Just over the line in Kimball county, a man named Peterson was buried, and after one or two attempts were made to get the body out, they came to Robert Osborne who had had experience in the mines. He said he could get to the body but someone else would have to take it out. When he reached it, he was hauled up, and another man went down and removed the body. Peterson had been in for six weeks, and was in a bad state of decomposition. The body was crouching in a half erect position under some of the caved-in curbing, but it is probable that death had been practically instantaneous.

While on the subject of tragedy, we here relate the story of the murder that occurred in the upper end of the valley, about four miles south of Hull. Four people -- three men and one woman -- selected four claims, and built one house so that one of each of its four corners would be upon a claim ; thereby four beds, one in each corner, would occupy separate homesteads. The people were Mrs. Yost and her son, and the others named Thompson and Rogers. Young Yost and Rogers were about

Smoke Stack Rock

twenty-five years old, and Thompson thirtyfive or forty. The "boys" sometimes worked out, or were getting out house logs from Bull canyon; for each had planned his individual home as soon as he could get around to build-

HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

ing it. Thompson was supposed to put in his time in improving the several claims.