The Disappearance of the Squak Slough Rancher
A local court appoints a special administrator to manage the estate of a missing farmer while a search for his body continues.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
H. Hannon and D. Keeler yesterday filed with the clerk of the probate department of the superior court a petition for the appointment of the former as special administrator of the estate of Joseph M. Barta, the missing Squak Slough rancher. The petition recited the fact of Barta's disappearance, of the search made for him, and of the strong probability of his death. Power to collect all money due the missing man's estate, dispose of the 600 cords of shingle bolts which he cut last winter and are still unsold, to cut the crop of hay on the ranch at Squak Slough and out of the proceeds to pay for the making of a thorough search for the body of the unfortunate rancher is asked. The petition states the heirs of Barta live in either North or South Dakota, and that steps will be taken to notify them. Judge Hannon granted the petition and gave him full power to collect all money due the estate and to dispose of all his property necessary to raise funds to make the search for Barta's body and to pay all his debts.
“The petition recited the fact of Barta's disappearance, of the search made for him, and of the strong probability of his death.”
The Squak Slough mentioned here is modern-day Issaquah. Disappearances in rural areas remained a grim reality of the frontier era, often leaving families in legal limbo until courts intervened to manage assets and debts.
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