Due to the graphic nature of this story, listener discretion is advised.

This episode includes discussions of violence and murder.

We advise extreme caution for children under 13.

May 6, 1873.

The stench of decay and sweat hung heavy in the air around the bender property.

Men shovel dirt while a group of spectators watched.

Other than the sound of metal cutting through earth, the Kansas prairie was silent.

Suddenly, the crashing of wagon wheels interrupted the quiet.

A wagon barreled toward the crowd and came to a halt in front of the ruins of the bender cabin.

Edward York jumped to the ground and onlookers whispered as he marched into what remained of the house,

jaw clenched and brows furrowed.

When he emerged, Edward was deathly pale.

In his hands, he clutched a horse's bridal like a long forgotten treasure.

He'd seemed shaken by what he'd found.

In a day's Edward scanned the barren landscape.

Suddenly, as if possessed, he strode toward a patch of soil untouched by the diggers.

He grabbed the ramrod from a rifle.

The young man plunged the tool into the dirt, repeatedly stabbing the ground, grunting with effort.

The crowd watched quietly, wondering if the young man had cracked.

Finally, instead of hitting more earth, the ramrod dug into something horrifically soft.

Edward's breath caught, as he knelt on the ground and brushed away a layer of dirt.

His fingers touched something cold.

...