The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1923-05-10

Finding of Body Of Game Warden
johnson In Big Woods Section

johnson In Big Woods Section
The suspense of many people OF
Maine was ended In part at least last
week. If unhappily with the finding
of the remains of Game Warden Merit |
/, ley e. johnson at Abacotnet Bog Dam. |
1t established beyond doubt that both
! johnson and Chief Warden Brown are
dead.
1t was 10 o'clock May when the
| long vigil of the corps of watching
| wardens in the Abacotnet region was
rewarded by the discovery OF john
sons body resting against the head
gates of the dam at the foot of the
| bog. 1t was held by the fish screen
| placed there to prevent trout and sal
mon fiery escaping.
| The discovery was made by War
| dens Bert Duty and Sandy Mullen,
two of the eight who have been cover
| ing that region for the past six weeks
waiting for conditions which would
make possible anything like a sue
cessful search for the bodies.
| Beyond making positive the iden-
LITIGATION Wardens Duty and Mullen
made no examination. They did not
seek to ascertain whether there were
wounds upon the body which would
tend to show the dead man had been
the victim of an assassin. At best,
1t would only have made hasty exa-
mination, which would have been far
from satisfactory, hence the body was
taken to lockwood for an autopsy.
This is so believed because 1t is sup
posed that ice. logs and rocks will
have considerably bruised the body
as it was whirled down the stream In
to the dam in the raging flood of the
| stream.
Abacotnet Bog dam is beyond the
line of ready communication. The
nearest telephone station Is at Loon
Stream camp, 20 miles away by the
most direct route, which under con-
ditions now prevailing, is decidedly
difficult of travel, making many de-
tours necessary so that the warden
who made the trip to send news of
Johnsons body, probably travelled %
miles. In doing so he forded streams
and brooks swollen with ice cold wa
ter, risked danger of drowning in
/ larger streams, where the rough lum-
! Der road bridges were two or three
! feet deep, SO that man had no way
| Of knowing what footing was under
| him.
NEWS REACHES PARSONS
It was nearly O'Clock Wednes-
| day afternoon before the wardens
reached Loon stream and got in touch
with Commissioner Parsons, who was
| then at his home in Dover-Foxcroft.
Immediately upon receiving the in
| formation Commissioner Parsons no.
| titled Sheriff Mooers here, who in
| turn got in touch with County Attor-
ney James Thorne at North Arson. |
! and the machinery of the law was put
| in motion.
Commissioner Parsons left Dover
Foxcroft Thursday morning on his
trip north to investigate.
Thoroly understanding the situation
which probably existed in the north
ern region of the county and realiZ-
ing the serious difficulties of attempt 4
ing to hold an autopsy at Abacontnet
Bog DAM. Sheriff Mooers, County
Attorney Thorno and the medical exa-
miners, decided that it would be best
to bring the remains to lockwood for
ILLS pull Dobt, anu DtPulJ A'iio'
ordered to make the trip.
The Deputy lost no time, once the
order reached him and by 10 o'clock
Wednesday night was on his way into
the wild north woods.
A truck of the Great Northern Pa
per Co. carried him from lockwood
up over that company's road to Pitts
ton farm, which was reached about
three o'clock Tuesday morning. A
couple of hours sleep and rest and
Smart with q crew of the best river
men on the Penobscot waters started
on the fight with the elements to
reach the dam. The body OF David
Brown of Greenville. missing game
warden, was found Thursday evening,
floating i'm the water about mile and
a half below Big Bog, where the body
of Mertley Johnson, his comrade, was
found Wednesday night 1t was about
dusk when a searching party, on their
way to the Bog, that they might be-
gin their hunt Friday morning. came
accidentally upon the body of the sec
ond missing warden.
STORY OF DISAPPEARANCE
David E. Brown and Mertley john
son, we're two of the most skllful
woodsmen in the warden service of
the State and from the time that they
disappeared on November Is, last, 1t
has been the firm conviction of all
who knew them that they had been
murdered A reason for this, beside
the knowledge that they were experts
in weodcraft, is that 1t is known that,
after getting into the woods on that
trip, they changed their plan. When
the men left Greenvile they had no
intent to go to Abacotnet. but that
they learned that certain Canadian
poachers, whom the department had
Inpu ,nnuhf tuorn n that region and