Human Skull Found in Slough

Half buried in the mud of a slough which has been drying up slowly for some years, some small boys who are attending the Waldref school, two and a half miles east of Minot, discovered a human skull last Friday. Sheriff Lee was notified and going out to the slough, a search was made for the remainder of the skeleton, but only the jaw bone, buried further down in the mud, was found.

The skull evidently was that of a man who had met with foul play. The skull bones were crushed on one side close to the ear, and looked as tho {sp} some blunt instrument had been used. The teeth were in good condition, showing that the man was not old, perhaps thirty-five or forty years. The skull was in good condition, and might have been lying in the water for the past fifteen or twenty years, or it might be a good deal less.

The finding of the skull recalls the disappearance of the man Bishop who disappeared from his home in that vicinity several years ago. Bishop had had some trouble with his wife and sons, and one night he disappeared. The family stated he became angry and left the country. Foul play was suspected, and altho {sp} the wife and sons were taken into court and questioned about it, no evidence was ever found that they had done the violence. The deep sloughs about the Bishop home were searched for weeks, but to no avail. Can it be possible that this is the skull of Bishop?

The finding of the skull recalls the report that a young man by the name of Waldref had discovered the body of a man in the slough a few years ago. Waldref was hauling water for a threshing machine from the slough from about the exact spot where the skull was found. He states that after he had pumped the tank full, and started to drive out of the slough, he saw a man's feet sticking from out of a gunny sack, protruding from the water. The threshermen laughed at him at the time, but it is now thought possible that the young man was not mistaken.

In the early days many a man disappeared and it is more than likely that this is the case of some unfortunate fellow. The mystery will probably never be solved.

Ward County Independent, 11/26/1908