Salt Lake County – OF VAST STATURE

OLD SKELETON IS UNEARTHED

Human Remains Dug Up by Road builders on Bishop McRae’s Farm

BONES THOSE OF AN INDIAN

Items point to immense size of ancient aboriginal, probably fifty years.

County road employees working near Bishop McRae’s farm near Fourteenth South and Jordan River this morning unearthed a human skeleton. As soon as this news spread there was a wild scramble to see who should be first to get a look at the bones. When Deputy Sheriffs Joe Sharp and Andy Smith arrived on the scene, they were confronted with a crowd numbering nearly 100 persons. All were curious, and many stories were told of persons who were missing 20 or 30 years ago and who had never been heard from since. There were offers to lay wagers that the skeleton was the bones of no less than 18 different persons. The outcome of the betting was in doubt when the deputies left the place with the bones in a gunny bag.

REMAINS OF INDIAN

In the sheriff’s office, the bag was opened and the trailer spread on a newspaper. An examination of the skull revealed the sloping forehead, high crown, and cheekbones characteristic of an Indian. Further examination disclosed an almost perfect set of teeth. Their general form showed plainly that the bones were those which once supported a copper-colored aborigine, probably 50 years ago or more. The locality is known to have been an old Indian camping and burial ground, for many relics have been found in the neighborhood.

OF VAST STATURE

The sheriff’s force and others who have viewed the bones declare that they were once the framework of an Indian of great height. The teeth are peculiar; they are sharp, and the set is complete. The enamel is almost worn away, but every one is in place.

Deseret evening news. [volume], January 17, 1908, Last Edition, Page 2, Image 2