Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1903-09-15
RELIC OF EARLY TIMES.

Wednesday last while the city's crew
OF quarry men were qIarrying rock foI
macadmizing purposes, just south of the
depot on Clarke's island they uncovered
the skeleton of a human form. To get
at the ledge of rock they removed
about three feet of dirt, and in doing so
struck the remains of hewn cedar
slab, which they lifted and disclosed to
view the mouldering remains of what
was evidently young man who had
not attained his majority The skull
and larger bones, We're well preserved
and tuft of blonde hair showed the
skeleton to be that of white man.
There were no perceptible evidences of
clothing and the slab was so badly de-
cayed tharit was in a crumbling condi-
tion. From the fact that cedar, when
buried in the ground, will not decay for
long period, this young man must
have been buried great many years
ago and his identity and manner of
death will perhaps never be traced
The skeleton was found near the stump
OF large pine tree that once stood on
the island, and the presumption is that
the companions that buried him placed
him beneath the shade of this tree that
they could at any time accurately tell
where his renaius were Numerous
suppositions of who he was and how he
met his death have since been advanced
One theory was that the skeleton
was that of Mrs. Peter Tranto, who
lived with her husband in the middle of
the island and who mysteriously dis
appeared in the early COS. This, how
ever, has been exploded by the fact that
the body of Mrs. Tranto was afterward
found in the drift wood at Stevens
Point. Another old settler claims that
years ago two young Frenchmen under
took to go over Big Bull falls in boat
and one of them was drowned The
body was recovered and buried on
Clarke's island. j. G. Clarke, how
ever, who settled on the island in
lS4S, states that ne knows of no one
ever being buried there, and Mr.. Clarke
has a good memory of early events.
From the very first time that the whites
came here The island has been lived
upon and at one time was covered with
houses. 1t is not at all likely that it
would be used as burial ground and
if murder had been committed and
burial made to cover up traces, the spot
would soon have been discovered.
Another theory that has been adj
vanced and perhaps the most acceptable
one, is that the bo1es are those of one
of the numerous fur traders who
roamed over this country in the early
part of the last century, trading with
the Indians. These traders piled their
business from the mission at Green Bay,
along the Fox river up to where Por-
tage now stands, and along the Wiscon-
sin river, both north and south Big
Bull falls was camping ground for
the Indians, and even after the whites
came here these traders would visit the
locality occasionally. 1t may be that
one of them was drowned at the falls
and that it was his bones that were un.
covered Wednesday.
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+. 5. King, manager of the Merrill
Street Railway and Lighting Co., in an
interview with reporter of the Mil
waukee journal last week, is quoted as
saying that plans are under way for the
erection of a large paper mill at Mer-
rill He stated that the lumbee indus
try is nearing an end, and that Merrill
must therefore look toward inanufac-
turing Industries for its support in the
future. Merrill has good water pow
er and that, too, in the heart of the
city He says it has been hard to in
terest local capital in any such enter
prise and now an effort is being made
to bring outside money into the city,
which combined with that of local
business men, will build a paper mill
eqdaling in size the ones at Brokaw
and Nekoosa.
We wish to buy hemlock and hard
wood timber lands; any farmer or set
tier wishing to sell timber and keep the
land, should come and see us. We
want, more especially, hemlock timber
and logs that viii come to Wausau by
rail or water.
BARKER & STEWART LBR Co.
ss-dS. Wausau, Wis.
About a week ago, fellow who gave
mis- name rs Jerry Donovan, presented
himself at Cawley Bros saloon and
asked that a check for s267O, which he
handed Mike Cawley, be cashed 'fhe
check was signed by j. T. Kelly, fore