A Cargo of Skeletons.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IX, Issue 33, 9 January 1885, Page 4

A Cargo of Skeletons.

A cargo of skeletons has been recently received by a fertilizer establishment inPhiladelphia from Texjas. It was .an interesting load on account of the fact that the bones represented such a variety of animals and had so many complete skeletons, but a special interest o£ a rather loathsome and, horrible sort centres m the circumstance that among the skeletoris of the animals are many of that most interesting of animals —man. In the 522 tons of ;;bones/"which the. New '-Hayen schooner brought from Galverstdn, it is estimated there were at least half a million animals represented. The wild animals furnished the greater share, indicating as did other evidence, that the collection' was mostly made on the broad plains ' and praires of that State. Th4re were carcases of buffalo by the hundred; elks, with their fine antlers and sometimes the head, which were taken offas ornaments ; thousands of deer of all sizes, antelopes, horses,' cows, goats, sheep, panthers, various small animals, alligators from the bayous, and even the skeletons j of snakes.. The bones were wh.ite. from long exposure to the sun. Some had evidently perished m prairie fires, and the skeletons were partly charred. More had no doubt perrished from hunger, want of water and similar causes, and some had been shot. The men on board the schooner say the human skeletons were numerous, and the boilers 4nd grinders at the bone-mill laughed and said, " There were always sdme of them, but that didn't matter." Some of the human skeletons were intact, skull and all, but most of these were broken during the loading and unloading. There were a few skeletons that were, recognised as women. Portions of one skull and other parts of skeletons were shattered as if by pullets, and no doubt there were on board and are now being made into bone dust evidences of manslaughter, 1 murder, and desperate deeds of border ruffianism. —Boston Transcript.