. Tyler and Dr.
Garlick went TO the place, and as the cal
careOus remains appeared TO be those ot
human being, they determined TO leave
them as they found them and notify Mr..
Sands This thoy did, but when the Com
mOuwealth's Attorney went with them to
the place where the supposed skeleton
bad been they SAW with surprise thht
nearly all the bones had disappeared.
They came across one rellc, however,
which appeared TO be an oS cd'c'S 'heel
l. how tor QNf "A L
with them. The party found pair OF dl.
laDidatod trousers and other articles OF
clothing near the spot. and "A little further
on ther came across an old coat. A large
niece had been cut from one sleeve OF the
garment. and on the body of the coat they
noticed what appeared 10 be blood. The
gentlemen also discovered piece OF pu-
trl1 flesh.
vERY SUSPICIOUS.
While Mr.. Sands and his companions
were making their examination colOred
man. who lives some distance from tho
place where the bones were found. came
up. and ~ his actions appeared rather sus-
uiciOus at the time the Commonwealth
Attorney determined 20 go to his house
and make further inquiries. He found tne
women IF the household burning old
clothes. and considering this as rather sus-
uiclou-. he made another VISIT 10 the cabin
the next Gav and searched the place tho
roughly. In the stove he found quantity
of dust and several bones. Unfortunately
for the mystery, these turned out 20 be tho
remains of cattle and 50 the supposed
clue IN this direction developed into empty
uOthlDgnoss.
Tho disappearance Of the bones which
Mr.. TYLER and Dr. Garlick had seen before
they notified Commonwealth 's-AttOrney
Sands was also accounted for later on. An
investigativc youth had been 10 the place
and removed the OssIiled specimens 10
ueighboring place, IN order that ne miGEt
satisfy his curiosity on the subject. ms
progressive American citizen, when found
bv the officials. stated that he bad thrown
! the bones away. He hunted them up,
| however. and they were found 10 be the
| last earthly traces of some dcfunct lamb
or pig.
PIVOTAL POINT,
A nan named FLOYD captured another
! bone. supposed to have been the leg sup
port Of the mysterious man. swine, sheep
! Tor whatever 1t Is L and gave 1t to medi-
cal student named keck to examine.
These many and various relics Of the
man or beast will all be gathered together
and carefully examined. The pivotal
uoin+ of the whole mystery, however lies
in the os caicis found under the bed-quilt.
Without this heel-bOnc the bottom Of the
whole mystery would drop ont. 1t would
he like Homer's "Iliad" without the vul-
uerahle heel of Achilles, or the play Of
Hamlet" without the Dane. The physl-
ciaps saw that the Os cGcls Is n bone which
belongs exclusively 10 human beings. and
Or. Garhck Is sure that his treasure Is the
genuine article. Other physicians will
cxamine both the bones and the supposed
blood spot, and If there IS any mystery IN
the affair the county officials are deter
mined to solve II.
WORRIED FAITHFULLY.
Magistrate Tyler has worked most faith
fully upon the case. while Common
wealth's-Attorue Sands has gwen his
careful attention 20 the matter. The lat
ter sand last night in conversation with a
representative OF the DISPATCH that
| he really doubted whether there
was anything in the case, but he
| thought II his duty 10 investigate IT. Mr.
Sands seemed 10 consider himself in a
rather awkward position. On the one
| hand he fears that he IS wasting nls encr-
| plce on some deceased quadruped, while
| on the other he knows that 1t IS his busi-
meas to look INTO the matter It there Is the
! slghtest reason TO believe that the bones
are those Of a man. Nobody Is missing in
| Uenrico county. and If the remains are
| those of a human being there Will be still
another mystery 10 s0lve-to discover the
/ identity of their owner.