The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1938-06-30
Meaa s5 ;si
by Captain
G. Elliott Nightingale
Copyright, WNU
THE SKULL WITH a HOLE
IN ITS FOREHEAD

II
L an aged man on the banks of the
Bow river right after the ice had
gone out, and right away there was
check-up to find out who was miss
ing. That was in June, 1910. Sew
eral months passed and then, just
as the beautiful Bow was beginning
to freeze up again, trapper STUN
bled over a small boulder. Later
on, upon examining the round thing
that had tripped him, the trapper
realized that he was handling a
human skull. Like a good Canadian
he was soon in touch with the Royal
Mounted.
A more thorough and extensive
search and investigation was soon
under way. Within a few yards OF
where the skull had been picked up,
the Mounted saw a strange looking
heap which later proved to be a
blanket and a cowhide tied with
ropes, the whole still frozen solid.
The first discovery had come in
June, the second in November, and
still no one had turned up missing.
With everyone accounted for, the
only thing the Mounted could do
was to store the remains. The check
up of transients and settlers, how
ever, continued; meanwhile griz-
zled and widely experienced physi-
clan and surgeon examined the re-
mains. The physician announced,
little while later, that the. man
had been about fifty or sixty, had
iron-gray hair, and that the hole
in the forehead had been made by
a bullet of % caliber, and that the
bullet had been found imbedded in
the skull. Moreover, there had been
another bullet found in the body.
It had entered from the right side
and had coursed upward through
both lungs and had lodged in the
ribs of the lower left side.
Then a constable had a bright
idea. Everyone had been accounted
for, he argued, but that was only for
the year 1910 or for the months pre-
ceding and following the discovery
of the headless body. What about
last year? After all, the constable
argued, the deceased could easily
have been done in a year or two
years ago, so why not go back a
bit? Soon all interest was centered
upon the absence of one of the first
settlers, an Englishman named
Peach. In no time the Mounted
discovered that Peach had sold out
to a man named Robertson and
had then returned to his home in
England. Robertson was soon be-
ing questioned in a town a hundred
miles away, and he corroborated
the information of the deal with
Peach. Later it was learned that
Robertson had moved to Calgary
after having bought the Peach
homestead and that he had left or
ders that all mail for Peach be for
warded on to his address in Cal
gary. Well, this was really the first
"break" for the Mounted. Why
should Robertson want Peach's mail
forwarded to him?
Robertson was again questioned,
this time by a Mounted policeman
he had never seen before but who
knew the results of the first inter
view.
Robertson's story changed color
entirely during this second question
ing, but the Mounted policeman
kept this discovery entirely to
himself. Some days later another
Man of the Mounted had a quiet
little chat with Robertson, and again
the latter's story changed complete
ly. Surely Robertson was tying him.
self up into a knot. Then he an
nounced that he was going down to
small settlement just few miles
away for few days rest, a sort
of short vacation.
Instead of alighting at the small
town, he stayed on the train and
went through to Mcleod. Here he
proceeded to get drunk and was
soon boasting that he had made a
cleanup in the Yukon gold fields and
was returning to his home in the
States. And, as he sat Boosting
how tough he had been in his time,
constable of the Mcleod detach-
ment walked in and very quietly ar
rested him for the murder of Tuck
er Peach. Back in Calgary, Rob-
ertson tied himself in such knot OF
lies and falsehoods that there was
nothing else to do but confess. His
confederate, one Fisk, had fired the
first shot, into Peach's forehead.
He, Robertson, had fired the second.
Fisk had learned that Peach had a
large amount of money hidden
somewhere about his homestead
cabin, and was scheming to get il
when he met Robertson who was
planning to buy the Peach home
stead. Buy it," advised Fisk, 'then
we'll knock him (Peach) on the
head and get your money back.
Then we'll ransack the cabin and
find the two thousand he has hidden
somewhere in it. After that, you
take the homestead, and I'll take
the horses, and we split his money
between US when we find it."
No one knows to, this day whether
Fisk and Robertson found the old
mans hoard, but they do know that
Canadian law worked fast, and
smoothly as these two renegades
were tried. Fisk was sentenced to
hang. Robertson was given life i'm
prisonment. Inside of month after
capture, both men had begun pay