The Paonia newspaper., 1911-02-17

The body of Wilson l.. Davis,
whose mysterious disappearance on
March 5, 1907, created a sensation In
Paonia and the North Fork valley
at the time, was found hanging In
pinon tree In the hills above town
Wednesday about noon by three
rabbit hunters.
The news reached town late in the
in the afternoon, and Coroner j. B.
Claybaugh was notified by telephone
in time TO come up on the evening
train. 1t was too late to again To-
cate the body in the dark, as it was
found In a very lonely and isolated
place about mile and half above
the Cowan coal mine, and all efforts
to bring the body in were deferred
until yesterday morning, when prac-
tically half the male population OF
the town turned out as an escort to
the coroner.
A Grewsome Find
Early Wednesday morning Noah
Roatcap, who IL an old resident here,
started out to accompany Floyd
Bross. of Cathlamet, wash. and Ar
thur Wood. of Salida, on a rabbit
hunt In the hills. They went around
to the north and west OF the Cowan
mine and were making their way
back toward town through the hills.
trailing rabbits the meanwhile. The
party had divided the territory and
were hunting along through rough
and almost inaccessible part of the
hills about four miles from town
when Mr.. Bross looked up and saw
a pair of shoes in the foliage of a
plnon tree above his head. and upon
a closer Inspection saw that the body
of a man was lodged in the tree. He
called to his companions and Arthur
Wood was the first to arrive.
He was a stranger here, compara-
lively. and did not recall the Davis
d,sappearance. Roatcap soon came
up the hill. and catching "a glimpse
Of the scene, shouted: Hello, got
-omebody treed?" As he realized the
situation. he made n closer inspec-
tion and Immediately pronounced
the body that of Wilson L. Davis.
The Broken Rope
Inst above the head dangled n
short length OF small rope. broken
and raveied out. part OF the rope.
Including the knot. was still around
the neck OF the corpse. The
rome had broken from decay and
exposure to the elements and the
body had dropped about two feet
and lodged In the gnarled limbs
of the pinon tree. where IL had par
TALLY lain and partially hung, ex-
posed to the elements. for nearly four
years.
The head, neck and hands. which
were NOT protected by clothing. were
bare Of f,esh. stripped by the elements
and the birds All the teeth had fal-
len from the Jaws. IL was creepy
scene. The body was sprawled In
borrid fashion. partly upright. in the
,rre. and for a background loomed
large the age-old rim-rocks above
the cgnon.
The hunters left the body undis-
turbed and when they reached town
In the afternoon, the find was soon
the sole topic Of conversation every
where. From NRoatcap's identifica-
ton, and the description of the
clothes on the corpse. there was
hardly the slightest doubt that the
body was that Of Davis.
HAD Difficulty In
ReIocatiag Corpse
Early yesterday morning Coroner
Clnybaugh, with two rigs, and ac-
companied by a number OF men on
horseback, set out for the hills to
bring in the body. Roatcap. Brcss
and wood went along as guides.
During the night following the dis
coyery OF the corpse heavy fall of
snow had taken place. covering up
completely the tracks In the snow OF
the day before. and In addition there
was a heavy fog hanging over the
h,,,. and the snow was still falling.